The Dominance of Cookie Cutter R&B Entertainers Hinders the Promotion of Bonafide Artists

Anyone who knows me can tell you that when it comes to R&B music, specifically Soul/Neo-Soul music, I am an avid fan (as in short for fanatic). Regardless of the moniker bestowed upon this sub-category of R&B, this is music that I feel as I listen to it. If I listen to a particular CD ten years from now, for instance, Maxwell's "Urban Hang Suite," it automatically brings me back to that time in my life when I first heard it-and the magic of what I feel never goes away (but that's a different story for another day).

If anything, this music is like food for the soul (or at least my soul). Give me a whole heaping of Maxwell, with a dash of D'Angelo, spoon on a side of Jill Scott, sprinkle some Leela James, butter it with Angie Stone on top, and season well with some Musiqsoulchild, and watch me gorge on a musical feast! However, as I watch BET and listen to New York Radio (if you have not read my profile, I live in the wonderful, but very overpriced state of New York), I at first became bored, then annoyed and now disgusted by what I see and hear in R&B music today. For instance, within a two hour period, I heard Beyonce four times between two radio stations. However, when I try to hear a little Erykah Badu or Floetry, I am lucky to hear at least one their songs on the radio or see their videos during the entire day. When it comes to the ladies of R&B, there is a monotony of sound and appearance that is promoted on mainstream radio stations and television. Consequently, this overexposure of the same personalities leaves out the entertainers who possess real talent and individuality.

Consequently, R&B music is now dominated by cookie-cutter performers who look and sound alike. This is especially true of the ladies of R&B. Now, before I continue, I just want to preface my statement with this- I am not hating on these singers; however, it seems that the radio (as well as music videos) is flooded with Beyonce wannabes- ladies of a caramel (or lighter) complexion, with cascading honey blond locks who are no bigger than a size four. From Christine Milian, to Olivia (the chanteuse of G-Unit), to Murder Inc.'s Ashanti, to Mariah Carey, these ladies possess a similar look and have a very comparable style of music. Even Ms. Jay (for those of you who are America's Top Model Junkies, he is one of the judges on the show), noted in a magazine article on how a lot of these ladies are nothing more than Beyonce or J-Lo knockoffs.

Now while I contend they are beautiful, some of them are not exactly entertainers I would want to pay to see perform live (please note that in this case, I am not talking about Beyonce - she is one of the few who can sing live). For some of these pseudo-divas who perform before an audience, they sound- and I will put this as nicely as I can-bland, unexciting, boring, and in some cases, awful. A couple of months ago, Youtube.com had footage of Cassie who tried to do a live performance on BET. At best, it was dreadful. Now keep in mind this was someone who had a top ten song on the music charts with her one-hit wonder "Me and U." Sounding nothing like her recording, she stumbled and mumbled through the song leaving a very poor impression on anyone who saw the performance.

However, true divas, the ones who can truly hold their own in the studio as well as on the stage, do not nearly get the air time or attention that they deserve. This is mostly true for the ladies that do not fit into the cookie-cutter image that has dominated the music industry for sometime. For instance, when Jill Scott first came out, I remember reading an interview where she recounted her experience of looking for a record label to sign her. She would not send head shots along with her demo tapes because she wanted the focus to be on her music rather than her appearance. In a time where more girls and young women are bombarded with images of small-framed, big booty black women who are light-skinned and with long hair (whether the hairdo is home grown or sewn on). One would think that in an effort to bring some variety and much needed balance to the airwaves, artists such as India.Arie, Corrine Lynn Bailey or Pru would get as equal air time to show that beauty comes in all forms, and more importantly, show the diversity of musical styles and sounds.

It seems that the mainstream media outlets are as much the problem in not doing enough to promote these types of artists. For instance, the June 2006 issue of Essence Magazine featured a piece on India.Arie when her third CD came out earlier in 2006. Rather than respecting her ability to sing and to play the acoustic guitar- not exactly something many black women do by the way, the piece focused on her being "too deep" and how it may scare away listeners. One New York City DJ who was interviewed for the piece had the audacity to say that India.Arie was just too "preachy," but if she had a daughter, she would much rather have her listen to India.Arie's "I Am Not My Hair" versus Beyonce's "Check On It." Just because this particular DJ may not be into the message oriented music of India.Arie does not mean listeners should be force fed the same junk repeatedly played on the radio and featured on music videos.

What if this attitude of style over substance existed back in the day? There would be no Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight or Pattie LaBelle. These were very brown-skinned women that boasted afro-centric features (thick lips or a wide nose), and they where not stick thin women. However, when you hear these women sing, what they looked like was not important because you felt something when you heard them sing. If a shiver did not go down your spine the first time you heard Pattie sign "If Only You Knew," Aretha's "Natural Woman," or Chaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman," then you must have been dead.

With some of these R&B singers today, I do not get that feeling at all. The lyrics are generic (at best); the arrangement of the songs feel overproduced and they rely on base -laden beats in an effort to compensate for weak vocals. Also, it seems that the same producers are working with the same singers (at the end of the day, how many people can Puffy Pharrell or Jermaine Dupri produce?). While A&R departments are nothing new to the entertainment industry, it just seems that more effort is made in getting an entertainer a top notched stylist rather than a voice-trainer because it has become more about the image than the music. Not to be rude, but if you want to go into beauty, be a model, not a singer.

R&B music and its songstresses come in different shapes, sounds and styles. Everyone should not look like a Mocha Latte colored Barbie Doll in order to get their voices heard on the radio or have their video played on BET or MTV. Maysa (Jazz/R&B vocalist), has as much of a place on mainstream radio and television as a Cassie. At the end of the day, an artist should not feel that they have to betray who they are (appearance or sound- wise) so they can get some airtime.

Ultimately, one can not dismiss the responsibility of the audience to demand more variety in the R&B music they hear and see on radio and television. It starts with listeners and viewers writing letters because at the end of the day, a phone call can be ignored, but letters are too tangible to be dismissed. They must first ask the question of why is it that listeners/viewers are bombarded with the same sound and images. Once the issue is raised, people must next demand change from these radio and television stations. If the powers that be at these stations refuse to change, then people must take the next step and not listen or watch those stations. Once they lose listeners and viewers, then the stations will lose advertising revenue. Sometimes, to evoke change, you have to hit people in the pocketbooks. When promoting monotony and mediocrity in music is no longer profitable, then more diversity and talent will hit the airwaves and the status quo can eventually change.

Therefore, I too must take some action if "a change is gonna come" in music (for you hardcore neosoulists-which R&B singer sang that that phrase in her CD?). It means me going to the underground shows that feature the talent that does not get any real air time on the radio or on television. It means that I will make a conscious effort to not listen to prime-time radio and television programs that refuse to diversify their music playlist or programming so that it includes a greater range of artists or shows.

Finally, since I love writing and music so much, I will share with my fellow friends (and future friends) any musical sensations that I have had the pleasure of experiencing. Therefore, be ready to read about Maysa, Pru, Algebra, Frank McComb, Raul Midon and a whole host of other people that will put the nonsense we hear on radio and television out of commission.

Useful websites for more Neo-Soul/R&B artists

http://www.soultracks.com/index.htm- After discovering this website by accident when trying to track down the current whereabouts of Maxwell (or as I like to say, my husband in my head), I discovered this wonderful website that feature R&B, Soul, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Gospel artists. You can even hear a sample of songs from their CDs.

http://www.soul-patrol.com/-Another site that is dedicated to the wonderful entertainers of R&B. This site has music categorized such as Neo Soul, Old School, Southern Classic Soul just to name a few. However, warning, this site can be a little challenging to navigate and it has constant streaming audio of various singers and interviews (which can be distracting if you are trying to focus on a particular artist on this site).

http://www.thebadboyfanclub.com/bside/archives.html- For those of you who are familiar with Michael Basden, he is the self proclaimed bad boy of radio. I remember when he just came on the New York radio scene a couple of years ago and now he is syndicated. Along with his provocative topics such as Pimps in the Pulpit and Couples who Swing which generates a lot of debate between him his guests and listeners, he also has a feature called the B-Sides.

The B-Sides is dedicated to giving precious radio time to wonderful artists who, despite their talents and capabilities, does not have their work featured on mainstream media. However, what makes this segment brilliant is that he just does not focus on up and coming artists, but he features people who have been in the industry (but may not be well known in the general pubic). He even gives time to some old schools artists that you forgot you loved until you hear them again. I can't wait until he becomes televised!