We hold the fate of black art in our hands!

Since this is my first post I would like to begin with by introducing myself as the devil's advocate of this blog, meaning my posts will be to inspire thought and not just stay within the norm.

Welcome to Black History Month. African American's have a lot to be proud of from our beginnings as rulers in Africa to the triumphs of the Civil Rights movement, to the pioneering role we've had in many art forms. The art form I am focusing on is the our music i.e Hip-Hop, R&B and Soul.

When hip-hop arrived on the mainstream with the likes of Afrika Bambaataa, Fab 5 Freddy, Doug E Fresh and Run DMC the nation was turned on its ears. Never before had their been a voice for lower middle class African Americans like Hip-Hop had given them. As time went on and their influence began to be widely recognized, artists like Public Enemy, KRS-1, N.W.A and early Tupac started giving political undertones to their raps. In the early 90's Black America had it's voice through rap.

Fast forward to 2012. For any Hip-Hop fan it is obvious that the vast majority of substance in the mainstream is gone. WHY is it that these no talent rappers are getting shine when rappers like Black Thought and Lupe struggle to be recognized? WHY is it that the only subjects on the radio are strip clubs, stunting, violence, drugs, alcohol and sex? Where has the music with actual messages gone?

I have found the culprits for this tragedy and they are US!!!!! What people fail to realize is that the music industry is a business that thrives off the sales of its artists. With the internet's free downloads record sales have been at an all-time low in recent years. As businessmen their job is to sell a product that people will buy, quality comes second to making a profit. When accessing the demographics that buy music, women and white people buy the most music. Ever wonder why there are a lot of songs aimed at females with a pop sound to them? It is because those are the types of records that sell these days. Jay-Z summed it up on Moment of Clarity when he said "I dummed down for my audience doubled my dollars...". That bar alone tells us that in order to make big money (i.e sell records) your lyrics have to be dummed down.

So while we complain about the state of the black musical platforms we need to think back to the last quality album we purchased from an artist that hasn't been pushed by mainstream media. After figuring that out we should point the finger of blame at ourselves when the purity of the artform completely dies. Reward deserving artists that have put their heart and soul into the music by showing them some appreciation by buying an album or attending a concert. Without our support we have no right to complain about the state of our music.

Listen to these songs to get the rapper perspective on the issue

Wale - The Perfect Plan
Jay-Z - Moment of Clarity
Outkast - Elevators (Andre 3000's verse)
Devin the Dude - What a Job (Andre 3000's verse)
Lupe Fiasco - State Run Radio
The Roots - Rising Up