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When I listen to music, I listen to what they're saying. And when you hear someone talking
absolute nonsense....Sometimes I'll listen to Nicki Minaj albums; I swear I'm going to
probably get a lot of hate; just dissing everybody! She's got something called Beez in the trap;
I've heard the song play quite a few times playing on the TV, (On purpose), not on purpose
no. I wouldn't do that to myself! I don't know what the hell she's talking about.
What about that one where she did a collaboration and she's got those golden stars over her
*** and stuff, and it was the remix to the *** She Wrote beat...I can't remember
what it was called; she did a video to that. I don't know what that was; that I don't know
what she was talking about either, it was just *** and stickers....
My point is, these artists, your Lil Wayne's, your Drake's, your Nicki Minaj's, anyone you
can name who's is in the forefront, Kanye West. They don't have to make quality, they
will sell regardless because their big.
Because you become a brand.
This is it, so I'm not saying they don't have quality music every now and again, I'm just
saying that...Kanye West could record himself farting into a microphone, that's going to
sell! (Yeah, definitely) But why? Not because its good, but because its Kanye West; so yes
its about the branding.
Because its a step up from his last one!
I think a lot of the artists we've been talking about do have talent. I just think that they
choose not to then put it out there. Even with Nicki Minaj, I think she's got something
there because there's times where I've seen videos of her spitting off of the top of her
head, and there is stuff there that she talks about which is good. Free styling is hard;
I couldn't do it! To be able to do it there has to be some level of substance there. But
I just think its that pressure of the industry to put out this vanilla nonsense where people
just think "What's the point?". You can just knock out a song in five minutes, someone
will put some synthesized beats over it, and all this nonsense that they do in the studio
and people will just buy it because "It's genius!". It's really not!
People's expectations have been lowered so much, and their standards have been lowered
so much regarding what's amazing. Even in film, where you've got these amazing amount
of dance films; which is about absolutely nothing but people prancing around and there's
no story or anything there. People say "That's awesome!", and these films because they're
in 3D, sell millions! And then you see films which have something to them that is telling
a real story that don't do to well because people's attention span's aren't that long
anymore. They want to see explosions every five minutes; you may as well just do a film
with loads of fireworks....
What else would you need in a film? Fireworks...
Maybe a bit of sex, a bit of cleavage or something...
But Nicki Minaj always brings that to the table...
Yeah but they all do don't they? This is the problem...This is why even though I'm not
a huge fan of someone like Adele, I do respect how she does her work and how she performs.
Its tasteful, its about the music, its about her voice and nothing else. OK, she's got
a chin that could sink the Titanic but what can you do about that?
That's what you call an artist, other people that you're talking about who just talk nonsense,
you're just a performer, you're not an artist. There's so much more to becoming an artist
ten standing on stage and making noise. Anyone can do that! Its like One Direction and the
many other boy bands have proved that anyone can do that. But to be actually be an artist;
to be able to write something and create....
I just think the sad thing is that these days it doesn't mean anything to be an artist.
No-one cares. Get up there, (just have to be famous) look nice, earn that money, so
I can scream at you and...(disappear after a few years) that's all we want. That's quite
sad, because it makes you think all the work that not just black artists but musicians
and artists in general have made since music became a commodity to sell in the last century...It's
like "Really?". All the work that The Beatles, Michael Jackson and Abba, James Brown, I could
go on, Bob Marley etc. All the progress they made what was it all for? It was for so now,
people can go to people like The Wanted, One Direction and, not to JLS thank goodness because
they're not together anymore. And let's scream....
A lot of people don't understand that black culture has influenced so much genres, so
you don't assume rock music is black, and its not cool.
Rock music comes from blues music. That's what I'm saying, so much of music informs
one another but people think "It's not cool because I'm black, I'm not listening to rock
music or even heavy metal music and stuff like that".
You're talking about like Skindred right? (I love Skindred.)
Skindred, the guy can spit and you put it on and what do they say? "Turn it off, its
too heavy." And you think "You're not listening." The beats that they come out with, its like
reggae rock.
Yeah, and I love it, I love that sound. I think its a lovely collaboration; its a lovely
meld. But what you're describing there is symptomatic, its similar, its parallel to
exactly why the majority of mainstream white society don't know about rap music. It's not
because they can't understand it, they don't want to understand it! and its the same thing
with these young people. Why am I going to sit there and want to listen to someone like
Nas or someone where you have to listen to the lyrics where...I have Lil Wayne talking
about licking lollipops and A Millie? (It's true.) Its easier, I can just zone out.
Very few people actually look to expand themselves; they usually look for stuff that informs what
they already feel and what they already know. For example, people choosing what newspaper
they read. They're not choosing it to get informed of another point of view. They want
a point of view just to enhance what they already think. I think that translates with
music as well; if you're not that sort of person that's looking for something with substance,
you're not going to be listening to Nas, you're not going to be listening someone who talks
about something. You're going to be listening to some of the many examples of people who
just make general noise.
The real artists out there; as Ben said, he's very correct I reckon, they are few and far
between and they're dying out very very quickly. If you look at now how many artists really
can you say produce content? Nothing against Jay Z Ben, but I don't know that he does anymore,
he's been doing what he's been doing a long time. You look at what he's saying now to
what he was saying when he first started it is different.
That's what I'm saying. Even though I'm a fan of Jay Z, I fully know that...he's clever
because he's a businessman. He's seen the shift in music, and he's shifted with it.
Because if he started doing what he did back in the eighties, he wouldn't be selling anything.
His music has sort of lost that content that it had; he came from the era of Tupac and
Biggie when they were talking about stuff. So I know he's changed with that; so I know
his quality of music that I appreciate isn't on the same level as it was. Granted his beats
and everything are great; but for me it doesn't work for me because that's what I like. I'm
old school with my music taste...I love when back in the day when you could listen to some
big lady singing. And physically you're like "Mmm, wouldn't.", but she's got an amazing
voice; she's talking about something. That's what artistry should be about; you've got
something to say, then say it. If you've got nothing to say then sit down and watch what
someone's got to say.
Everyone thinks they can do it. There's so much talent, even in Grime there might be
an amazing amount of talent, but you just don't hear about it. Because people who have
that real talent, no-one wants to hear that! Because no-one wants to listen, they just
want to hear beats and bop their heads to it and that's it; they don't want to hear
content. Even with old school tunes, no matter what genre you go to, the beats were so simple,
because it wasn't really about that. It was about what was being said in that song.
The beats were simple but the beats were still quality.
All the guys who are decent get killed off, all the time that's what it is! All the music
that I listen to, all the guys are dead, all of them. Marley's dead. Tupac's dead. Biggie's
dead. (It's a conspiracy) Well something is, they're just killing off all the talent so
its finished before it begins!
Do you know that frog tune that came out?
OH NOOOO! NO! That was the WORST, that was in '03?!
That was the worst, oh my God no. A ding ding da da ding ding ding ding ding daaaaaaa!
When that came out and that hit number one (I hated that song) for about, how long was
They did the remix with the Beverley Hills cop tune didn't they?
That was the beginning of the end....
You know when you get that horrible tune and then that dies and that's it? But we should've
had some foresight, that was like you said, the beginning of the end. That sort of signalled
the end of music as we know it.
In terms of quality! Only two or three years ago you had (mimics tune). That was all over
the radio! It was that Italian thing they did....
Dude I just listened to Radio 4!
It was terrible, it was such an annoying song.
Because when it comes to vinyl, the effort that goes through it, its probably why the
bands back then were actually quality bands. They were like "We're not going through all
this effort to put all this artwork to fill it with crap.". But with a CD, anyone can
throw that out, anyone can make an MP3, anybody can do that. It's all very simplified; its
good in a way (and cheaper) exactly, and its cheap as well. Its good that people can get
their music out, but then that opens the floodgates to everything else that decides to float down
that sewage river!
With the advancement of technology, before for it to be even decent you had to put a
load of effort in. Because of the advancement of technology, what I mean is, you don't have
to try as hard so people don't! And because people don't, that's when you get this mediocre
rubbish that is just there all the time now!
And the audience should be ashamed of themselves, because seriously, growing up in this time...you're
so media savvy you should know that, that's rubbish!
I don't disagree with you but you see anyone will see this video and say "Look, we're calling
this and that rubbish; we're saying its cruddy. That's our opinion and nothing else.". Their
opinion's different. Yes it is cruddy! I think that's a fact! Its not my opinion, its fact,
for me, in my zone of existence, it is crap!
What we had when we were young, we viewed as quality. They view this as quality. I don't
because I know what music was made in the eighties and the seventies, that was quality.
Even stuff from the nineties was quality, and some of the noughties but, my point is,
they're now seeing your Lil Wayne's and they're seeing that and "Oh man, that's dope, that's
quality!", it's not my version of quality but hey.....
I think anyone who goes back to the eighties and sees what was made in the eighties; they'll
know what real quality is!