By Odeisel

We concern ourselves with the most trivial of pursuits. Media has transformed itself to feed those pursuits rather than to inform citizenry. They are a business and the art of intelligence pays far less than the promotion of ignorance. The news is saturated with #winning and trolls rather than Libyan death tolls. The rising cost of food and the climbing number of working poor is of no consequence when you can talk about snowpocalypses and Biblical coming rains that threaten to wash out towns. But then again, isn’t weather always what we talk about during awkward, uncomfortable moments?

There is a ton of new music being ushered in, produced by people with very little knowledge of music or training in anything associated with music or melody. Much like technology has enabled regular citizens to become the next level of instant journalism, portable music and new software have enabled anyone who can sing in the shower or can make dad and glad rhyme to put out music. And, if they “associate” (pay) the right people that the public trusts as knowledgeable, they can be taken seriously.

There used to be filters against this kind of thing in music. Al B Sure was blazing hot until he got on the Apollo on national television and bombed. His career never recovered. People used to care whether you actually had talent. Now, music and commerce have become such bedfellows that addressing someone’s lack of talent is knocking their hustle or hating. Gatekeepers, and people who are generally expected to admonish weak shit are sitting with their hands under their asses, either victims of the bystander effect (in which nobody helps the “victim” because they think others more qualified to “help” will) or they don’t want to be caught being wrong about one of these crappy acts that catches fire and becomes the next big thing.

As music journalists (with apologies to my colleagues with internal plumbing) sometimes you have to have the balls to say something sucks. Sometimes you’re on the wrong side of the wave. It happens. For every John Elway that’s a can’t-miss pick, there is a Jamarcus Russell. Sometimes you’ll have a talented artist making weak ass music. Sometimes you have a weak ass artist with the right team that makes some great music. We’re not rocket scientists or tarot card readers. We’re not always right. But people trust us or at least consume us because we are willing to take risks.

We are willing to step out past the line, have someone read what we say and think we don’t know what the hell we’re talking about. It takes courage to do that. It used to take some level of integrity. Now people that write about music are so chummy with artists that there is not professional distance. Or they carry grudges that prevent them from honestly looking at whether someone’s album can be good just because they don’t like the artist, or even worse, when you can’t trust a serious “journalist” because they are getting remunerated in some form from an artist’s machine.

Have you ever been on Twitter and seen someone glad-handling some weak artist but going in on an artist with an established track record? Or you see someone getting promoted like they are the greatest thing since God made slits, and you click on a link and it’s mediocre at best?

We’re not naïve. Money talks and in this economy people will do what they have to further their way of life.  I dig it. I’m not anti-bread. But on a certain level, these “journalists” who used to be so defensive about their art and offended when people compared them to bloggers should be held to a different standard.

It’s okay to take money for ads. We do. But when people ask you if something is good, and you know it isn’t, don’t bitch out and be subjective. Don’t start talking about how hot they are and how people are feeling them and that they are a movement or they grinding, or all that other stuff that doesn’t speak to their music. Strap on a pair and say, “You know what? I’d rather suck corn from a dead man’s shit than listen to that 40 track mixtape again.” When you are willing to do that, and defend why you say it, with reasons other than he’s grinding, he goes hard, he’s real, etc. then you’re worth it to the culture.  Otherwise, we’re just talking about the weather during an uncomfortable period of very weak music.

:03 From Gold by TheILLZ

Someone sent me an email on the above act. Illz from New Jersey. He isn’t bad at all. Solid but unspectacular. You can tell he needs vocal work and some personality work because you can hear the fake swagger and arrogance in his voice. It’s nothing a vocal coach can’t cure. The music is different. No snare drums and tubas or Lex Luger shit, no boom bap either. I’m not sure if the rapper is totally at home on it, but it’s an earnest attempt that should be commended and at least be put on the watch list. More deserved than a lot of these new acts that are either weird on purpose, related to other acts, are mired in punchline quagmire or who are just imitations of the last big thing. I hope they hone their craft and that people will give thema shot. I don’t know them not have I gotten a check from them.

What do you guys think?

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