He may go by The Dream, yet many of his soundbites are often a nightmare for his publicist.
And while the hitmaker’s latest comments are sure to sit in that basket, we can’t but feel it opens the floor for an interesting debate.
See what we mean below…
Talking to The Guardian here in the UK, the ‘Single Ladies’ producer lamented on the lack of attention apportioned to Black acts who record R&B/Soul vs those of the caucasian persuassion.
Illustrating his point, he drew on the media fascination with Adele’s “Soul” output compared to that of a Beyonce.
He said:
“It’s called rhythm and blues; they just took the blues out of it for so long. What’s crazy is that blacks can’t do soul records any more. We love Adele singing it, but Beyoncé singing it? No.”
So just what does work for “Blacks” these days? “A club hit” says the singer-songwriter (real name Terius Nash).
“No, the tempo’s too slow, gimme the club hit. Now the Blacks in America are responsible for the Pop records, and everybody else is singing soulful records. It’s weird to me. We’re pigeonholed over there.” {Source} {Source ii}
——————
For all the inevitable furore from some sects, there is undeniably a truthful irony in some of what he’s saying. It’s one thing to state that genres rotate in cycles. Yet, Soul-flavoured material has been a staple in the contemporary sphere for the last 7 years. However, it’s intriguing to note that it’s the Amy Winehouse‘s and Adele’s leading that charge, while acts more rooted in such arena’s have arguably fled (see: Usher). And when they “return”, ala Beyonce and ‘4’, are critiqued ten-fold.
Which begs the question: is this the by-product of progression in society or continued regression? Sound off below!
Your thoughts?
Beyonce is soulless but there are some artists out there that still got it …
IT IS VERY IRONIC IN A SENSE!!!!!!!
IT’S ALMOST AS IF THE MUSICAL GENRE’S HAVE SWITCHED!!!
WHITE PEOPLE ARE TOPPING THE CHARTS BY SINGING “R&B/SOUL” MUSIC, WHEREAS BLACK PEOPLE ARE TOPPING THE CHARTS BY SINGING “POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC MUSIC”!!!
AND I JUST DON’T KNOW WHY?
BEYONCE’S ALBUM WAS JUST AS SOULFUL AND RHYTHMIC AS ADELE’S, BUT IT WAS ADELE’S ALBUM WHICH CROSSED-OVER AND PEOPLE CONNECTED WITH MORE AND IN THE END, IT WAS BEYONCE’S 4 THAT BLACK-LISTED!!!
I PERSONALLY BELIEVE THAT IT IS BECAUSE THE BLACK COMMUNITY HAS YET TO FIND A SINGER, WHETHER IT’D BE A HE OR A SHE, THAT CAN SANG!!!
AND I DON’T MEAN SING – BUT SANG!!!
WHERE ARE THE WHITNEY’S, THE ARETHA’S, THE MARIAH’S, THE LUTHER’S OR THE STEVIE’S? WE DON’T HAVE THEM ANYMORE!!! THEY ARE ALMOST NON-EXISTENT TO BLACK MUSIC!!!
IT’S THE SAME WITH HIP-HOP, YOU CAN ALMOST GUARANTEE EMINEM GETTING A HIP-HOP SONG TO NUMBER ONE FASTER OR QUICKER THAN LIL WAYNE, JAY-Z OR TYGA, BUT IF THEY WERE TO RELEASE AN ELECTRO-DANCE SONG NOW – WATCH AND SEE HOW QUICK THEIR CAREERS SWITCH!!!
I can definitely see his point to a degree.
Especially in the UK it seems. You can’t be a black artist doing straight soul/R&B and get the same kind of exposure or acclaim as your white counterparts doing the same. The music has to be watered down in order to get recognised or its seen as boring.
I like Adele, but The Dream raised some good points. The media treats Adele like she’s is the second coming because of her voice, and music but what people fail to realize is that black people have been singing like this for years. Yet the don’t get the credit they deserve for it. It a damn shame a white person has to come along and do something in order for it to receive credit or mean something. You can deny it all you want, but it’s the truth. Adele has a great voice, but it’s women in my neighborhood that sound just like her. Just saying.
WHAT WE, AS THE BLACK COMMUNITY, NEED TO DO IS BRING BACK “RHYTHM & BLUES”!!!
YES, WE HAVE SOME INCREDIBLE R&B ARTISTS OUT THERE, BUT THEY ARE NOT SUPPORTED STRONG ENOUGH BY THEIR RECORD LABELS!!!
EITHER THAT, OR THEY LACK PERSONALITY & CROSS-OVER APPEAL, SO THEY ARE JUST COMPART-MENTALISED BY US!!!
THE 21ST CENTURY NEEDS A SINGER WHO WILL CHANGE THE SCOPE OF MUSIC ONCE AGAIN – A BLACK SINGER, NOT A PERFORMER, BUT A SINGER – JUST HOW BLACK SINGERS RULED THE AIRWAVES CIRCA 1975 – 1995!!!
Gtfoh…. Black people bootleg every single cd that comes out… Dont blame white folks…. And i am black.. Blame rihanna etc… turn off the f****** radio and find music.. Its out there.. to the person saying we need a a new whitney… No we dont.. We need people to listen to new acts that just dont get radio play… blacks always complainin… Badu is still singing so is jill etc.. All we wanna do is go to the club and dance.. Put on a sade cd and stfu..
This coming from a man who can’t sing nor produce real soul music if he tried What kinda of foolishness is this! has he ever heard mary j blige, ledisi,jill scott ,lalah hathaway and the list goes on put Adele on a stage with anyone of them sister and they would chew her up and spit her out .Adele and other white artist are heavily influenced by BLACK SOUL ARTIST.and that’s a fact. it comes from us! and it’s not that we can’t do it anymore we’ve just moved on.while there playing catchup BOOM!
@Dseaas the answer is in your first sentence., there’s a reason why you have to turn off your radio and physically have to find these special artist, Media just doesn’t support black artist. Badu and Jill are still singing but you wont see their material on VH1, MTV, or hear them on other local radio stations but certain R&B stations.
The Dream and these comments have got it all wrong, Adele’s voice isn’t even that soulful, no where near compared to others… But she has a VERY unique voice for a ‘soul’ artist, the way she pronounces words and her diction, her very high mix voice… its very different to a typical gospel/soul singer. Hence why she’s liked by soul, country, pop, ballad type fans. She has crossed over those genres in a sense, something no soul artist has done. its not that shes white, or british, there jus the bonuses and shock value i guess… but her success is from the fact she is not one genre based, she has no genre in fact (maybe pop cos shes so popular now), as she’s quoted herself ‘she jus makes lovesongs’… I think soul artist need MORE imagination, its the same old ‘screaming’ singing which personally I feel is dated, boring and gives me a headache
Gotta agree with DSEASS, black people are pogeonholed BECAUSE of black people. A white person will have Adele and Kanye in their car on repeat no problem but when it comes to black audiences and where they put their money it’s just…
Folks try, I personally thought 4 was not soul or R’n’B in the least but others like Jill Scott, Badu, Sade TRY but when it comes to album sales they may no always come out on top (although Sade did banging).
Adele is selling because of white audiences, she had some great exposure and that helped her team put more money so that her stuff was on radios everywhere. I loved her since she did 19 but the mainstream simply had not caught up. Now she’s banking.
Black people used to support their black R’n’B artists and the genre thrived, now they don’t and it’s just withering.
who gives two cents about beyonce she is only in music for the money not because she loves what she does .her songs prove that.
It’s true. Soul music isn’t soul music anymore. It’s a mixture of pop and hip hop. There aren’t anymore harmonizing groups. Part of what makes an R&B song so spectacular is when the harmonies synchronize and enhance the conveyance of the song. This is hardly ever seen in popular music today. It’s all bells and whistles to distract people from the (usually) sub par vocalist.
I see what he is saying because I think that Jazmine Sullivan does what Adele does but she does it better (still like Adele). She doesn’t get to be on the big TV shows promoting and her music is pretty much looked over because we all know that if they woulda had Adele singing “10 Seconds” or “Need You Bad” people would have been falling all over themselves saying how original she was…….
BEYONCE SINGS WITHOUT PUTTING ANY HEART OR SOUL INTO HER GIMMICK MUSIC ,WITH THAT BEING SAID BEYONCE IS THE BIGGEST FRAUD IN R&B MUSIC CROSSING OVER TO POP AND SGE FAILED BUIG TIME. RIHANNA HAS A BETTER CHANCE AT POP. BEYONCE IS TRYING TO HARD TO BE A LEGEND WHILE ADELE SINGS WITH SOUL AND SOLD WAY MORE ALBUMS THAN BEYONCE.
Music is cyclical. It will shift in a few years like it always does. People like a splash of the unexpected. Black popstars, White soul singers……the end. And also…………… STOP pirating music from black artists black people. Thanks.
THE ONLY SOUL WE GONNA GET IS MARY J MONICA BRANDY SWV TWEET LIL MO JENNIFER HUDSON FANTASIA TEYANA TAYLOR LAURYN HILL INDIA ARIE JAZMINE SULLIVAN MUSIQ SOULCHILD ALGEBRA BLESSET KERI HILSON USHER NEYO TONI BRAXTON TAMIA IN R&B 90’S SINGERS ARE SLOWLY COMING BACK IN 2012 LIKE JOHNNY GILL AND JOE THE R&B WORLD IS F***** UP WHO DO I BLAME ? BEYONCE ! SHE SOLD OUT COMPLETELY TO THE THE WHITE MAN SOLD HER SOUL EVERY ONE OF HER STANS WORSHIP HER AND HER DUMB MUSIC THAT LACKS SOUL AND ORIGINALITY . I BLAME BEYONCE AND HER BUBBLEGUM MUSIC.
Tarius needs to shut it. Because if memory serves correctly, Beyonce hasn’t been doing much soulful/R&B music until just recently. Also, Single Ladies is a pop song….and he made it. Ch…Don’t sit up and pull a race card, because white people have been making SOULFUL music for a LONG time (see: Michael McDonald).
Adele stuck out last year because she just really crossed over to the US music circuit.
When 19 came out, it was a big album…in the UK. So her star status is nothing new.
Its just new to alot of people in the US because not many knew of her before 21.
People like something new and refreshing and if you bring the goods, they will devour it. Plain and simple. As for the “black people only want a club hit” thing…..
Don’t he make em? Does he complain when he cash that check?
And as for other artists….They ventured out into the pop/dance realm on their own. If they felt like their music wasn’t doing so good, they shoulda went back to the drawing board, gathered themselves, experienced some new s***, get a new inspiration and bring something NEW to the table instead of taking the quick, easy way out.
Now that The Dream sees someone of a different color do what HE and THE REST shoulda been doin while he and others were out there trying to chase a hit by ANY means, he has a issue with it.
“What’s crazy is that blacks can’t do soul records any more. We love Adele singing it, but Beyoncé singing it? No.”
“GODDAMNIT” YOU BETTER PREACH Dream! 🙂
Beyonce’s 4 was a very well constructed R&B CD and I’m not a big Bey fan, but she had some nice soulful songs. Of course Ledisi and Jill Scott had more but that’s beside the point! LOL
I have said this many times folks! THOSE THAT CONTROL THE MEDIA & MUSIC INDUSTRY WRITE THE STANDARDS FOR THE REST OF US! Case in point, the easy way they were able to BLACKLIST Chris Brown and have his music & videos removed from music/tv rotation. NO ONE ENTITY SHOULD HAVE THAT MUCH POWER! It’s now to the point where the POP, HOT 100 & Top 200 Album Charts are the only ones viewed as important! They even have BLACK FOLKS brainwashed into believing that there is something wrong with having top songs on the R&B Charts! I have read many a comment on this blog illustrating that very fact…. smfh at the continued foolishness!
@ SASHA
Its not that we no longer have singers with the ability to sing like Mariah, Whitney Aretha etc. but its the lack of recognition. I have heard many underground artists that are amazing soulful singers but they fail to get attention from labels , talent is out there you just have to get rid of the marketing first and look a little harder.
It is a shame though, I rarely listen to new R&B as I feel it was at its peak in the 90s but hey hopefully things will change and the term R&B will be put back in its rightful place!
He has some points to a degree. But the fact is nobody told Beyonce or other black artist they had to do club/fast food records, the bigger r&b stars just started doing it and that’s just what America got use too. They and the music industry left US behind, not the other way around. If u noticed around the mid 2000 less and less self proclaim r&b artist were being promoted like the pop counterparts and the labels kept putting their products out just to watch it flop. I think the public would by soul music from black artist if they knew it was out there.
Also, and I’ve said this before, u can’t just come out with anything and call it soul music, u have to b for real in what your saying. Since the late 2000 Beyonce and Usher have been the front runners of fast food r&B tracks when they should have been the leaders. They could have easily been in the lane Adele is in right now if they would have consistently came out with real music from the heart not follow trends/hits. Heck, both of there best selling albums were more r&b oriented. Everybody is just mad that a white women took up a lane and a market that the majority of mainstream blacks artist had forgot (like we and they always do) and she is profiting on it. You want to profit too-stop making excuses and do what it takes to make good soul music and promote the **** out it. Work harder than Adele n stay true to it. That’s what we as black artist always had to do and that’s what we always will have to do
I have been saying this for the longest. When Black people have something it isn’t until a non black/ white person does it..it finally gets the recognition it deserves. Hair, nail art, music ,dance, food, our churches, our communities, even our body shapes. No offense to Adele but she can’t f*** with Jill Scott vocally. Secondly, we have to support our artist more. Buy their music. Support the movies. Support the arts. Put them on the charts. We are the most hated race of people yet the most copied. Black people love to share with other races. We are so open and honest. Then when our culture gets ripped off m*********** act like we ain’t s***. Blacks have a lot of power. We need to stop getting twisted up in European ways. We are natural survivors due to slavery and all the negatives we have switched to positives. Let’s bring back the force we had in the 70s 80s and 90s. Our buying power put fear in m***********.
ALOT OF SINGERS ARE UNDERRATED LIKE SYLENNA JOHNSON KAMEELAH WILLIAMS THE BEST MUSIC WAS MADE IN THE 90’S ..THE NEW DIVAS ARE FANTASIA JENNIFER HUDSON KERI HILSON MELODIE FIONA JAZMINE SULLIVAN THEY BEEN HOLDING R&B DOWN FROM 2004 -2011 YOU CANNOT DENY THESE WOMEN
Beyonce is an antonym of soul music. I wonder if her loose power bottom gay stans know what an antonym is.
BEYONCE ALBUM WAS ALL ABOUT MIND CONTROL AND THE PYRAMID ON THE BACK OF THE DOLLAR THAT SHE THROWS UP .BEYONCE IS A PRODUCT A GIMMICK .IS BEYONCE SINGING NO SHE IS SCREAMING AND GROWLING AND HER VOICE LACKS REAL SOUL .
@SAM/TGJ,
It’s continued regression! Someone above mentioned Jazmine Sullivan who they shoved out of the music industry due to low CD sells yet they provided no true promotional champaign for her music! J-HUD has been reduced to being a WEIGHT LOSS advocate, and we have also seen the return of a young songbird Jordan Sparks due to her rapid WEIGHT LOSS! The only time we get to see or hear from Soul Acts is when they can be used to promote a side agenda! But not for R&B there would be no Adele, Duffy, Amy (RIP). They learned from Pattie, Aretha, Stephanie Mills, Chaka, Anita Baker etc.
Um no it’s not true
Just take a look at “The Voice” battle between Anthony and Jesse, i rest my case. That’s a lot of soul… but these artists aren’t 20 year olds who can dance, they’re just amazing singers
LOL anyone can do whatever music they want and be successful and I believe that.
No colour group controls a genre, he just wants some press coverage, coz HE AINT GETTING NO MORE HITS AND HIS SINGLE… FLOPPED.
Plus, no one can really own soul atm coz Adele is rocking it.
@shion
Everybody is just mad that a white women took up a lane and a market that the majority of mainstream blacks artist had forgot
______________________________________________________________
Please you sound crazy! Everyone else was pushed to the side so she can have a chance in that so called lane! Simialr to the foolishness with Eminem being declared the GREATEST RAPPER OF ALL TIMES! <— what in the hell 0_O?
Adele as a singer, prior to her vocal surgery, was enoyable. As a person she has one of the nastiest attitudes in the business. She actually referred to Bey, Rihanna, etc. as strippers and whores! But of course she is a white woman from England singing blue-eyed soul so it's all good! The media would never make a federal case out of what she said.
I, Agree with Terius, 4 was such quality and it should have been at least in the top 3 in album sales of the year…and there are some great black artist who have an amazing souful/ rnb sound but are not getting put on the same platform as Adele’s and Amy Whinehouse’s. Its crazy when Toni Braxton feel’s like she has to make a Dance Club song in order to make a hit. I just hope Beyonce continues her progression and not get discourage by the “critics.”
@ROCKY TRUE THERE ARE REAL SINGERS ON YOUTUBE THAT NEVER GET THE LOVE THEY DESERVE .
I am not a fan of The Dream but his points are valid.
There are a hundred and one Black singers who do EXACTLY what Adele, Amy Winehouse and Duffy do,but they will never get the same recognition from the general public.
The same rules apply to Rolling Stones, Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Hell even Eminem (and I Love Him). These artists were all heavily influenced by black artist who sang and/ or danced in the exact same style, but they never made it to the big time.
It would seem that black audiences need to support their own, (this goes for every aspect of life come to think of it) if we buy the records and support those who still try to stick some form of RnB (eg, Kelly Rowland, Jill Scott, Emeli Sande, Melanie Fiona, Beyonce (4 album)), instead of bring them down and calling them flops, then maybe the rest of the world can also witness the same talents that we have been fans of for years.
And its bothers me that most of these comments are blaming black ppl for not supporting soul music. It takes more that just black ppl to sale and album and it takes more than watered down r&b to get in our pockets. Trust, we know the difference. Why do u think Sade, Maxwell, and Alicia were still able to sell platinum albums in this music climate?
call me cray but single ladies gave me a old school church vibe hence the YT videos of black choirs singing it as if
specially when she performed it on the vmas and added the shout rendition but bey could never be FULLY pop her voice wont allow its too RandBish
bey most poppiest album was i am sasha fierce
bey has been that bridge for sometime pop with visible RandB roots
but i aint mad i support my RandB sistas and bros and i just cant get into the adele hype
BEYONCE IS NOT A SOULFUL SINGER
SO DAMN TRUE ,HAVE BEEN THINKING THIS FOR A WHILE WHITE SOUL ARTISTS ARE LOVED BY WHITE AND BLACK, BUT BLACK SOUL ARTISTS GET VERY LITTLE ATTENTION OUTSIDE THE BLACK COMMUNITY, ADELE IS GREAT BUT JILL SCOTT, LEDISI, ERKAYU BADU AND MANY OTHERS ARE BETTER IMO
Don’t agree. He just focused on the mainstream acts. KeKe, Kelly, Faith are still doing r&b and doing it well. Also, Adele isn’t really soul, apart from Rolling in the deep the rest is blue eyed soul which i think is different.
Anyway, good point or not i can’t take a man who was seen with Tulisa seriously
i f*** with amy all day tho. the only white girl that had tina marie potential. Frank is one of my favorite cds of all time too.. she was a great song writer also. adele is coo but i dont follow the leader so i dont bother lol..
I’ve been saying this for years. its not that blacks are not singing soul music .but you have to search to find them because the same top 40 radio stations thats plays Adel will not play a black person singing soul. the same main stream media would not give write up about a black artist singing soul.
JUst imagine if adel was the one who did 1+1 instead of beyonce that would be number one all over.
No one does soul anymore… artist nowadays only care about showing there ass and making money by manipulating there fans
I see Beyonce haters are out in full force…LMAO.
its not black people its the media most of the radio stations are top 40 or AC format the Urban stations is small. The top 40 stations only palya handful of black artist black artist don’t get write ups in major magazines. or news paper.
THE MEDIA CONTROLS EVERYTHING! PERIOD!
I see idiots posting trying to explain like its complicated…Adele is great no doubt but she was so heavily pushed I’m sick of seeing her face on charts and its now ridiculous(the numbers)who is still buying this s***.
Lastly,I am a CB fan but damn anyone saying beyonce’s material(including latest 4 album)was not soulful enough they better go suck a stiff one! I dont like beyonce like that anyway just thought I should put that in there.
keri hilson has been holding down r&b since 2009 writing and creating music for herself and others she brought you take me as i am runaway love energy icebox love in da club part 2 hustler , so good , knock you down all the boys , toy solider, invented s** , i got ya back , numba one s** etc keri hilson is hated but she is the main person making r&b sound like the 90’s again along with monica mary jazmine sullivan teyana taylor ,kelly rowland doesnt count her music is more disco pop and the album wasnt hitting on s*** .we have too many underrated singers out there that never win grammys or get hated on when they should be on top of the game. rihanna is pop but she can sing r&b . rihanna has never made an all r&b album some singers like beyonce branch out to pop because they want more money and white people like the sound . as far as pop goes rihanna and adele are on top but soon people will start liking other artist .this era is great to me alot of 90’s singers coming back and i hope they get the support they deserve .its sad that people like monica jazmine sullivan dont win the grammys they deserve they might get nominated but never win anything. fantasia deserved her grammy for bittersweet but i think she should have more grammys she is one of the most soulful singers we have her and jazmine are the best ,jazmines vocal range is beautiful and her runs are like no other.
QUEENSIZE
March 19, 2012 at 10:40 am
I have been saying this for the longest. When Black people have something it isn’t until a non black/ white person does it..it finally gets the recognition it deserves. Hair, nail art, music ,dance, food, our churches, our communities, even our body shapes. No offense to Adele but she can’t f*** with Jill Scott vocally. Secondly, we have to support our artist more. Buy their music. Support the movies. Support the arts. Put them on the charts. We are the most hated race of people yet the most copied. Black people love to share with other races. We are so open and honest. Then when our culture gets ripped off m*********** act like we ain’t s***. Blacks have a lot of power. We need to stop getting twisted up in European ways. We are natural survivors due to slavery and all the negatives we have switched to positives. Let’s bring back the force we had in the 70s 80s and 90s. Our buying power put fear in m***********.
———————————————————————–
Yes, sista! I agree 🙂
You’aa need to read this this explain everything http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2011/12/celebrating-the-black-beauty-on-white-women/
Everyone likes black stuff when it’s not on a black person. Ask Elvis. Ask Led Zepplin. Ask the “Justins” – Timberlake and Bieber. Our music, asses, lips, hair, dance moves are all crass vulgarities until some non-white person “cleans them up” and “makes them accessible” by doing the exact same thing – but being white while doing it. And these days, you can be white and completely sincere about your love of R&B or Hip Hop or having a fat ass and society will still gladly put you on that “Oh, but a white person did it this time”
i like that rihanna can sing anything she was underrated back in 2006-2007 but now she is getting the supporst she deserves people hate that she can sing any style of music .rihanna has soul in her voice you get it with take a bow and rehab those two songs proved that she can sing r&b/soul
Joss Stone can snatch Adele ‘s wig anyday anytime!!!!!
@Forever Queen Bey
I feel you these are the same people who go on blogs and tear down black artist like beyonce and rihanna yet they don’t know how extra hard these artist have to work. IF beyonce and rihanna did not put tinthe time and get a break they would not be where they are now. the media only allow 1 or 2 black artist to cross over at a time right now its beyonce and rihanna.,bey welcome every whit artist who just have a hit . they then win all the awards and crown king and queens of our music . it they same thing happen back inthe day the rolling stone and the British artists were just recycling balck music and send it back to america.
He has a point, but the thing is Adele’s music is so much more fressher than Beyonce’s. While it is inspired by others the feel of her music has a classic feel to it. Beyonce’s album was really good, but it’s like it’s nothing fresh about it. Also, Adele has alot of charm and doesn’t dress risky to draw attention. She’s just different from all of the other artists. She focuses on her music. Jasmine Sullivan is not better than Adele. Adele has a much finer and cleaner tone. Also, Adele’s music caters to everyone not just the pop demographic. When his pop records were in demand he had nothing to say about this at all.
jazmine will run cycles around adele anyday. the thing about adele is that her production on her albums out does her live performances. Ive been listening to her sing hello live on youtube and she falls short as far as her album production. jasmine on the other hand is amazing live and in the studio. she is way more versatile and soulful. she’s just black. just google her reality show album performaces, and she slays every time. adele doesnt stand a chance live on stage with her and she’s a writer. she’s just underrated.
It’s a all a lie to me. At the end of the day good music is good music. I’m not a hughe fan of Adele because she’s a white girl that can sing soul songs, I’m a fan because her songs are on point.
The problem wid some of the black rnb artists today is that they stay singing the same old generic stuff there is no progression, the songs always seem so lack luster, once in a while I will hear good rnb song but rarely. IMO if any other “good black singer” had come out with a song like rolling in the deep it would have still been a hit because it’s a great song. RnB can still be movement, I just don’t really see any black artists really trying to push it forward and be creative. Even Monica’s ‘Still Standing’ although good for the RnB movement it was still a dry album to me like only two songs were solid for me.
As for Beyonce does she really do soul music, even with ‘4’, which I loved. I would still class it more in the lane of pop with some rnb tendancies here and there. Plus I never feel any real soul from Beyonce. Whenever I’ve seen her perform a ballad it always leaves me a bit cold. So yes I would rather see Beyonce strutting and whipping her hair because that’s kinna how she put herself out there and that’s what most people love her for, just like I’m pretty sure not that many people would be that interested in Adele doing an uptempo Beyonce kind of number.
I love RnB and rnb artists there just needs to be a better quality of songs put out there for people to really care and love it again. e.g lost without you robin thicke, love in this club usher, no one alicia keys,
the artist i love right now are the peple of the 90’s they know how to create real soulful music .in the 80’s growing up i had whitney houston aretha frankin michael jackson new edition jody watley tracie spencer .. the 90’s we had xscape deborah c** toni braxton tamar braxton tlc, 702 blaque 3lw destinys child 112 total,monica aaliyah brandy mona lisa tamia lauryn hill tevin cambell rkelly usher groove theory .by the 2000’s-2012 india arie ashanti jill scott keri hilson rihanna more beyonce … what happened to the soul ? well some continued ,some fell off .now in 2012 we have swv coming back kameelah of 702 going solo ashanti back tamia back toni back usher continues monica and brandy back on top again .. i just hope the people who are singin soul continue to sing with soul
ALOT OF PEOPLE DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT A REAL BASS GUITAR SOUNDS LIKE. I DONT EVEN LIKE R&B, IF IM LISTENING TO SOMETHING SLOW AND SOULFUL, ITS FROM THE 60’S AND 70’S.
PS: THEY CANT DO R&B ANYMORE, CUS THEY GOT MOFO’S LIKE U WRITING FOR THEM.
nobody is tearing down beyonce some people just dont like her vocals . i prefer keri hilson over beyonce but thats my opinion people will argue with me but i feel more soul listening to keri hilson sing so good, hustler, all the boys ,and hurts me .keri puts so much emotion into her singing and you can tell that shes really been hurt and that everything she writes about is true . people hate on keri hilson everyday ,the stan wars are dumb .everybody has a reason for liking who they like .. i feel that keri hilson is the most hated r&b singer out there and her music is underrated .. debra lee said she was leading the pack but the haters always tear her down when shes making real r&b ..in a perfect world and no boys allowed are two epic classics to me just like all 6 of monicas albums and jazmines 2 albums these singers never get the support they deserve .. brandy been doing it since 14 yrs old and how many grammys she got?? about 2 ?? i think most singers today are overrated and they dont know how to take a break for 2 or 3 yrs like in the 90’s sade took a ten year break returned and slayed.
LMAO @ Beelzebub
I still rock with all the rnb songs from the 90’s and early 00’s cause the music was hot and is still good rnb now is rather dry.
Beyonce is NOT a soul singer, has absolutely no soul in her voice and her music is barely R&B these days.
There are black R&B/Soul singers out there, a lot of them are just underrated and not getting the recognition they deserve.
Marsha Ambrosha, Ledisi, Fantasia, Keyshia Cole, etc are a few.
The problem is that too many of these black artists are jumping on the Pop/Dance bandwagon just to build a White fan base.
Usher, Ne-Yo, Chris Brown, etc are a few.
This is why I love how R. Kelly stayed true to his roots.
DREAM SPEAKS THE TRUTH!!! PLEASE THERE’S NOTHING FRESHER ABOUT ADELE’S SOUND, IT’S ALREADY BEEN DONE BEFORE( SEE AMY WINEHOUSE & JOSS STONE). 4 WAS CLEARLY A CONTEMPORARY R&B SOUL RECORD. LOL @ THE BEYONCE HATERS TURNING THIS CONVERSATION INTO THEIR TIRED HATE RANT OF BEYONCE HAVING NO SOUL. THAT HAS TO BE THE DUMBEST THING EVER. BEING SOULFUL IS SUBJECTIVE, THERE’S A PLETHORA OF FEELINGS THAT CAN BE CONVEY WITHIN THE MUSIC. GET A CLUE FOLKS
Thius has been happening in the UK for Yeeeears, hardly any a UK black can get a deal from making R&B we have to make dance to get a look in, where is Amy (God rest her soul), Adele, Plan B, Duffy, Professor Green can all put out Urban music and be marketed properly, it’s now crossed over to the stated but that has been going here for a longtime!
@ MOBWIFE I was just pointing out that its both the mainstream black artist AND the industry in general who are at fault for the ‘white woman soul singer’ reigning supreme in today’s market
I AGREE. BEYONCE DOES WHAT ADELE DOES AND MORE. I HAVE ALWAYS SAID ADELE WOULD NOT BE AS POPULAR AS SHE IS IF SHE WASN’T WHITE
“What’s crazy is that blacks can’t do soul records any more. We love Adele singing it, but Beyoncé singing it? No.”
“GODDAMNIT” YOU BETTER PREACH Dream!
Beyonce’s 4 was a very well constructed R&B CD and I’m not a big Bey fan, but she had some nice soulful songs. Of course Ledisi and Jill Scott had more but that’s beside the point! LOL
I have said this many times folks! THOSE THAT CONTROL THE MEDIA & MUSIC INDUSTRY WRITE THE STANDARDS FOR THE REST OF US! Case in point, the easy way they were able to BLACKLIST Chris Brown and have his music & videos removed from music/tv rotation. NO ONE ENTITY SHOULD HAVE THAT MUCH POWER! It’s now to the point where the POP, HOT 100 & Top 200 Album Charts are the only ones viewed as important! They even have BLACK FOLKS brainwashed into believing that there is something wrong with having top songs on the R&B Charts! I have read many a comment on this blog illustrating that very fact…. smfh at the continued foolishness!
——————————————————
Mobwife WTF! You just said it all. I’m in 100% agreement with this!!!
Adele’s a very good vocalists (one of the better singer’s in today’s music), but it’s honestly nothing new she’s bringing to the table. She’s getting a lot of praise because she’s a white woman doing soul music. The same record, same vocals and everything would not likely do a fraction of Adele’s numbers if a black person was on the cover of that cd. Yes, black people don’t fully support back artists the way that we should, but they get very little exposure. Their not reaching the masses because their not being promoted properly.
The R&B charts aren’t substantial to black people anymore. That’s sad that we don’t think highly of it ourselves. It’s another thing, if THEY don’t… This issue here is deeper than it appears to be and this matter is just one example of how black people are aiding in their own ruin with their own self destruction. I think the root of this problem starts with the lack of self esteem and education. Education, because people are ignoring patterns and disregarding the history. So many artists have fought to be recognized and it’s crucial that people pay attention to the design of things that’s being imposed on us. It’s cancelling out so many people.
Instead of arguing over who is the better artists all the time(which is fine, because Lord, knows we have our preferences), part of the time the focus should be on what we are allowing ourselves to conform to. Why don’t every good R&B album go platinum (we should always support these underrated artists that produce great music). Why are we so satisfied with only 3 black people succeeding. Why are we labeling artists with the odds against them, a flop. Yet, some of us really believe that a few white artists that are handed everything on a silver platter are slaying. They just ought to be! I’m not concerned so much about the undeserving white artists that are knocking it out the ball park (more power to them!), I’m more concerned about all the black exceptional artists that are being overlooked because their being pigeonholed.
Honestly, people should take a look at the last several decades (I’m talking about as far back as the 60’s). Our most biggest African American stars are often disrespected after their great contributions. Trust me, not much is changing today. It happens over and over and black people are closing their eyes to it way too often. Just my opinion.
Sorry for the essay! I tried to be brief. lol
http://www.thepagewithroyalkev.com
The-Dream got some valid points. He seems smart but unfortunately, he is so underappreciated.
First of, people think Beyonce is not soulful because:
*she’s not a recovering drug addict (Mary J)
*she didn’t have a difficult upbringing (Mariah)
*she’s not physically challenged (Adele)
*her marriage doesn’t suck (Whitney)
*she didn’t have to buy her curves (Nicki)
*she’s not ugly in the face ( )
Beyonce ain’t got no pathos to sell. By the minute she’ll get punched in the face, it’s gonna be a whole new story. Until then, the haters won’t give it any rest.
Second point. Black American people are doing wayyyy better today than 20 years ago. President is Black, they get degrees, they get jobs, they get paid, they get child support, welfare, alimony, ballers and rappers are getting endorsements, h**$ are celebrities. Long story short: Business is good, so they just want to hit the club and pop champagne. The change has come for a lot of them already.
Third point. Rihanna’s success changed anything any black person believed in about breaking into showbusiness. You don’t need to be a songstress or a dancer anymore. You just have to look pretty, to act naughty, to undress and to model/jump around. Before Rihanna, only white folks were allowed to do the least. She changed that up without even knowing.
Fourth point. The other black folks in the world don’t care that much about soul. Soul and Blues are something specific to Black America. Rihanna is Caribbean, Taio Cruz is British, Akon is from a Senegalese descent. Life is hard enough, black people over there want catchy music, point blank.
Fifth point. Black folks don’t buy music. White folks buy anything they like, most of the time, it’ll be pop music.
Face it people, the world is still a sick, prejudice place. The great Whitney Houston had 6 Grammys while Adele already has 8. Nothing against Adele but that says it all. Adele is a good singer at best not a great one. The record industry is corrupt and very prejudice, how else would Taylor Swift be the biggest selling artist in the world today. Kanye may not have delivered the message properly but he was right and so is Dream. When you can compare Adele’s achievements to Whitney’s, Katie Perry’s to Michael’s and Gaga’s to Beyonce it is clear that there is something sick and sad going on in this world we live in.
Adele’s music is inspired by others, still like i said her music has a much more polished,fresh & cohesive sound. Beyonce’s sound is very typical. It wasn’t or isn’t nothing out that sounds like “Rolling In The Deep”. Adele’s music also crosses all boundaries. Even if you sing soul music that doesn’t mean that you have crossover potential. Beyonce cannot do what Adele does. She is Beyonce. They are way different from each other. Even when Beyonce did an r&b album, “DIL” which was her biggest one, it didn’t have the impact that Adele’s did. Adele’s music ha a retro vibe to it while still being emotive and contemporary…
^^^^ AND THE CHURCH SAYS AMENNNNN!!! @RoyalKev and @Mobwife
Let me add this. I don’t believe that African Americans don’t buy records!!! I think the problem is in the accounting. I look at groups like the Temptations, how can it be true that an iconic classic like “My Girl” didn’t sale at least 20 millions singles? Not only the Temps but so many other classic groups that paved the way for most, when you look at the numbers they just don’t make sense. Who controls the numbers? The Media? The airways? I say that to say if they really wanted R&B to be huge right now it would be because most people will follow where ever their led and that’s a very sad but true fact.
The culprit behind all this is RACISM. Blacks have to be beyond great while others (specifically whites) can be average but still be huge. Beyonce is not even allowed to play most places Gaga plays and though I really like Adele, there are sooo many AA singers that are far superior that it’s sickening to think about and that’s real talk all day.
I think Adele is very talented but had she been black with the same voice and same songs she would not be selling the way she is today bottom line. Part of the hype and attraction is the fact that she is a white woman with a soulful voice making soulful music. Black females with soulful voices and music will not get the same hype and attention. The label also pushed her because they knew it would be easier for her to attract a wider audience than any black female soul singer. People in general are amazed by Adele because we are just not use to a white woman being able to sing and deliver soulful songs in such a soulful way. Others who could have pulled it off like Christina Aguilera or Fergie have recorded mainstream music. Black female artists like Jill Scott, Erikah Badu, India Arie, Alicia Keys, Beyonce, Monica, Mary J. Blige, Jazmine Sullivan etc. will not get the same results as someone like Adele or Amy Winehouse by recording soul music. If not for Beyonce’s name and status, an album like ‘4’ would not have gone platinum (like if Monica, Brandy, or Jazmine Sullivan would have recorded it). And ‘4’ is not even soul it’s moreso R&B. I just don’t think any black female could have enjoyed even platinum success or certainly not double or multiplatinum success with an album as soulful as Adele’s. They have to water down their sound AND have a big name like Beyonce or Alicia in order to achieve platinum status. I don’t know if this will ever change.
Nobody is tryna hate on the Beyonce. We are just speaking on what it is. Beyonce hasn’t been somewhat soulful since her first album and even then real soul singers (Jill, Erykah, Alicia, etc) was doing it better. Everything Beyonce has done has been pop oriented with a mixed of R&B which was still a water down version of what most ppl consider soul music and thats what ppl expected from her. So when she try to go back “r&b”( which was again watered down, although a solid album) nobody was feeling it which helped lead the way for Adele to smash everyone. Beyonce is by no means what most ppl considered as a soulful voice, but she could of lead the way for R&B music way more than what she has done in the past decade. She choose to go a more pop/ fast food/ r&b route when, sales wise, she didn’t have to. Its telling when her best sold album is the one that was mostly r&b.
@MISHKA
I LOVE RIHANNA BUT TOTALLY AGREE. PEOPLE RAG ON RIHANNA FOR BEING A LAZY PERFORMER BUT WHITE FEMALE POP SINGERS HAVE BEEN DOING IT FOR YEARS, AND GET PRAISED FOR IT. BUT THEN AGAIN MOST OF RIHANNAS FANS ARE WHITE!!!!
@MISHKA
Fourth point. The other black folks in the world don’t care that much about soul. Soul and Blues are something specific to Black America. Rihanna is Caribbean, Taio Cruz is British, Akon is from a Senegalese descent. Life is hard enough, black people over there want catchy music, point blank.
Fifth point. Black folks don’t buy music. White folks buy anything they like, most of the time, it’ll be pop music.
YOU ARE SO WISE
I agree with the Dream on this, but the responsiblity lies on who “we” support. Most of the R&B singers aren’t singing about anything but s** and how much money they make, and/or repping high-end designers that most of their listeners can’t afford (Trey, Usher, Beyonce, Rhianna, and Chris Brown). There music are generally a cross of hip hop, dance, and pop. All the true soul artists like Jill, Anthony Hamilton, Ledisi, are hardly played on the radio, because we don’t demand it. You can only catch those artists on the adult stations and vh1 soul. However, when Adele sings, we run to it. I’m a big Adele fan btw. 21 and 19 are both classic records. However, i guarantee you if Adele was black, she wouldn’t be as successful.
bootlegging is a major problem as well, we simply don’t buy music. And we don’t demand quality music at that. We seem to gravitate towards what’s catchy and can be played in the club only to be forgotten in a month or so. Where is the timeless music? There is nothing wrong with pop music, there just doesn’t seem to be balance.
But I agree with everybody who say that instead of focusing on whose the better artist, we need to focus on these labels and media who keep black listing our black soulful artist and not promoting them to their full potential.
Well i don’t think so, it is truth when he said that White singers are more popular singing Black Music you know soul, R&B but is nothing new, Elvis Presley did it before, i don’t agree with him when he compares Adele to Beyonce, Beyonce’s music is mainly R&B but nothing close to Adele’s sound, not that Adele is that great but Beyonce’s music is more different, i think Black people give to much credits to Beyonce like if she is the best they had, NOOOO there are so many Black Musician with so much talent they just don’t are lucky enough like Beyonce is, everybody knows when it comes to Voice, playing instruments and talent, Black artists are the best, nobody touch them but for some reasons they are the most underappreciated in the Music business, you have to be very, very good to be on the same level of those White artists like Elvis Presley, The Beatles ect. and the Jackson family was one of them specially Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson.
Can anyone think of ANY black female singer who could have recorded the same album as Adele and had multiplatinum success? There are plenty of black female singers who can sing just as soulful as Adele but won’t enjoy the same success with soul music. That is The Dream’s point.
Stop complaining, you stupid racist. Society is past “blacks to this… whites do this…”. Talk about “Artists do this…”. Attention w****.
There are plenty of black female singers who can sing just as soulful as Adele but won’t enjoy the same success with soul music. That is The Dream’s point.
—————————————————————
This is at the core of what The Dream is pointing out.
It’s not about Beyonce, it’s about black artists being unappreciated. People that want to focus on how many Bey stans enjoy “4” are missing the point he raising. Just like the all the others in this post that are speaking of their favs (Sullivan, Keri Hilson, Badu , Jill Scott, etc) where using Bey as a reference. It’s fine that some of you may not like her, some of us happen to love Bey’s music (including ‘4’, which does have strong R&B elements), but that’s not what we should be stuck on. There are tons of R&B artists to single out, this is not about Beyonce!
Also some of you that keep saying their are so many black artists “doing R&B well” keep focusing on the wrong debate. Are they going platinum? Are they on MTV? Are they on the radio? Do you see them at the award shows (Grammy’s, AMA’s, Billboard)? Are they getting the exposure they deserve? Are they talented and underrated?
http://www.thepagewithroyalkev.com
Did this man just have the nerve to call “4” “soul”? RNB, yes, soul, no. And what about Alicia Keys? She does and exhales in soul, yet she’s not White. Only reason B’s album didn’t work as expected is because she undertook something from which she had departed for a while and people felt it wasn’t sincere (talking about break ups while she’s been w/ the same man for a decade..). Stop being pressed over Adele’s success, The Dream.
He made some good points though. I think Adele has a similar voice/tone to Melanie Fiona, Keyshia Cole, and Jazmine Sullivan, but Adele has experienced more success than all 3 combined. There’s no doubt in my mind that image (be it age, race, style, beauty, whatever) does play a huge role.
Anyway, I love all the artists I just mentioned, but it’s almost like people are more shocked when someone comes along and does not fit the stereotypical mold for a genre. It’s almost like the Iggy Azalea situation too. People expect rap to be a black male arena, but people seem to pay more attention to an artist if they happen to be white, female, or both.
IT’S ALL COZ OF THE WHITE RACIST F8CKS RUNNING THE MUSIC INDUSTRY!!! IT’S VERY SAD THAT WHITE PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO TAKE OVER A GENRE THAT WAS STARTED BY THE BLACKS AND BLACK-LIST BLACK PEIOPLE!!! JUST PLAIN PATHETIC!!! WHEN WILL THE OPPRESSION END????? WHEN????
@KNOWLES-FENTY & CO
LOL Thanks!
Every black can do soul music, but they choose to do what people are interested right now, which to me is kind of dumb because there should be a variety and not just some pop dance type of record.
@BAM BAM you took the words right out of my mouth. Jazmine Sullivan does what Adele does and Jazmine does it better! We have amazing black singers still, they just don’t have enough support. How come “it all belongs to me” is not number one of the U.S itunes r&b right now?
To Dang i like to agree with you on some parts for the most part i think alot of young people and people in general dont care what someone looks like but in the end i beleive the music industry is the culprit. They subliminally create a racist biased society. Look at all the major acts that go major what are they doing Blonding their hair ( nICKI MINAJ, beyone, Mary J blige, T-boz of tlc, MONICA, Chris brown, Rihanna every other week) Its sad becasue especially in America the label want returns with the snap of a hand instead of letting music live out cuz i cant tell you how many people from interenet and real life who havent heard alot of records just simply because Entertainment in the last 20 years has taken a huge plumment down the morallity scale. And one coud argue it never was fair because of racism in America and with America being the leading place for music being shipped around the world Black artist and Indie Artst are not respected and given the chance as much. Black People given the history already shows they have an uphill battle to face even when they’re just as good. Think about it Madonna who has great songs esp frm the 80’s that i like she still sells but Janet who is almost the same as her gets treated horrbiley by the media and the general public I think in part that has to do with her being Black. ” lIKE SOME ONE SAID Black folks have to fly when white folks can walk. And its still tru today.
Also for benefit of the doubt look at tehe history of slavery it has left a major impact on those affected financiyally , economically, instituationally so a lot of black people not saying we stay broke dont have the money to be spending on these records esp now with the music always seeming likes it promoting another agenda beside the music. And also alot of black artist might talk about things that other races might not feel or come off a way where white people dont feel connected. Remember seeling a record is about the maximus and if white people esp in Western socities are the majority buying public then record companies are donig their best to make sure you come off to them in a way thats appealling to them ie (Whitney Houston) when she first came out.
Also Black people should start to suport their own better to a greater purpose cuz i cant tell yall how many times i come to thse blogs and all peop seem to want are Beyonce and the rihannas of the world and rag on people Like Monica, Trey Songsz b4 he went the all s** route, Melanie Fiona, Jaheim, Leela James and Letoya Whose Lady Love album was completely in the vain of R&b with meainingfull records and writing but people passed on it.
These blogs could do much better in promoting these peoplle esp the so called urban hip-hop r&b soul blogs but they are run by humans who dont always get a chance becasue of bad promo by lables get to see these great artist so they yet again go under the radar.
i FEEL the entertainment industry is all about them dollar dollar bill yall so they allow that to get in the way as well wen it comes to marketing people
@ AISHAAGUILERAKEYS, We’ll see if Alicia Keys sells like Adele when her next album comes out. I doubt it. The Element of Freedom has similar sells to Beyonce’s 4, both went platinum. The climate for selling albums gets worse every year lately especially for soul or R&B music. However Adele was not effected by today’s low sales climate even though she recorded soul music. Why not? That is the question or issue being debated. Meanwhile other soul singers like Jill Scott or Ledesi can’t even reach gold status.
@Beyonce Is Trash
You are too pressed… Please give it rest. IMO, there’s nothing bubblegum about Beyonce’s music, but to each it’s own i guess.
wow i realize that dream really has a point and i agree with a lot of the comments..i always thought that rnb was just fading as very popular genre like rock n roll did..and i still think it is fading but if you have a good white singer thats doing some soul/rnb they will get recongnized and promoted to no end..its always been a lil harder for blacks but if we are super talented we can make it..now days its hard to be a truly soulful rnb singer and be black and we invented the s*** thats cray…the most valid point ppl have said is that if adele was black and singing those same songs album prob wouldn’t have even saw plat because u have many artist that sing the same kind of music right now and cant even go gold and they are black
The problem is this these major record labels saw Lady Gaga Explode with Just Dance & saw how the Dance music trend was becoming a mainstream thing,so new artist (See Ke$ha,Dev,,Nicki Minaj Etc) & Older artist (Rihanna,Usher,Chris Brown,Leona Lewis,Etc.) changed they’re sounds from It’s originality to Pure Mainstream hoop-la & in the end found semi-Huge success.However, what we as an Urban Pop community fail to realize is this each generation of music is differerent beacuse what we think is r&b & what others in generations or years,months will think is r&b is totally different.But You Know it’s a shame because we miss out on so many amazing artist, & they’re relaeses.Example: How many of you know that Actress-Singer Raven Symone Is A Real R&B Artist & Has released 4 Albums?Or Who Bought Jazmine Sullivans Luv Back?We miss out on or hardly hear from artist like Raven,Jazmine,Keke Palmer ,Tiffany Evans,Karina,Ciara (Now),Tamia,Omarion,Marques Houston,Dawn Richard,Jill Scott,Angie Stone,Erakuh Badu,Trey Songz,J.Holiday,Mario,Shontelle,Maxwell,JoJo,Diana Ross,Vanessa Williams,Leela James,Vivian Green,Jhene Aiko(Use To Hang With B2K GO TO Livemixtapes.com search Sailing Soul),Sade,Ashanti (Now),Christina Milian,Brooke Valentine,Kelly Price,Ledisi,Christte Michelle,John Legend,Corbin Bleu,Mya,Brandy,Monica,Lloyd,Keri Hilson,Keke Wyatt,& More.The Point im trying to get across is this there is still r&b out there & alot of people don’t support it.So if u want some real r&b soul music go to Amazon.com explore & look up some of these names.And don’t make it a white people vs. black person issue about the music seriously.
Jazmine and Kelly Price both released great soul albums in the past 2 years but who gets more attention? Rihanna, Katy Perry and Rita Ora.
@ royalkev..but the dream brought her up so his argument seems unbalanced because if anyone in this generation had/have any chance of doing what Adele is doing sale/music wise it would be Beyonce. What the Dream said is a very valid very true statement, but alot of ppl, including myself, believe that alot of these bigger black artist could have done the same thing. Although the same racism and industry politics are in play, majority of the time its the music.
Maybe he is right to a certain point. But when it comes to the artists he named the thing is so clear:
Amy Winehouse and Adele´s albums>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> “4” and that one is Beyonce´s best one
As simple as that
@Shion, I understand that some people may want to add their own input on Dream’s example (with Bey and Adele), but I think some people that are dwelling on it seem to be taking it too literally. He’s mainly making an argument claiming that black soul singers, as a whole, don’t get a fair shake. He narrowed it down by the genre, which add emphasis to what he’s stating. He could have simply left it wide open to all of them. Madonna and Janet could have been referenced for pop (matter fact, despite what Madonna produces she’s backed heavily and given support. Janet, Whitney, Prince and MJ weren’t for years). Mainstream radio supported Britney’s new album and blacklisted Beyonce’s and they’ve both put in over a decade. Britney actually was Brandy’s counterpart at one time and we see the loyalty (and lack thereof) that both women received. Since the early 2000’s many “Urban” artists that did crossover all somehow lost their mainstream backing (Alicia, Ciara and Ashanti). These last 3 started out with debut singles that landed at #1, so it’s just odd how it disappeared for all of them. I’ve seen how things are shaping up and I think Dream pointing out how Bey and Adele could release the same type of album and receive different levels of support only made it more poignant. It’s all bias, heck Barbra Streisand just scored a record deal… Tina, Diana, Chaka and Gladys don’t have one. Janet doesn’t either, which I think is beyond ridiculous. So I don’t know if I can believe that black artists are given the same welcome mat as some of their peers.
http://www.thepagewithroyalkev.com
It’s funny Julien mentioned Kelly Price and Jazmine because though their similar to Adele both would make Adele a shame to sing if they were on the same show. Can you imagine either one singing any of Adele’s songs? Trust me no one would wanna hear Adele afterwards.
there are PLENTY of soul artist he just picked out the most mainstream singers he could for his comparison. The real problem is why the soul singers aren’t getting any shine. Honestly no matter the race soul singers get less radio play than pop. Adele is blessed but what about Duffy, Erykah Badu, Corrinne Bailey Rae, and Joss Stone to name a few. They are still actively making music you know and of all races by the way. I think his statement was misspoken and too generalized.
it’s more of a novelty when you hear white people sing soul… that sound is rooted in black culture but is widely adopted by American/European culture… The real key is listening to the music and the voice… someone like you would still have been a great song whether it was sung by a black person…
the truth is, Black people sold out on their own culture and started to do more pop because white people were selling more records doing just that. Now white people are doing real soul records and selling more…
estan muy bien mijitas y son unicas en verdad
I totally agree. Blacks have been singing soul for decades. Our soul music is never recognized the way Amy Winehouse and Adele’s music has been recognized.
I don’t believe any black artist are given the same welcome mat or industry support as their white counterparts either. I just think, and think many others do as well, too many big name black artist nowadays blame it all on industry politics and hardly ever talk enough about the music/product they put out. This can also go for some of the lessor artist as well. Cause when its all said and done, thats what really made us great and set us apart-defying the odds with unbelievably and undeniable great music that last for ages on in
I agree with # 2 Sasha!!
Wow, usually I just ignore his comments but I totally agree with what he’s saying because I’ve been saying it for the longest. It’s just like that saying, you have to know your History before you can embrace your future and in this sense it’s some black artists these days have totally forgotten their history. Which is why music sucks!!!
@Bam Bam, u just told the truth. Jazzy Sullivan is awesome, she can totally do what Adele does but wait she’s black. And it’s the record labels that pigeon hole her because she doesn’t look like Beyonce or Rihanna. That’s the MAIN reason why RnB has suffered along with a list of other things. Instead of going off of pure talent they focus on looks more with black artist as opposed to their talent.
It’s not that we don’t have soulful black artists because we do but the real question should be asked how why can someone who looks like Adele make it instead of say Jazz Sullivan who has just as much a soulful voice that can SANG???!!! My answer, white artist aren’t held to a higher standard looks wise as black artist. I think Adele is such a cutie and I love that she’s not folding to the pressure of being skinny but you’ve gotta ask why is it that she’s allowed to just sing and have total control of her image and others can’t?
I think just sick because I’m sure there are a ton of talented guys and girls out there that can sang their @sses off but will never grace the screen simply because they don’t fit this insane mold of how some industry execs think they should look like.
first let me start of by saying mary j blige just released the best soul album of the year ! so how can you say blacks can’t do soul mary has been doing this since early 90’s mary was the first to invent hip-hop and soul while still doing r&b not one mary album has not been r&b and she has been around for 20 years ! come on now like mary can sell a blank cd and still go gold in with 3 months! adele is only so big because she is white and can do soulful music but she isn’t the only one fantasia jasmine dondria chrisette michele just to name a few but blacks still have soul and always will we started this and it will end with us !
I don’t agree. There are plenty of African American artists who can do soul records. Melanie Fiona’s album comes out tomorrow and that girls voice is full of emotion and she can straight up do a soul record. She is just one example of many. Not everyone can sell millions of albums like Adele can but that doesn’t mean blacks can’t do soul records. That comment just comes off ignorant if you ask me.
Mary J. Blige makes Soul and R&B music. She can be categorized as “Old” but still shoots Platinum & Gold without trying.
Beyonce’s flop doesn’t mean it’s over. The-Dream please start making realy tracks before talking
B**** ass nigg*
He just means black artists won’t sell big if they record soul music and that seems to be true lately. The only artist who has managed to sell millions in that genre lately is white, and that is not a coincidence. The other soul singers aren’t even going gold. Like someone above mentioned Mary J. Blige but she hasn’t even gone gold yet, neither has Jill Scott or Ledesi or Jazmime Sullivan. Why such a huge gap? Struggling to get to gold versus multiplatinum?
very interesting comments. in all honesty , i think its because of the money houstle situation. its easier for a white artist to crossover than a black artist when they have all the categorys needed to be a success. i think there are bigger lucrative audiences for a white artist like kelly clarkson over a black artist like kelly rowland. hence why one does successful classic soul type records and one is having to go down the pop dance route to peck at a feeble fanbase, sad but true, WE ALL NEED 2 MAKE MUSIC FOR LOVE OVER MONEY FULLSTOP. black artists are more likely to do records for money motivated reasons over a white one, for many reasons…but on a sub concious level you know its true!
I honestly don’t believe this to be a black and white issue. It seems to be a common point of reference when one race isn’t currently as successful as another in a particular genre of music. For me, black people with always be synonymous with soul music. And using Adele’s album vs. Beyonce’s 4, as an example is quite ridiculous. Adele’s album is one of the highest selling albums in recent history, it has some incredibly catchy songs, and her voice is one we haven’t heard from a white woman in years. People just connected with that album on a whole other level, where beyonce’s, like SO MANY other artists regardless of race or album genre have failed to do the same. Beyonce has been around a lot longer than Adele also, so she has the advantage of being ‘the flavour of the month’ (even though I believe her to be much more than just that).
It is SO easy to blame the media. Everyone does it, ever when they have no idea who the ‘media’ are or how they work. And is it fair to say then that whites can no longer do dance? Its silly, music is universal. If there is genuine talent, and interest than surely this will prevail over all, no matter what race the musician is…right??
Bottom line is every black artist arent gonna be able to do POp music. Everyone wants to because thats where the money is but the truth is the powers that be arent gonna let a bunch of black artist fill up the charts doing Pop music. First of all to be a cross over artist is something you have to embody. Not every black artist is comfortable with that. Some can do it and some can’t. Its like do you wanna be Will Smith or Denzel? Will is comfortable in that circle and Denzel is like “no yall come to my world.” Thats how R&B blew up in the 90’s anyway. Mary J, Jodeci, Brandy, Toni Braxton etc. We was doing us and they came over to us and said “oh that music is fly and they way yall dress and sing is fly.” and we crossed over. Think about it. There are more white people in America and they support their artist. They buy into the brand of their artist. Justin Beiber has never had a #1 record. Never! Research it! And no one can name another hit he has had but “Baby” but he still makes millions of dollars. That’s because white people support and buy into their artist brands. We don’t. Why would a label get behind a bunch of black artist doing Pop music when they have white artist that use the same producers and writers and white artist can sell more records. They are only letting two or three in. Beyonce and Rihanna and maybe one more. So kill that f****** dance beat and get back make good R&B. And stop with that Trey Song “In the club, material, best s** ever, let’s pop bottles, auto tune” bull s*** and write and make some real music and it will sell and R&B will be back and we will have 6 or 7 incredible artist out at one time like we use to. Its ok to have a couple of songs like that but not a whole album. Make so classic s*** that will play 20 years from now. We set the trends with music, fashion, lingo etc. Why are now following? Timbaland don’t go produce Justin’s entire album find a black artist and produce his entire album and make him a superstar. Do you need to produce 12 cuts on Justin’s album to prove that you can make hit records on a white artist. Dr.Dre can hit you with 2 or 3 bangers and they will be the stand out cuts on the album. Lets go black people. WE SET THE TRENDS! And for God sake do a little studying. Research great artist from the past. Channel them and make it your own. Every great artist was influenced by someone that came before them. If we don’t in 2 second there will be no more Black Music!!!!
The Dream is very SIMPLE MINDED isn’t he?? There are plenty of black soul artists that have done well with soulful records in the last few yrs ………
Sade, Maxwell, Neyo, and Alicia Keys have put out platinum records recently ( last few yrs) ….. Emile Sande is doing welll in the UK …………………………………………..
What do they have in common???? Hmmm ….. they make SINCERE & INTELLIGENT MUSIC. Theyre etter songwriting than most R&B artists today and also better songwriters than The Dream.
The best soul singers are in America …. JHud, Fantasia, Monica, Brandy, Leela James, R Kelly, Jazmine Sullivan, Mary J, Usher, Neyo, Chrisette Michele, Keyshia Cole, Elle Varner., Leela James .. The best WRITERS are in the UK right now…. although Neyo is a good songwriter.
We have great singers and plenty of R&B fans but the artists and labels are giving us CRAPPY MUSIC and no one is buying it!!!!!! . Adele is WRITER!
Are record labels still signing great r&b singer/songwriters like Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, DAngelo, Angie Stone, Lauryn Hill, Maxwell, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Sam Cooke, Alicia Keys, Marvin Gaye, India ARI ANYMORE?????????? Where have the instruments gone ?
I thought Elle Varner would give us some live instruments like Maxwell, Sade, Dangelo, and L. Hill BUT she is singing over hip hop beats like everyone else.
It seems like labels were signing & promoting composer/singer /songwriters in the 90s but not anymore.
I am desperate for a great soul record. I look forward to Jazmine Sullivan’s new CD but her label needs to have her cowrite with more experience writers like Adele did.
Well, if Dream wants to point blame then he should place the finger on himself and the music industry as a whole. Many black artists are having their sound watered down from soul/r&b to trendy pop music because they feel it is what’s selling. They’re so focused on sales, they’re no longer interested in creating music that lasts anymore. Look at Usher and Chris Brown for example. They went from r&b to barely unrecognizable with their latest songs. The one thing I can say is at least Beyonce didn’t go running to David Guetta or Dr. Luke just to imitate what was already out there. It’s as if record companies threatened these artists to go pop or else.
Also, let’s face it things can’t change unless people change what they buy or listen to. If you continue to buy, support music from artists just because their popular on twitter, then you get what you pay for. There are artists such as Ledisi, Jill Scott, Miguel, Robin Thicke, Anthony Hamilton, etc. that stick to r&b yet barely gets support from anyone. But people hop on blogs to complain yet support the most autotuned, soulless artists promoted.
In terms of Adele, she was heavily promoted by the media because they always pull an artist every year to make “the one who is authentic and savior of music” and then once they drag it on, that artist wins a ton of awards they tire of them and move on. I enjoy her music and think she’s talented, but I call it for what it is. Lauryn Hill and Amy Winehouse received the same treatment. The industry needed someone as an antithesis to the music already out and they got it in Adele. This year, they’ll promote someone else.
It’s interesting this is brought because I remember years ago back in the 80s when the same discussion was said about music made by Whitney, MJ, Lionel Ritchie, etc. Whitney was booed by the audience at the Soul Train Awards because back then, many in the black community felt she only did whitewashed music. I remember hearing interviews about how that hurt her. Now, years later and after her death her music is being appreciated. Many of those songs that people complained were whitewashed, actually compared to what is out now are way better with more soul. I bring up this point because sure we can dislike artists, have opinions. But day in and day out, I see so many derogatory comments directed at artists for nonsense that is unrelated to their music. I’m not just saying Beyonce or Rihanna, I’m talking about anyone from Brandy to Monica to Jill Scott to Melanie Fiona to Adele and so on. People blackball artists through social media and don’t realize it. Many of whom are black. For example, I was on a blog reading about Monica and Brandy’s song, yet all anyone did was insult how they looked. What did that have to do with the song? How can they sustain careers if we don’t support them and what they do? And at the same end, when will producers like the Dream stop following trends and be creative while producing product for these artists?
to anne mary j has reached the status of gold with her newest album my life 2 do your research! why is anyone even listening to what the dream has to say he can’t even sell a cd his self ! we still have many r&b soul singers out there monica and brandys new album will be full of soul! but beyonce is not a soul singer she is a pop singer ! she hasnt been soul since destiny”s child ! she may have a song here and there but to be a soul singer you have to breathe it live it and she does neither she may sneeze it every now and then but thats about it!
listen i can’t really blame adele for coming in and showing black artists in mainstream what the gist of soul music is. i mean all dem black artists aint really tryna make music that black people listen to anymore, its all about fists pumpin b******* electronic music. also what is our definition of soul music cuz honestly soul music kinda left from the 90s for neo soul which was great but what i c iz alot of rhythm and no blues emotions or feeling when the last time u heard a song about insecurities pink christina aguilera not keri hilson j hud idk it jacked up
I don’t agree that they “can’t” they just know where the money is. It’s sad to say, but most black ppl don’t physically buy music anymore so in a way black artists were forced to make music that would sell among other races [that includes any race that isn’t black]. Even hip hop artist started to grab a hold to rock and pop to start selling in a major way. Even though black ppl were the 1st to sing rock [but that’s another discussion]. I think its smart as far as marketing goes, but it’s sad.
Personally I miss REAL R&B/Soul…like the old Toni Braxton…now she’s on that pop ish too =/ ugh. I blame the kids born after 1991…they don’t know any better and they feed into this “new age” bs… and as far as the “roles” changing, I don’t see it as a big deal. Michael Jackson was a black guy who did pop ALL his life…it’s not something new…but there are only a select few black ppl who still do R&B.
i agree with @Keri HIlson 3rd album 2 movies 2012-2013
keri, monica, j-hud and jazmyn are definitely still making old school rnb/soul
and deserve more recognition!!! and goota love anthony hamilton as well
I understand where he is coming from with these comments. On the other hand though I believe his statment that blacks cant make soulful music anymore is false its more like they just are not making soulful albums. I think our society and even more so the entertainment industry (because of being in the spotligt) have become so against and aware of racism and prejadism in general. I think because of this awareness it becomes more appealing to see a white person rap or a white women sing soulfully ect. it shows people that anyone can do anything that we are not labeled by our skin color or other specific details about us. While these steriotypes are experienceing role reversals I dont think people are trying to do it consciously I think it is us just trying to except the uniqueness of these individuals. I would like to see people of all ethnicitys,genders ect. makeing rap, R&B, pop ect.. There is a fine line our society needs to meet its like we went from one extreme to the next. Yes beyonce has soul in her but now if she makes a soul album it would be overlooked because people expect that from her that would have been her steriotype so she makes pop instead and that makes her stand out. It is sad to me that this is what it has come down to people should listen to music they enjoy and that moves them regardless of the person singing it. Also we have to think there are alot of people who can sing ourt there that never are heard the labels are the ones with the power they control who they sign and who they pass up they may just be passing up whitneys, and arethas ect. for the reasons I just explained.
Soul music IS Black and will ALWAYS be Black. If you can’t hear the difference between a soulful Black singer and a white performer who is trying to sound Black, then that’s on you. The white male power structure is ALWAYS busy trying to marginalize ANYTHING we’re doing and THEN try to take it over ultimately. First, they said our music was “Devil” music. Then they started TRYING to emulate it. This behavior from the white boy is NOTHING new. He’s been trying for YEARS to sound like us but simply CANNOT!! So now, he’s conspired to stop US from singing with Soul so that he can compete with us in OUR music style and ULTIMATELY leave US unable to get work doing OUR music. I can’t stand Will I.Am and that techno/electronica/pop crap he and MANY others have been churning out the last decade. All the white boy had to do was find some untalented Blacks who have no soul, and elevate them to the top of the charts by hype and supermarketing. And as usual, stupid Blacks wanting to love/be whitey, go out and buy that crap acting like it’s something cool. I’m not worried though because there will ALWAYS be the Black church where we can hear some soulful music. Jazz and Gospel is all I listen to these days anyways!! LOL