Sooooo, I gave $uli’s arguement for the digital music revolution a LOT of thought. And while I am still in favor of saving the national treasure that are our mom and pop CD and vinyl shops, I do realize that the buisness of music has changed in a potentially good way. Musicans need to get down or lay down for real.

Building off what $ said, a lot of musicians are lazy these days, or so fucked up on drugs they can’t squeeze out more than one record every 7 years (hey D’Angelo, Maxwell). If regular folks can get up and do the 45 hour work week, why in the hell should you be jet setting and snorting coke off a hooker’s thigh when you should be touring your butt off and consistently rolling with new material? It’s not that we want the quality of the music to change- shit, Rihanna put out three albulms in the past three years and they were trash (well, I never heard them, but I doubt I’m wrong about that). But we can’t give up our dough to these people if they aren’t gonna grind for it.

One big issue is that a lot of these cats (especially the mainstream ones) are not musicians, they’re entertainers. They don’t have the artistry to record constantly because they can’t even do shit on their own. They need the producer, the vocal arrainger, the vocal coach, the ghostwriter. Cats like Miles and Trane lived in the studio because they lived and breathed music. If you are just recording to get rich, you better do it fast because your days are numbered. People will download your record for free and use the $15 they saved to go buy some product you name checked or an I-Phone to listen to your words for free!

Hopefully the folks who deserve to be in this bidness will get it and maintain long, fruitful careers. And the garbage will take itself out. And as for me- yes, treated I was. But I learned something and I hope you did too.

The debate about hip-hop leaves me on the fine line from time to time. I DO believe that some artists OD on the subject matter they address, and I feel that it’s a cop-out when they say they’re just “speaking for the hood”. Not everyone in the hood sells drugs, carries guns, and has 24′s on the Chevy. The average REAL resident of the ghetto is a hard-working, diligent, stuggling, God-fearing individual, trying to make something of themselves. We need to address the topic of PUBLIC MISCONCEPTION before we ever let the media point fingers at us. I digress.

Qualo, (remember Pockets?) representing that Talented Tenth with a edge of social awareness, embodies the mindstate that I believe most of our Blind I faithful have surrounding the music we listen to: reality is key, leave no stone unturned, speak the truth and bullshit won’t come your way. In this interview with CNN, Shala Esquire of Qualo relays that message to the media and the public with steadfastness. I personally agree 100% with his approach:

After watching, I wanna know what you all think about the interview.

$