Thanks to Dick Puddlecote for that title, but his use of it is demonstrated again to be true. Apparently, we have a blind-spot for black female artists.
The chair of the Mercury Prize has claimed that black British female artists are being ignored by the British public.
Simon Frith told the BBC that “Britain has a blind-spot” when it comes to new female urban acts.
Where to start with such balderdash? I’ve a pretty eclectic taste in music. I’ll cheerfully listen to classical music as well as heavy metal and just about anything in between. My CD collection includes glam rock and country, Meatloaf to Mozart as it were. I only have one condition when listening to music – that it appeals to me. Preferably that it sends tingles down my spine. “Urban acts” seems to be code for rap. I never listen to rap. It is dreadful; a monotonous unintelligible chant that I refuse to listen to from the moment that I first had the misfortune to have my ears polluted by it. If I am listening to the radio and a rap track comes on, I’ll turn it down until the discordant noise has passed.
Nor am I enamoured with the manufactured pap that passes for music of late. So I don’t buy stuff from boy bands, girl bands or the latest X Factor winner. If it isn’t rap, it’s instantly forgettable mush or shallow covers of tracks by better artists.
On occasion, I’ve been aware of these new urban acts being profiled on the television and without exception they have been crap; instantly forgettable bland garbage. I don’t have a blind-spot, I have discerning ears. And, despite the scurrilous underlying accusation from Simon Frith, it is not racist to not buy their records. I don’t like their output. I don’t therefore buy the records. I do not base my music buying decisions on the colour or sex of the performer.
Still, I bet you didn’t realise that your music buying preferences makes you a racist now, eh?
Well said! My mother was a solo pianist for the London Philharmonic in the 1940’s and she often told me that music has to have a melody, a rhythmic beat is NOT music. I have similar tastes to you in music and in my opinion the greater majority of so called new talent just spews out aural vomit.
I share your opinions on nigger music.
However, there certainly isnt a black hole or whatever. Look at the charts now and through the past ten years and there are plenty of female black artists in there.
This sounds like some pillock wanting to make an anti racist statement to make himself look good but is speaking about something to which he has no knowledge.
Personally I think there arent enough white girls in the bollywood music scene. Or Chineese in Dixyland
There have been plenty of popular black female artists; Oleta Adams (in my collection), Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Dionne Warwick, Three Degrees, Diana Ross.
Thing is, whatever one’s taste – and they aren’t all to mine – they could all hold a tune…
If I like it I’ll buy it, like you I’ve got stuff ranging from Vivaldi to Louis Armstrong, to Slade, to Eva Cassidy, to Oasis to Arcade Fire. Oddly enough no rap though, it simply doesn’t appeal to me and I wont buy it simply because they are a, female and b, black.
I agree with your assessment of rap, and its ironic that this chap should be demanding we all listen to female urban acts, when the male urban music scene consists of some of the most misogenistic artistes you could imagine…………..motes and beams springs to mind.
I like the oldschool variety of rap, going back to the early 90s and before. The rhymes are pleasing to the ear, the lyrics are intelligible and inoffensive, and there’s a melody too. What happened later – R&B, hiphop, garage, grime – was garbage, promoted by idiots who are desperate to either seem cool and relevant (like the aging mongs on Radio One) or super-not-racist (like Simon Frith here).
The lyrics also got more whiny. A general theme in the last decade seems to be that the singer is only a drug-dealing “gangsta” because “the man” is a racist who is always locking him up. Sounds very familiar.. “it’s not my fault, society is to blame for my choices”. But what a contrast to the oldschool Grandmaster Flash track from the 80s, “The Message”, which extols the listener to make better choices: specifically, not getting involved with the gangsters, no matter how tempting it might be. The whiny, recent material helps to form a self-fulfilling prophesy, encouraging the disadvantaged to accept their disadvantage as a fact of life and hence get involved with crime, rather than working to improve their lot.
Of course Simon Frith conveniently ignores the fact that last year’s Mercury prize went to Speech Debelle, a black urban female rap/speech performance artist.
I thought her music was utter shit. They gave her the Mercury Prize. But she’s hasn’t really sold many records since last year so I guess that gives me some credibility back.
Oh… and Dizzee Rascal. He’s just great. They gave him a Mercury too, and loads of people bought his records. That is completely because he is a talented artist and performer, and not because of some pity I’m supposed to feel that we oppressed his ancestors into slavery 200 years ago.
Simon Frith is talking bollocks. QED.
Nina Simone, Billy Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin,
Bessie Smith, Sophie Tucker. All BRILLIANT
Hel boy, it aint cus youse black, it’s cus youse CRAP that no one listens any more.
Eeeeeek!
*rummages through CD collection*
*finds ‘Ladysmith Black Mambazo album*
Whew!
What?
😉
Hi Longrider,
Some Rap is good,all gangsta rap is bad,but then I detest gangsta`s in any form,as for black female urban artists well I keep a very close eye Alexandra Burke.
http://www.alexandraburkeofficial.com/gb/
@Julia M Ladysmith Black Mambazo are fantastic live.
Completely agreed. I am totally unfussy when it comes to buying music (I’ve got all the good albums ever released, so I just buy the NOW! CDs when they come out) and am not aware that I was racist for not actively buying certain types of songs.
Also, what Vladimir says. When rap first came out it was new and inventive (Grandmaster, Eric B & Rakim, Run DMC), but pop music does not appear to have moved on for nearly thirty years, except the videos are ever more forulaic and pornographic.
“nigger music”? Is that necessary?
Music is music, crap is crap whoever it comes from. Specious allegations of ‘racism’ won’t make it any other way.
Surely he meant “nigga” music?
Only rap track in my whole collection is “Big gun” by Ice-T from the Tank Girl soundtrack. A work of genius.
Most of the “black” music I have tends to be blues and “atlantic” soul. Little bit of funk and a goodly amount of reggae in there too.
Some stuff by a dead bloke called Hendrix too – well worth a listen if you can find.
@ John – Frith’s words of wisdom were prompted because of the poor sales of last years Mercury Music winner versus this year’s. So it’s not correct to say he ignores this.
The output of some of the music Frith is talking about is niche, sales by definition are going to be limited.
Frith is just yet another one of those tossers that sees racism at every turn.
I recall Speech Debelle winning last year and they played some of her music at the time. It was dreadful. Niche is one way of putting it – you’re too polite ;). I don’t suppose that it would appeal the the mainstream and I am not at all surprised by the low sales. This has nothing to do with her sex or skin colour – her music is dire. Simple as that. If the British music buying public have a blind-spot for it, then their taste is better than I erstwhile gave them credit for. Frith is an arsehole for trying to link this to racism and/or sexism.
That’s what I assumed.
I am glad from reading the comments here that I am not the only one with such a wide taste in music. I thought I was wierd lol!
In terms of rap, the only artist I consistently like is Eminem, a lot of the rest is as others have said, whiney crap.
Also as others have said, there have been some fabulous black female artists.