Sunday, August 17, 2008

Let My Hop On My Soapbox Right Quik (My Weekend)...

I might have to either start a personal music blog or dedicate the weekends of Miss Concrete Jungle to music, because all weekend I've been sitting on my computer reading music blogs and reliving my love for 80's/90's R&B (and some Hip-Hop)--and just music I love in general. For the first time in awhile I haven't had any major plans for the weekend and spent a lot of time at home alone while Spanish Harlem (my bf) was at work, so I took full advantage. I found two great music blogs: soulbounce.com & 90's R&B Junkie, which I've added under 'MESSAGE!', and between those blogs, YouTube and Pandora.com, I rocked the weekend away in pure content mode.

Music has always been a huge part of my life, mostly manifested through growing up in the church. Singing, playing the piano, being in a youth choir, choir directing, writing poetry/lyrics has always made me a happy camper, so much so, that people who've known me for a long time wonder why I never pursued music professionally. I guess for me, musical talent just came naturally to me and was something I could always call my own, so I never felt the need to become a 'professional'.

My lazy weekend activity reminded me of how I used to spend HOURS alone in my room listening to CD's, learning to play Gospel and R&B joints by ear, singing in the mirror, pretending I was directing a choir..I miss that..Now that I'm out in the real world, I've become too 'busy' to do what used to make me happy or calm me down when I was upset.

Music has such power, and I've become so disheartened by the industry which no longer seems to cultivate or even encourage true artistry--it's pathetic. So many musical acts (they don't even deserve the title artist) are out here selling their souls just to get on the radio, oversexualizing and blatantly disrespecting a craft that has the power to truly touch people's lives. There are alot of great artists out there truly doing their thing, but too often you have dig and search just to hear them. School districts are taking away music programs as if they're really spending our tax dollars on something more beneficial, I'm just through. I fear that our lil brothers, sisters and cousins will not have a real appreciation for what music is all about at the rate things are going.

Maybe subconsciously this is part of the reason why I never pursued music professionally; because I much as I love it, I didn't have the patience for people who would only try and tell me what to sing, how to sing it, what to wear, what to do, etc. etc. OR try and tell me to pick another career becuz making it big in music is like making it to the NBA or hitting the lottery.

But sadly instead of dealing with it in the music industry, I chose to chase after Corporate America, which is a whole 'nother beast, only to discover--not for me. So now I'm on a journey that I'm sure will include music one day, I'm just not sure in what capacity. I just hope I figure it out soon, because NYC is not a place for folks in limbo. So, We'll see what happens.

For now check out this joint from Monie Love (I forgot about this one!) that I found on 90's R&B junkie..Remember when this was the female hip-hop game??



HARD WORK, SECOND EFFORT, DEDICATION, LOYALTY & LOVE

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