As a father, I am wondering if Black music is stagnating...

[JayStarwind]

I'm not worried at being turned off by their music, I really am not. It just seems so similar to what I listened to. I expected something totally new and crazy that I would disapprove of and that would be ok by me but it doesn't seem like it is changing that much.

I understand what you're saying. For as much progression and "so much music out there" that people speak of today, you'd think that Black music would have evolved more than since you were a teenager/young adult.

The music that has progressed the most is non-Rap imo. I can listen to newer R&B, Alt-Rock, Afrobeat, Experimental, Soul, and some Pop here and there before I can listen to Rap because majority of these genres sound like they're trying something new. The only thing that has "evolved" in Rap has been the beats and that's pretty much it.

 

[SonnyDecay]

Future started popping 8 years ago.

Could be wrong, but I think Future Young Thug and Metro Booming was the last real wave of innovation

nope, at the very least since then we had people like Zillakami sounding fresh



and a few other movements

 

[Cynic]

Im firmly in the Afrobeat genre. I actually work with a radio station in Houston.

Please check out Afrovibesradio.com we have an app and a website that streams 100% free afrobeat music.

Burna Boy was a surprise to me.... Afrobeats seems to be the "ting" in the UK though

 

[seabreeze80]

Not saying there isn't good stuff out there or everything is "trash" (though I am biased to 90s hip hop & R&B since that is when I came of age). But seriously, my kids are starting to get into music and what is primarily out there is rap and pop music. Which is a variation of what was out when I was growing up. It's different in that my parents listened to different genres of music than me (Motown, 70s R&B/Funk) and my grandparents listened to different genres of music than them (blues, big band jazz/swing, gospel) and my great grandparents were straight old Negro Spirituals. Every generation couldn't understand how the newer generation could listen to that new "crap" as each generation called it.

Basically Black people innovated a whole new genre of music, not just new faces, once every 20-30 years in the 20th century. That's not even counting genres that cribbed Black music styles like Rock & Roll and modern pop/dance music. Hip hop rules the world now, which is cool in a way, but I am worried about there being no progress. Maybe the huge inflow of money has spoiled people. My pops theory is that now Black folks are getting money on the producing side, unlike when he was a kid, they are getting lazy and happy to push trash that sells. When Black artists were getting shafted, innovation was basically the only way to try to get ahead.

But maybe I'm just getting old.

Making money is the only concern of most mainstream artists and that is why mainstream music now is . Very little variety unless you look underground. That's why I respect artists like Sir.

 

[FeverPitch2]

Music as a creative art form has regressed.
Part of that is because the major label system is in shambles, the other part is that most of these people are in it to make money.
They dont care about music as an art. They tell you as much.
All that other shyt nikkas talk is cop outs (it's not for you to like, there's great shyt out there...somewhere between Mars and Venus, music is better than ever)
It's a denial that leads to further regression of the art form
You cop pleas for this bullshyt, then you have to cop please for that bullshyt, too
It's gets to a point where you're so insecure about being called a hater that you dont call out anyone or anything for sucking.
You just allow whatever and force yourself to pretend to like it.
There's a reason why old ass music sells more than new music.

 

[Wear My Dawg's Hat]

The culture and technology of how we now consume music will never allow us to return to the
diversity that we once had with our favorite artists and genres.

Looking at the 1988 Year-End Top 200 albums for black artists, you see 500K to 1M plus album sales
that ranged from r&b/soul to rap, heavy metal, folk, jazz, reggae, blues, pop, dance.

It is probably the final year where we see the wide variety of very popular music heard in the community during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The narrowing begins in the 1990s.

1988 Year-End Top Selling Black Albums

Giving You The Best That I Got - Anita Baker/Don't Be Cruel - Bobby Brown/Any Love - Luther Vandross/Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman/Heart Break - New Edition/It Takes Two - Rob Base & D.J. E-Z Rock/Simple Pleasures - Bobby McFerrin/Bad - Michael Jackson/Karyn White - Karyn White/In Effect Mode - Al B. Sure!/Messages From The Boys - The Boys/Eazy-Duz-It - Eazy-E/Power - Ice-T/He's The D.J., I'm The Rapper - D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince/Vivid - Living Colour/Guy- Guy/Rock The House - D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince/Heart's Horizon - Al Jarreau/Make It Last Forever - Keith Sweat/Swass - Sir Mix-A-Lot/Stronger Than Pride - Sade/Just Coolin' - Levert/Affair - Cherrelle/Machismo - Cameo/Supersonic--The Album - J.J. Fad/A Salt With A Deadly Pepa - Salt-N-Pepa/C.K. - Chaka Khan/2 Hype - Kid 'N Play/Let's Get It Started - M.C. Hammer/Me, Myself And I - Cheryl Pepsii Riley/Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark - The Robert Cray Band/Don't Let Love Slip Away - Freddie Jackson/Rapture - Anita Baker/Radio One - The Jimi Hendrix Experience/Maxi Priest - Maxi Priest/It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back - Public Enemy/Who? - Tony Toni Tone/My Gift To You - Alexander O'Neal/Conscious Party - Ziggy Marley And The Melody Makers/More Than Friends - Jonathan Butler/Tracie Spencer - Tracie Spencer/Whitney - Whitney Houston/The Best Of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. II - Earth, Wind & Fire
Move Somethin' - The 2 Live Crew/The Right Stuff - Vanessa Williams

Top 200 Albums | Billboard 200 chart

 

[Jimmy Two-Times™]

How many young black people were listening to rock in the 70s? How many young black people were listening to jazz in the 80s? How many young black people were listening to disco in the 90s?

The point is simple. Black people have created more facets of music than anyone else in America...and black people tend to move on to the new wave (and ultimately abandon the old wave for white adoption). Hip hop is still the wave....but you can't say hip hop has stayed the same. The style now is completely different and it's clearly turning off old heads the same way boom bap turned off older blacks in the 80s.

Case in point:


Listen to one of the top five most influential musical artists in American history. shytting on the new wave. Noting that the majority of fans at his concerts are now white. Sound familiar?

 

[Jimmy Two-Times™]

Nice thread. It's nice to see good healthy discussion from once in a while.

 

[Rozay Oro]

Back in the late 90s, I saw B.B. King at the House of Blue in Myrtle Beach. When my girl at the time and I took seats at our table, Mr. King looked right into my eyes and smiled. We were the only black people in the room as far as I know. After he was finished with his second set, he nodded to me to talk to him on the side of the stage and the first thing he replied out of his mouth, "I was worried there for a second". I made his eyes widen when I told him that I knew that his stepfather was former heavyweight champion Sonny Liston's half-brother.

Dope story

 

[Rozay Oro]

You getting old. You should've took advantage of their early years and play music you love at home.

 

[Greenhornet]

Its not innovative because its just dikkheads without musical talent letting computers speak
and writing terrible lyrics to match it, mixed with some drab ass heavy drums to carry them

Even indie rock and all those genres that had a flash, are flooded with cornballs faking it to make it
No real songwriting or direction, no immense grandstanding movements ... just extremely bland flavorless bullshyt

It's been gone, people who have no clue will champion and praise trash because they relate to it
Remember back in the 90s when Erykah Badu was a novelty and a one off act that people knew and respected but never championed?
Her creativity alone could destroy the past 10-20 years of music alone. People are coddled and fake deep because they think its the move.
Being average was huge from 06-10 but people can only be average for so long. Now they are on that fake deep trend and its horrible.
I can barely play piano, its like me doing an award show with some 3 chord turnaround with a showtune pop urban jig... I wouldnt deserve to be out of my city
Even the people who pretend to be dope at shyt are garbage. Like the bar is so low, you can barely do something and still claim to be a superstar at it.

 

[Shadow King]

If these new school "rappers" claim a new genre we wouldn't be having this type of talk.

 

[3rdWorld]

The fact we are even having this discussion is damning proof new Black music is trash and virtually lifeless..

 

[CrimsonTider]

If these new school "rappers" claim a new genre we wouldn't be having this type of talk.

Why didn’t 90s rapper claim a new genre to contrast the 80s

this notion is retarded