Newspapers / North Carolina Central University … / April 10, 1996, edition 1 / Page 7
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page? Wednesday, April 10,1996 C^^^ntertainment^^ Sciy it ain't so: Have we seen the death of rhythm and blues? By Rob Moore Staff Reporter The Motown sound symbol ized one of the most important eras in the music industry. The rhythm and blues music of the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s was some of the greatest music ever recorded. Ben E. King, The Supremes, The Four Tops, and The Jackson 5 will be an influence onR&B music for years to come. Lost respect In the 90’s, it seems as if the music has taken a turn for the worse. Rhythm & Blues is los ing its respect as an art form! As with many other forms of black expression it has been ex ploited and commercialized by big business to suit the changing disposition of middle-class white America. Tme talent has been replaced by a beautiful face with a studio synthesized voice. It’s becoming very difficult to distinguish the real artists from engineered fakes. Sarah Vaughn would turn over in her grave if she ever saw an Adina Howard video. In 1991KRS-ONE said, “The essence of black music in general is sex and violence in that order.” It seems that if a R&B record does not incorporate some aspect of sex, then it is no good. Songs like R. Kelly’s “Sex Me”, Adina Howard’s “ Freak Like Me”, X- scape’s “Do You Want To, and TLC’s “Creep” all include some reference to sexual activity. Tme, such topics were taboo in songs of our parents’ day, but the song that blazed a path for the raunchy R&B songs was done by a girl group out of Passaic, New Jersey. The Sherelles’ made a song called “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.” Although this song was done tastefully and with true vocal art ists, the subject matter suggested premarital sex without actually using grt^hic descriptions of the actual act. This song shows how the mu sic of the past exhibits longevity. The Sherelles song would prob ably be a Top 20 song even in today’s market. Real music All of R&B is not totally com mercial. Songs such as “Killing Me Softly” by The Fugces and any one of many songs on the “Waiting to Exhale” sounduack shows that real music has not died. The problem lies in the fact that music has become too much of a business. People are singing for the money, fame, and glory instead of the pure love of singing. Artists are not even artists anymore, the have become busi ness people. When you hear about busi ness moves such as Andre Harrell’s exit from Motown to MCA as opposed to the music coming from Motown, the prob lem becomes very obvious. The hip-hop culture, has branched over and almost en gulfed the R&B industry. You can’t turn on the radio and listen to a new R&B song without hear ing a rapper guest performing or a hip hop based influenced beat. It’s disheartening to fans of classic R&B to see that the torch that was passed to the next gen eration was dropped and reignited. In the future I hope to see more pure singing groups focus on more than their sexual activ ity. Hope for the future Artists like Mariah Carey and Whimey Houston have shown that there is still hope, and artists like Chante’ Savage and Faith Evans prove the future looks bright. THE GOOD NEWS: YoUR FRIENDS Can Always Find You During The Week. THE BAD NEWS: YoUR PARENTS Can Always Find You On The Weekend. Time is short when you’re a college student. You find yourself going in ten different directions, burning the midnight oil, holding down a job and trying to maintain a decent social life. For less than 50^ a day, a PageNet beeper keeps you in touch with other classmates on the go, friends on Friday night and parents who haven’t heard from you in weeks. Get a new Motorola Bravo Express Display beeper in your choice of colors, clear or neon, and a musical or silent vibrating alert option. PageNet offers special low monthly student rates when you show your student I.D. Call PageNet today. PAGEG^liir Americas Largest Paging Company 682A377 'D. £ .'s jazzii ^TopjTen 1. Special EFX Body Language JVC 2. Vibraphonics Vibraphonics 2 Hollywood 3. Bob Mamet Day Into Night Atlantic Jazz 4. Michael Franks Abandon Garden Warner Bro. 5. Richard Silvera Story Teller Kokopelli 6. Najee Songs in the Key EMI 7. Steve Laury Vineland Dreams CTI 8. Bony James Seduction Warner Bro. 9. Randy Crawford Naked and True Bluemoon 10. Four play Elixir Warner Bro. Compiled with the aid of the April 1 list ofWNCU 90.7 fm music rotation list.
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April 10, 1996, edition 1
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