[Alicia M.]

I guess it would be the same thing as when men wash the dishes or do something that ordinarily is looked upon as a 'woman's' job, women tend to make a big deal about it, thanking them, remarking on how nice it was. But very rarely do women get the same type of kudos for doing the same job, it's just expected of them. Perhaps we expect certain things from different groups of people, and only when someone different makes a special effort or takes it on do we notice it.

User Detail :  

Name : Alicia M., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : I don't adhere to any one belief, Age : 44, City : Klamath, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : counselor, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Dawn]

When white people start doing something black people have always been doing, why does it then become mainstream, the greatest phenomenon, etc.? Past example: Elvis. Present: N'Sync, Britany Spears, etc. Why do white people reward their people more when they do something black people do?

User Detail :  

Name : Dawn, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 22, City : Greenville, State : NC Country : United States, Occupation : sales, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Dan27140]

Black people started Rock n' Roll. Little Richard, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry and even back to the turn of the 19th/20th Century, argue some historians, the African-American community had full reign of rock. Back in the 1950s in Memphis, Sun Records was one of the few recording studios that would allow black people to record their music and market it to radio stations and record stores. Then Elvis came along: He was white, yet he sounded black. Now kids didn't have to secretly listen to black music on the radio behind their parents' backs: they could freely listen to black music with a white face, their parents none the wiser. From then on, record companies sought white performers who sounded black, purely for marketing purposes. Even today, many white parents would feel more comfortable with their daughters listening to the sterile sounds of N*Sync and Mariah Carey (who appears white at first glance) rather than the rough edges of Mary J. Blige or the blatant innuendo of Sisqo. There's also the possibility that white faces put them more at ease. Although the latter two artists are arguably more talented and cutting edge than the former two, buying tastes and possible misgivings regarding black artists cause the former two artists' platinum records to far outnumber those of the latter two.

With Eminem, I think Dr. Dre got wind of the fact that about 80 percent of rap's audience is white teenagers (when it comes to the mass-marketed stuff) and decided to tap into it. All he had to do was find someone with more street credibility than Vanilla Ice who happend to be a really good MC, and then promote him like crazy.

Although virtually all the significant advances in popular music come from black people (rock, blues, jazz, reggae, soul, funk, metal [attributed to Hendrix], hip hop, reggae, ska, R&B, etc.), the record companies seek to market whatever comes along to the white majority. That is because the biggest portion of purchasing power lies within the majority's hands.

User Detail :  

Name : Dan27140, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Pentecostal, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Anonymous]

I will definitely agree that blacks have had a major influence in singing and dancing, but when you say that white people who do these 'black things' (which I don't believe are necessarily 'black things') are being rewarded more than black people, I just don't agree. I think it has more to do with who's raking in the bucks for the record companies. The fact is that kids (who tend to follow the trends) have a huge say in the popularity of performance artists. Whatever is the current trend basically decides their opinions. The whole teen thing is just the trend now. Keep in mind, though, that there was a time when Michael Jackson (back when he was black, that is) was on every teenage girl's wall. And Prince. And New Edition. And Menudo! I don't think it's a constant of white rewards, but rather a change in trends. Bubblegum, pop-singing, dancing white kids are the thing right now. This, too, shall pass.

User Detail :  

Name : Anonymous, Gender : F, Age : 26, City : Southern, State : NJ Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, 

[Alicia M.]

I guess it would be the same thing as when men wash the dishes or do something that ordinarily is looked upon as a 'woman's' job, women tend to make a big deal about it, thanking them, remarking on how nice it was. But very rarely do women get the same type of kudos for doing the same job; it's just expected of them. Perhaps we expect certain things from different groups of people, and only when someone different makes a special effort or takes it on do we notice it.

User Detail :  

Name : Alicia M., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : I don't adhere to any one belief, Age : 44, City : Klamath, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : counselor, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Scott M.]

Blacks have historically been on the cutting edge of Western Music. I think the bottom line is history rewards liberals and radicals - eg the most famous American Presidents have always been reformers (Lincoln, Kennedy), not defenders of the status quo (Rutherford Hayes? Zachary Taylor?) African-American culture historically has been more receptive to liberal values because of their status in American culture as a repressed minority. This being said, money drives popular American capitalist culture. White people drive American popular culture for precisely the reason that they are the majority and control the most money. Here in Puerto Rico, Mark Anthony and Ricky Martin and other Hispanic artists are overwhelmingly popular. So are white artists, but not to the same degree. Bizarre factoid: The only white artist I ever saw on TRY (PR music television) was Cypress Hill.

User Detail :  

Name : Scott M., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Unitarian, Age : 24, City : Humacao, PR, State : NA Country : United States, Occupation : engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Rob Knuth]

Popular music is what it is: light, uncomplicated, unsophisticated, and eminently forgettable. All the boy bands and teen queens on the scene right now are destined for obscurity. Remember grunge? The so-called popular music has so little intellectual appeal that it has a minimal lifespan. Remember MC Hammer? Music is a definitely a subjective preference, but, Foucault and Derrida aside, I think that the cognoscenti can agree that classical music is the standard for musical expression. Black people certainly took music in a different direction, but to my mind it has been a steady decline from jazz (where blacks took the instruments invented by whites and played simple unstructured tunes) to rap, where all musical pretense has been eliminated, and plagiarism and vulgarity reign. Blacks have no doubt been influential, but to a large extent it has been pernicious. And it is an irony that the rock groups that have been most successful have been white. The Beatles, the Doors, and the Rolling Stones may still be listened to 100 years from now, but Chuck Berry? Every black artist--and I use the term loosely--of the past decade isn't worth Scott Joplin's oeuvre. That is someone for blacks to be proud of, but, compared to Sisqo, he might well have never existed, for all the awareness among black youth of ragtime, and true musicianship.

User Detail :  

Name : Rob Knuth, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 35, City : Sherman, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Systems Analyst, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, 

[Stacey]

Dawn, I don't quite see this trend in music. Certainly you have whites rewarded more in business, politics and even acting. However, if one looks back at some of the more celebrated or note-worthy musicians, minus classical music, one generally would have black musicians brought to mind: Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, The Pretenders, Ella, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Brandie (sp), Branford & Wynton Marsalis, Fresh Prince/Will Smith, etc. Just to name a VERY few. I don't know if we can say for sure that there is an inequity in the music business. I have no idea if it's more difficult for an aspiring Black musician but when a Black musician becomes 'known' there is plenty of rewarding. Perhaps though there is more scandal (be it with basis or not) around Black artists and maybe that results in shorter-lived fame, I don't know. Something to watch though.

User Detail :  

Name : Stacey, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jehovahs Witness, Age : 28, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Dawn25938]

I can understand your frustration with the phenomnon. I think the fact that 'homognized' versions of hip hop and rap do so well is it speaks to the level of middle class, white America. A person who's grown up in the 'burbs' most of his/her life can't always connect with the original forms of black music (of which rap, hip/hop are truely the most orignal forms of music within the past few decades. The cultural norms and perspective represents a world unknown to and often misunderstood by middle-class whites. Now when a Britney Spears comes along, it's embraced not only by middle-class white teens because they can relate, but also it's accpeted by their parents b/c it's safe. I.e., my guess is that most parents would prefer their 12 year-old listen to NSYNC over Dr. Dre. However, the fact that it sells so well, doesn't mean that it's good. I can appreciate a lot of different artists and often like to listen to music that exposes me to other viewpoints. I can really appreciate the quality and lyrical integrety of bands/artist like Spearhead, Snoop & Dre. However, what they have to say doesn't always mesh with the values/morals I was brought up with. As an educated adult, I can reconcile that and use the information to try to understand the difference between the culture and the driving forces behind the music. However, to others the message in its most pure form, can scare those who cannot understand where its coming from.

User Detail :  

Name : Dawn25938, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 31, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : Admin. Asst./Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Colleen32011]

I think it's partially a question of numbers - black people have invented pretty much every kind of cool popular music this century. Eventually some white people start listening to blues/jazz/soul/rocknroll/hip-hop, 'cause it's good, fresh, original, like nothing they've heard before. Eventually, if they like it enough, they want to play it - when Keith Richards met Mick Jagger, he started up a conversation with him 'cause he saw him carrying a buck of Muddy Waters records. Meanwhile, more and more white people are starting to find out about this cool new sound, whatever it may be at the time, and evetually, the population distribution of this country being what it is, there are at least as many or more white people who like it as black people. That's where racism starts to come into play, or did - 'cause those orginal white fans of black music have formed bands and are playing it for themselves. This allows a racist audience to listen to it - I bet there were thousands in the 50's who wouldn't go see Chuck Berry but would go see Elvis. In the process the music often gets toned down and made more acceptable to the white audience - thus attracting even more white squares. But I think this is happening less today. If you look at hip-hop, the most prominent rappers, producers, and DJ's are black, even though a huge chunk of the audience is white suburban teenagers. There's no longer that need for an intermediary to imitate and water down black music, the way Elvis did. In fact, being white is almost a handicap in hip-hop - you have to work harder to prove you're authentic and not some Vanilla Ice. So I don't think it a conscious decision on the part of most white people to reward white artists. There are just more white people than black people in the country, and if a musician can somehow appeal to that mass auidence, he's gonna make more money than if he sticks to only one slice of the poluation. In the past that meant finding white guys who could play black music, like Elvis, in order to overcome white audience's racism. In terms of today, I don't think that's necessarily a requirement.

User Detail :  

Name : Colleen32011, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 21, City : NYC, State : NY Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[Justin]

In elvis' time it was because the listening public was racist and it still is. i was talking to this teenage girl who was a huge beastie boys fan (this was before emenem or the recent rap-metal phase) and she was explaining to me how she can't stand all that 'nigger music' and that the beastie boys were 'not rap' but rather 'i dunno, something totaly different'. similarly, i've seen insane clown posse fans on message boards refer to emenem, one of the few, perhaps the only, white mc to come the mic with both honesty and his identity as a white man intact, a 'faggot wigger' who 'probably prays to jesus every night that he'll wake up black' and that if he were to be honest about it he'd play metal. now i don't know what crap they have their studio guitarist playing, but it isn't metal (and i dissagree with the attribution of metal to jimi hendrix, althoug metal does find it's roots in psychedelic and blues rock), but if any body can be said to be guilty of ineptly aping a white man's characature of black/hip-hop culture, it's icp. but i digress. they (white rappers and rap-rockers) should all get a concience and drop off the scene. every album that emenem sells is one that common doesn't. if the kids want to hear hip hop, make 'em buy black.

User Detail :  

Name : Justin, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 26, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : file clerk, 

[dave-reichart]

how about living in the now. as the population shifts from primarily white to primarily minority, in black and hispanic culture, the people who spend the most money on music entertainment,(the pre teen to the young twent somethings) are going to buy what's considered cool to the majority. incindently i love heavy metal and hard rock, but i dont think chuck berry or elvis have much to do with it.as a white person, i cant stand rap or hip hop. so we dont all glorify and reward whites who do things blacks started. believe it or not, i dont like emminem either. some of the richest entertainers on the planet are black rappers, now i feel so sorry for them. they glorify the ghetto, they glorify gangs and drugs and violence, but they dont live in the ghetto.

User Detail :  

Name : dave-reichart, City : fitchburg, State : MA Country : United States, 

[Author]

Posts