You ever notice how, especially when it comes to Black music… it’s over?Ain’t no bands no more. Ain’t no real musicians. Just computers, dancers, and a whole lotta smoke. See, here’s the thing — Black folks don’t go to hear the show, we go to see it. The artist gotta change clothes 50 times, blow up the stage, damn near fly across the crowd. And the audience? Man, they done spent half their paycheck on outfits just to look like they performing too.
But white folks? Nah, they go to hear the show. They might got some lights, some visuals — but there’s still a damn band up there.Real musicians. Real singers. Even if they run stems, it’s live. And whatever that white artist had on when they got off the bus — that’s probably what they wearing on stage. Same with their crowd— whatever they had on at work, that’s what they came in. It ain’t about the fashion show, it’s about the music. We’ve been bamboozled into thinking we don’t need musicians, singers, or a band. We’ve convinced ourselves that cutting corners keeps the money in our pocket — but in reality, it cuts our own people out of work. Back in the day, the cats playing in those bands used to spin off and become stars themselves. That pipeline’s gone. That whole ecosystem? And guess who picked it up? White folks. They doing exactly what we used to do. They still have places to play. They still do original material in clubs. They still have music programs in schools. They still have college radio stations that let students break new artists and new records. Meanwhile, Black college radio is stuck in the past — playing “dead jazz” run by old heads who refuse to pass the torch. Jazz ain’t dead, it’s that y’all don’t wanna play the new cats. You got young monsters like
@keyonharrold @imjoelmross @mhillsounds @orangejuliusmusic — all killing it.
But you wouldn’t know it, ‘cause we too busy gatekeeping ghosts. I digress… but that’s another conversation we need to have. The bottom line? R&B and Black musicians should be thriving right now. Because that’s exactly what white artists are doing — using live bands, nurturing talent, and keeping the craft alive. We were the blueprint. Somehow, we stopped following it.
