I may only be thirty, but I long for the days of the late 80's when Anita Baker and Frankie Beverly were heard way more often on the radio. Indeed, those legends have been reincarnated in the likes of Jill Scott and Will Downing. But we don't hear from them like we used to.
Yes, we understand that radio is useless these days. It's the same songs over and over again. But what do we do to keep soul music relevant? I don't have an answer other than to keep supporting the artists out there: Angie Stone, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, and many others. These are artists who are truly saying something from within and remaining true to their genre.
But this genre gets no love anymore. Just check out All Music Guide (www.allmusic.com). I have over the past few weeks been trying to get them on my radio show (http://dcsouth.com/podcasts.html Weeks 12 and 13 of last year and Week 1 of this year.) and they have refused. My issue with them is with their ratings of soul music. There has not been a soul music album with their highest ranking of 5 stars in the last 25 years. This of course does not include compilations or an album with any rap on it. How is that possible? It's because they are biased against soul music. How do I know? I'll have an article posted on dcsouth.com very shortly about how unlikely it is for their system to be fair and yet no soul album get a 5 star rating. It turns out that it is very unlikely.
So not only is soul music not even being played, it's not even getting the full critical success it deserves. These are sad times indeed. But there is hope. Ironically enough, the hope is embedded in the music itself:
You cannot hate on me
‘Cuz my mind is free
Feel my destiny
So shall it be
-Jill Scott
If we keep passing on the soul music to others then we and all of its recipients will be better for it.
Peace and Love for a lover of soul music.
Dr. Aris Winger
awinger@dcsouth.com
www.dcsouth.com
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