MAX!!!!

Where in the world is Maxwell? He got us all fired up and now he's MIA again. I can't take all of this push and pull with my musical heart, Max.

I got to see him and Jill Scott put it down over the summer at MSG and I was pumped for some mo' grown folks music, but alas, that second album is no where to be found. I'm very disappointed.

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Been Gone For a Minute...

OK!!! So sorry for the delay, but I am back and in full effect.

Be honest... Did you miss me? :)

Let's see. What has been going on in the world? Better question, what has NOT been going on in this world? I'm not even sure where to start...

Here we go. Usher. I have to get this off of my chest.
 

I want you to grow up! I have loved you as an artist and as a performer for such a long time. From My Way to trying your hand as an actor to your prolific Confessions album. I enjoyed and was impressed by the velocity of your shooting star and was happy for your success. But I must say that I have found myself disappointed with you as a man. Not that I believe you to be a disingenuous person, I am just saddened by your string of poor choices (whether it's your poor choice in women or the ways in which you have handles your career these past few years). You strike me as a very intelligent and forward-thinking man, and talented to boot, so pardon me if I am puzzled by your inability to maintain a committed relationship or reclaim your once thriving career. Marriage is a leap of extraordinary faith that no one should ever take lightly. I am not privy to whatever the true reason for the demise of your marriage, but I am inclined to believe that you both copped out. In my opinion, your marriage was far too young to have been irreparable. For a love that was so true, it couldn't stand up to hand full of anniversaries? I'm puzzled.

In any case, your union spawned two beautiful little babies, which is the evidence of God's work. Not that I believe that the Master Planner put you two together to tear you apart, but He obviously had it mind to create your boys.
 

Getting back to my point. What I really want to talk about is Usher, the artist, the singer, the entertainer, the performer. I need you to come to terms with the fact that you are no longer 20 years old. You are not a teeny-bopper and you certainly do not have a squeaky-clean image. Your music right now is so beneath you. Not the vocals--those are fine as ever. This whole dance/house music bandwagon that everyone is jumping on is killing me. I need you to stop dancing around the stage like some big kid and grow up. I know you make the claim that everyone is doing it, but it's not becoming of you and, quite frankly, it comes off as desperate. I enjoy you way too much to say nothing.

Stay tuned for more of what's on my mind...

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Responsibility

OWN IT!!

With respect to music artists... All I'm saying is, as an artist, if you know that your audience is mostly young boys and girls, it is your responsibility to ensure that your lyrics, videos, wardrobe and your overall image is appropriate for all ages. It's no coincidence that your music is so catchy as to get toddlers singing about rude boys and bad romances. Music is such a powerful force, we really have to be careful with it. I am speaking to the Rihannas, Lady Gagas, and even the Beyoncés of the music world. You can't show up all your coot-cat on stage and in your videos and then want to play the lady in interviews. You confuse your young fans. Hell, you confuse me! I know you're smart, I am looking for that redeeming quality, but not everyone does.

This is not to say that parents don't have a responsibility to raise upstanding children, but the influence of public figures can not be dismissed. Why else would a company pay anyone in excess of six figures to be "the face of" this and that. Celebrities are influential personalities and these companies are banking on that. 

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Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business

If you're anything like me and you came up when Brandy, Monica, Usher, Immature and the like were dominating the music scene, then you know just how phenomenal that time was in R&B music. The music was energetic and honest, coming from artists who were well-managed and well-maintained; lyrics hadn't yet reached the level of perversion that exists today and dial-up was still the fastest way to connect to the world wide web.

I love Brandy and Ray J. As artists, their voices are so distinct. As actors, they deliver the goods; they're both very funny and have always seemed like all-around good kids. I love how close they are and how well their collaborations have gone over in the past. I really look forward to them working on an album together in the future.

With all that said, I want to comment on a statement made by Brandy during the second episode of their new reality show titled Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business. Ray J is in the process of striking a deal with super-producer Rodney Jerkins on a project of a collaborative nature and Brandy felt very strongly against the whole idea. Apparently, Rodney and Brandy's relationship (personal and professional) is on the rocks because she feels that her collaboration with him on her latest album, Human, did not fair so well while her previous work with him on her sophomore effort, Never Say Never, did extremely well (5x platinum). Her feeling is that Rodney did not put his all in to her project and that is why it did not do so well.

Truthfully, I feel that Brandy is being very immature and placing way too much weight on Rodney. An album's success is not attributed solely to the production, but rather to the entire package. You're talking marketing, promotional appearances, packaging, the artist's popularity at the time of the album's release... There are so many things that, as a consumer not involved in the music industry at all, I know are crucial to an album's success. Speaking as a Brandy fan who owns Never Say Never and Human (and the ones in between), they were both really good projects. There's no doubt that Never Say Never was the bomb, but you also have to consider Brandy's level of exposure and popularity when that album dropped. She was in our homes every week as Moesha and we loved her. When Human was released, we hadn't heard from Brandy in a minute and that can be an eternity in the entertainment world. The last wave of publicity surrounding Brandy wasn't the best: her fans were shocked to learn that she lied about being married to her daughter's father, she'd been involved in that unfortunate accident, she was no longer a judge on America's Got Talent, that dang tape of her brother and his ex had surfaced... Way too much negative going on and not enough ways to spin it in her favor.

In my opinion, Human was a great album. I didn't find a problem with production. I found a problem with marketing and promotion for the album. Perhaps, the real culprit behind the album's success (or the perceived lack thereof) is her label. There are artists with very lackluster albums who manage to sell big on the strength of promotion, alone. You live, you learn and you move on.


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