Talk about annointed ones…
As musicians around the world from legitimate cultures continue to share their influence globally, only one or two POSER /A&R/ DJs receive proper acknowledgement. Moreover, it is now being suggested that these POSERS were somehow the PIONEERS of a given Sound / Look / Vibe… This wholesale chicanery has presented itself in a MAJOR way, as ‘Baile Funk’ (Brazil’s most vital voice of the underground) was essentially chewed up and spit out; well before giving rise to even ONE fruitful career.
At least Reggaeton presented us with Daddy Yankee, Tego and Don Omar, who in turn payed tribute to their Panamanian predecessors. Today’s POSER-Driven-Throwaway-Culture is seeing to it that musical styles flash in the pan and never have a chance to be fully digested.
Don’t blame the internet, and don’t even THINK about blaming the “Hipsters”.. They are the bright-eyed, dumb-assed, often misguided minds of today, who will control the trends of tomorrow. Still essentially part of the crowd, they indulge in a group-think mentality, going where the party is. That’s what kids do. Why even trip about it?
Behind the scenes are the old guard, responsible for every Rock & Roll, Blues Ripoff act who toured the world and made millions, while their influences died penniless. The old guard is responsible for the many songwriters who never received a royalty check, while the cover artists with the correct skin color were showered with accolades and riches.
Nowadays, it’s the POSERS who will take money and credit for starting “trends”, while the rest of the industry fights over the scraps.
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I will now outline to you how you may spot a POSER, because obviously no one is telling you:
POSERS:
They will avoid culturally significant artists at all costs! POSERS favor the latest trendy garbage, which has yet to establish itself (often for good reason). Sometimes POSERS will get lucky and jump on a trend that has some substance. They already have the A&R money in place from the old guard to make it work in a MAJOR way. In such a case the POSER will be hailed as a MESSIAH. Usually though, their failures number THREE TIMES that of their successes. The reason for this is that they have no real inspiration.
POSERS are great, however at spending “the MAN’s” money to go around and ”discover” then exploit the “next new thing”. Posers are like Christopher Columbus to the music industry. Artists who do not sever ties from them QUICKLY usually end up with nothing.
REAL Mfkkas:
They will find the ORIGINATORS (the OGs) within a given genre, and attempt to breath new life into their careers. The Rolling Stones bent over backwards to let the WORLD know how much respect they had for Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry (and later Peter Tosh). Their name even came from a Muddy Waters Record. Led Zepplin and many other Rock superstars reached back and payed tribute to Blues man Robert Johnson, even as their careers thrived.
REAL Mfkkas don’t usually claim to be originators. They will give credit to their influences even as they evolve into something the world cannot easily categorize. That is how you know they are real. For a while… no one knows what the hell they are doing. Their art is borne of personal self-expression.
Like it or not: Black Eye Peas, Steve Rifkind, Jay-Z, Jimmy Iovine have done quite enough to satisfy the REAL Mfkka criteria overall…musically… I know.. I know…talk that shit… Just do your research (or write and ask me why I said it).
As the world continues to NAME and subsequently DISPOSE OF genres, we’ll see who establishes themselves as having made a difference. Will it be the POSER? Does it even matter? It is totally in your hands. You should understand one thing tho, before being so dismissive… There are POSERS in every industry.
Z.
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