Events that are trumpeted on local radio stations cater to entertainment. Radio play lists have now become homogeneous with the same 8-10 artists garnering all of the airtime.
What the radio decided was "hot" became so and propelled lesser artists to greater heights than their more "underground" contemporaries. Pandora and various downloading sites), while mainstream radio became the home of artists who were champions of capitalism, urban violence and individualism. used to call R&B, "rap and bullshit".įans of artists like Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Little Brother and the like had to search for alternative routes to find the music of their choice (e.g.
The 80s (the heyday of Ronald Reagan and conservatism), saw conglomerates like Clear Channel wrest control of the radio airwaves, and although they're most popular genre of choice was what they deemed " Urban", it has now become what the Notorious B.I.G. Local radio stations were bought up or bought out and in its place there was a replacement that was deemed 'safe' for the masses. In short, it became more common for a few communications conglomerates to dominate the airwaves like never before. Part of the blame can be laid at the feet of massive deregulation of the telecommunications industry. A sign of the times or a deliberate dumbing down of society? Today's radio is homogeneous, with little distinction between various "urban" stations, and totally devoid of political content. He and other DJs now seem like relics of the past, unknown to most modern listeners of radio. Outlandish and at times profane, Greene was also an instrumental voice in the inner city at a time of social unrest and chaos. Greene, (pictured) made famous by Don Cheadle in the movie Talk To Me, was just one of those celebrities. So spare a thought to Teddy Riley, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis in the musical history of our music.Ĭan it be that it was all so simple then? There was a point in time where Black radio stations were the center of the community, dispensing information about political events, providing social commentary as well as playing the latest and greatest in music.īrash and outspoken, radio personalities kept people dancing and informed in the same hour, and became celebrities in their own right, none more so than Washington, D.C.'s own, Petey Greene. Riley was able to maximize on the trends of the time and put it into musical form. When the elements of solid, upbeat rhythms meet easy to remember choruses/bridges then you have the perfect marriage of music. Those who think P- Diddy invented the remix should know when he was Sean Combs and under the wing of Andre Harrell at Uptown Records, Puffy took his cues from the New Jack movement that he heard on every urban radio station. Blige, the Queen of Hip Hop Soul (a derivative of New Jack Swing). For a quick description of the New Jack era, one would only need to check the discography of groups like Guy and New Edition and artists like R.Kelly and Mary J. If you name a modern R&B star ( Beyonce, Usher, etc), their sound is the new generation of New Jack urban beats with an ode to hip hop. An often forgotten genre/time, it can be credited with revolutionizing modern R&B music. Now as for Teddy Riley, there are few producers/songwriters that are as overlooked as the creative genius behind New Jack Swing. Some purists looked down on their emphasis on electronics, but nonetheless, their fingerprints were all over some of the best songs of the decade. What Gamble and Huff were to the 70s (the innovators of the "Philly Soul" sound), Jam and Lewis were to the 80s. The former members of The Time, Jam and Lewis were no doubt greatly influenced by the group's all-seeing maestro, Prince. Dre and Kanye West, arguably the most influential producers of the past 30 years have been Teddy Riley, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (pictured). This brings me to my original intention of this blog: recognition. Michael Jackson's Motown 25 performance and/or Janet Jackson's Super Bowl performance). It reminds them of where they were when they heard a certain song on the radio or first watched a music video (e.g. Those who feel a sense of nostalgia over a certain genre, artist tend to hold that feeling very close to them. In a recent debate over measuring certain artists against each other, I began to realize that often times these arguments are based on one's generation. OK, this topic is not so extreme, but you get the point. Those who fail to learn their history are doomed to repeat it.