For “the special people,” The-Dream has cleared up what has become one of his most controversial statements to date — “Blacks can’t do soul records anymore.”
“For the Special People “Yes, we can do Soul records!” The context is that we can’t do them and they be appreciated like they should!,” The Dream said via Twitter late Monday.
Following his statement that “blacks can’t do soul anymore,” which was said in an interview with UK’s The Guardian, music listeners either agreed with or criticized The-Dream Monday. Some said he was right in saying Adele is praised for singing more soulful records while Beyonce is not. Others questioned his authority in making such a statement, considering the music he produces for ‘Black’ acts he says require a ‘club’ hit.
“Of course we can Do them physically, We so not expect them to be singles because of Radio period. Its really simple. We don’t support Black music we support the popular which is fine with me I can have it either way… But to act like I don’t know the struggle when it comes to Black artist turning in Soul records is absolutely preposterous! Its easy to say what I say is crazy , but you can’t prove me wrong, esp when I’m here , in the trenches.”
According to The-Dream, his argument boils down to appreciation. If music from Maxwell, who he used as an example, was more appreciated, labels and other “powers that be” would accept and possibly push for more soulful music instead of that club record.
“When I was young I knew who Sam, Otis, Teddy…was, they were Gods in my home. Love,relationships real life sh*t! I can go on and on. All I’m Saying is when someone takes what we once did best and was widely excepted we act like its knew….. Labels tell artist all day “that’s too Slow for Pop Radio” and what happens somebody other than us does it and its okay,” says The Dream. “Do yall get it now ? Our albums are full of Dance and…..Someone else is doing the real heart sh*t. Maxwell does not get the credit he deserves because we don’t give him the credit he deserves…US!”
While The Dream has valid points, what about his music? Why is he producing songs some would say contribute to the problem? According to Mr. Nash, he has no choice…
“I’ve took records of my own off of my albums because of a genuine feeling of “that’s not what we do anymore” not because I want to but….Because its the truth and I feel horrible about it. It sucks. I wish I had that type of a voice. I really do. I would show you,’ says The-Dream. “My ability is limited in that space but that doesn’t mean that I don’t know what it sounds like. I Wish I was Sam Cooke for a Day. I Wish!”
So what do we get from all of this? Heartfelt, soulful music is being pushed aside for “numbers.”
“Truth is We “Blacks don’t love what we Do like we use to” its not the same, we settle for half the talent we have, we can be so great…But we often give in,” says The Dream. “Top 4 tells us how a album should sound now, we use to just do the Damn thang and let them figure it out later. We let Itunes And others outlets Change black music. There are no arrows pointing you to the soul and RandB section of itunes. No banners unless its..First week. Fear of not having a number 1, not selling 500,000, not getting all the adds are the twisted reality of this business. But that FEAR is what actually hurts music the most. All we care about is first week! Not the vision. Not the people you touch one by one. So in order for certain artist to come out we do what is necessary instead of what we love. We Gave up the Power of a Beautiful heartfelt voice for numbers of albums Sold. What’s so Dope about that? Just make it Great! If the label let’s you…”
Now that we’re clear on what The-Dream was trying to convey… What do you think? Is he right?
shout to Singersroom
He’s an idiot, it has nothing to do with race. It’s about popular music in general. Adele’s 21 crossed multiple genres because guess what…it was a MUCH better record than the Dream’s or any other R&B record. It was bluesy, folky, had pop elements, R&B …accross the board a more mature record that appealed to a number of different types of listeners.
Emelie Sande is the next big thing out of the UK, you watch her blow up because she writes her own music and it is head and shoulders better quality to other
r&b” artists these days. And the craziest part? guess what…She’s not white!! (gasp)
I do agree with him about Maxwell to some degree. Maxwell’s BLACKsummersnight is one of my favorite records of all time, but it doesn’t have the genre crossing appeal 21 did. Also, very few vocalists have the power and consistency Adele has live. All in all, I really don’t believe race has anything to do with it.
Sorry guys, I saw a very similar article posted elsewhere, I didn’t read all the way through to him clarifying his point so my comment above might not pertain to this post as directly.
I do think it’s a cop-out to say he has no choice, every musician/artist has a choice when it comes to the integrity of their music. I mean, he is a producer after all, if he doesn’t have the voice of a Sam Cooke, find some new kid who does and blow him up!
Also “We let Itunes And others outlets Change black music” that’s just silly… it changed ALL music. why is he trying to make technological change into a race issue? And there is an R&B category on itunes, just as there is a “Rock” category and a “Country” category.
Well It’s a dog eat dog world, and it is no different from Lil Richard being covered by white artist. I feel like the industry will take soul, rap, rock any of it just not from us. It’s a shame.
I agree with The-Dream very much. The obvious artist to take into account here is Adele. And this isn’t downing her as an artist (I’ve respected Adele’s material since 19 first debuted), but we all know and see it everyday that black music is suffering. Like The-Dream said, it’s not what radio wants…or at least not from someone they’d expect it from. Adele’s crossover platform was not only result of quality music, but also the shock factor.
Given the economy, who could blame the “sell-outs”? Urban audiences don’t support their artists, so they make music for the people who do.
I wrote an article dealing with this titled “Rollin In The D: The Adele Phenomenon & Black Music.” The link is here: http://www.musedmagonline.com/2012/03/rollin-in-the-d-the-adele-phenomenon-and-black-music/
beyonce be singing without soul thats why adele sold more records ..and keri hilson got ignored the whole year of 2011 and she puts more soul into her music than rihanna and beyonce.
I agree with Keith Jones. At the end of the day, the artists want to get paid. Artists work really hard and for those that don’t sell much, they have to spend around half or three-quarters of the year touring just to get their bills paid!
However, I do wish more R&B was at the forefront and that black people support black artists.
We dont support our artist. That goes for any genre. We support everyone but the artist – we support the bootlegger sellin 3 for 10. The bootlegger is going gold. The artist dont see that money. Throw illegal downloads in the mix and it’s a wrap. But we can stand on line for hours, camp out, and drop 200 on some kicks. If only there was that kind of urgency to support our artist so they can pursue the sound they really wanna put it. White people support their artist period.