05/08/2019
A MASTER CLASS.
I am constantly both amazed and irritated by the western depiction of musical styles. We live in a time of redefining the things we value most. Music is not immune to misunderstanding. If you don't say what a thing truly is you risk its loss of power and pride. Commerce forces musicians to be categorized. But the danger is how the music itself is then lumped into a box and sold with the wrong labels.
Food that is salty is not salt. Salt is Salt. R&B (R$B) can be soulful. But its not Soul. A soulful rendition or a Jazzy rendition of a song isn't always Soul or Jazz, respectively.
I say all this to say we are suffering a tragic fact. The battle that was secular music vs religious music has made us weaker in both arenas. The merging of the two realities is what made Soul Music "our" strength. How do we even believe that we can move towards social justice without Soul/Soulful music? How does one have a loving relationship with out the juxtaposition the carnal and the divine? When Musiq "Soulchild" came out with the song "Love" it was immediately seen as an ode to both a human physical relationship and a divine ode to the Creator. It's no accident that loving an unseen God is as problematic as truly loving another person. That is if you try to do one without using the other as a template. How can you not see that the yearning that comes from worship defines our expectations on how we want others to be? More importantly how we should be to each other.
Aretha praised God. But when she sang about "Dr. Feelgood" she was offering the same reverence. Her hands raised high but her feet firmly standing on the dirt of reality. That's why she and many other true Soul singers were so dynamic. That formula will not change. Even though the powers that funnel songs to the masses discourage that type of secular creativity, those that creep thru always touch the masses. I recently read that when Lauryn Hill submitted "Miseducation" to the label they didn't like the vibe of certain songs. (They also didnt like the album cover which was a homage to The Wailers album "Burnin") Every great work of musical art was disliked by someone that was not involved artistically. Artists who recognize the vibe of the past have to constantly force the issue.
YOur /OuR kids will get what they ask for. But if they don't know that the spirit of Soul Music isn't locked to a specific era they may never fill the void in their lives.
They took music out of urban schools. They siphoned Soul out of Black music. Both have had the same effect. It has made us weaker as a collective. Yeah, some of us Bohos gather and get things done "for the culture". But the rank and file are being suffocated. Not because of the music per se. But the content within. R&B and Hip Hop without lyrical truth is empty calories. No one should live in a world without new Soulful music. And write now as we breath the spirit of Soul Music is in its final stages of artistic gentrification. Not racially exactly. But in it's depiction as a harmless style of singing as opposed to a definite merger of the Black gospel experience and worldly need for love, respect and dignity.
The Soul Clapback is the attempt of a few musicians to spark more writing and performing of this type of music. We will reconvene this Summer.
Two songs that show off Aretha Franklin’s gospel roots. Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO Aretha Franklin will always be the Queen of Soul. In t...
