Discussion: Have White artists finally Broken though the Urban Barrier?

Reza

With artists like Robin Thicke, Justin Timberlake, Macklemore and ryan lewis, miley cyrus (new image/music) and Mac Miller burning up the itunes and billboard charts, do you believe that people are over the thought that urban music can/should only be made by black artists??

Wafflecakes

No.

It isn't urban fans (for the most part) embracing those songs as far as I can tell. It is mostly the pop audience who is gravitating towards urban right now imo.

Cap10Planet

Robin Thicke has always been successful in the urban world.

Justin Timberlake has gotten a ton of support from the urban world since *N Sync.

Eminem, Lisa Stansfield, Teena Marie, Jon B, George Michael, etc. etc.????

This isn't a new concept.

Tsuko

Maybe, I mean on rhythmic radio today, the top 5 is:

1. Robin Thicke
2. Ariana Grande
3. Justin Timberlake
4. Daft Punk
5. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Even only last year it used to be common that the whole top 10 would be black.

However, I still think there is a divide. Urban stations haven't really embraced Macklemore's and Ariana Grande's songs that much. Can't Hold Us debuted on the urban airplay chart today officially, but really a hip hop song that huge should've debuted quite a while ago on there. The Way recently got a lot of adds on urban too, but again, I think it should've got those adds a while ago.

On the other hand, I'm seeing Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke's songs do really well on HAC and AC, which I find quite baffling. Those formats usually don't play much R&B music, which makes me think it's because they're white... Also, I'm seeing Macklemore getting played on alternative, again I doubt alternative stations would play his songs as much if he were black.

I think there are still race issues going on in the music industry both ways when it comes to R&B/hip hop. These stations that usually don't play those songs are suddenly playing them now that a few white people are releasing them. But also Thrift Shop which is one of the biggest hip hop songs in ages didn't get played on a lot of urban stations. I appreciate the song's subject matter isn't really the standard, but still.

Quote:

Originally posted by Waffles_

No.

It isn't urban fans (for the most part) embracing those songs as far as I can tell. It is mostly the pop audience who is gravitating towards urban right now imo.

I agree. For example with Ariana Grande's song, sounds just like an R&B song to me, but it got marketed as if it was a pop song, and was pushed by her label to pop fans (the same people that listen to Selena Gomez, etc.).

I feel sometimes that a lot of the people that are loving Blurred Lines and Suit & Tie and the rest at the moment don't realize what genre these songs actually are (or take from).

Arking

White people have always appropriate black music for their own purposes, starting with jazz and rock. Only in relatively recent history have black artists themselves been given the platform (primarily by white label owners and tastemakers who found black music was an interesting form of counterculture that could be made safe and palatable to affluent white audiences looking for something new and "edgy" to $pend their money on) to express their own music and style under the umbrella term "urban" - of course, it was really only a matter of time before white people come and jumped on that too.

No one said that only black people can make music that has been deemed urban. The issue boils down to, are these white people just performing "urban" for the sake of selling "hip" and "edgy"? Because when it comes down to it, JT, Robin Thick, Miley have the privilege of being able to drop the urban-schtick whenever they're bored with it and go back to performing the status quo's acceptable whiteness be welcomed back with open arms into the mainstream culture. Black artists have never been given that same luxury.

the floacist

Quote:

Originally posted by Cap10Planet

Robin Thicke has always been successful in the urban world.

Justin Timberlake has gotten a ton of support from the urban world since *N Sync.

Eminem, Lisa Stansfield, Teena Marie, Jon B, George Michael, etc. etc.????

This isn't a new concept.

ATRL really is clueless

Reza

Quote:

Originally posted by Cap10Planet

Robin Thicke has always been successful in the urban world.

Justin Timberlake has gotten a ton of support from the urban world since *N Sync.

Eminem, Lisa Stansfield, Teena Marie, Jon B, George Michael, etc. etc.????

This isn't a new concept.

Robin has NEVER had a hit this big in his career. Eminem was the only successful white rapper for about 11 years and Teena Marie started her career more than 30 years ago. what im saying is now there are more white "urban artists" and music makers than ever. it just seems normal now vs back then when it was like one every 10 years or so.

Cap10Planet

Quote:

Originally posted by Arking

White people have always appropriate black music for their own purposes, starting with jazz and rock. Only in relatively recent history have black artists themselves been given the platform (primarily by white label owners and tastemakers who found black music was an interesting form of counterculture that could be made safe and palatable to affluent white audiences looking for something new and "edgy" to $pend their money on) to express their own music and style under the umbrella term "urban" - of course, it was really only a matter of time before white people come and jumped on that too.

No one said that only black people can make music that has been deemed urban. The issue boils down to, are these white people just performing "urban" for the sake of selling "hip" and "edgy"? Because when it comes down to it, JT, Robin Thick, Miley have the privilege of being able to drop the urban-schtick whenever they're bored with it and go back to performing the status quo's acceptable whiteness be welcomed back with open arms into the mainstream culture. Black artists have never been given that same luxury.

I agree with everything you said, but Robin should be left out of that bunch because he would not have a career without black folks buying his music or requesting his music on radio. It wasn't pop fans that made him the artist he is - it was the urban/urban AC audience.

Cap10Planet

Quote:

Originally posted by Reza

Robin has NEVER had a hit this big in his career. Eminem was the only successful white rapper for about 11 years and Teena Marie started her career more than 30 years ago. what im saying is now there are more white "urban artists" and music makers than ever. it just seems normal now vs back then when it was like one every 10 years or so.

Robin has had several hits on urban/urban AC radio. Just because he finally got a massive POP radio hit doesn't change the fact that he was already accepted in R&B circles. This is about white artists breaking through the URBAN barrier, which Robin did long before "Blurred Lines" was written. The pop charts have nothing to do with what's going on with urban audiences.

Reza

Quote:

Originally posted by Tsuko

Maybe, I mean on rhythmic radio today, the top 5 is:

1. Robin Thicke
2. Ariana Grande
3. Justin Timberlake
4. Daft Punk
5. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Even only last year it used to be common that the whole top 10 would be black.

However, I still think there is a divide. Urban stations haven't really embraced Macklemore's and Ariana Grande's songs that much. Can't Hold Us debuted on the urban airplay chart today officially, but really a hip hop song that huge should've debuted quite a while ago on there. The Way recently got a lot of adds on urban too, but again, I think it should've got those adds a while ago.

On the other hand, I'm seeing Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke's songs do really well on HAC and AC, which I find quite baffling. Those formats usually don't play much R&B music, which makes me think it's because they're white... Also, I'm seeing Macklemore getting played on alternative, again I doubt alternative stations would play his songs as much if he were black.

I think there are still race issues going on in the music industry both ways when it comes to R&B/hip hop. These stations that usually don't play those songs are suddenly playing them now that a few white people are releasing them. But also Thrift Shop which is one of the biggest hip hop songs in ages didn't get played on a lot of urban stations. I appreciate the song's subject matter isn't really the standard, but still.

I agree. For example with Ariana Grande's song, sounds just like an R&B song to me, but it got marketed as if it was a pop song, and was pushed by her label to pop fans (the same people that listen to Selena Gomez, etc.).

I feel sometimes that a lot of the people that are loving Blurred Lines and Suit & Tie and the rest at the moment don't realize what genre these songs actually are (or take from).

very good analysis of the situation.

I actually think my question may have been a bit too simple for the reality of what is happening in the music industry right now, especially regarding the "urban" scene but im glad that you understood what i was trying to say.

i also find it so odd that they played thrift shop on my local LA alternative/rock stations when they pay dust to every other rap song on the radio.

NE.

Is ATRL really this ignorant?

BLaCKPoWeR

White people have been singing Black music and smashing with it inside and outside of Urban circles since the 1970s.

Ties

Quote:

Originally posted by NE.

Is ATRL really this ignorant?

Did you just ask if a forum full of privileged hormonal teenagers and young adults who slept through their sociology courses is ignorant?

Reza

Quote:

Originally posted by BLaCKPoWeR

White people have been singing Black music and smashing with it inside and outside of Urban circles since the 1970s.

but has it always been the norm? i feel like now people dont even care when a white person makes an urban song whereas before it was kind of a big deal.

Katamari

RatedG²

Who cares? Legend X has broken through and that's all that matters

Gangsta4alife

Quote:

Originally posted by BLaCKPoWeR

White people have been singing Black music and smashing with it inside and outside of Urban circles since the 1970s.

I know right but then again atrl sometimes doesn't know anything pre 1998 with the teen pop explosion. I wouldn't expect emto know of teena marie or hall & oates etc....

Quote:

Originally posted by Ties

Did you just ask if a forum full of privileged hormonal teenagers and young adults who slept through their sociology courses is ignorant?

LOL but so true tho

Reza

y'all just dont understand my question

only the good sisters Tsuko and waffles understood it.

Cap10Planet

Quote:

Originally posted by Reza

but has it always been the norm? i feel like now people dont even care when a white person makes an urban song whereas before it was kind of a big deal.

It was never a big deal. As long as they weren't making a mockery of it, it was always fine.

Reza

Quote:

Originally posted by Cap10Planet

It was never a big deal. As long as they aren't making a mockery of it, it was always fine.

interesting. i never thought of it that way. But you must admit when eminem came out he was basically labeled the "white" rapper and now nobody even cares when a white rapper makes music .