According to TIME Magazine, 2013 was the first year in history that no African-Americans had a #1 single on the Hot 100 charts as a lead artist.
To be fair, there weren’t many Asians at the top of the Hot 100 either, but then again Macklemore and Lewis didn’t sell 7 million copies of a song featuring ancient Taiwanese chants and Miley Cyrus wasn’t running around the VMAs doing a Vietnamese fan dance.
Call it inspiration or appropriation, that’s not the point. The bigger issue is why didn’t America’s love of Black culture translate into success for Black artists (specifically, Black R&B artists).
The absence of Black R&B artists from the Hot 100 was just a small part of the continued disrespect and marginalization of a genre and culture which continues to inspire and define music as a whole, yet somehow has gotten pushed aside in recent years. The biggest selling album of 2013 was a Black album by a White Artist. The most popular song of 2013 was a Black song headlined by a White Artist and yet R&B music performed by Black artists was largely missing from pop radio rotations.
there are such things as Black albums and Black songs?
Right!!!
I do think Afro-culture has sold better now through white artists but it sucks that it's that way. I wish more black artists were as promoted heavily and such.
Because the majority of people buying music are young white children who don't/can't relate to the come up stories, the sexual fantasy songs, the started from the bottom now we here's.
They relate to love songs, raps songs about equality and thrift stores, the artist is making black music but with a white perspective.
This would have been a valid argument if it wasn't for the fact that 2014 is proving to be different.
And I hate the term "black music". Music is music and it's going to inspire everyone of every race, etc. Maybe it was started by certain races but it's dumb to just think it should be limited to certain races or appreciated less by someone of another color.
This would have been a valid argument if it wasn't for the fact that 2014 is proving to be different.
And I hate the term "black music". Music is music and it's going to inspire everyone of every race, etc. Maybe it was started by certain races but it's dumb to just think it should be limited to certain races or appreciated less by someone of another color.
oh and I didn't know black people were allowed to own certain genres of music. Also black people are much much more represented in the entertainment industry than other professions and there's no discrimination there because black artists regularly have huge hits
Thoughts? 
there are such things as Black albums and Black songs? 
Right!!!
Erykah. 
