Rock&Rant-Quick rants about music.
By Eddie J., Contributing Writer

So, anytime a hip-hop/rap or R&B artist who may or may not have some kind of credibility as a lyricist releases a new record, these click-bait "X Amount of Writers are Credited on ____'s New Album" articles always seem to pop up. The purpose is usually to subliminally invalidate the artist's skill-set and fuel debates on whether they're talented or not. It's been done with Kanye West (The Life of Pablo had 103 writers), Beyoncé (Lemonade=72 writers) and now Drake (Views=81 writers). That sounds like a lot of Pablos, views and gallons of lemonade, but hold up! There's a little technicality to be mindful of. Not even half of the individuals listed did any literal writing. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if no more than 10 people actually assisted. Let me explain...
 
Often in hip-hop/rap and R&B, there's this cute thing called sampling that happens, where portions of a song by someone else are mixed in. When this is done, the song and its original writers typically have to be cited for legality's sake (e.g., "This song contains replayed elements from 'You Tried It' by Tamar Braxton"). Those few of us who still buy physical copies (and read liner notes) and others who frequent Wikipedia, see these sample lists. The remaining majority who don't are prime takers of the click-bait and pass it along to the other fish that such and such artist doesn't write their own rhymes or can't stand on their own.
 
Take Drake's "U with Me" (featured on Views) for example. It contains samples of "What These B*tches Want" and an interpolation of "How's It Goin' Down," both by DMX. Breaking this down, "What These B*ches Want" was written by Earl Simmons (DMX's real name), Mark Andrews, Tamir Ruffin and Phillip Weatherspoon. "How's It Goin Down" was written by DMX and Anthony Fields. When you remove those names from "U With Me" in the credits, you have only Drake, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Dave Goode and the producers: 40, Kanye West, DJ Dahi, AxlFolie and Vinylz. 13 writers just went down 8.
 
This brings me to my next point: also in hip-hop music, producers are almost always included as songwriters in the notes. This is probably in part to how hands-on producers are in creating the music or melodic ideas the artist uses. Taking into account how limited credits are in showing the true extent of each person's contribution, a "producer" can be a composer, someone who programmed the drums, or made with the chorus melody that the song was developed around. In that case, it makes sense to consider this kind of work "writing." However, this doesn't mean that Drake, Nicki Minaj or Kanye West are sitting in a room full of 10 other people taking different bits and pieces of lyrics to make a song. These times are occasional, and rarely involve more than 2 or 3 people tops, which is the average amount of writers on a song in any genre.
 
Finally, some rappers are simply best at their primary job of rapping and need to bring in help for choruses, hooks and catchy moments in their verses. Just because one can receive points on a song for doing this, it doesn't mean the artist they worked for is lacking talent or capability. It's assumed that hooks are easy to form, but it requires a particular skill. It's fairly uncommon in the realm of hip-hop/rap that artists can come up with great hooks naturally because their focus is choosing a topic, inventively approaching said topic, punch-lines, voice inflections/delivery, rhyme structure/pattern and verse variation. It may take a village for your favorite song or album to be made, but that never has anything to do with how good or bad the artist is at lyricism or overall. So feel free to take this red pill with a tall glass of lemonade, and enjoy the views.

Rock & Rant-When I need to quickly rant about music.

I’m annoyed, confused and concerned. In case you hadn’t heard, actress Angela Bassett is directing a Whitney Houston biopic for Lifetime centralized on Houston’s marriage to Bobby Brown (I guess she wasn’t more than Bobby’s wife, but ok). I find this totally exploitive and violating. Bassett is supposed to have been a friend of Houston’s, and what does she do just 27 months after Houston’s tragic, sudden death? Make a movie bringing further attention to the most intrusively publicized area of Whitney’s personal life. Good job. How nice of you. For a moment I thought, “Well, maybe Angela wants to show the side of Whitney and Bobby she knew to counter the general negative perception,” but there’s honestly no need for that because Whitney very candidly gave the good, bad and ugly details in her last Oprah interview in 2009. Bassett said in a statement: “I feel a responsibility in the telling of their story.” Why? The story already came from the horse’s mouth. The fat lady has already sung, and it’s not like Brown is involved with the project to tell his side. “I’m beyond excited to have this opportunity to go behind the camera and into their world,” Bassett continued. I bet you are, Angie. What better way to make a splashy directorial debut (I could be wrong in my questioning, but we’ll see)? Who cares what this will unearth for Houston and Brown’s families, especially their young daughter, Bobbi Kristina. I’m sure the families would expect an outsider to do such a sensationalist thing, but a “friend?” “I told 'em it's no friends in the game, you ain't learned that yet?”- (Nicki Minaj, “Pills N’ Potions”)

Speaking of Ms. Minaj, entertainment blogs went ablaze when she released the cover art for her new single “Anaconda” (inset), in which she dons a string-thong and her entire buttocks is exposed. Minaj noted the fickle standards of when photos like hers are deemed “unacceptable,” posting pictures of Sports Illustrated covers that haven’t been condemned on her Instagram to address critics. That in itself is a valid discussion, but my primary concern with the artwork is that it feeds some of the very things that frustrate Minaj about being a woman in a male-dominated genre. In the world of rap, women are often reduced to be nothing more than sexual outlets. On multiple occasions, Minaj has expressed that it’s been an uphill battle to receive respect and be treated as an equal. The obvious focal point of the “Anaconda” cover is her butt—not her face, not the music; her butt is the star of the show. With an image similar to that of a hip-hop mixtape or party flyer featuring the “video girl” archetype, Minaj is objectifying herself and playing into the sexualized role they would prefer her to be in. I don’t know what the lesser of the two evils is: the “Anaconda” photo or her twerking and grinding in a video for a song called “Ass.” There might be a method to this particular madness of Nicki’s, but I’m thinking it was just an agent to continue the hype for her upcoming album, The Pink Print. I believe that Nicki’s direction, musically and branding-wise, is still in development and a work in progress. Until it’s settled, we’re going to continue to see confounding and illogical moves. From every angle, I don’t get it. Minaj seems bothered by the reaction, but I’m sure a reaction was the primary motivation for the photo being chosen. She gets aggravated when people ask her about her bum, but her bum is all out. *Throws hands in confusion*

Rock & Rant-When I need to quickly rant about music.

In November 2012, I did a “Rock&Rant” marking my observation that the genre of R&B as we knew it had fallen into a dangerous, uninspired extinction ozone, merely hinting at potential causes. I left the article open because I wanted to hear everyone else’s thoughts, but after reading “Why Has R&B Become So Misogynistic?”  by Vibe’s Michael Arceneaux and listening to the R&B farce that was Trey Songz’s  new album, Trigga (see my review here), I’m ready to name the culprit: hip-hop. Hip-hop music (inadvertently) killed R&B.

In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, hip-hop was establishing itself as the pop music of America and began to leave its mark with other genres. Even country music had to get a taste (ex. Trace Adkins “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk”). Once hip-hop emerged (originating in the 1980’s), it wasn’t long before R&B was synonymous with it, mainly because of color-coding and racism. In spite of this, R&B long maintained its own distinction, but on the way to Oz, it got lost. Other genres that trendily attached hip-hop sustained their genesis and foundation, but mainstream R&B eventually allowed theirs to nearly collapse. These days, you almost can’t tell the difference between an R&B and hip-hop hit: every other song has a rap verse and, increasingly, the harder-driven rhythms, abrasive language and content, misogyny and incensed detachment often heard in hip-hop are becoming common threads in R&B; a genre once characterized by seductively smooth, bluesy and soulful sensuality. The shift I’m describing is lucidly exemplified on the aforementioned Trey Songz record. By the end of it, I yelled “This is not R&B!!” The definitive “I love you more than life itself,” “haven’t been able to sleep since you left” and “close the door and let’s revel in our passion” statements were replaced with  “These hoes going to do what they want…F*** them all the time, but you know I never wife them…I swear these hoes trifling (that’s not an affronting double standard at all),” “If you ain’t the type of b**** talking about relationships, hit me up on that late night s***,” “All we do is f***, drink and sleep” and violent sexual analogies. I thought R&B was supposed to be enticing. I thought R&B was the home of baby-makers, begging pleas, broken moments and wedding playlist jams.

R&B has died and its fan support is wavering because it has isolated its audience and forfeited its personality, charm and quality and become a watered down sub-genus of hip-hop. It’s unrecognizable. It doesn’t know what it is anymore. How can you speak when you have no voice? Some might argue that like any other genre, R&B has various stylistic periods and this is just another phase. The concerning difference, however, is that this phase has too much likeness to an already existing base. Strip it down and the only thing that makes it R&B is that it’s sung. As a fan, it bothers (and surprises) me that I can’t get through even a Kelly Rowland album without hearing multiple expletives, and it’s not even from a featured rapper! Charting top 5 songs have f*** right in the chorus. The sexual representations are tacky, impulsive and lack craft and wit. Sex is now a means to an individually hedonistic end. Further signifying the identity crisis is that even the modern break-offs are fairly bereft of R&B. The burgeoning “Alternative R&B” (AKA PBR&B and Futuristic R&B; ex. Frank Ocean) has thoughtful and tender lyrics, but no musical traits of “rhythm and blues,” and computerized and electronic effects. It’s arguably only branded as R&B because the artists are predominately black, which goes back to color-coding.

Don’t get me wrong, hip-hop has its value and I’m all for genre-mixing: it brings communities together and exposes people to styles they may not have listened to before. This outcome is most likely to occur though when there’s a balance and each side stays true to its defining basis. These “Hoes Ain’t Loyal.”

Rock & Rant-When I need to quickly rant about music.

Much of entertainment medium (and Twitter users) have been making assessments about the status and quality of Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez’s music careers, given their dismal album sales: Carey’s Me. I Am Mariah…The Elusive Chanteuse reportedly sold around 60,000 copies and J.Lo’s new A.K.A. is projected to reach half of that (as of June 15, 2014). The singers have been laughed at and called washed-up (mainly on social media, which is ever-punishing); at best, examining and theoretical pieces have been written to answer the questions of “What happened?” and “What is going on?” 

Stop mocking these performers-- who have dedicated over a decade to entertaining you-- washed-up or “irrelevant” (I hate that word so much; it’s so overused, ill-applied and shoddily defined on social media), because they aren’t. Stop saying the albums are trash simply because they didn’t sell well; how many times have we seen great talent or music go unrecognized? In my opinion, Chanteuse and A.K.A. are the best records either woman has released since 2008 and 2005 respectively (see the reviews here and here). The real answer and bigger picture is much more frightening: the music industry is going bankrupt. Yes, bankrupt. Sound dramatic? I wish I was overstating. No one, I repeat, no one is doing substantial numbers, regardless of headliner status or promotion amount. Anticipated 2013 releases from pop power-players Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Britney Spears all failed to garner certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Even hyped-up newbies with fierce radio-play like Ariana Grande aren’t seeing fat figures. Just to show you how bleak (as Mariah might say) things are, an artist can make the top 5 of the Billboard 200 Albums chart without even going gold (Chanteuse debuted at No.3). Pre-millennium (and pre-piracy), artists were selling 10 million copies left and right; now it’s a feat if you can do 1 million (maybe this is why Billboard ridiculously starting counting YouTube clicks and Spotify streams towards chart position). Acts are having to get creative (and perhaps desperate) to sell records. Lady Gaga’s Born This Way was $0.99 on Amazon for 2 days when it dropped in 2011. Jay-Z practically gave away 2013’s Magna Carta: Holy Grail; it was free for Samsung users and his 2011 Kanye West collaboration LP, Watch the Throne, was exclusively sold through Best Buy stores after an iTunes release to try to prevent a leak. Beyonce` had to issue her latest effort (complete with music videos) with no prior notice or singles for rapid purchases, only to match the sales of her previous 4 album (platinum).

I know what some of you are thinking. A ton of you are probably skimming through this next paragraph because you can’t wait to comment and say “Well, Adele’s 21 went diamond and long after its release.” Shut up, because you know just as well as I do that 21 was a complete anomaly. It did prove 1 thing, however: that “real” music--not mindless and heartless (but catchy) jabber sung by a pageant queen stunner or prom king stud muffin--sells. There are several reasons why people rather pirate than actually purchase an album, but 1 of them is quality- something the industry can actually do something about. They’ll never be able to take the joy out of getting something for free, but they can procure music we really want to buy. It’s funny how when Britney Spears started, even-better recreations of her popped up everywhere (ex. Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson), but Adele breaks bank and…crickets (although there were test trials like Amy Winehouse and Duffy before her). For record label executives to be the smartest people in the room, they’re doing a couple of dumb things. Well, several, but this is a “Rock&Rant,” so I’m only going to focus on a few. They need to stop signing acts purposely for the cause of having a few hot singles and get people with multi-dimensional talent, because they’ll make more money for a longer period. I assume a “flash in the pan” artist would be more expensive because the label has to pay so many other people to make the artist “hot,” whereas a singer-songwriter can do the bulk with less assistance. Once they get such a multi-talented act, let the artist be themselves; don’t sign Jewel and ask her to be Kesha. The worst trend and practice I’ve observed in recent years is focusing on the development of quick-buck fluffy singles instead of a comprehensive album. I’ve heard too many records where the singles were the strongest tracks and it seemed no effort was put into the rest. If you hear that type of album enough times, you’re not going to feel motivated to spend money or refer a friend. 90-95% of a record needs to be quality material. “Rolling in the Deep” was catchy and had some thought (how about that?!) and “Someone Like You” pierced the hearts of America and had us all in our feelings. People said to themselves “well, dang, what does the rest sound like?” and got their money’s worth because 21 was phenomenal. In future result, Adele’s next album will more than likely fly off the shelves because she’s now a brand people feel confident in and take seriously.

Now, that I’ve suggested what the industry can do, onto you: the consumer. At the risk of sounding preachy and cliché, please start buying music again. I know people hardly go on MySpace anymore, but you’d be surprised how many artists stream their albums in full on the site when they drop. Preview a record if you’re unsure about purchasing it. If you’ve already downloaded an album illegally and you like at least half of it, buy it. Push and plug the ones you like to your friends. If you’ve bought something you ended up hating, sell it on Half.com or EBay. Truly support the artists you’ve been tweet-gushing about. Otherwise, there won’t be much of anyone to gush about. 

Rock & Rant-When I need to quickly rant about music.

Just in case you live under a pop-culture rock, Miley Cyrus, the former Disney star from the mega-youth-phenom “Hannah Montana,” has been preparing over last several months for her upcoming album, “Bangerz,” in a way that’s made headlines. 1st came the single, “We Can’t Stop,” where she tries to encourage love and acceptance, but the promotion of drug usage and female self-exploitation kind of washed that out. Then came the strange associated music video many deemed sexually suggestive. The latest is a gratuitous MTV Video Music Awards performance with R&B crooner Robin Thicke that came with twerking (AKA butt-gyrating) dancers, a simulation of analingus and penis jerking, crotch rubbing and pushing her tail into Thicke’s groin. In her new video for the song “Wrecking Ball,” she’s licking a sledgehammer and swinging around naked. Most of this is causing a massive reaction because Cyrus was Mickey Mouse-affiliated and still has a large youth fan-base, but that’s also the very reason Cyrus is suspected to have initiated these shenanigans. If that’s true, I don’t get it.

I don’t understand Miley’s shock value tour. She may have thought it necessary because she’s known as a major child-star, but unlike most, Cyrus had a few things going for her that would make shocking to shed an image unnecessary. 1) As opposed to a Shirley Temple-type, Cyrus’ fame wasn’t reliant on being little and cute. 2) Although plenty of her fans were much younger than her, there were just as many around her age that would grow with her and view her as adult because they are as well. 3) She kind of laid low after “Hannah Montana” wrapped. She put out 1 album and got engaged. Given that she’s a decent songwriter, plays guitar and somewhat crossed over into country, all she had to do was take a break, then step back into the spotlight at age 20 with an artistically salient, likable album and Voila. Transformation done.

Hell, she might have even gotten away with crossing-over into the urban territory she desperately wants us to buy, had she played her cards with a little sophistication and acted like the music-serious person she claims to be. Instead, she headed the tacky, stereotypical route to incorporate more hip-hop and R&B influence into her sound. I’m sure she’s thinks she’s doing something cool and race-barrier-breaking by having all black female background dancers twerking, donning a grill with baggy pants and a toboggan, throwing up gang-signs and enlisting rap and R&B producers for her new project, but it’s all coming off like a mockery and minstrel show that I’m not sure why the black people around her are participating in. Maybe they’re educationally correcting her behind the scenes; who knows? She doesn’t seem to know any better. I don’t see why she couldn’t have just put out an urban record without all the visual bells and whistles. I came across an article analyzing the gender-bias and racial implications of the VMA performance that was linked to several other interesting pieces. On the surface, it may seem like a reach that Cyrus’ VMA act would suggest such things, but it was insightful reading. Another article purported that Cyrus isn’t trying to shed an image at all and that it’s a parody of what former child stars do to grow up, since in all of her sexually charged moments, she’s moving kind of awkwardly, instead of in an arousing way. Whatever the case, Miles, you were cool the way you were, even though I know the media took inspective shots at you then too.

It might not be a fair comparison, but Cyrus’ Disney contemporaries seem to be transitioning into adulthood fairly seamlessly. Demi Lovato (“Camp Rock”) said “Ain’t nobody got time for that” to wilding out after going public with her battle with bi-polar disorder, self-harm and bulimia. Since then, supporting related causes (in addition to anti-bullying) have become Lovato’s platform and she’s gaining more street cred musically, crafting and scouting talent on the U.S. edition of “X Factor” on Fox. Selena Gomez (“Wizards of Waverly Place”) has concentrated on developing a music career since her sitcom closed and doesn’t much garner negative press. Hopefully, I’m not speaking too soon.

Rock & Rant-When I need to quickly rant about music.

Okay, so my friend calls me frantic saying, “You’ve got to hear this Kendrick Lamar verse! He woke up hip-hop! He’s claiming to be the king of New York and he’s from the west coast!” I quickly rolled my eyes and scoffed, “How is that waking up hip-hop? And so what if he claims to be the king of anything? He’s a newbie; we all know he’s not.” My friend wasn’t the only one whose world was apparently paused by Lamar’s feature on Big Sean’s “Control.” Social media exploded. Everyone kept saying to me “Just listen to it. You’ll feel differently, you’ll understand.” Finally putting the track through my ears, I was even more apathetic and annoyed than before. This was big hip-hop news?! Were we so bored with music that a rapper simply bragging and igniting yet another childish and unnecessary beef (namely with his contemporaries like Drake, J.Cole & ASAP Rocky, to call a few) was all the rage? It was gimmicky as hell, but I guess that was the point because it worked. People fell out and gave him credit he really didn’t deserve. The lines surrounding the disses were even less impressive, with use of the oldest street adage (“I don’t smoke crack, mother f*****, I sell it!”) and repeated concepts reworded. I saw a comment online that read “If he’s claiming to be the King of New York, Jay-Z & Nas should feel threatened.” What for? Artists like Jay-Z and Nas won’t care because they’ve already made history. Watch the throne; their initials are etched in the chair. To quote Shawn Carter directly, “I’m a Warhol already.” The newer acts Lamar mentioned shouldn’t feel threatened either because they arrived first; a few with endorsements from older heavyweights. So….

Rock & Rant-short and sweet bits on music industry related topics.

Here recently, I’ve been asked a few times to do a “Curious Case of” career analysis article on R&B/dance artist Ciara, whose been putting out records for almost a decade, but seems to have declining success. I can describe shortly what I think has caused this arguable decline, so I’ve opted to do a “Rock&Rant” instead. Caught in the wave of hip-hop’s major infiltration into R&B and the Billboard Top 40, Ciara came to us donned the “Princess of Crunk N’ B” in 2004 with the smash hit “Goodies.” Crunk N’ B was an R&B-influenced off-shoot from the rap sub-genre, Crunk. One would think being the face of a new genus would give Ciara a head-start on a lengthy and flourishing career, but this was the first nail in the coffin. Crunk itself had a short shelf-life in mainstream music; therefore, any of its by-products would go down with it, leaving Ciara to enter the murky waters of having to revise her sound before becoming an established act. She also had to shake her current image, which brings me to the second nail in the coffin.

Most artists have what I call a “blueprint” that they’re built from. It’s based on either their personal musical influence (ex. Usher was heavily inspired by Michael Jackson) or someone that their record label thinks it’s cool to emulate (ex. Jessica Simpson came off of the Christina Aguilera/Britney Spears factory line). I’m not sure who Ciara deems her influences to be, but it was clear her “blueprint” was Janet Jackson and the late Aaliyah (who was inspired by Jackson, herself), as she was a soft-voiced singer, but a skilled and trained dancer. Comparisons or resemblances only work if the artist matches or succeeds them in their own way. Ciara’s music lacked the depth and production sophistication of some of Jackson’s work (ex. “Rhythm Nation”) and her voice was weaker and more limited in range than Aaliyah’s. Additionally, anyone that seemed to mimic Aaliyah was immediately dismissed or criticized. Aaliyah is and was a sensitive subject as the beloved artist (especially in the hip-hop/R&B community) died at age 22 in a plane crash just 3 years before Ciara’s arrival. When you’re viewed as a lesser-version of another popular singer, it can be hard to make a lasting impact.

For “The Evolution” album, Ciara made a seamless shift from “Crunk N’ B” to R&B/dance and had a sexier image. The changes worked for audiences and “Evolution” went platinum in the U.S. Everything came to a screeching halt on the “Fantasy Ride” follow-up as her label, LaFace Records, took the saying “change is good” too much to heart. With Justin Timberlake & Britney Spears producers Danja & Dr. Luke in the liner notes, many felt “Fantasy Ride” was the most “pop” we’ve heard Ciara and that the album isolated her core R&B audience. Instant genre changes can be a killer. Furthermore, as the heat cranked up on her sexual austere, it got hard to swallow (or respect), considering she used to sing about how guys couldn’t easily get to her “Goodies.” The icing on the cake was seeing her dressed and acting like a rap video model in the music clip for “Ride” (featuring Ludacris) from her last album “Basic Instinct.” Although it got her back to her R&B/dance roots, “Basic Instinct” was, well, basic (see my review here). So there you have it: Ciara’s career is where it is because she was initially marketed on shaky ground and musically (and image-wise) moves like a rolling stone, lacking any foundational consistency. I doubt Ciara won’t go down without a fight, however, because from what interviews I’ve seen, she goes head to head with her label and is desperate for creative saliency. Let’s hope the new self-titled July 9th album gets her back on track.

Rock & Rant: short and sweet bits on music industry related topics.

Until recently, I had only heard of Miguel in passing. I didn’t know any of his songs or even what he looked like. I saw him perform his latest single, “Adorn,” on a talk show and I was immediately intrigued. Listening to his interview, he had an affinity for 70’s R&B and had been compared to Prince (I wasn’t sure if it was because of his eccentricities or music, however). I enjoyed the performance and planned to check out his new album, “Kaleidoscope Dream.” I eagerly listened, expecting the record to be as refreshing as his TV appearance, but I was disappointed to hear tacky lyrics over intoxicating musicality. Miguel was giving me the same mindless, romance-less, childish, over-sexualized banter that other male R&B crooners, like Trey Songz, have been giving me. I’m not sure what killed R&B, but something did. The days where mainstream R&B was memorable, innovative and affecting seem to be gone at moment. Most current R&B albums are generic, basic and unmoving. It’s almost as if they’re built around 1 or 2 commercially-appealing singles and the rest is a wash. They sound like no real effort is put into the production or lyrics, not to mention most of talent is mediocre. Records by the males are all about arrogance and one-night stands and the females sing about cute clothes and broken-hearts. Some argue that the integration of R&B into contemporary pop and hip-hop in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s saturated the sound and the genre lost its way. What do you think?

Rock & Rant-when I need to quickly rant about music.

Fox’s “American Idol” has been the kingpin of talent-based programming since the “reality TV” boom in the early 2000’s, but the list of new talent shows with their own distinctive spin on the “Idol” blueprint is ever growing, and each program (including “Idol”) is desperately resorting to lots of blatant gimmicks to attract and/or retain viewers. Playing with the judge’s panel has been a popular (and annoying) trick. Shows like NBC’s “The Voice” and ABC’s summer series, “Duets,” employed all-star casts (including Grammy winner Christina Aguilera and “Idol” alum Kelly Clarkson) to garner ratings. When Simon Cowell didn’t get the attention he anticipated on his U.S. edition of “X-Factor” by rekindling his bantering “Idol” flame with Paula Abdul, Abdul and Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger were scrapped for Britney Spears and former Disney darling, Demi Lovato. With every few judge rotations, “Idol” ups the celebrity ante; from talk-show host Ellen Degeneres, entertainer Jennifer Lopez and rock legend Steven Tyler, to one of the biggest-selling divas of all-time, Mariah Carey. Word on the street is that “Idol” is looking to fill another empty judge chair with singer Nick Jonas or hip-hop starlet Nicki Minaj.

While I’m happy to see that in most cases, qualified industry personalities are involved in judges’ picks, the moments where that’s not the case agitates me because it’s SO OBVIOUS that it’s all about ratings and not about providing aspiring singers with proper mentoring. I understand that these programs are in the business of TV and music is going to be an afterthought, but making music a 2nd-in-line priority could positively affect viewership. “X-Factor” sent the clear message they were only concerned with statistics when they paid millions to contract Spears, who has been criticized her whole career for lacking substantial talent. Granted, the pop queen is familiar with touring, promoting and the dark side of fame, but the idea that she will be evaluating, coaching and choosing songs for contestants seems to be a bit ironic and inappropriate. Lovato is a singer-songwriter with a solid voice who plays piano and guitar, but she’s been a major artist for only 4 short years. Jonas is the same age as Lovato with 2 more years on her career. Minaj, whose abilities and consistency is often debated, is equally unseasoned with just 3 years in the public eye. These celebrity names might be beneficial for ratings, but it may not be for the contestants who have to improve weekly to receive votes and hit the ground running once they win and sign a recording contract.

Why should TV execs care if contestants are properly nurtured? Well, if they aren’t nurtured, the contestants may give lackluster performances that no one will want to watch and release albums that no one will want to buy. If their talent level is mediocre or the sales aren’t there, the record label will either drop or put little energy into them. With that result, viewers who voted will feel disillusioned about their perceived input and stop watching. There’s a whole trickle-down effect. I strongly believe I’m onto something, considering “Idol’s” ratings have slowly, but surely decreased with each season, voter numbers for other music programs aren’t as high and most winning contestants don’t go on to have flourishing careers. For example, out of 11 “Idols,” only 2 (Kelly Clarkson & Carrie Underwood) have had massive record sales. “Voice” has yet to produce a top-billing act and we haven’t heard much from “X-Factor’s” inaugural winner, Melanie Amaro.

Since we’re on the subject sales, there are many possible reasons that most winning contestants don’t do well. Sometimes the winner is an indifferent talent who flew under the radar all season or was liked for a superficial reason (ex. looks or personality). A big chunk of it is how the record label handles things after the competition. There have been many cases of poor promotion and marketing; sometimes the label doesn’t even try (like with “Idol” 9 winner, Lee DeWyze, for example). A great illustration of marketing missteps would be the management of Idols Ruben Studdard and Fantasia Barrino’s careers. Both were pigeon-holed into core R&B/soul. This was a mistake, considering the demographic that watches “American Idol” consists mostly of Caucasian women ages 18-49 with a cluster of southerners and female teens who do most of the (repeat) voting. Let’s face it: this population doesn’t listen to R&B. If anything, they listen to pop/R&B (the key being pop comes 1st). Couple this with the fact that most young people illegally download music and primarily purchase singles versus albums, and you have poor record sales. Additionally, the “Idol” audience wants to see an artist do whatever they saw on the show; which is a versatile mix of popular contemporary music through the years. The less mainstream, pop or country your album is, the less likely the viewers who voted for you will buy your stuff. Guess the record executives didn’t anticipate TV politics affecting their business. Maybe TV and music shouldn’t blend together if they aren’t going to consider each other’s modes of operation.

Rock&Rant- When I need to quickly rant about music.

Many have recently asked what my thoughts are on Rihanna, the controversial pop-star most known for her catchy, sexually overt music and her former relationship with entertainer Chris Brown that ended in a well-publicized domestic altercation. Well, here it is. When Rihanna was signed to Def Jam Records mid-millennium, Reggaeton (urban music with heavy Latin and Caribbean influence) was still hot and one of the reigning queens of R&B/pop was Beyonce`. With Rihanna being a native of Barbados with a toasty complexion, I’m sure Rihanna seemed like a sure-bet cash cow to then Def Jam president Jay-Z. Not such; at least not at the time anyway. Her first 2 albums “Music of the Sun” and “A Girl Like Me” were quickly released within a year of each other and neither effort performed extremely well. Often dubbed in the media as “The Bajan Beyonce`,” music journalists often criticized the singer for bearing too much of an aesthetic resemblance to Beyonce` in her music videos and performances. As if the failed attempt at the Beyonce` blueprint wasn’t enough, Reggaeton was fading from the mainstream. 

It was time to re-evaluate, so the record label took a drastic shift: they got big name R&B/Hip-Hop producers and turned Rihanna into the Anti-Beyonce`. Pop producers/songwriters Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken (known for their work with N’Sync & Kelly Clarkson) were traded out for urban heavy-weights Timbaland, Tricky Stewart, The Dream, Ne-Yo & Stargate. All but Timbaland have continued to work on Rihanna’s projects. Delivering intensely infectious and sometimes well-written tunes, popular producers and songwriters have made Rihanna a top 40 queen with singles constantly riding the charts. Her affiliation with one of hip-hop’s biggest-selling acts, Jay-Z, hasn’t hurt either. The street cred helped her garner Grammy nods and cross over into another genre, as she was featured on massive hits with established rap artists like Eminem, Kanye West & T.I. One can only theorize why all these hits haven’t translated into higher album sales, however.

Rihanna’s heightened commercial appeal was only furthered by her image transformation into the Anti-Beyonce`. Increasingly edgy, dark (sometimes gothic), rebellious and sexually-charged, Rihanna’s persona, music and reputation is the antithesis of the mild-mannered, Obama family-friendly Beyonce`. The contrast works well as Rihanna’s antics feeds the audience’s hunger for sensationalist gossip and their desire for music that expresses their own personality variances. Basically, Rihanna is who people indulge in and listen to when they’re in the mood to feel reckless, slutty and detached from anything thought-provoking. A sassy potty-mouth who’s often been photographed in public scantily-clad, partying and smoking weed, she’s music’s resident “bad girl” and it doesn’t appear that her record label or P.R. team is going to great length to disguise or clean it up. Why aren’t they? She’s doing exactly what they want her to do. Part of Rihanna’s promotion and marketing magic is to be the “wild child.” It keeps her in the news and people watching. Rihanna reminds me of that girl in college that’s sowing her oats and trying to figure herself out. Only, I’m not sure if Rihanna will ever “figure herself out” or mature, because she doesn’t seem to have people around that will encourage her to eventually take a more productive path. That’s why I kind of feel sorry for her; it’s like the record label is gaining at the expense of her growth. Should she one day want to be a different woman, it’s going to be an uphill battle with the executives. A battle I foresee she will lose, considering she doesn’t have much creative input and doesn’t give the impression that she’s business-savvy.

This brings me back to the music and my ideas on why she doesn’t sell as many albums versus singles. Pure and simple: people don’t take her seriously. When they see her, they see a dancing sexual blow-up doll. She’s doesn’t write songs, produce, arrange or play an instrument. The extent of her singing and dancing abilities are debatable-vocally, the main thing that makes her distinctive is her accent. Whatever allure her singles have are the result of a producer or songwriter’s effort; not her own. Rihanna could have been anyone; had Jay-Z signed another girl, the story wouldn’t change much. People aren’t willing to purchase and listen to an entire album by someone with debatable aptitudes, especially in an age where it’s incredibly easy to access music online for free. She’s only as good as her last catchy song. Few people have had lengthy careers on the strength of sex and controversy alone. You have to bring something else to the table.  Rihanna herself doesn’t frustrate me as much as the concept of her does. Record labels sign people like her, exploit them, make their quick dollar, discard them and repeat with new blood. Not only is this practice disrespectful to the art-form, but it brings down the quality of available mainstream music. It also urks me that artists like Rihanna are offered deals when there are so many talented people who can’t seem to catch a break; especially signed acts who, despite their gift, aren’t properly supported or promoted by their label, but that’s another topic for another day.