There has been a lot buzz about these two major artist. Erykah Badu has just recently took her video "Window Seat" off of you tube after all of the controversy about her being naked and being snipe in the same location as former President "John F. Kennedy."
A lot of the buzz towards her is about a phenomenal soul singer going trashy.
Now Lady Gaga just release a new single featuring RnB Diva "Beyonce". In her video there were a lot of homosexuality, nudity, and advertisement. One major plot in her video reminded me of "Tru TV" with the show "Black Widows."Both of these artist have major influence on the masses of the people, but how can we praised one and the other one be damned? Lady Gaga's single is one of the topped viewed and like videos, while Erykah Badu has done much less graphic attention and has been look at as a savage.
Well, why would they both be involved in making these type of videos?
If you look at the music industry from the past to now. You can see how much more graphic language and actions have taken place. This leads to Marketing and attention. Think about it. How many of your friends have you spoke to about anyone of these videos? how many times have you viewed it? There are others who have passed it on more than you have. One of the main focuses of strategy is "ATTENTION." Who can get the most attention. I love Erykah Badu's music and will continue to purchase her albums. Lets look at her situation.
When was the last time Erykah Badu had a major buzz on her music? I KNOW, you cant think of one. Oh, Yeah, "You better call on Tyrone" he may be able to give you an answer.We must remember that these are artist and they have sells to make. If they do not make any sells they lose their jobs. yes, their jobs.
My dear sisters. this may have been a call for help, on behave of Ms. Badu. She has three children by three different men and a possibility of losing her job if she does not do well on the charts.
I want you to remember that, people have bosses and until we have our own we will be pimped.
Also remember, there is a double standard. If you can watch both videos you will be able to see how.
Thank you for reading. Do not forget to subscribe to Brother Hannibal Blogging for email updates. IT'S FREE lol.
Posts
I agree with you 100% on this blog Bro hannibal, me and my friend were talking about the same thing this morning. Unfortunately it is all about the record sales. Lady Gaga is controlling the game with her attention getting ways, and in order for Erykah to even remotely get some type of record sales on this album she had to do something to get everyone's attention, and to get the album in the news, the Window Seat video did that. Her last few albums haven't very sold well, and I even heard the school she opened in Dallas, they couldn't keep up with the payments so they lost the building and now she holds classes at her house, and then having 3 kids of her own. Its sad that Ms. Badu has to resort to this, I remember back in days I could never see her do something of this nature. Though she might have a deep meaning and concept to what its suppose to mean, it still is something I would have never expected to see from her.
ReplyDeleteBrother Hannibal- while I appreciate your dissection of these artists and their visual contributions, the comparison is unjust. I would also argue that while both women are great in their own merit and to place them against each other as an example of the "double standard" in the music industry is careless. As a new stand-out artist, Lady GaGa's video for "Telephone" and her overall commercial success should not be compared to the longstanding underground, above ground, overall atmospheric cult following of Erykah Badu. I am a fan of both. Lastly, your assessment of Ms. Badu's children and their fathers and the "possibility of losing her job" if she doesn't supersell is just random. You do know she writes, produces and arranges almost all of her music and also gets to the rights as well? Sincerely, MusicFan
ReplyDeleteVery profound but I think the most important message is the one of being PIMPED. While true that if you don't sell records, you will lose your jobs however, you must stand for Righteousness and Principality at some point in your life. Obviously Sis. Erica is not standing for either of those when you allow yourself to be pimped. I wish that my sister would find herself and find her way back to the Creator. An example of one sister who has not subjected herself to being pimped, at least from what I can see, is Sade. The old saying still holds true - "if you don't stand for nothing, you will fall for anything". Great article Bro. Hannibal.
ReplyDeleteWell said! As a music producer I am alarmed by the lack of originality in modern artists, their aptitude for profanity and vanity, their arrogation towards overt sexuality, the media of course, champion all these dynamics and ultimately, the messages they feed our youth through media, is mow being synthesized into actual behaviour.
ReplyDelete