Fade To Black: Revised
Note to readers: This article uses interpolations of an editorial piece I wrote in 2016 about the demise of Black Music. I dedicate this site to our fallen artists who left an undeniable mark of the culture. This post is dedicated to my uncle J. C. Futrell who contributed to the creation of Fresh Fest alongside Andre Harrell, Ricky Walker, Bill Hagans, Russell Simmons, Rick Rubin and Michael Mauldin .
Over the weekend, the music industry lost three legendary contributors; CEO Andre Harrell, The Architect of Rock N’ Roll and R&B songstress Betty Wright. While these losses were a huge blow, we must acknowledge the impact. They moved the culture forward.
30 years ago, author Del Jones wrote the largely out of print thesis ;Culture Bandits. The focus of the thesis addresses the thievery of Black-American musical and cultural customs throughout the 19th and 20th century. For example, the world claims that the pioneers of Rock are Elvis Presley & Jerry Lee Lewis, but who inspired them to gyrate their hips and sing as if they were having convulsions; “Little Richard”. It’s no secret that White artists have stolen many of our creations throughout music. “Little” Richard Pinnerman was very outspoken about until his demise.
Grammy Award winner Betty Wright earned her spot with her debut single Clean Up Woman which has been sampled heavily throughout hip hop. Wright was only 17 when debut which paved the way for younger female artists from Evelyn “Champagne” King- Beyonce. Not only was she a hit singer, she was an entrepreneur who started her own label without the help of any major entity. Although she may not have been in the conversation along with fellow R&B singers, her musical efforts aren’t unforgotten. She was a boss. I heard that she was ill about two weeks ago after reading a tweet from fellow diva Angela Winbush. She will be sorely missed.
As I began to write this last post, I became a little overwhelmed . As aforementioned in dedication, Harrell has a connection with my family. When I began my journey in covering and preserving music, second to my Uncle J.C., Andre Harrell was second. His loss hits home because his contributions are relevant to my formative years. During the late 70s and 80’s the Bronx native was a part of the rap duo Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. Harrell took hip hop from the perspective of being grimy and impoverished. He polished it and the result was glamorous without losing credibility in the streets. After his brief rap career, he transitioned to creating Uptown Records which blended hip hop and r&b ; talk about innovation! Without Mr. Harrell wouldn't have the careers of artists such as Heavy D & The Boyz, Teddy Riley, Father MC, Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, Christopher Williams, The Notorious B.I.G and his protege Sean “Diddy” Combs”.
All and all, cultural appropriation is still a tremendous issue in popular culture today. (McQueen 2016). Black music is undeniably the backbone of the industry worldwide.
