You know I won’t claim to know much about the Country Music Industry at all. I am sure that they face the same or similar challenges that other genres of music face but I do know this(after pinning the radio dial on the local Country Station for the commute home last night after a rehearsal) there is evidence of a tradition, there is a protection and cultivation of the culture. Period. I don’t know if I can say the same for my beloved R&B. To be honest in the main, I don’t know what that music has become and I will look in the mirror because even though it’s easy to blame major labels and corporate radio(and yes they have more than enough blame to go around) but at the same time not necessarily on an individual level but en masse the consumer acceptance of mediocrity and nonsense plays a role. The mediocrity and nonsense is not always blatantly obvious and so what has occurred over time is an acceptance and then what your left with is music claiming to be part of a tradition in name only.
But I have a feeling that the tide is changing and just like the classic film Network and folks are going to rebel because they’re tired. Just plain tired. So welcome to GFM over the coming weeks, months and years if you are as tired of this ish as we are, for lovers of R&B and all her children this will be your proverbial District 12 on the ‘net. When you know better, you have a responsibility to do better. We’re working to put you in the know so that we can all go out a do what we gotta do!
Peace
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Ivan Orr is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, performer, and writer. A native of Charlottesville, Virginia Ivan was involved with the forming and nascent days of The Music Resource Center as its first Program Director. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Music, Ivan currently resides in Richmond, VA where he maintains an active performance and production schedule while serving as the Music Editor for Grown Folks Music, a position he has held since 2010.
