Thank You for listening
Lauren K.
BlackBSBFans (Fans Standing Aganist Discrimation)
http://www.blackbsbfans.net
By Lauren Kinsey
A few years ago when Prince decided to change his name to "The Artist", I thought is was a joke. Why is he doing that? We are always going to call him Prince anyway. In recent years I have come to understand on why he did that. Sure he did it because he was sick of his record label of restricting his freedom in music, but they were also doing something else...labeling his music and image.
Stereotyping and labeling any kind of artist almost sounds contradictory. We don’t label painters and writers to the point where it can make or break their career, but we do that to music artists. One stereotyping image of a singer, band or group can determine whether one get respect or become a laughing stock in the industry. Color is a factor as well. It automatically puts the artist in a category of what they should be singing and perfoming.
Color obviously does this because music industry , the media, ourselves for that matter would not be doing some of the things that it would be in regards to music.
Now I ask for a moment for you as the reader to do this. Picture a black woman on stage that is about to give a concert. She is walking up to the mic. What came to mind?
A Diva type figure? Like Whitney Houston? Mariah Carey? Patti La Belle?
For all you know it could have been Kina, one of the new African-American female rockers that are breaking out lately.
Picture this, four or five Caucasian guys walk out on stage stand before a bunch of screaming fans. Now what comes to mind? Groups like the Backstreet Boys, Nsync, and 98 *? What if it was Metalica or Creed. Hey, their fans scream too.
This is exactly my point. Based off of what we stereotype and label an artist, we automatically conjure up false facts and assumptions about artists, groups and bands
For instance on that last example what else came to mind when you saw the names, Backstreet Boys, Nsync and 98*?
They can’t sing, they were put together by a "boy band "guru, all there fans are teenagers and Caucasian, they got successful over night , and there are many more.
Now did you find out all this information about "boy bands"(a label in itself) from television, the magazines, or did you do the research yourself and ask the people of these groups these are these true?
Of course you did not ask about it, that is why it is a stereotype. Stereotype are just things assumed about a group or a person with out even really finding out about them or that person.
98 * was not put together by a "boy band guru", They formed on their own.
The Backstreet Boys were not an overnight success, they have been a group since 1993 (eight years) could not hardly get any air play in the early 90’s.
All these groups can’t sing?
So that means that every four or five guy Caucasian group that came after the New Kids on the Block can’t sing? Does that logically make any since? If you think it does you are playing into another stereotype that "white guys can’t sing".
All of their fans are teenyboppers and Caucasian.
The fact that I am 21 years old ,African-American, and a moderator of a group called BlackBSBFans where there are 210 more people on-line just like me completely throws that stereotype out the window.
The point is things in music can not be just assumed by stereotypes. When artists and musicians are writing or singing their songs, it is a form of human expression. Just like a painter or a novelist. So to absolutely stereotype that artist or musician is putting limits on them and limit on their fan base. To say because I am black I should not listen to Rock or Pop or to say that someone who is white shold not lister to Rap, R&B, Hip Hop is putting a price on human expresion.
To imply to a group or artist should not be singi or write a type of music because of race or it is not stereotypical what is expected of them is mind boggling itself. What are you going to do tell Lenny Kravitz just to stop and put down the guitar, Eminem stop rapping, Shakira to quit rocking Ha, I would like to see you try.
What it comes down to it is metaphorically putting a persons feelings, freedom of expression and choices in a cage. Now I understand where Prince was coming from.