looking ahead

I tend to do this thing when I write where I put far too much thought into one piece to the point where it doesn’t make sense anymore and the goal behind it is lost. My initial intention for this blog post was to be a song piece, highlighting a work of art that has a special meaning to me. But for whatever reason, my mind couldn’t get there. It wasn’t becoming what I wanted it to be. The frustration and the discouragement set in and it was getting me nowhere.

I feel like this happens a lot for me, personally, and I’m sure that it does for several of you. It puts a lot of unwanted detours on the desired path and it can be hard to renavigate. A lot of the leading up to what I’m doing now was like that. I was all over the place. Constantly rerouting. Not really having a clear vision for what lay ahead. And a lot of times, that’s okay, we don’t have to have all the answers. In the end, we always end up where we’re supposed to be getting, but it can really suck when the path is unclear. There ends up being no intention behind it. There’s no drive to push forward when you don’t know what’s ahead.

Blubird is one of those things. I went out on a whim creating this and somehow was able to make it look like I had it all together with a pretty clear vision. Finally releasing it to the public eye put me right back at square one with what the fuck am I doing with this?

I’ve spoken a lot about the emotional and mental connection I have with this platform. And that will always be the heart of blubird and I will always be eager to speak more on that aspect of my blog and myself. But looking forward, I want to share my goals, what my ideal, undisrupted path looks like. That path is paved by the love I have for music, and what I want to do differently to contribute to the music scene.

The way music resonates and what it takes to resonate is very important. And many different artists have done this in many different ways. We are living in a time where there are more and more artists coming to the music world everyday and it is easier than ever to access, create, and produce music just from our own bedrooms. The trend culture that we live in makes this even more attainable and creates a free marketing platform for artists on the rise to flourish. However, this trend culture tends to play favorites and it reveals what the majority of music gurus are appealing to the most.

Hip hop and rap have one of the biggest, most dedicated, and energized followings to date. You could know as little about music as possible, but you’ll always know the top rappers, the hottest tracks, and the best albums of the year coming from this genre. Rolling Loud is a three-day-long festival completely designed around this category of music and is performed in five different countries. There’s no denial that hip hop and rap have taken over the world with their influential energy. While these creators deserve all the hype that they receive, there is some light being taken away from genres that, I think, deserve more recognition for their audible artistry.

I think R&B is the most creatively diverse genre to ever be introduced. The realm is so large of what qualifies a song as falling under this umbrella. I know so many artists within this genre that are so incredibly talented yet so unrecognized. Knowing that these artists aren’t coming up under the bars set by predecessors like Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, or J. Cole can be discouraging in the sense of chasing after making it big in their particular category. And I’m not discounting R&B artists such as SZA, The Weeknd, or Brent Faiyez who have undoubtedly created a large, successful, dedicated following. I’m talking about the hundreds of artists in their shadows who aren’t receiving the same kind of attention as they might if they were dropping rap singles. Rap and hip hop have gained so much attention from the insane talent possessed by the artists to perform such impressive bars while, simultaneously, bringing attention to emotional, political, and cultural awareness that resonates so specifically with its youthful, targeted audience. R&B, on the other hand, is lighter in the sense of what qualities it touches on. It misses on the intense energy that is present within rap and that so many people today are filled with - hence, their identification with this genre. However, in absence of these qualities, R&B packs its experience with resounding musicality.

What I appreciate most about R&B is the actual sound of it. The sound samples that come out of this genre are, in a word, heart-stopping. This genre may not be dropping songs with crazy bars and impressive freestyles, but the musicality never fails to leave my jaw dropped in awe of what audible art these creators are capable of. It itches a part of my brain like nothing else, and the way these artists layer such beats with vocals, lyrics, and timing, really resonates with the emotional connection that is made with music like this.

So, my goal is that I want to develop a platform to shine a light on these incredibly talented artists. I want to network and get in contact with them, learn more about them and their sound. I want to organize shows where these small artists come together and perform for audiences that are there to discover new sounds. I want to write reviews and do interviews with them, highlighting their journeys. Looking into the tour life at early stages of an artist’s career and to then see where they blossom from there is such a beautiful thing and something that would be a major privilege for me to have one day. 

I know this was a very round-about way to get to the point of where I was going, but I wanted to emphasize the importance of this genre and the talent that the artists possess within it. I’m only one person, but I hope to be that person that can bring more attention and appreciation to these creators while on their journey of creating. It may not be the most popular, energized, or appealing kind of music for the majority, but this genre and all of its alternative subgenres deserves a spotlight. And I scare myself by asking myself why does your opinion matter? And it’s true - why should people listen to me or take any of my opinions on music to heart? I don’t really have an answer for that, honestly. But the best I can do is stress that this is my passion and I’ll do whatever I can to share that with you.