Part of my post got deleted by accident but I meant to say that I have covered urban music (R&B/hip-hop) AND techno/house for almost a decade and I have some incredible stories to tell of racism in the biz -I have the insider's advantage.
Eg - in the mid 90s I would get interviews with big names like Mary J Blige and Jodeci and few mainstream mags wanted to run them as they disliked R&B because they equated it with 'wog' kids (derogative term meaning 'germ' used to describe any non-Anglo person in Australia) who embraced Black American music - soul, R&B, hip-hop, even house. This was despite the fact that the labels were advertising and these acts sold records. The best editors I had happened to be gay, and very politicised, and in the free street press, and so they were sensitive to prejudice of all kinds. Maybe I also see it as (a) female in a male industry (b) as ethnic Australian, my father was a political refugee from Eastern Europe and after 30 years still gets told to get home by neighbours. We sold our last house because a redneck neighbour broke my father's ribs when he dared to ask him to stop piling up sXXt against our fence. Funnily enough many Australians would get offended if you suggest that racism exists here! Without sounding corny, empathy is the way forward. We don't have to agree but if we try to listen to someone else's POV then we've made a connection. Being Ms Opinionated at times, I fail at this myself - but I try. :) There is a lot of good and music has brought people together but the prejudice is still there. Just ask any non white DJ about dealing with customs..... ---------- >From: ":P" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: "Cyclone Wehner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "313 Detroit" <[email protected]> >Subject: Re: [313] Regarding Business >Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2002 6:41 PM > > I guess I approach this from standpoint of worldside music > > I just dont see a big racial element in techno. > > I've seen every kind and color of person at clubs and parties and everyone > is cool with each other. > > I also have limited from a production/live show standpoint, and I think the > whole scene is very easygoing in general. > > I'm sorry to clash with the list, but this seems so far from what I > experience, I find it hard to believe. > > I CAN believe it though > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Cyclone Wehner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "313 Detroit" <[email protected]> > Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 2:19 AM > Subject: Re: [313] Regarding Business > > >> >> >> dont you fools >> >> know that the music knows no color? >> >> This is a lovely idealistic thought but you really can't isolate music in >> some kind of poetic vacuum. The music is a product of a certain cultural, >> social and economic hegemony and the circumstances determine whether it is >> heard or not and by whom. This affects people of colour making music, > women >> making music, musicians in Second or Third World countries..... There is >> incredible cutting-edge hip-hop style music coming out of South Africa but >> how many of us get to hear it? Instead this music is 'ghettoised' as > 'World >> Music' or not disseminated at all. >> >> The thing is, by building support, some people can to a point intervene in >> this paradigm and I think many techno types have done this - look at how > UR >> brilliantly handled the Rolando/Jaguar situation! Genius. In a pop > paradigm >> I feel in different ways Madonna and Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott really >> flipped the script for female artists. >> >> Juan has spoken of these issues in other interviews and he is always > matter >> of fact about them. I personally feel there is validity to his >> arguments/heard some interesting things. But whether you agree or not, why >> can't we discuss them without getting personal? >> >> Actually I have forgotten what the original debate was about! >> >> >> --------------------------------------------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
