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Joyner Lucas

Joyner Lucas performing in Buffalo, N.Y., on Sept. 10, 2019
Photo: Trevor Finney

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Boston's Hip-Hop Evolution: How Beantown Is Diversifying Its Sound—And Planning For The Future

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Joyner Lucas, Dutch ReBelle, DJ Chubby Chub and more weigh in on the progress their city's made and the work left to be done in cultivating its local hip-hop artist community
Candace McDuffie
GRAMMYs
Dec 10, 2019 - 5:37 pm

Boston's relationship to hip-hop has been tumultuous since the genre permeated the cultural zeitgeist in the 1970s. On one hand, Beantown's issue with rap is indicative of America's cyclical dealings with Black art in general: it is often despised, disregarded and then toothlessly replicated to satiate white audiences. On the other hand, the innate resilience of hip-hop—when left to the devices of authentic storytellers—always finds a way to flourish.

And in a city like Boston where racism is as omnipresent and casual as diehard Red Sox fans, emcees and lovers of hip-hop that are aiming to change the narrative are diligent and unrelenting in their work. Boston's contributions to hip-hop are categorically undeniable. From the groundbreaking brilliance of Gang Starr to the iconic founding of The Source by David Mays as a Harvard undergrad back in 1988, rap's trajectory simply wouldn't be the same without these Boston moments.

As culture journalist Greg Valentino Ball explains, any erasure of this history is detrimental to the genre.

"The genesis of the Native Tongues—one of the most prolific crews ever in hip-hop—happened when De La Soul and the Jungle Brothers met at Northeastern. Artists on the Definitive Jux label recorded here. Ché Pope, who helped to oversee the making of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and go on to head GOOD Music for Kanye West, grew up in Roxbury," he says. "Boston has an incredible rock history—we absolutely do. But the idea that we can't fully embrace our hip-hop connection is one of the reasons why people feel the need to leave the city in order to be successful."

Rapper BIA, a Medford native formerly signed to Pharrell's i am OTHER music label, seconds Ball's statement, saying, "Boston has a strong underground hip-hop presence but the city has never dedicated enough resources to growing black or hip-hop culture."

BIA's recent viral co-sign from Rihanna for her hit single with Russ, "Best on Earth," proves the point that local artists often need to achieve consummate visibility in order to be deemed exceptional.

"There's a cap every mainstream artist from Boston reaches that forces them to go out and get it and bring it back home." The cap that BIA is referencing isn't a glass ceiling created to specifically challenge hip-hop artists; there are systemic barriers in place used to prevent the proliferation of rap.

Earlier this year, WBUR completed a two-part investigative series "Is Boston Hostile To Hip-Hop?" in which rappers, promoters and booking agents were interviewed about discriminatory practices that keep this particular type of music out of live venues, which include pay-to-play models, increased security and hip-hop bans. It also examined the stereotype that rap crowds are more prone to violent behavior.

Brandon Matthews is the founder of ShowOff Marketing, a company that specializes in urban music promotion based in Boston. He believes that the city is coming around to embracing rap—but that it has taken way too long to get here.

"Venues don't do enough homework to understand the differences between various artists and audiences. It didn't matter if it was Flo Rida or Young Jeezy... They viewed the entire genre as a bunch of troublemakers," Matthews says. "The cost of insurance for hip-hop shows is higher than other genres of music because they feel like it's a higher risk. But why are you singling out rap when you still have so many problems with other genres of music?"

There have been instances of violence at hip-hop shows in Boston, with one of the most infamous being when five people were stabbed at a 2000 Ruff Ryder/Cash Money tour stop at TD Garden (formerly known as the FleetCenter). However, the fact that rap is just starting to overcome this stigma is disconcerting—especially since Boston hip-hop artists are showing more promise than ever before.

Pioneers like Ed O.G., Slaine, Akrobatik and The Almighty RSO have paved the way for rappers to be as brazen and unapologetic as they want to be. Their vision of Boston hip-hop, which emphasized a combination of hard truths with imaginative lyricism, can be heard in the discographies of artists today. For instance, take the staggering passion of a Token freestyle, raucous energy of a Cousin Stizz show, insane charisma of Michael Christmas, fervid phenomena of D Tha Flyest, or the mellifluous bars that $ean Wire executes. A look at these artists' success shows that the world is becoming receptive to the genius of Boston hip-hop, which is seemingly expanding at a rate faster than the city itself.

GRAMMY-nominated rapper Joyner Lucas attests to Boston's phlegmatic treatment of its talent. "It wasn't like I had the hometown support and branched out from there. I had to branch out other places and make a name. I was popping in L.A. before I was popping in Boston."

Lucas, whose video for his single "I'm Not Racist" became an instant smash and garnered him critical acclaim, has collaborated with the likes of Eminem, Timbaland and Logic. His individualism is a potent reminder that New England artists aren't a monolith. "I completely jump out the window and create records from the heart. But I'm not just telling my story—I'm telling other people's stories as well. But we can't just focus on one area. I'm not even from Boston—I'm from Worcester. It really is bigger than just Boston."

Often, the artists making a sizeable impact on Boston's scene hail from all over Massachusetts. Reks, Statik Selektah and Termanology are all Lawrence natives; Millyz is from Cambridge and C Wells proudly calls Lynn his home.

In addition to having a geographical range that works to display the vastness of talent, there is also a conspicuous rise in the number of female emcees changing the narrative in Boston. As BIA continues to make major headway nationally, other women are also making their mark. Acts like Vintage Lee, Brandie Blaze, Oompa, Malia The Model, Red Shaydez, Lord Ju and CakeSwagg offer a refreshing plethora of style both lyrically and visually.

Dutch ReBelle, who has been a staple in local rap for nearly the last decade, is elated at the progression. "It's changed in a positive way because there are more of us getting press and coverage on a regular basis. When you have all of these different types of flavors, it makes it easier for people to accept you trying new things."

As ReBelle points out, experimentation is the crux of hip-hop. It's inherently defiant, with different components working together to push the genre forward. One of the most important components is that of the DJ—and Boston brings a vibrant mix of personalities to the tables.

There are ones who are largely affiliated with Boston artists: DJ Papadon for BIA, DJ E Dubble for Joyner Lucas, DJ DCaso for Token, DJ Alcide for Oompa. But there are also those working to curate the culture of the city through various events, appearances and showcases. From SuperSmashBroz to DJ Real P, DJ WhySham to 7L, Guru Sanaal to Bearly Yvng, the city recognizes the importance of these many types of unfettered expression.

DJ Chubby Chub, a Boston mainstay and 50 Cent's official tour DJ, shares that his role in hip-hop is a critical one. "The DJ is everything in rap music when it comes to the artists, the music being played, the acknowledgment of the right songs. Boston has shown me a tremendous amount of love that I didn't expect because I was different."

He also attributes Boston's emerging cohesion as a result of artists focusing on their craft instead of comparison. "Now that DJs are seeing the better quality records from the local artists, they have to support it and give it that love. That's where we have to have unity. Artists are paying attention to the music they're making and finally seeing the bigger picture."

The city is starting to look at the bigger picture as well. From The Boston Foundation awarding urban artists grants to put on live performances to the creation of Boston Art & Music Soul (BAMS) Festival centralizing black ingenuity, a city that once disregarded such a crucial and necessary art form now understands its tremendous currency and value. The Boston Music Awards, established in 1987, also aims to highlight this immensity. This year's event boasts 39 categories with 10 nominees in each category, which is a historic return to form for the ceremony (the 1988 ceremony had 42 categories but only five nominees in each).

Paul Armstrong, CEO of Redefined (the company behind the Boston Music Awards), attests to the importance of championing inclusion. "If we're not reflecting the diversity of the city, we're not doing our job properly," he says. "As more eyes begin to look at the Boston hip-hop scene, they're going to see a legitimate pool of exceptional talent."

Despite insinuations of categorical inaccuracies and controversial nominees (and subsequent winners), he remains adamant that the entity will always put candor first. "We criticize our own processes every year in an attempt to be even more transparent, celebrate more people and have systems in place that ultimately result in an awards show that has integrity. People will always criticize and, honestly, that's OK. It shows that the BMAs are something people care about and want to be included in."

Hip-hop has also infiltrated historical—and primarily white—institutions throughout the city. Performing at The Middle East, a live music venue in Cambridge spearheaded by Leedz Edutainment, has been considered a rite of passage for local rappers for over a decade. But as the genre continues to deepen and cement its reach, artists that have had difficulty booking any other performance spaces now have Boston museums soliciting their art. The Institute of Contemporary Art has featured an array of events by local hip-hop acts while the Museum of Fine Arts has honed in on the same praxis with their Late Nites series.

Boston hip-hop group STL GLD held a listening party their third album, The New Normal, at the MFA earlier this year. Frontman Moe Pope appreciated the gesture but realizes that ultimately there is more work that needs to be done. "I love that these museums and galleries are opening their doors now, but you can't put a Band-aid on something and expect to get all of these pats on the back. There needs to be more hires of people from the Boston hip-hop community in positions of power that deserve to be there."

GRAMMYs

STL GLD unveiling The New Normal at the Museum of Fine Arts, Jan. 10, 2019
Photo: Phearee Sak courtesy of FollowingBoston

Pope's final thoughts are not just reflective of his own personal experiences, but of the city's interactions with black culture overall. "These institutions are capitalizing off the fact that we don't have to run our blackness through a filter anymore. But make sure you're putting the dollars into our pockets and we're not just lining yours with our flyness."

Meet Armageddon Records, The Record Store-Turned-Label For Punks And Metalheads

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Torae Carr

Photo by Cindy Ord/WireImage for The Recording Academy

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Torae Talks Fighting For Change & Overhauling The Music Industry's Business Model

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The Recording Academy checked in with the rapper and SiriusXM Hip-Hop Nation host to get his perspective on what real change looks like and how the music industry at large can contribute
GRAMMYs
Jun 17, 2020 - 9:21 am

Torae Carr wears many hats: rapper, SiriusXM Hip-Hop Nation DJ, CEO of Internal Affairs Entertainment, Revolt TV correspondent and Recording Academy New York Chapter Board Vice President—just to name a few. 

With Black Lives Matter protests being staged across the nation in response to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, David McAtee and many other Black people at the hands of police, the Recording Academy checked in with Torae to get his perspective on the current situation, what change looks like and how the music industry at large can contribute.

How would you describe our current situation?

We are currently in unprecedented times. There's a fight for equality during a global pandemic. There are people gathering to protest and people social distancing in shelter. While unarmed black men and women continue to be murdered in the United States at the hands of police at an alarming rate, there are thousands of people dying daily from COVID-19. Our current situation is frightening yet hopeful.

How did we get here?

Years of built up hostility, ignorance, racism, systemic oppression, outdated laws and ways of thinking. As well as poor leadership.

What does change look like?

The world as we know it is forever changed. No longer will Black Lives not be seen as equal—we're going to continue to fight to be sure of that. Social gathering is different, the work place is different, the entertainment industry, anything you can imagine has been forever altered by this moment.

What are you doing to activate/advocate?

I'm on the frontlines as I have been for years. That includes using my platform, my influence, my dollars and physically being out with my allies demanding our faces be seen and our voices be heard as we fight for change.

How you coping?

My routine includes a lot of meditation, praying and exercise. Having conversations with my tribe is helpful, so is taking time to detach and reenergize. Mental health is just as important as taking care of your physical.

How can the music community at large contribute?

We are all human, so be humane. Creators: don't be afraid to create in the moment and document this important time. Consumers: continue to support the artists you love. The structure and business model of the recording industry needs an overhaul just as much as our legal system does. These underlying racial prejudices must be addressed and corrected NOW.

Read More: "Equality Is More Than Just A Word": Michael "Wanz" Wansley On How The Music Industry Can Effect Real Change

In your opinion, what should non-Black people be doing to support the Black community?

Listen to what we've been saying for years. We're not making up these stories of brutality, of unequal pay, of various forms of discrimination—this country was founded on those things. There has been evolution in many ways, and in many ways things remain very much the same. Injustice is injustice across the board, and if my rights can be violated today, yours can be violated tomorrow.

We've got to see this as not only a Black issue, but as an "us" issue. Use your privilege to speak up and speak out. Change your way of thinking, change your way of doing business, convince those around you that discrimination and racism is wrong. Be a good person, a friend and an ally on the right side of history.

Want To Support Protesters And Black Lives Matter Groups? Here’s How

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J. Ivy

J. Ivy

Photo: Andre Wright Jr.

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J. Ivy Talks Making Music For Social Change, Leading With Love & The Importance Of Supporting Black Artists

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"I feel like people will look back on 2020 … as being a benchmark in time, this being a moment where we saw change. My prayer, my hope and wish is that it's a positive change," the spoken word artist told us in a recent interview
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jun 14, 2020 - 10:24 am

Spoken word artist, poet and author J. Ivy is, understandably so, a person who believes wholeheartedly in the power of words and the importance of using them intentionally. The Chicago native, who's also the president of the Recording Academy's Chicago Chapter, is committed to using his influence and platform to support other artists who are using their voices and gifts for positive social change.

With his weekly IGTV show, "The WORD," born out quarantine, he shares the mic with other artists to collaborate in a way that inspires both them and their listeners, while shining a spotlight on other poets and artists. His journey to where he is today is quite the music industry fable: He got his first big break performing on HBO's "Def Poetry" in the early '00s and soon after landed on Kanye West's 2004 debut album, The College Dropout, on which he delivered a powerful poem on "Never Let Me Down." Those impactful words, which still get him regular shout-outs on Twitter and Instagram to this day, would bring him back to the Def Poetry stage several times.

The Recording Academy recently caught up with J. Ivy to learn more about using music for social change, how the industry can better support Black artists, how non-Black individuals can stand with the Black community and the importance of voting.

How would you describe our current situation?

I feel like people will look back on 2020 in 20, 30, 50 or 100 years as being a benchmark in time, this being a moment where we saw change. My prayer, my hope and wish is that it's a positive change.

Being a Black man in America, you carry a certain fear, anxiety and stress, which every single day is ingrained in you. You've been taught how to survive. You have images that weigh on your subconscious of Black bodies being tortured and killed, oftentimes not captured by a camera phone. Cell phones are fairly new and camera phones even newer. So this is a new phenomenon that we're seeing where people are able to capture these images, but we've been going through this for decades, centuries. That pain, anxiety and trauma, that PTSD—it's ingrained in you. You feel it every single day, even when it's not at the front of your mind.

So I've been processing a lot of what's been going on. Things have been brought to the surface as far as what we're seeing with George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. It's so many names. And we're absolutely at a point where it's a critical time.

Related: Houston Rappers Talk George Floyd's Musical & Community Legacy

How have you been coping with everything? And how are you feeling right now?

For me, being an artist, first and foremost, I take to the pen. I write about what's happening. I've been writing a lot of poetry. I've been journaling. I've been in a lot of conversations with thought leaders, with my wife who is an amazing thought leader, working on what we can do past the emotion and the hurt of it all. It's one thing to be hurt and be reminded of that hurt over and over again. But what are we doing for solutions? What are we doing to get to a space and time where we're not seeing these tragedies occur over and over again? How do we break this cycle of systemic racism? How do we break that down?

So, I've been writing and creating poetry, working on music and having conversations with a lot of people, working on organizing grassroots efforts that will help push new legislation and a new consciousness. A space where we get back to the village, where we get back to protecting ourselves, policing ourselves. It's been a lot of brainstorming and planning and working towards solutions. That's the biggest thing we need right now.

And it's super important that music is a focus because music is oftentimes the quickest way to get any message across to a large mass of people. So, what messaging are we putting in our music? What spirit, what energy are we putting in it? I think it's important when it comes to building within the music community, even not being able to collaborate and create together now, that when people get in front of that microphone, when they pull out that pen or voice memo, when they're documenting their creativity, their spirit, that they're doing it in a space that will help shift consciousness in a positive way.

It's been so long that folks like me have been stepped on and knees in necks and shot and brutalized and terrorized for so long. And we have a multitude of leaders, musicians and artists that can push positivity through. Not that positivity hasn't been in music, but that we're collectively putting messaging in the music that will shift consciousness. I think that's super important right now.

Read: #SayHerName: Alicia Keys, Lizzo, Janet Jackson, Janelle Monáe And More Honor Breonna Taylor On Her Birthday, Demand Justice

What are you saying to the people? People are listening. What side of history are you going to decide to stand on? I have a quote that says, "Silence is my violence. It hurts to bite my tongue." We can't be silent right now. In our music, we can't avoid those uncomfortable situations, those uncomfortable conversations. It's gone on too long. A lot of people are comfortable in their bubbles. Everybody wants to be comfortable. But how can you be when you have others that are subjected to so much pain and trauma?

I've always been a strong believer that we are one village, no matter race or creed. And it's time that we weed out the bad. And those that have been silent, we need you now more than ever. We need people to step up. We need you to be voices for the collective, for the community, for our country because it's gone on for too long. And silence, it's like a finger on the trigger. It's important that we speak up.

I'd love to talk a bit more about some of the solutions that you see. What are some essential steps for making positive, long-term change?

Again, the messaging in the music. And we need to create very strong efforts to make sure we're getting the right legislation passed. We need to make sure we're voting for strong leadership, for folks that will protect and serve the common good of every citizen in this country. People being vocal, even about citizenship. Black folks are often overlooked as citizens. We're not afforded the same rights, so we need everybody speaking up. We need to police the police. We need to police those that are in office and make sure that they are being just and they're being fair so we can get to a space of equality by being fair and good-hearted people.

With the police that are currently working, there have been talks about having community review boards for those police. If you have one complaint, two complaints, you go in front of this review board and the community decides if you need to stay on the payroll. We're paying you to work for us, so there shouldn't be an officer like [Derek] Chauvin on the force who's had 18 complaints. 18 complaints but you're still out in the community you fear ... Let's have a review board and make sure that we are in full consciousness of who's patrolling our streets.

Related: Rihanna, Meek Mill, Billie Eilish, Migos & More Call For Police Reform In New York Now

I've been using my platform as a poet. I have a show that I do ... It's called "THE WORD: poetry and conversation," and I do it every Wednesday at 7 p.m. [CDT]. Usually, I have a guest on every week ... I started the show in the midst of the quarantine, I wanted to have an outlet, to have some relief. I'm an unemployed artist right now and I haven't worked for three months at this point. [There are] countless people like me who are struggling and figuring out what are we going to do to keep income coming in. It's tough. So, I said, "Let me start this and have an outlet where I can shine a light on amazing, talented, gifted friends of mine who do a lot of amazing work with their art."

The other night I decided to just open it up ... The show is usually an hour ... We went for almost seven hours last night ... There was so many moving moments and so much great dialogue. I hopped on at 7 [p.m.] feeling extremely tired, hurt, devastated, not knowing how I'm going to get through the show. Something I didn't want to do turned into almost seven hours of just upliftment. That heaviness that I felt in the beginning of the show, in light of everything that's still going on, I felt better. We all had a space and a platform to heal and to find some joy in the midst of all of this chaos. And it showed me the power of the word. That's why I called it "THE WORD," because there's so much power, so much energy in our words. It just reminded me of what we can do when we exert the right energy, and we can collectively come together because we're not alone.

I want to see people using their art to help heal. I want to see more of that collectively across the music industry. We need so much healing and our voices, our music, our words can help to do that. So I would just beg and plead with anybody who has a voice, that has a gift of music, to use your music for that cause, for good.

Read: The Best Apps & Tools For Recording And Monetizing Music In The COVID-19 Era

What is the role of art and music in fostering social change and racial justice?

I think it's really tapping in. When any creator creates, as a writer, you tap in deep inside and you follow your heart. You follow those love signals that allow you to verbalize and communicate what it is your spirit is telling you at the moment. So as artists, if we could all just really look deep inside, and really reconnect to the source of who we are as human beings, where we're spiritual beings having a human experience. And if we create from that space of love, healing and justice, what we'll create will be medicine for the soul. It'll be medicine for our country. It'll be a huge healing source that'll allow us to pick ourselves up and hopefully hit a reset button.

I have an album coming out. It was supposed to be out, but the quarantine happened; everything just changed. I have a song called "Change The World," which features Tarrey Torae, my wife; she's a singer-songwriter. I discovered a lot more relevance in the song in the past couple [of] days. I'm watching what's going on, and it wasn't even a song I was considering to be a first single or anything like that. But yesterday, I was like, "Man, I need to get this song out immediately because of the message that's in the music."

It really speaks to us being one. I have a line that says, "Those people over there, those ain't strangers / They're beautiful reflections of who we are." We put these divides up so much and I think, again, if we look inside, if we tap in and we create from a space that is led by love, the music we'll create will heal so many people.

Read: How Queer Rappers Are Defining The Next Generation Of Chicago Hip-Hop

What do you think that the music community at large can do to support Black lives and Black artists?

My first thought is there needs to be a fair distribution of wealth. Often, with artists across the board, but especially with Black artists, the splits aren't right. We're glorified in a sense that people love our music ... Our music is loved and appreciated by so many. We understand the role record labels and distributors play when it comes to getting music out there into the marketplace, but be fair in those splits. Make sure those artists can continue to thrive, because often it feels like an assembly line ... People aren't asking for a lot. Just asking for things to be fair, for folks to get what they worked very hard for. And we're making you money, so help me help you, I'll help you help me.

And make sure the music industry is tapping into artists that will push a positive message. We see a negative message that is constantly pushed. Not all music that's pushed is negative, but there's a lot of life-changing, soul-stirring music that will invoke positive change that is overlooked and not promoted. And there are a lot of artists on the ground doing great work, but there's a certain element that the industry continues to support music that promotes violence, misogynistic behavior and things that aren't necessarily lifting us up. We need music that's going to inspire us. And there are a lot of amazing artists that are creating music in that vein.

And no matter what side, because people's reality is reality ... There are other sides, but we only show one side of the coin. Let us see the full picture. We're very diverse. There isn't one kind of Black person. We come in many shades, colors, sizes, with many different thought patterns, styles and creativity. It should all be shown.

Read: Take Action: Want To Support Protesters And Black Lives Matter Groups? Here's How

What can well-intentioned listeners and music consumers do to discover and support Black artists who aren't rising to the Top 40 on Billboard?

It's such a different world musically, as far as the distribution of music and streaming. We fought for the Music Monetization Act and the Fair Play Fair Pay Act. With streaming, it's tough on artists because where we weren't getting fair pay before, the pie has gotten smaller and it's gotten tougher. So for the consumers, I would say do all you can to support artists across the board, not just those in the Top 100.

Normally, I would say make sure you're going out to that shows. If there's a livestream show, make sure that you go on and support. Make sure you're telling your friends about these amazing artists that touch your soul and move your spirit. Buy their product. Make sure you're doing all you can to support them and keep them lifted because it's tough being an artist.

The consumer can support artists' dreams. Artists are living their dream, they're given everything they can to flourish and to share their art and their gift and their voice. Make sure you're subscribing to their YouTube, following them on social media and putting money in their pocket. Become music ambassadors for the artists you love and make sure people are knowledgeable of those artists so that they don't disappear. It's a hard world. We'll be in love with an artist one minute, then here comes the next beautiful, shiny thing and we forget about that last shiny thing and they're left struggling. So we can just continue to support those artists and make sure they have a platform that will sustain their livelihood and their creativity.

Listen: Sean Ardoin On Addressing Racism In His Powerful New Song & Video "What Do You See"

What do you think non-Black individuals can be doing right now to support the Black community?

Well, first and foremost, reach out to your Black family, friends and those that you love. Check on them, see how they are feeling, be a support system. Again, don't be silent. We see it in the streets right now. I think we could all encompass the energy of the positive protests and apply that to our day-to-day. We know it's not your sole responsibility, but if you can help with speaking up, if you can help with encouraging people to have those review boards for the police, if you can create efforts that will get people out to vote for the right people. If you can, again, support artists and those that are making positive change.

Most importantly, it's not being silent, not sitting back [and] seeing harm come to your fellow citizen and being shut off to that just because they don't "look like you." That's why we have to continue to break down the divides. A lot of my white brothers and sisters have been hitting me up, checking on me and, man, that goes such a long way. 

Read: How The Police Used The Cabaret Card Law To Discriminate Against Black Jazz Artists And Musicians

I mean, America needs to apologize. America has never officially said, "You know what? We did wrong by you. You worked and built this country for free. Here's reparations." Maybe it's free healthcare, maybe it's free education, something that will allow us to lift up. You hurt us for so long and it's like, "Man, slavery was so long ago. Why you tripping?" That's the attitude we get. It's like, "No, we're still feeling the effects."

People need to recognize that white privilege is real. It's not cool to ignore that people have had a leg up for hundreds of years ... But in the midst of still trying to fight for equality, we're dealing with all the brutality and the racism. To my white family out there, be conscious. Don't ignore it, don't have a blind eye or a deaf ear to what's happening. Be aware, be conscious and do what you can to fight those injustices. We've done so much for this country. It's about time some of that starts to come back around to us, so we can all be happy and live a fair, peaceful life.

I noticed you've been posting a lot about voting on your social media, which is super important right now. How can people support getting people out to vote? And how can they make sure that they're voting for the right people?

I think all of us kind of focus on the Presidential election. We've all just kind of directed our attention, that's if we vote, towards the President, and we need to continue to educate ourselves about the local issues. I think we're all waking up to the fact that on the ground locally is where the real change can and will happen. So we need to educate ourselves about who is running. We need to vet everybody; they need to be vetted by the community. The entire community needs to be aware of who we are potentially putting into an office.

If they have some ill background or some twisted views, we need to make sure we're putting the word out and let people know that they don't belong in a space of leadership. We can't have people who are going to protect those causing injustice. So education is the biggest thing. I think if we get into a practice of doing it, it will become less and less overwhelming. It'll just become a commonality.

We need to continue to educate ourselves about those local officials and be activists. Get out there and make sure you are using your voice. And make sure we're educating the younger folk who are coming up, who aren't of voting age, so they're learning the importance of voting at a younger age [and] how their voice is important. And their research and educating themselves is important when it comes to selecting those that we choose to put in power.

Ivan Barias On Silence As Complicity, Holding Major Labels Accountable & How To Be A Non-Black Latinx Ally

Kendrick Lamar - Grammys 2018

Kendrick Lamar performs at the GRAMMYs in 2018

Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images

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From Social Media To Streaming: 10 Moments That Changed The Landscape Of Music In The 2010s

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From the rise of streaming services to the globalization of pop, the 2010s were a revolutionary decade that disrupted the music industry and forever changed the game
John Ochoa
GRAMMYs
Dec 27, 2019 - 9:32 am

With the final days of 2019 comes the finale to a revolutionary decade that disrupted the music industry.

A bit of cultural context: The decade kicked off in January 2010 with a rising Lady Gaga dominating the global charts with her breakout track, "Bad Romance," Taylor Swift taking home the GRAMMY for Album Of The Year for Fearless and a (very) young Justin Bieber breaking into the mainstream with early single, "Baby." Later in the year, Apple would release its first-ever iPad and Instagram would debut in the world. Other major developments would follow later in the decade: Spotify launches in the U.S. in 2011; and Apple Music and YouTube Music hit the scene, while Jay-Z acquires and rebrands Tidal, the latter three milestones all happening in 2015.

As music and technology evolved in parallel at lightning speed, the music industry paradigm of yesteryear began to shift. Social media, which would soon allow a direct line of communication between artist and fan, broke down walls. Music fans, once fed a top-down stream of culture and content, became the tastemakers. And the music industry as a whole largely pivoted from a sales-based business model to a streaming-heavy consumption model.

As the decade comes to a close and enters a new era, The Recording Academy reflects on 10 moments and developments that forever changed the music landscape for the listener, the artist and the biz itself in the 2010s.

The Rise Of Streaming Services

Spotify on tablet

Nowadays, music fans are accustomed to having complete on-demand access to millions of songs at the convenient touch of a button. That's all thanks to major streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Tidal and Amazon Music, which have collectively helped shift the consumption of music from ownership-focused to access-based via subscription models.

Read: Who Ruled Music Streaming In 2019?

Today, streaming accounts for approximately 80 percent of the music industry's revenue. Culturally, playlists are now a primary source for new-music discovery, becoming powerful launch pads for artists and labels and largely replacing traditional tastemakers and gatekeepers like radio and music blogs. As well, major streaming services have helped discover and proliferate niche genres and global sounds. Chances are you'll still discover your next favorite artist, album and song on a streaming service 10 years from now.

Hip-Hop Reigns Supreme

The 2010s saw hip-hop reach a new level. Trap, a rap subgenre popularized in the early 2000s and rooted in the American South, reached mainstream crossover success when artists like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry integrated the sound into their pop-centric music. The genre also birthed today's leading rap stars and producers, including Future, Migos, Gucci Mane, Sonny Digital, Metro Boomin and Mike WiLL Made-It.

Most recently, the so-called "SoundCloud rap" explosion has launched the careers of bona fide stars like Post Malone, Lil Pump, Trippie Redd, Lil Tecca and Rico Nasty. By 2018, the scene achieved its first chart-topping album via the late South Florida rapper XXXTentacion, who's second artist album, ?, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in the U.S. last March. Chicago SoundCloud rapper Juice WRLD, who died earlier this month, continued the streak when his second album, Death Race For Love, topped the Billboard 200 chart this past March.

Read: Find Out Who's Nominated For Best Rap Album | 2020 GRAMMY Awards

Bolstered by the rise of streaming—Chance The Rapper's 2016 mixtape, Coloring Book, became the first streaming-only album to reach the Billboard 200 charts and win a GRAMMY—hip-hop and R&B surpassed rock as the most popular genre in the U.S. for the first time ever in 2017. What lies ahead for the genre is both a mystery and a wide-open opportunity.

The Latin Music Explosion

Where the 2000s popularized regional and niche sounds like bachata and banda, the 2010s saw Latin music skew toward urban and contemporary styles, setting the stage for urbano, the umbrella term encompassing genres like reggaeton, Latin trap, dembow and more, to reach critical mass.

The decade's Latin music victor is the undeniably catchy, omnipresent international breakout hit "Despacito" from Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee. Released in January 2017, the track, which claims the top spot for the most-streamed music video of all time, set off the so-called "Despacito effect," a music industry phenomenon that consequently ushered in an avalanche of Spanish-language hits and mainstream pop crossovers. The international success of the Spanish-language track ultimately helped break down cultural and language barriers across the global pop spectrum.

Read: Los Angeles' First Permanent Latin Music Gallery Launches At GRAMMY Museum

With Latin music ranking as the fifth-most popular genre in America, in terms of album consumption, the future burns bright for the sound.

K-pop, Afrobeats And The Globalization Of Pop

One of the most notable changes in the pop landscape this decade comes in a rainbow array of languages and cultures: the globalization of pop, led by the international sounds of K-pop from Korea and Afrobeats from West Africa and the wider diaspora.

While modern K-pop dates back to the '90s, the genre reached true international scale in 2012 with the arrival of Psy's breakthrough viral hit, "Gangnam Style." The track's official music video would eventually become the first video ever to reach 1 billion views on YouTube, once standing as the most-viewed clip on the video-sharing platform.

Psy and "Gangnam Style" set the stage for the K-Pop explosion in the U.S. and across the globe: BLACKPINK became the first K-pop girl group to perform at Coachella in 2019 and BTS became the first K-pop act to top the Billboard 200 chart via their 2018 album, Love Yourself: Tear.

Read: Why is K-pop's popularity exploding in the United States?

Currently, Afrobeats is the next international sound sweeping pop music. Major stars like Kanye West and Rick Ross have all collaborated with Afrobeats acts. Drake's 2016 international hit "One Dance," once the most-streamed song on Spotify, featured Nigerian Afrobeats artist Wizkid, who would go on to sign with RCA Records in what became the biggest record deal ever for an African artist. This past July, Beyoncé released The Lion King: The Gift, the soundtrack album to the 2019 Lion King remake, which featured African and Afrobeats artists like Wizkid, Burna Boy, Mr Eazi and many others. With major labels like Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group betting on Afrobeats, all eyes are now on Africa.

Social Media Makes Impact

With nine out of 10 regular social media users partaking in music- or artist-related activities on social apps and 63 percent of users employing social media technology to discover new artists, social media's massive impact on the music industry is virtually immeasurable.

Most notably, social media has broken down the walls once separating artists from listeners. Musicians can now use multiple social media avenues to directly communicate with fans, and vice versa, creating a "bond" between the two parties like never before. On a business front, social media has changed the A&R and music discovery game forever: Shawn Mendes blew up on Vine, Tori Kelly built her career off YouTube videos and Cardi B was an Instagram star before she was a chart-topping rapper.

Read: Lil Nas X's No. 1 Run Began With TikTok, Now The Music Industry Is Taking Notice

Social media marketing, led by memes, social media challenges, viral songs and dance challenges, is the next wave for the music industry. Today, the video-sharing social network TikTok, which introduced Lil Nas X and his viral hit, "Old Town Road," to the world is being touted as the future of the biz. 

Beyoncé And The "Surprise Album" Formula

Nine Inch Nails' immersive marketing campaign for Year Zero and Radiohead's pay-what-you-want model for In Rainbows may have shocked the music industry, but Beyoncé completely subverted the system when she surprise-dropped her self-titled album in December 2013. The 23-time GRAMMY champ dropped Beyoncé, marketed as a "visual album" comprising 17 videos to coincide with the project's 14 tracks, with zero advance notice, skipping the months-long marketing and promotional campaigns that have become the industry standard for artists of pop-star stature.

Read: J Balvin & Bad Bunny Drop Surprise Album 'Oasis,' Release Sensual Single "Que Pretendes

The unconventional formula worked: Beyoncé debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in the U.S. and once stood as the fastest-selling album ever on the iTunes Store. The success behind the album's surprise-drop approach sparked an industry trend, and newfound marketing tactic, that saw everyone from J Balvin and Bad Bunny to little sister Solange following in Beyoncé's gold-dusted footsteps.

Music Festival Inc.

Music festivals have been a part of American music history since the days of Woodstock and Monterey Pop Festival in the late '60s. Over the past decade, however, the culture and business of music festivals have developed from a DIY approach to a fully fledged industry. In 2017, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which celebrated its 20-year anniversary this past April, became the first reoccurring festival franchise to gross more than $100 million, with a total gross of $114.6 million that year. Goldenvoice, the organizers behind Coachella, also holds the overall record for all-time top festival gross for its 2016 event Desert Trip, which brought in a record-breaking $160 million in 2016.

In addition to big payouts for festival producers and headlining artists alike, festivals have also become a creative playground for ambitious acts. Coachella alone has been the home to many milestone moments and industry-wide trends and developments over the past decade, including multiple band reunions (OutKast, Guns N' Roses, N.W.A); the genesis of the booming hologram concert industry; and Beyoncé's game-changing Homecoming headlining performance in 2018. Today, festivals worldwide serve as a breeding ground for artistic ambition and a launch pad for the new, now and next in music technology.

"Hamilton" And The Mainstreaming of Jukebox Musicals

On paper, "Hamilton" reads like an unlikely premise: a hip-hop Broadway musical based on the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. What unfolded was an even unlikelier run: 11 Tony Awards, a Broadway box office record and a Pulitzer Prize(!). Since its original off-Broadway debut in New York City in 2015, "Hamilton" has been unstoppable. The show's multiplatinum-certified original Broadway cast recording, released by Atlantic Records in September 2015, went on to peak at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart and topped the Top Rap Albums chart. It also took home a GRAMMY for Best Musical Theater Album for 2015, while the show's creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, received the President's Merit Award from the Latin Recording Academy in 2017. Elsewhere, The Hamilton Mixtape, a 2016 follow-up mixtape album featuring original and deleted songs from the musical, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Read: How Hip-Hop & "Hamilton" Are Transforming An 8th Grade History Class

The breakout success of "Hamilton" has since launched Broadway culture and musicals into the global mainstream unlike any other production before it, shining a new light on the art form and introducing a younger generation to the medium. Its lasting legacy has also initiated a wave of jukebox musicals, pop-music-inspired shows and productions, with everyone from The Temptations ("Ain't Too Proud") to Tina Turner ("Tina: The Musical") receiving the Broadway treatment.

EDM Conquers The Global Dance Floor

In the 2010s, EDM went mainstream. Beloved pop icons crossed onto the dance floor via full-on dance-pop collaborations: Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris, Jack Ü (Diplo x Skrillex) with Justin Bieber, Steve Aoki and One Direction's Louis Tomlinson. Even Britney Spears dabbled in dubstep on her 2011 No. 1 pop hit "Hold It Against Me."

This decade also saw EDM fully infiltrating the GRAMMYs. In the same year dubstep wunderkind Skrillex swept the dance/electronic category in 2012, Canadian electronic artist/producer deadmau5 and French dance legend David Guetta joined Chris Brown, Lil Wayne and Foo Fighters onstage for a televised cross-genre performance. Two years later, in 2014, French electronic icons Daft Punk would win big at the GRAMMYs for their 2013 album Random Access Memories, which took home major awards, including Album Of The Year and Record Of The Year for lead single "Get Lucky."

Watch: Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams win Album Of The Year

Today, EDM artists are among the highest-paid musicians across the board—Calvin Harris ($38.5 million), Marshmello ($40 million) and The Chainsmokers ($46 million) raked in big bucks in 2019 alone—and continue to headline international festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza and Glastonbury. What was once an underground subculture is now the soundtrack to the future.

The Convergence Of Gaming And Music

Counting more than 2 billion gamers around the world and with the potential to become a $300 billion industry by 2025, today's video game market is thriving. It's no surprise, then, that the music industry wants in on the action. While video games and music have gone hand in hand since the days of "Super Mario Bros." in the mid-'80s, the convergence of the two worlds hit its peak in the 2010s. These days, the music biz is leaning heavily into the gaming industry to unlock new revenue streams, reach new listeners and bolster marketing campaigns.

Video games have always provided a healthy income for major artists via licensing deals: Famously, Aerosmith made more money from their 2008 video game, "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith," than from any of their albums. Still, the current wave of video game and music crossovers takes the approach to the next level via virtual concerts. This past February, superstar producer/DJ Marshmello performed an exclusive in-game "concert" in "Fortnite," a massively popular online video game, that attracted more than 10.7 million people. A clip of the performance has since garnered +45 million views on YouTube. Following the concert, Marshmello released Marshmello Fortnite Extended Set, a DJ mix album based on the virtual performance, which topped Billboard's Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart in the U.S. With video games and music now at the forefront of pop culture, the two industries will continue to push into the future together.

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Popa Wu - Wu-Tang Clan

Popa Wu performs in New York City in 2017

Photo: Al Pereira/Getty Images

News

Popa Wu, Wu-Tang Clan Affiliate and Mentor, Dies at 63

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Considered the group's longtime "spiritual mentor," Popa Wu featured on numerous Wu-Tang Clan tracks
John Ochoa
GRAMMYs
Dec 17, 2019 - 2:09 pm

Popa Wu, a longtime affiliate of and mentor to legendary hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, died Dec. 16. He was 63.

Details regarding his cause of death have yet to be released, although reports have confirmed he died in his Brooklyn, N.Y., home.

Reports of Popa Wu's death hit the internet earlier this week when various members and associates of Wu-Tang Clan, as well as other artists and representatives from the wider hip-hop community, began posting tributes to him on social media. Wu-Tang member U-God wrote on Twitter, "RIP to the one and only PAPA WU our sincerest condolences go out to the entire family," while DJ/rapper Pete Rock, who's produced for various Wu-Tang members, lamented, "the angels got you."

Popa Wu, who also went by Freedum Allah, was largely considered a "spiritual mentor" to Wu-Tang Clan. He was a staunch supporter of the Five-Percent Nation, a cultural movement and an offshoot of the Nation of Islam rooted in 1960s America, and preached its philosophies and beliefs on several Wu-Tang Clan songs.

Read: Inside An American Hip-Hop Saga: The Wu-Tang Clan Story Enters A New Chapter

While never an official member of Wu-Tang Clan, Popa Wu was involved in the group's original formation in the early '90s. In addition to being the father of Wu-Tang-affiliated rappers ShaCronz and Free Murda, Popa Wu was also a cousin of the band's de facto leader, RZA, and was related to original members GZA and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard.

Popa Wu's credits alongside Wu-Tang Clan and its various members include: "Wu-Revolution," the opening track of the group's 1997 GRAMMY-nominated (Best Rap Album) double album, Wu-Tang Forever; "Black Jesus" and "All That I Got Is You" from Ghostface Killah; and "North Star" from Raekwon. Popa Wu was also behind a two-part compilation series comprising a number of tracks from various Wu-Tang Clan members and associated artists: Visions Of The 10th Chamber in 2000 and the coinciding Visions Of The 10th Chamber Part II in 2008.

Most recently, Popa Wu appeared in the newly launched Hulu web TV miniseries "Wu-Tang: An American Saga," which is based on the early years and formation of Wu-Tang Clan.

Following the news of Popa Wu's death, members of Wu-Tang Clan and the larger hip-hop community commemorated his legacy and his influence on the scene.

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