songwriting: the X factor. (MTB4 commentary)

last year, i became a huge fan of diddy and MTV’s Making The Band. i never saw the OG MTB. MTB2 (Da Band) left a lot to be desired, i saw it as a half baked, haphazard attempt to put Real World and Star Search in a room and get ‘em fckin. talent was negligible, the grouping was questionable, and it ended up being The Real World Tries To Cut A Record.

we all know the success of MTB3a (Danity Kane). i didn’t watch that, largely ’cause i was put off by MTB2’s bad idea jeans-ism. i’m wondering what i missed though, ’cause MTB3b (Day26 & Donnie J) was awesome. the drama wasn’t overbearing, it was very natural and you got to see some really talented kids put their skills through the ringer and get a legitimate shot at making viable music.

anyway, i digress.

this season finds last season’s winners and Danity Kane shoved into a house in Miami, charged with knocking out their debut and sophmore efforts, respectively.

so far this season, the young ladies of Danity Kane have been at odds with the direction diddy & co. have been pushing the album in.

they been bitching. crying. throwing tantrums. moaning & groaning. unhappy with the songs they’re getting. the songs have been too slow. too un-independent. too too too.

i’m like, yo- the fock?

B/TCHES WRITE A SONG THEN!

and this is not isolated, folks. i can’t tell you how many brass-types i’ve come across that want producers to bring a full package to the table when shopping tracks. they want beat, concept, hooks, hell if you got lyrics you’re GOLDEN.

and i know it’s not anything new…hit machines have existed almost as long as pop has; it’s part of the reason why a good songwriter/performer is so celebrated (see: Beyonce or Mariah Carey)- in “urban” music, where artist/brand cultivation (no matter what they say) isn’t the priority it used to be, the songwriter/performer is a premium.

artists are ushered into the booth, given a look and a sound, a couple of lyrics sheets and a rack of beats. next thing you know, there’s an album.

now, i’m not necessarily knocking this process. but when you feel- as Danity Kane clearly does- that the time has come to grow as artists, and you want to assert your artistry on the product you’re putting out, you want to buck the brass and do what you feel, why isn’t the first inclination to pick up a pen, maybe hire somebody to hone the notion and start writing songs?

i don’t get it. it’s like a body builder who’s *only* in the gym doing squats and deadlifts. you’re half the person you could be.

i’m nitpicking, though. there’s a gang of artists i love that probably do the same sht. it’s just that i get to see it real time and it irks me.

anyway, all of this brings me to this point: producers in training, LEARN HOW TO WRITE SONGS! preferably good ones, but you know. these days, almost anything will do. Ne-Yo’s cleaning up and his sad-sack sapsh!t is average, at best. IMO of course.

son got grammies.

get that r & b cake, my niggas.

______

all that being said, this is a good show, and when the two groups and Donnie J aren’t flirting and whatnot, you get a glimpse at these kids living that life us bottom dwellers are hustling for. it’s fun and informative.

and it lets me know i gotta step my game way up to walk with them dogs.

*writes some songs about being sorry for running game on hoez or something*

is anybody REALLY interested in the talent that’s out here?

as an “up-and-coming” musician with considerable talent, the hardest part of this hustle has been getting people to care about what i’m doing, and what i’m trying to do.

you can hone your skills til you get arthritis in your knuckles, pound the streets til your feet bleed, pass out your music until you eclipse some other superlative, but the end result is typically the same for the plurality of us “up and comers”.

my experience is that lip service that people in the industry are so good at shelling out mirrors very little of what happens inside the war rooms, on the phones, in emails, and anywhere else that the general public can come in contact with these types.

i’ve read the lip service– so called A&Rs on PMPWorldwide talking about how it’s their job to find new and talented individuals to bring into the fold and mature– or managers talking ad nauseam about the treasure hunts they routinely take on to find and spring that next New Shit.

the truth is, though: that’s hardly what’s happening.

’cause to follow that up, i’ve contacted– albeit a cold call– those same people and said, “what’s up? here’s some of my music. what do you think?”

of course that’s a condensed and flatly informal version of what i say, but generally, that’s all i’m asking. i’m not trying to hock a deal, not trying to move a track for some obnoxious amount of money, i just want a clue.

their response? “i’m booked/can’t listen/*silence*/sorry!

aka: NO.

the truth is, people don’t really want to listen. i’ll be the first to admit. i don’t want to listen either. people approach me with their music, i know the law averages says that 7 out of 10 of these guys will be BAD, 1.5 out of 10 will be mediocre (it’s actually probably higher than that.)

so i’m turned off from jump. i won’t tear the plastic off rapper XYZ’s cd that he hands to me free in the street, because i told him i ain’t have enough money to pay up the $5 and support “good hiphop”.

so how could i expect an established person– with work on their plate and budgets to maximise and artists to manage– to check for me?

i guess this blog is to look at it from my side of things. if producer X or rapper X comes to me and says yo, check my music… that’s the fuel that moves the machine how i want it to move right there! and i feel bad because i don’t do it. i do not pay any attention to that small gesture, yet in turn i expect everybody to do it for me.

i’m good, but i’m not THAT good.

now, i don’t necessarily believe that my good deed will beget a good deed flying my way. if i check MC Nobody.Special’s new LP, two weeks later Jay Z’s people will hit me up talking crazy numbers. i’m too cynical for that.

but it’s gotta start somewhere.

i expect a lot of my passion to create music. won’t even front. and i suspect anybody who’s invested what i have and spent as much time learning as i have expects the same. so i’ma make a commitment to check for y’all. get familiar with my peers. when some good shit hits my lap, i’ma rally for you. ’cause especially in this climate? we’re all we got.

…pardon the ramble.

PMP WORLDWIDE OFFICIAL MIXTAPE

hopefully i’ll have a link to this by tuesday. truth told, i had no idea it was gonna be available. that this was even happening. but i have a habit of listening to my manager with half an ear.

but yo!

my involvement in shit is picking up, right? i’m knee deep in stuff and it’s not even march yet. 2008 shapin up nicely. grab that when i post it. and you better have that ILWIL Beat Thieves 2 tape too!!