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August 14, 2009 | 
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Many people, including myself, are always talking about good music and good artists. But what does that mean, exactly? In my opinion, it doesn’t mean that there are good artists and bad artists. There are many things that make you a “good” artist. With that being said, I made a list of 10 things that I think make you a good artist. (with a couple of things added by my boy Vince)
Top ten things that make you a GOOD artist:
1. “Money Don’t Mean a Thing.”
A true artist makes music for the love. They’re not worried about how much money they’re going to make or how many album sales they get. They make music because they love it and because there are people out there that love it.
2. Staying True to Yourself.
You don’t have to sell out if you want to be a good artist. What is selling out you ask? Conforming, basically. Hopping on a track with Drake being drowned out in auto-tune. That’s what it is. If you make music the way you want to, you will get true fans. No shade towards Mary J. Blige by the way. Just do you.
3. Performing Your Tail Off.
This is very broad. If you love the music, you’d love to perform. Everytime you perform, you’ll give it your all. It doesn’t have to be at a major venue, it can just be at a small show. At either location, you perform with all of your might. And when it comes to performing, most artists’ live performances are better and different each time. I don’t know what it is…but an artist who can put on one heck of a show blow my mind.
4. Good Attitude.
Nobody likes a stuck-up artist or a hater. If you can acknowledge another artist’s talent and greatness, you’re amazing. The artists I follow on twitter are constantly showing love to eachother which makes me love them even more. You’re all in this business together, no need for hate.
5. Meaningful Lyrics.
No one wants to hear anything about you “[insert expletive here] every girl in the world.” We want something we can relate to. (And if you can relate to those lyrics…please click the “X” at the top right of your browser. Thank you.)
6. Don’t Let The Industry Take You Over.
I’m not an artist, but from what I have seen and heard, the business is very stressful. Don’t let them see you sweat, though. I know there are artists that can’t seem to catch a break, but yet they don’t quit and they stick it through. Good things come to those who wait. Don’t lose yourself.
7. Love for the Fans.
When you make good music, you gain fans. Fans who love your music and who love you. That can ALL change when your fans meet you and you act like you don’t care about them. You + Fans = You doing something right. We love interaction 
8. Good Personality.
People love to see that their favorite artists love having a good time and to joke around. Also, we love it when you’re nice. No need to take yourself too seriously. If you can’t have fun while you’re doing something you supposedly love, what’s the use?
9. Define Your Music, Don’t Let Your Music Define You.
Let that marinate.
10. Work Hard.
A good artist doesn’t get “success” the easy way. Success doesn’t necessarily deal with album sales or anything of the sort. I don’t believe success can be handed to you on a plate. You have to get up of your bottom and go get it for yourself.
All of the artists I mention on this site are good artists. But maybe the word good isn’t strong enough? Who knows. And again, these are just opinions. I may be leaving some things out, and if you have something else to add please do.
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Ntjamrosie is a soul/jazz artist from Southern Cameroon. When she was a young child, she moved to the Netherlands. As she got older, she became influenced by soul and R&B music and started to sing. However, she never had the intention of singing professionally. As time passed, she realized that music was indeed her passion. When she got older, she studied at the World Music Academy of the Rotterdam Conservatoire and majored in singing. There she absorbed various music styles such as bosa novas, boleros, and jazz. These sounds are very apparent in her sound which has been labeled “Bulu Soul.” (Bulu is the dialect in Cameroon). On her album, Atouba, she sings in this dialect as well as English and French. The album was released last year. Purchase it from iTunes.
Also, watch her live concert HERE.
“The little white girl with the big soulful voice” was what she was referred to in her past. Leigh Jones, a singer/songwriter, was born and raised in North Hollywood. She is a graduate of the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and was taught how to sing by her father (who sang backup for artists like Frank Sinatra and Natalie Cole).
Her debut album, Music In My Soul, was released September 9th, 2008 off of Peak Records. The blend of jazz, soul, and blues is a very refreshing sound to hear. You can hear influence from A few of stand out tracks from the album include “Have It Your Way,” “Sick of Fools,” and “Who What Why.” Her voice is definitely one of an old soul.
Unfortunately, I heard this album too late to include it in my top albums list but this is an album you must listen to at least once. You may just put it on repeat after that. Check it out on iTunes or Amazon. (Read that review on iTunes. Perfection).
Late pass needed. I’ve seen her name around a couple of times, yet I never looked into her. I have to thank someone from last.fm for introducing me to her. You know who you are…
Video for her single “Free Fall”:
Now, I don’t have too much to write about her since I cannot find a bio of any sort. All I know is she’s a singer from the underground scene in Georgia. She is very talented and I hope to hear a lot more material from her in the future. She is working on an album entitled The Eva Kennedy Project: Chameleon so look out for it. Check out the videos of her performing her song “Cream” and Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” below.
Cream.
Crazy. (She killed this, in my opinion)
I probably need a late pass for this.
Andreya Triana is an artist from the UK. She began singing and songwriting at the age of seven. At the age of seventeen, she started performing at Open Mic Night at one of her local music venues. There, she was introduced to a group by the name of “Bootis.” The group slowly despanded, and eventually Andreya decided to reform Bootis with new members and a new sound. While in this group, Andreya showed off her skills as a singer, songwriter, and a performer. The grouped performed for about two years, their final show taking place at Live8 in 2005.
After recieving a degree for Music Technology, Andreya started working on her solo career. In 2006, she was selected to attend the 2006 Red Bull Music Academy in Australia, and she was one of the sixty people selected. Now, she’s been traveling and performing at a few gigs. Look out for her debut album.
Check out her website and her MySpace. Watch the videos below, as well.
Major props go to Kissey Asplund.
P.S. What the heck is up with Blogger?
So I’m sitting here watching (kind of watching, kind of not) ABC Family’s “Lincoln Heights,” and I hear some female’s voice. She sounded great so I was like, “who is this?!” (if you don’t watch Lincoln Heights, you should. Aside from it being a good show, they usually feature “underground” artists on there). Anyway, I waited until the end of the show to get find out what her name was and I looked her up immediately.
Suai (Pronounced Sway) is an artist signed with Universal Motown. While she was just a teen, she released an independent album and released a single by the name of “Forever and A Day,” which was a hit on Detroit’s radio station WJLB. Suai is currently working on an album which should be dropping sometime this year. Also, she’ll be on the official album for Barack Obama’s Presidential Campaign with the song, “Am I All Alone?” Keep your eyes open, people. =)
Check out her MySpace, Official Site, and YouTube channel.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. I am so late on her, it’s not even funny. Tawiah, a soul artist from London, has such a great style and a great voice to match. She can be heard on Wale’s Mixtape About Nothing. It’s been a while since I heard that song on his mixtape, I don’t know why I never looked her up because she sounds amazing. Well anyway, I stumbled upon her name recently and I was thinking, “why does she sound so familiar?” I searched her name and I found her EP In Jodi’s Bedroom. Words cannot describe how impressive it is. Europe is really bringing it with the soul music, I tell you. To name a few artists: Hil St. Soul, Giovanca, Estelle, Bryn Christopher, and now her. Good lord…
The tracklisting:
1. Watch Out
2. Another One
3. Boy From Da Endz
4. Every Step
5. Interlude
6. Broken Heart
Standouts? Every single track. I recommend that you all go find this ASAP.
thank you, sensitiveaboutmysh*t.
I’m going to be honest, I don’t have too much to say about her right now because I JUST discovered her today (shame on me….props to Nu-Soul Magazine, though). I went to her MySpace and gave a couple of her songs a listen. One word that I’d use to describe them: “WOW!” Please, please, please go to her MySpace and listen to her songs. If you like them, I suggest you purchase her EP, “Hiding Blind,” off of iTunes. As soon as I can listen to that, I’ll definitely post a little review on it.
Oh, and check out her blog (well, a blog she co-writes on). It’s under the links, it’s called “Wrong Lips.”