Randomness: What Makes You A Good Artist?

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.

Randomness + Update...

There are three kinds of artists- those whose songs sound amazing on the CD and bad live, those whose songs sounds bad on the CD and sound amazing live, and those whose songs sound amazing on the CD and even more amazing live. My favorite has to be the third and with that being said, part of this post is dedicated to Erykah "On & On" Badu.[1]

Erykah, Erykah, Erykah. As a big Badu fan, I have to say that there is nothing like ripping the plastic off an album, busting the case open, popping the CD into a stereo, and listening to her beautiful music. All of her songs are incredible and I always find myself thinking, "I know she's going to perform the *heck* out of this song live." She has so much energy in her live performances so it's nearly impossible for you to hate her music. I mean, who could? Now we're all familiar with her song "Appletree" from Baduizm. You know, track number three? The smooth, neo-soul tune that comes after "On & On"? That one. Now if you have heard it, you would never expect her to perform that song the way she does. Check out one of the performances from last year's Vortex tour of the song below:



Great right? *wishes she was there* She performs with soooo much soul. The soul many artists seem to lack. And the thing very admirable about her is the fact that she makes music because she loves it. She performs because she loves it. Not for the money and not for other's approval. On everyone's Bucket List, there should be Attend an Erykah Badu show listed. In the top 20 at least! Watch this performance of Danger below(Worldwide Underground is just wonderful live...from what I see on YOUTUBE, unfortunately):



Okay, let me cut to the chase. I. Need. New. Amerykah. Part. Two. Not just because I want something new from Miss Badu, but because I need something NEW.


*SWITCH* You may have noticed that there have not been many posts lately and I apologize. The artists I want to post about here aren't that active at this point in time, leaving this blog a ghost town and me very unsatisfied...and a lot of others I'm sure. To keep myself and others occupied, I will be probably be posting about artists and their live performances and other random things until something MAJOR happens *cough part II*. Sorry for the lack of posts once again.

I also need to post a treat. I keep saying this, but look out for Fertile Ground's Seasons Change. Matter of fact, look out for it tomorrow. Stick around!

Oh, in other news, Chrisette Michele is going to go "Radio" on us on Epiphany. "You'll hear more bass heavy stuff and club bangers." Great.

You know, it hasn't been long since I joined Twitter but I'm already addicted. I don't understand. It's like cocaine.

End randomness here.

Randomness....

Remember that randomness post I made a few months ago? The one where I made a list of albums I need to hear new material from. Well a lot of things have changed since I made that post..therefore I have to add on to it..or simply update it. Old text in black, new in red.

Goapele: The world has not been blessed with an album of hers since '05. I don't know about you all, but I'm starting to have withdrawals. "Don't Be Shy" is a great song, I nearly had a heart attack when I first heard it, but I'm in need of a new album! Hopefully one is coming soon, maybe next year?
Well, well, well. I was kind of right. She's been working hard on an upcoming project so we just might get a new album this year. This deserves a smile.

India.Arie: It's been two years since her last album. Call me greedy, but I need more songs. I know that she's doing her thing on Broadway though, so that's good. Maybe she'll record another song afterward. All I need is one song, just ONE new song and I'll be satisfied.
I must be psychic or something. She IS coming out with Testimony Vol. 2 later this month and she just recently released a video for her single, "Chocolate High" with Musiq. This deserves a smile as well.

Chrisette Michele: I Am is beautiful...just beautiful. Like I said for India.Arie, all I need is ONE song and I'll be satisfied. Even if she only sang one word in a collabo, I'd be satisfied.
Wish fulfilled! We now have her new single "Epiphany," plus an album coming in March. Also, she was featured on The Game's L.A.X.. Three for three.

D'Angelo: *sighs* I miss his voice. He's supposedly making a return next year and I can't wait.
Eh.

Erykah Badu: I know it's only been a few months since her last album, but I can't wait for NA Part II. Go ahead and call me greedy again.
Well, Miss Badu just delivered one of her "projects." One down, one more to go. *cough* Part II. But take your time. I'm just really hyped for part II and a new single. Call me a stan, if you will.

Heather Headley: She's supposed to be making a gospel album, so I'm looking out for that.
Gospel album was released. Great material. Gospel is very fitting for her. This deserves a smile.

Amel Larrieux: I wonder if there's a new album in the making...
Eh x2.

Corinne Bailey Rae: I know she's going through a lot right now considering her husband passed away. I'm not expecting anything to come out this year, but I just hope she's going to record a new album. No rush.
Eh and a sigh.

Four out of eight.

Besides these artists, I need to hear material from Maxwell, Muhsinah, Laura Izibor, Me'Shell Ndegéocello, and Fertile Ground. What a greedy fan I am.

And completely off topic: I finally got "hip" and created a twitter account. *Sigh* ECJ was already "hip."

Randomness...

As we all know, D'Angelo took a brief hiatus from music and is making a return in Spring of next year. With all of these changes in artists' styles, I wonder what his album will be like. Will he try to change his style or will he still be D'Angelo? I don't want him coming back on the scene singing about some foolishness.

THIS is D'Angelo:


No, I did not post this video because of his naked body. This song does something to my soul. In '09, I want some chill-giving, heart-stopping, insane music. I want him to show everyone how it's supposed to be done and I don't want to be disappointed. This album is...HIGHLY anticipated.

One of my favorites: Erykah Badu & D'Angelo: "Your Precious Love." (I have a bone to pick with Erykah...but that's a completely different subject).


Think about it...

Randomness....

This is more like a rant, I don't do these too often.

So, as I was on SoulBounce, I came across a post entitled Raheem DeVaughn + T-Pain = EPIC FAIL. I thought to myself, I KNOW they didn't do a song together...please.... Well, they did. Why? All I can ask is why? Okay, first of all, Raheem DeVaughn is not a mainstream artist and he probably never will be (that's not a bad thing). Why would you make a track with the most mainstream artist out there? What does that say?

I'm not dissin' him, I love Raheem and I'm a fan of his and I applaud him for attempting a track like this. But, um, just tell me that this isn't going to be on an album. I'll lose my mind. Oh, and did he just say "My Air Max is black, my President is black?" Jesus, take the wheel. Musiq, I apologize for being so hard on "Radio." That's nothing compared to this.

With that being said, here are three rules that artists should abide by:

1. Don't do a track with T-Pain. That's just a no.
2. Don't try to switch from Neo-Soul/Soul to Mainstream. It's not you. You have plenty of fans who appreciate you and the music you are currently creating. Why would you want to change that? Why would you want to gain new fans who love you for someone you're really not?
3. If you're good at it, stick with it. Changing your style up a little bit is good, but don't get carried away. This, guys, would be getting carried away.


In other news, things are still pretty slow at the moment which would explain the lack of posts. We're still here!

More Randomness....

This one is more like a random rant. Okay, the inspiration of this post comes from one of ECJ's older one about Japan's Greater Love of Good Music. Thinking about it, doesn't it seem like every country EXCEPT America has a greater love of good music? It seems like up-and-coming artists have a better chance everywhere else except here. Especially in Europe.

One evening, I heard Esperanza Spalding's "I Know You Know" playing in a restaurant and I was ecstatic, but no one else was even paying attention to it. I don't know, it seems like Americans are less open-minded when it comes to music than any other country. If it's different, we don't like it. If you don't fit the definition of perfection or beauty, we don't like you. It's a crazy thing.

I wish some of our underground artists could get some radio-play, get their album in stores, and appear on VH1, BET, or MTV. Wouldn't it be great if they just played artists like the ones featured on here or SoulBounce all day? I think I'd be in heaven. The closest we have to that is Soul Deep on VH1 Soul which is only an hour long (at least I think it is...). They should make a whole TV channel dedicated to them. Or a radio station.

Okay, I'm getting carried away now, right? Haha.



In other news, John Legend's album comes out the Tuesday after next. I said that I wasn't going to listen to it until then, and I meant it. However, if you talk to me on last.fm, you know that I'm having a hard time fighting temptation. I'm going to win though.

Randomness....

Part I:

I just made a quick list of the artists that I need to hear more music from.

Goapele: The world has not been blessed with an album of hers since '05. I don't know about you all, but I'm starting to have withdrawals. "Don't Be Shy" is a great song, I nearly had a heart attack when I first heard it, but I'm in need of a new album! Hopefully one is coming soon, maybe next year?

India.Arie: It's been two years since her last album. Call me greedy, but I need more songs. I know that she's doing her thing on Broadway though, so that's good. Maybe she'll record another song afterward. All I need is one song, just ONE new song and I'll be satisfied.

Chrisette Michele: I Am is beautiful...just beautiful. Like I said for India.Arie, all I need is ONE song and I'll be satisfied. Even if she only sang one word in a collabo, I'd be satisfied.

D'Angelo: *sighs* I miss his voice. He's supposedly making a return next year and I can't wait.

Erykah Badu: I know it's only been a few months since her last album, but I can't wait for NA Part II. Go ahead and call me greedy again.

Heather Headley: She's supposed to be making a gospel album, so I'm looking out for that.

Amel Larrieux: I wonder if there's a new album in the making...

Corinne Bailey Rae: I know she's going through a lot right now considering her husband passed away. I'm not expecting anything to come out this year, but I just hope she's going to record a new album. No rush.

Part II:



Some of you might wonder why Janelle Monáe is one of the artists that are discussed on here. Answer: she is too talented not to be. I mean come on, most of you have heard her material and you've seen the video for "Many Moons." The girl doesn't just make music, she makes art. She sees things in a completely different perspective than others. You don't get the same ol', same ol' from her and she always seems to blow her fans away. It's so refreshing to see her getting the attention that she deserves and FINALLY putting out a video because I'm sick and tired of seeing the same, ordinary videos on BET and hearing the same, ordinary songs on the radio.

So no, she's not a "soul" artist, but she is brilliant nonetheless and her talent must be showcased.