Study the Greats and Become Greater

Getting ahead in the music industry by incorporating lessons from the past…

I recently came across a YouTube video posing the question, “What if Michael Jackson made trap music?!” The parody, via YouTuber, OG Cano aka ‘Michael Trapson’, went on to not only induce much laughter and the need to share, but brought to light a deeper realization around making an artist successful. What if MJ were still here and working with current producers while lyrically adhering to trap music’s standards and experiences? One possible answer to this question is: The Weeknd. The opiate induced crooner’s study and reconfiguration of Michael Jackson’s tone, phrasing and inflection may have something to do with that observation. For artists with whom he has collaborated, it is like getting a hyper sexual MJ mixed with a self indulgent Basquiat on your track. A well thought out move on behalf of the artist and his team. It automatically placed The Weeknd way above his competition in terms of listening ease, and created the appearance of a young master. Well played.

As one that supports an artist or is responsible for guiding an artists’ career, we must be mindful of the usefulness of study. It is easy for managers, agents, executives, etc. to get caught up on trends and profitable partnerships, but a huge weight can be lifted off of the shoulders of the executive by helping them to create an original, studied and trained artist. Imagine that after investing countless hours, energy and money into an artist, they fumble the whole project with a ridiculous answer to a journalist’s question, or by being caught lip-syncing or perhaps it’s simply singing way out of key when asked to perform on the spot, etc. This can be disastrous and leave the artist with an undesirable rep. Instead, why aren't more managers, a&r’s etc. aiming to do what Weeknd and his team have done and create a monster from the ground up? They've clearly executed this plan by examining source materials and studying the work of the greats only to contrast it with the trends and decisive marketing strategies of today.

Through a deeper study of the Toronto native’s fledgling career, you will see a trend of quasi-original concepts such as, releasing three x-rated r&b mixtapes for free over the course of a year with uniform old school cover art layout; prohibiting interviews and withholding bios from the public for his first couple years of activity; no live shows and no videos featuring the actual artist in promotion of the mixtapes. The idea of creating exclusivity and mystery with the artist’s image brings an old strategy to life. One exemplified by artists such as Sade, Portishead or Maxwell. Musically, Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd) and his team have created an emo/soul production signature while lyrically articulating dark sexual rock and roll tales from the perspective of the drug “user”. Delivering it in a sweet, soft vulnerable tone while his competition speaks from the easily predictable, slow drawl perspective of the drug “dealer” and just like that, you have a bonafide star in the making. The recent Grammy’s, Juno’s and White House appearance with both POTUS and the Canadian PM doesn’t lie. Let’s see how long it takes Young Thug to accomplish that. And let me state, this is not a knock to either artist but a wakeup call to those responsible for an upcoming artist’s career. The focused attention that XO (Abel’s label & business imprint) have applied in his marketing have come to reap huge rewards in their 5 year plan as most of his competition are now having to join forces and pay that extra dollar to work with him when they could be developing their own star in a similar manner.

“All great composers of the past spent most of their time studying.” George Gershwin

The question looms, why aren’t we studying the greats and their paths to success in order to take that energy and inspiration into the next generation? The fact that the current executive pool is letting this concept slip away is crippling black music’s growth. It’s been said, if you do not know your history you won’t know where you are going. One must remember that this industry is built on artists and their output. When those that are responsible for guiding the artists career begin to let the fundamentals fall by the waste side a lack of depth in the work becomes prevalent. Most of today’s young black artists and their immediate management are mainly interested in following contemporary trends set by those that are held in god like admiration, Jay-Z, Beyonce and Drake come to mind. A few years ago while doing a workshop series with a group of young rappers we were screening a documentary on Big Daddy Kane.

During the hour long biography I could see in their limited attention spans and stunted visions, just how painful it was to hear someone rap that swiftly and use abstracted wordplay. One young man got up and asked if he could hear about something more current. When I asked who he’d rather be listening to right now, he replied simply, “French”. Even when the doc went on to discuss how Kane was the first person to put Jay Z out on tour to open up for him, the young man’s only comment was, “Wow, Jay really is old.” Now listen, if I take the art and the profession seriously, how could I believe in this kid as an ‘artist’ and market him to the masses for a quick round of minimal YouTube success? He and most of the group were simply uninterested in studying their ABC’s. I can’t consciously throw them into the spelling bee and expect to win, yet this is what executives are doing and the type of artists that they are marketing to the public. Surely this will be the guy who fumbles that question in Rolling Stone or Billboard and the team that worked so hard and invested so much is now back to scouring the clubs and YouTube channels.

“Bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different.” T.S. Eliot

There must be some level of conscience on your team. All of your moves must be plotted and strategically sound. When they aren’t, again the results can make even seasoned artists appear amateur. Take note of Kanye West’s song, “Blood on the Leaves” which brilliantly samples Nina Simone’s goose bump inducing, “Strange Fruit”. Nina - who employed the same strategies I am promoting here and masterfully updated the song from Billie Holiday before her - paints a disturbing image of the “black bodies swinging in the southern breeze…” a tragic diasporic experience that should have any listener damn near in tears. West’s team however (along with its other 15+ credited writers and producers) allows the artist to turn this remake into an unnecessary and unguided rant on a failed relationship absolutely neutralizing the beauty and passion of Nina’s performance. Going so far as to reference C-Murda’s previous defiling of the culturally important song with a chant of “Fuck dem other niggas cause I’m down for my niggas...” Further ignoring the sentiment and bastardizing the historical reflection and sorrow contained in the source material. A chance to bridge a gap and expand this musical offering to new listeners in a truly ‘genius’ way was wastefully and tastelessly ignored by all involved. This is ultimately an example of when you underestimate the intelligence of your audience and allow chinks to show in your artists armour. This is usually due to being unstudied.

“Great rock ’n’ roll is a complex equation involving art, commerce, advertising, fashion, sex, politics and all sorts of things.” Paul McGuinniss (manager, U2)

I believe an artist’s team of advisor’s are responsible just as much if not more than the artist themselves for their ultimate success or failure. This is the music industry after all. In dealing with Black music, most of the executives -which are mainly non-black- privately enjoy and participate in a wider variety of musical styles. Thus, you will note the same executives holding artists of different genres to a higher standard of quality control. This was also the case with Black music until sometime in the late 90’s. Gone are artists who attempted to relate to the human spirit and condition in any way. If you were to go down the Billboard Top 10 at any given time, you will find that material which connects the artist to the listener by vulnerability, introspection, hope, hurt, etc. will always dominate because they speak to the audience as a voice from within. Artists were storytellers, usually well read and experienced. They shared tales of struggle and related to their audience.

Look at Biggie’s smash hit, “Juicy” where the emcee shares his coming up story, “I used to read Word Up magazine, Salt n’ Pepa, Heavy D up in the limousine.” He saw himself as the listeners are seeing him, a fan of the music and musicians with big dreams of success. We related to the song and more importantly the artist because of this. The choice of a musical backdrop couldn't be more on point for that time period. The Mtume sample opened the door for us to party and enjoy the groove while hearing and relating to BIG’s story because it touched us on a human level. By reaching into the past by way of a well chosen sample and lyrics that related to the audiences experiences, Diddy and Bad Boy took their artist to the top right out of the gate.

However, somewhere in the 2000’s capitalism, opulence and at times, straight up ignorance, began ruling the content of the signings and releases from Black genres by major labels. As a result, emcees and singers alike are no longer concerned about relating. And while I personally applaud the artists for evolving a new form within the music, from a business perspective the fact remains that this opens up an avenue for those more studied to step in and enhance this new scene with tried and true tactics like Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Adelle are doing. All have strong teams and through obvious study of those before them and an appreciation of their place in the history of their genre appear as well rounded artists that speak to some part of the human spirit. Hence the sales, chart positions, accolades and ultimately domination.

Granted this formula is to be used sparingly; it takes a keen intuition and a progressive mindset on the part of the A&R, management and mostly the artist in order to create the right experience. Jack White brilliantly used a landscape of early Delta and Chicago blues as a basis for his White Stripes work. Admitting that without their child like drums, 3 color signature imagery and well thought out brother/sister story (Meg the drummer was actually revealed to be his ex-wife) he would have just been playing white boy blues. The truth is that he was playing ‘white boy blues’ the whole time but the image was such a strong mix of old and new that he successfully accomplished the distraction and we went along for the ride, helping them to sell several gold and platinum albums. While most are lost in the beautiful voice, song writing ability and charisma of UK recording artist Sam Smith, all of which are undeniable and deserving of the praise, I am also paying close attention to his update of George Michael’s 1980’s image. In particular Careless Whispers’ George in the dark suit and white shirt (sans tie) with pronounced earrings. Recently, Sam has even grown in the 5 o'clock shadow George made so popular in his evolution from Wham to solo stardom. Sam and his team have successfully crafted something familiar in an updated sense that enhances his appeal in today’s market. Most of his fans wouldn't even notice it but that slight tweak makes a difference.

I personally believe all real artists come to the table with something borrowed and something new. You have to start somewhere and the key is for the executive to help them dig in and find that inspiration that they are embellishing and develop a plan to sell it back to the world.

“Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it’s a tribute to him in some kind of way." Bob Dylan on Hendrix’s cover of his song ‘All Along the Watchtower’

Another area that has been under exploited in the “urban” market is the art of the cover song. We’ve seen Black artists do this many times over. The Fugee’s remake Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly” or Whitney Houston’s incredible interpretation of Dolly Parton’s smash country hit, “I Will Always Love You”, are clear example of this tactic being applied by Black artists. When done right it can transcend the genre and the artist themselves. Both of these remakes went on to sell millions of records and broaden the fan base of the artists beyond “Black music”. You would think more execs would be encouraging their artists to use this strategy to their advantage. Of course, there are reasons for the hesitation. On a business end, publishing can be a huge concern. However, with artists’ still sampling music it is not a far reach. As a matter of fact it could be well worth it if you choose the right song. Also, the nod to the writer/performer should be used as a matter of respect. Pay the original writer/publisher what is theirs and use the material to catapult your up and comer’s original works to new niche markets that are bound to be revealed to you. Don’t shy away from using cover material in live shows, on a mixtape or as a free download as long as it can reach an audience and create an opportunity to secure them. Having your artist connect people through known material is a sure fire way to gain new listeners and adding a well thought out and performed cover into their live show will give their audience a greater appreciation of said artists musicianship and taste. Overall, singing or playing other peoples material well has always been the markings of a great musician. Whether you started a garage band or get your start in the church, achieving the right sound of a classic separates the shower singer from the stadium entertainer. Look at the success of shows like American Idol, The Voice, etc. Which appear in dozens of markets worldwide. Familiarity and fresh takes.

This brings us back to today and why artists that have applied these ideas and strategies are winning. From Lady Gaga channelling Elton John and David Bowie to Adelle pulling on classic Aretha, the approach is clear: find strong talent and direct them to try proven formulas of the past that are true to that artist’s abilities and intuitions. See what feels real to your artist and develop it to work in this time period.

“The fans know nothing…” Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, The Mars Volta

A great illusion in the music industry is that the artist makes all creative decisions and delivers exactly what they dreamed up on their own. The truth is that there is always a team behind every successful artist and song. It appears to me that managers, producers and those working to develop talent must stop letting the fans and sales dictate where the artist—and in turn the music—goes. When something seemingly new and popular kicks off resist the urge to jump on the bandwagon, be bold and direct the next trend. What is old can become new again and if you are inventive enough, the fans won’t even realize why they like it. It’s not their business to do the research (and very few these days are) but it is yours. Execs are in this industry for a reason and are therefore responsible for making things happen. The people who shape an artist’s career must do their part by guiding the artist toward out-of-the-box thinking. They must be studied.