Tricky opinions.
I was listening to an episode of awhile back that I continue to think about every now and again. The episode was an interview with a famous producer by the name of Tricky Stewart, who’s credited for some major pop records, like by Rihanna and Single Ladiesby Beyoncé.
In the interview he’s being asked about Frank Ocean; i.e. what it’s like to have worked with him, his understanding of Frank’s history with the record label Def Jam, etc. But it gets really interesting when the topic turns to Frank’s newer music, and what Tricky thinks about it — he’s almost dismissive of it. In fact, he makes comments like, “Frank needs to let the producers produce” and “he’s a classic overthinker”. Then Tricky goes into this whole explanation about how he thinks Frank really needs a major label behind him ( in 2016, Frank parted ways with Def Jam), because that’s the only way he’s going to reach his full potential as an artist. And when the interviewer asks Tricky if he thinks Frank would want to get to some place like that as an artist (i.e. Tricky’s idea of what Frank’s ‘full potential’ is), Tricky responds with, “I don’t know, maybe he’s scared.”
*BOW! BOW!* (Shots fired)
Finally, Tricky says, “Call me crazy — I’m old school — I need the records man […] I know that shit sounds old and all that, but, I’m telling you, the best records truly play on the radio. And when your shit ain’t on the radio, you don’t have one.”
What I immediately think about when I consider (1) that statement, (2) Tricky’s work, and (3) Frank’s work, all together, is this:
What has more cultural impact — a major radio hit, like Single Ladies, which forces its way into almost every aspect of culture and life for a period of time, or an album like Blonde which never makes it to the radio but has a huge fan following and is referenced by so many pop artists and musicians as a major inspiration and touchpoint for their own work?
It seems to me like radio and club plays are not always good metrics for how a piece of art moves the culture forward. I would argue that making an album which puts into question how popular music can be structured, and is celebrated for doing so by so many inside and outside of the music industry, is a pretty damn good trade-off for not getting any radio plays. I would go further and say ( and I’m definitely not the first or only person to make this argument) that songwriting and producing elements has been lauded for will be borrowed and tweaked by artists over the next several years and will make their way to the radio by way of other songs, creating a different musical landscape, one shaped by Frank Ocean’s vision for his own work.
Please let me know what you think below, and send on any music or reading recommendations, related to this or not!
Originally published at https://www.steeppitch.com on May 13, 2020.
