i've been pretty immersed in the hip hop world for about the last two years, and one perennial source of friction within the community is the debate over "realness". is a rapper/producer/commentator "doing it for the streets," or is the artist in question a sellout, a "ringtone rapper" (or whatever derogatory term du jour you prefer)? roughly, this is the same conflict found in the indiemusicblog community, and probably every artistic community since the dawn of creative expression: is your art authentic, or is it tainted by commercial compromise?
this debate, i think, misreads the history of art and culture, and becomes more obsolete as communications technology continues to scale the knee of the exponential curve (speaking from an evolutionary standpoint). i happen to be of the -- and call me naive if you will -- but i happen to be of the opinion that in this day and age, if you are creating music worth listening to, and you are willing to put some effort into getting it out there, you will find an audience. how large of an audience is almost entirely dependent on cultural factors beyond any writer's control, but in this day and age, if your music is capable of connecting with people, and you are serious about seeking out those listeners who might be receptive to it, your music will find an audience to connect with. the music business has never been, and will never be, a true meritocracy, but at this particular historical moment, we are as close as we are likely to come to that ideal. the concept of "selling out" contains powerful emotional appeal, but when it comes to music, it's not clear what that means. does it mean being featured in a car commercial? at this point, very few would agree that having one's music featured in a car commercial is the mark of a sellout. however, most of us (myself included) would agree that letting business or marketing interests rule the day when it comes to the creative process is the hallmark of "selling out" (which is what most major labels are set up to do, business-wise).
HOWEVER...that doesn't mean that the artist should create music that people don't want to listen to. that misses the point entirely. music is about communication, connection, shared experience, whether in the intimate setting of one's own living room or in the collective experience of a concert in a large arena. what an artist should avoid, however, is any "creative" input that changes the intent of the piece.
it also doesn't mean that the musician should be an enemy of marketing or commercialism. i myself am a ruthless self-promoter when it comes to work that i'm proud of, but it's important to separate the two processes: make the music first, then figure out how to sell the shit out of it.
i am a songwriter. songwriters write songs to communicate with other human beings. Leonard Bernstein (one of my artistic heroes) once described the artistic impulse as pure longing for connection with others: i have felt this way, says the artist; haven't you felt this way too?
Bernstein's definition of art has always hewed very closely to mine. this, i think, is the ultimate "realness": a self-described artist presumptuous enough to make an attempt at describing the human condition, as honestly as he or she can.
but what is "the human condition"? and what is an authentic description of it? are some artists more honest with their expression, and do other artists seek to cynically exploit our emotional or cultural hot buttons? this is where the debate lives. it's not a simple one to untangle, as it is wrapped up with subjective reactions to musical and cultural phenomena that may or may not be temporary.
here's the deal: music is tricky. science is still unable to explain its effects on our emotions. simply put, we know that a resolution to a major chord sounds "stable" or "complete", and we know that a resolution to a minor or a subdominant chord sounds "unresolved" or even "melancholy", but what the hell does that tell us? we're only describing our emotional reactions to sonic events. the human brain clearly has some standard musical templates that it uses as a starting point -- the major scale, the 12-tone series, and the basics of tonal harmony -- but just about everything else is based around a series of decisions that are almost entirely cultural. different harmonic patterns and chord changes go in and out of style. different elements (rhythm, harmony, melody) are emphasized depending on the genre and on the era. the music we listen to today is entirely dependent on the music that came before it, just as tomorrow's music will be either a building upon or a reaction against the music of today (most likely the latter). the music in 30 years will loop back around and reference the music of today, just as the music of today parallels the music of 30 years ago (i have more thoughts on these 30-year cycles, but that's for another post).
the point is, our judgments about which music is cool or uncool, which music is authentic or inauthentic, which sounds are current or dated, are hopelessly influenced by our own subjective cultural experiences. i believe the only way to really write "real" material, material sprung from that Bernstein ideal, is to write the kind of music you like. that's it. it's not magic, but it's also not easy. but, if you have the talent to put together a piece of musical expression that is very, very close to the kind of music you personally love, then chances are, other people will personally love it too. it's as simple as that. we're all in this cultural moment together, after all.
so, when it comes to debates over realness and authenticity, my stance is, i'm going to create the music that moves me the most. after that process is complete, i'm going to do my best to make sure every single person in the world has the chance to hear it -- you never know who is going to connect with your music. musicians and artists shouldn't fear success; on some level, all lasting commercial success is an indication that your music is resonating with millions of people. because of the internet, we now have the power to control our own music and still market it to anyone in the world, all by ourselves. the distinction between realness and ringtone is vanishing, at least for the moment.
