Does MJ's lack of respect from serious music critics/rock press/music snobs bother you?

[GGVVGGCC22331122]

Actually, what I said was this:



The "disco sucks" sentiment does have racist undertones. Not putting black artists on the cover for lack of magazine sales does point to racism in the audience of that magazine. So when you brought up those arguments you actually supported my point. I also said there could have been other reasons as well and that it's probably a combination of all those factors why they refused to put OTW on the cover.

As for RS putting Hendrix and Gaye (I think in the latter case only once) on the cover somehow negating this argument - I disagree. As a black artist you had to be a real giant or real special to make it on the cover of RS. As a white artist much less was enough.

Exactly, Respect77. I totally agree with every word you say, here.

 

[DuranDuran]

mazazines

Actually, what I said was this:

The "disco sucks" sentiment does have racist undertones. Not putting black artists on the cover for lack of magazine sales does point to racism in the audience of that magazine. So when you brought up those arguments you actually supported my point. I also said there could have been other reasons as well and that it's probably a combination of all those factors why they refused to put OTW on the cover.

That doesn't mean that the magazine itself is racist. It's not just Rolling Stone. How many other mainstream magazines put non-white people on the cover often? That's not just in 1979 but today as well. When I see Vogue, Field & Stream, People, or Better Housekeeping, white people are on the cover more often than other races/ethnicities. That's even true for tabloids like National Inquirer. You might see black people on the cover regularly on Sports Illustrated, because the most popular sports in the US like basketball & football have a lot of black players. But for the swimsuit issues, white women are more common. Magazines are a business designed to make money, so of course they're going to put someone who is likely to sell more on the cover to grab the person's attention. The picture is the first thing a person sees, not the headline or even the name of the magazine.

 

[FullLipsDotNose]

Re: mazazines

That doesn't mean that the magazine itself is racist. It's not just Rolling Stone. How many other mainstream magazines put non-white people on the cover often? That's not just in 1979 but today as well. When I see Vogue, Field & Stream, People, or Better Housekeeping, white people are on the cover more often than other races/ethnicities. That's even true for tabloids like National Inquirer. You might see black people on the cover regularly on Sports Illustrated, because the most popular sports in the US like basketball & football have a lot of black players. But for the swimsuit issues, white women are more common. Magazines are a business designed to make money, so of course they're going to put someone who is likely to sell more on the cover to grab the person's attention. The picture is the first thing a person sees, not the headline or even the name of the magazine.

But that still counts as racism... You admit that white people on front pages sell - because the audience is predominantly white and the audience wants to see white people. Re basketball and football - yes, black people receive recognition in it, but how frequently are black people featured on front pages as business(wo)men, professors, politicians, directors, writers...?

 

[Tony R]

Re: mazazines

But that still counts as racism... You admit that white people on front pages sell - because the audience is predominantly white and the audience wants to see white people. Re basketball and football - yes, black people receive recognition in it, but how frequently are black people featured on front pages as business(wo)men, professors, politicians, directors, writers...?

Is it not just possible that maybe there are more white people in America than black than they will outnumber them in terms of magazine covers also?

It's not racism that more black people are in Harlem Globetrotters or that all Beyonces backing dancers were black at Super Bowl etc....

Sometimes it's just is what it is, and by calling things like this racism, you're undervaluing all the real terrible racism that goes on in the world.

 

[KOPV]

Most magazines have some type of racism behind it.. Even In magazines designed for a black audience will pick lighter skinned people to be on the cover. And when not light - they will lighten them up.

And it's not just America... Many cultures are taught light skin is beauty.. I think it's dumb, but its the sad reality..


As far as the anti black agenda that Michael has dealt with though, it's one in the same yet very different.. Michael was becoming the American Hero in a time that was NOT what the American hero 'supposed' to look like....

And you think for one moment that the 'white' corporate heads at record labels, media outlets, and various other outlets will not try to do what they can to make Elvis, The Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean etc. to be the poster picture of Hollywood glam and the American dream image over Michael Jackson you are sadly mistaken...

 

[FullLipsDotNose]

Re: mazazines

Is it not just possible that maybe there are more white people in America than black than they will outnumber them in terms of magazine covers also?

It's not racism that more black people are in Harlem Globetrotters or that all Beyonces backing dancers were black at Super Bowl etc....

Sometimes it's just is what it is, and by calling things like this racism, you're undervaluing all the real terrible racism that goes on in the world.

I think there are statistics on this - the number of white people on covers is still disproportionate. During Oscars So White, it was repeated that while white people make up 2/3 of the US inhabitants, the proportion of white people in US films is something over 80%.

 

[Tony R]

Most magazines have some type of racism behind it.. Even In magazines designed for a black audience will pick lighter skinned people to be on the cover. And when not light - they will lighten them up.

And it's not just America... Many cultures are taught light skin is beauty.. I think it's dumb, but its the sad reality..


As far as the anti black agenda that Michael has dealt with though, it's one in the same yet very different.. Michael was becoming the American Hero in a time that was NOT what the American hero 'supposed' to look like....

And you think for one moment that the 'white' corporate heads at record labels, media outlets, and various other outlets will not try to do what they can to make Elvis, The Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean etc. to be the poster picture of Hollywood glam and American American dream image over Michael Jackson you are sadly mistaken...

Of course it's gone on over the years especially in the Monroe/James Dean eras, but I don't thing people pierposfully sit on Rolling Stone or the Oscars board for that matter and say they'd rather have Kurt Cobain on the cover instead of MJ simply because MJ is black.

Lots of other factors take precedence, the current zeitgeist and culture primarily.

If racism is to blame for everything then what about times when Black people win more than whites?

Was is racism towards whites when MJ won all his Grammys for example?

 

[DuranDuran]

Re: mazazines

But that still counts as racism... You admit that white people on front pages sell - because the audience is predominantly white and the audience wants to see white people. Re basketball and football - yes, black people receive recognition in it, but how frequently are black people featured on front pages as business(wo)men, professors, politicians, directors, writers...?

If Mexicans & Puerto Ricans watch Telemundo or Univision instead of ABC or listen to salsa or tejano more than heavy metal, is that racist? If people in Jamaica more likely listen to reggae instead of classical, is that racist? If Black people watch VH1 Soul instead of MTV, is that racist? If some black people call rock music "white boy music" or country "redneck music", is that racist? People tend to want to watch themselves. White is considered the default race in the USA, and whites control most of the media & entertainment in the US. The majority of the news concern white people. If OJ Simpson had been accused of killing a black woman and man, that would not have been as big of a thing in the media. If the average white person wants to see white people, putting non-white people on the cover all the time is not going to change that. All that will do is they will stop buying the magazine or they would have bought Ebony or Latina in the first place. The multicultural thing is never really going to happen for most. Most people of all races tend to hang out with their own race more than with others. That's why there's culture for different ethnicities. Even in the black race itself, there's the dark skin/light skin thing or that you're not really "black" if you speak proper English or like classical music instead of Teddy Pendergrass or NWA. You're accused of talking like white people if you don't use Ebonics or something. That's part of what the TV show Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air was about. Will & Jazz were always making fun of Carlton. So improving race relations is not as simple as putting Michael Jackson on the cover of Rolling Stone in 1979 or 1980. That's not going to stop racial profiling by the police or getting followed around in stores.

 

[HIStory]

Re: mazazines

That doesn't mean that the magazine itself is racist. It's not just Rolling Stone. How many other mainstream magazines put non-white people on the cover often? That's not just in 1979 but today as well. When I see Vogue, Field & Stream, People, or Better Housekeeping, white people are on the cover more often than other races/ethnicities. That's even true for tabloids like National Inquirer. You might see black people on the cover regularly on Sports Illustrated, because the most popular sports in the US like basketball & football have a lot of black players. But for the swimsuit issues, white women are more common. Magazines are a business designed to make money, so of course they're going to put someone who is likely to sell more on the cover to grab the person's attention. The picture is the first thing a person sees, not the headline or even the name of the magazine.

Well, of course Rolling Stone would point to the token black people they did put on the cover, find an excuse in that and say "See? We put Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye on our cover once, so that proves we are not racist". But I think these things are a lot more complicated issues than that. Racism doesn't necessarily have to be blatant for it to exist and for us to acknowledge its existence instead of trying to act as if it's not an issue and we are in some post-racial society where every race really is treated equally which is far, far away from the truth. Yes, black artists have been on the cover of RS before OTW but were they really represented in a proportionate number considering their significance in popular music? I think the answer is a clear "no" - and that's where you can detect the white privilege (let's call it white privilege then instead of racism, but it does go back eventually to racism, even if it is not a consciously racist decision on the part of RS's editors).

When a magazine like RS refuses to put a successful black artist and album on its cover because "covers with black people don't sell" it's the exact same thing as what stirs a lot of controversy still today: ie. that movie directors are OK to underrepresent black people in movies - and sometimes are OK with even casting white people for ethnic roles - with the excuse that "well, movies with black people don't sell". While that might be true as of now, it does not make it OK to not cast black people just like it does not make it OK to not put black people on magazine covers. Sometimes you need to make the conscious effort to change bad social attitudes to not play into those attitudes and not be a part of the system that keeps up those attitudes.

Did RS change since then in that attitude? They probably did, just like MTV did and everyone else did, but when we talk about 1979 I don't think you can ignore the racial element behind decisions like that. Like I said before, that is not the only element in it of course. RS never really liked and/or understood MJ and his art, anyway. The funny thing is, though, that today they would probably praise OTW to high heaves as MJ's "best album". At the time they did not think it was worthy of a cover story. So maybe in 20-30 years from now they will finally "get" all of MJ's art. LOL.

 

[FullLipsDotNose]

Re: mazazines

If Mexicans & Puerto Ricans watch Telemundo or Univision instead of ABC or listen to salsa or tejano more than heavy metal, is that racist? If people in Jamaica more likely listen to reggae instead of classical, is that racist? If Black people watch VH1 Soul instead of MTV, is that racist? If some black people call rock music "white boy music" or country "redneck music", is that racist? People tend to want to watch themselves. White is considered the default race in the USA, and whites control most of the media & entertainment in the US. The majority of the news concern white people. If OJ Simpson had been accused of killing a black woman and man, that would not have been as big of a thing in the media. If the average white person wants to see white people, putting non-white people on the cover all the time is not going to change that. All that will do is they will stop buying the magazine or they would have bought Ebony or Latina in the first place. The multicultural thing is never really going to happen for most. Most people of all races tend to hang out with their own race more than with others. That's why there's culture for different ethnicities. Even in the black race itself, there's the dark skin/light skin thing or that you're not really "black" if you speak proper English or like classical music instead of Teddy Pendergrass or NWA. You're accused of talking like white people if you don't use Ebonics or something. That's part of what the TV show Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air was about. Will & Jazz were always making fun of Carlton. So improving race relations is not as simple as putting Michael Jackson on the cover of Rolling Stone in 1979 or 1980. That's not going to stop racial profiling by the police or getting followed around in stores.

I think I've already written here, but I'll go for it again: For any black rapper, you have Eminem or Ugly Azalea. How many black musicians play country music and are successful at it? White people have privilege of doing everything and being recognised for their efforts.

 

[Tony R]

Re: mazazines

I think I've already written here, but I'll go for it again: For any black rapper, you have Eminem or Ugly Azalea. How many black musicians play country music and are successful at it? White people have privilege of doing everything and being recognised for their efforts.

Possibly the most ridiculous thing I have ever read and can only presume you are either an emo teen or have never left the house.

Ironically it's also an incredibly racist post.

 

[FullLipsDotNose]

Re: mazazines

Possibly the most ridiculous thing I have ever read and can only presume you are either an emo teen or have never left the house.

Ironically it's also an incredibly racist post.

None of these is true. What's racist about my post?

 

[HIStory]

Was is racism towards whites when MJ won all his Grammys for example?

Michael had to create the best selling album of all times, a never before seen phenomenon to win all those Grammys. Before that he created OTW. Today many music critics like to say OTW is a better album than Thriller (whether one agrees with it or not, that's what they say), but at the time it was largely ignored by the Grammys and RS refused to give it a cover story. OTW was successful. Selling 8 million copies in the US and close to 20 million globally is a very successful album. It was also a great album, you can't deny that. Yet, it was ignored for Grammys or even nominations except for one minor "black" category. Christopher Cross' debut album that sold 5 million copies in the US was showered with Grammys in 1980 or 1981. I think it won 5 in major categories. I know that the Grammys aren't just about sales, but I don't see how that album is greater in anything than OTW. Some pretty soft rock-pop tunes, but nothing as exciting as the songs on OTW. A white artist gets showered with Grammys for that. For Michael to grab all those white magazine's and institutions' attention he had to create something like Thriller that was impossible to ignore any more. "I had to tell them I ain't second to none".

 

[Tony R]

Re: mazazines

None of these is true. What's racist about my post?

The generalising that all white people have it so easy. Do you not see the double standards?

Anyway I guess this once good thread will now face lock down. Shame.

 

[KOPV]

much racism isn't 'intentional'... it is breed, it's taught... we all have it in use to some extent..


The point with Michael and the grammys Is exactly that.. He got so big they could not dispute or ignore it.. If Michael Jackson got snubbed in1984 as his album was the best selling album in history at that point... They would have had an army at the door... They're not that stupid..




We all know Hollywood is pro white... If someone can give me a logical explanation to why majority of white actors get casted as 'heros' of non white people in history (factual or mythical) I'll drop it..


Passion of Christ- Jesus (white along much of the cast)
Troy - Troy (white and blonde hair/blue eyes)
Exodus - Moses (along with all of Egypt)
300 - how many Persians and greeks looking people did you see?


But if it is a movie about war or terrorism.. Will they get the skin color wrong??? no! arab finally casted along with Mexicans and other darker toned people.. lets not forget the beard and dirty them up some more... make sure to act "arab" enough.. be angry, yell.. basically be a dirty cave man

 

[FullLipsDotNose]

Re: mazazines

The generalising that all white people have it so easy. Do you not see the double standards?

Anyway I guess this once good thread will now face lock down. Shame.

All white people have white privilege. That doesn't mean life's always easy for a white person, but if so, it has nothing to do with race. Your life can be f--ked up because you are a woman, transperson, disabled, homeless, asexual, sex worker, from poorer background and so forth.

However, white people have it easier that people of colour who are, in other aspects, identical to them. I've never experienced racism. I can walk freely into a shop without fear of being monitored. I'm not turned down for a job because of my skin colour. I have no trouble finding shampoo or make-up matching my hair texture or skin. No one puts colours on their face to mimic me. There are no derogatory slurs for my race. When I apply for housing services, I'm dealt with accordingly. When i ring a bell, I'm always answered. When i want to buy something expensive, I'm not told that it's too pricey for me.

 

[FullLipsDotNose]

Oh and when I get tanned, no-one tells me, "Why did you turn black?! You looked much nicer when you were white! Why are you trying to be a black person? This doesn't suit you. You are weird. You shouldn't have changed your skin."

 

[DuranDuran]

Re: mazazines

I think I've already written here, but I'll go for it again: For any black rapper, you have Eminem or Ugly Azalea. How many black musicians play country music and are successful at it? White people have privilege of doing everything and being recognised for their efforts.

There's a small percentage of black people that have attempted to go into country and although there's blacks who listen to country, most don't. So why would they go into a field that doesn't really feature them as the main audience. The topics of country songs are sometimes about things that a general black audience wouldn't relate to. It's like black people in classical & opera music. There's some that do it, but the audience is still more white than black. There's a higher percentage of whites who listen to hip hop than blacks who listen to country & classical. The 1st rappers to really crossover to a white audience, the first to get regular rotation on MTV and to get on the cover of Rolling Stone was Run DMC. Probably because they had a more rock sound rather than the disco, electro, & funk sounds of the average rap acts of the era. The Fat Boys even had a movie, Disorderlies, made by a major studio in the mid 1980s and did a collabo with the Beach Boys. The Fresh Prince, Queen Latifah, & LL Cool J had sitcoms in the 1990s. MC Hammer and Kid n Play had Saturday morning cartoons. Kid n Play also had a comic book and movies. Popular rappers are still primarily black. It's not like blues, jazz, & rock. Since hip hop began, few whites got any sort of popularity. For every Beastie Boys, there were others like Jesse Jaymes, Tarrie B, Northern State, Young Black Teenagers, Lucas, etc. who didn't really make it.

 

[Antwort]

^^^As always Duran, your musical knowledge is beyond compare and I am always in awe of it, just how much you know, all the names and the details. That's beyond fantastic......However, I'm going to find myself in a bit of a disagreement with some of the things you said prior to this last post.

If Mexicans & Puerto Ricans watch Telemundo or Univision instead of ABC or listen to salsa or tejano more than heavy metal, is that racist? If people in Jamaica more likely listen to reggae instead of classical, is that racist? If Black people watch VH1 Soul instead of MTV, is that racist? If some black people call rock music "white boy music" or country "redneck music", is that racist? People tend to want to watch themselves.........
So improving race relations is not as simple as putting Michael Jackson on the cover of Rolling Stone in 1979 or 1980. That's not going to stop racial profiling by the police or getting followed around in stores.

While I can understand your initial point of people tending to gravitate towards those similar to them, I'm afraid I cannot completely agree with the closing lines. It is true that the race relations in America go deeper than the arts, but I think you underestimate the importance of music and the responsibility of the media in educating the public.

Lest we forget, the U.S. is a country where black men were hanging from the trees in the early 20th century, a teen was brutally and viciously slained in the 50s for "daring" to address a white woman and an entire century was needed between the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil Rights Act.

I don't mean to do a condensed history lesson here because I'm sure most people are aware of these issues, but I'm simply trying to highlight the awful legacy of racism and its continuing relevance. I really love statistics and I know they have already been brought up in the thread before. A simple look at the stats related to the prison population in the U.S. shows a frightening ratio of almost 40% black inmates while the overall percentage of African-Americans is 13,6% (2010 figures). Furthermore, income disparity and social injustice is even more dramatic if one looks at the contrast between white and non-white households.

Some other truly fascinating data can be found here http://inequality.org/racial-inequality/

Obviously, these issues are far too complex to be "fixed" solely through the proper and timely acknowledgement of African-American talents by musical publications. However, it doesn't mean that art and its observers cannot and do not have a great impact on the lives of people. After all, we are what we listen to and read, aren't we? And that is where the media's responsibility comes into play - cultivating and educating the public's taste to go beyond their firmly established, familiar lines and broaden their horizons to beautiful values outside of their own, narrow constrains and local cultural spaces. Just like respect said

Sometimes you need to make the conscious effort to change bad social attitudes to not play into those attitudes and not be a part of the system that keeps up those attitudes.

Putting Michael on the RS cover back in 79 may not have raised the income of the average black family, but it could have eased the dialogue between races. Not only that, but the editors would have proven to be people of justice, giving credit when and where due and of vision who can go beyond racial lines. Unfortunately, they failed to do that.

It took Thriller's phenomenal and unprecedented success to force them to no longer ignore Michael and his talents and by "them" I obviously mean everyone from RS to the Grammys to anyone else in between and around. That alone proves just how much work and struggle African-American artists along the decades had to overcome in order to be recognized properly. Thankfully, Michael's universal appeal which goes well beyond any racial, ethnic and national lines is a great testament to the enduring power of his art and that is something no music snob can ever take away.

Did RS change since then in that attitude? They probably did, just like MTV did and everyone else did, but when we talk about 1979 I don't think you can ignore the racial element behind decisions like that. Like I said before, that is not the only element in it of course. RS never really liked and/or understood MJ and his art, anyway. The funny thing is, though, that today they would probably praise OTW to high heaves as MJ's "best album". At the time they did not think it was worthy of a cover story. So maybe in 20-30 years from now they will finally "get" all of MJ's art. LOL.

The magazine is sadly known for its revisionist policies. Considering their OTW interpretations along time, you are more than entitled to your optimism. In spite of that though, I got this strange feeling that even they will eventually understand the brilliance, the truth and the depth of Dangerous and HIStory as well as the purity and relevance of Invincible. Hopefully it won't take another two or three decades. Hopefully......but then again, knowing how certain things work in this world it may take a few more centuries. How's that for optimistic?

 

[ChrisC]

Darius Rucker. Big country success!

 

[DuranDuran]

Darius Rucker

Darius Rucker. Big country success!

That's true, but you could say Hootie & The Blowfish had a heartland rock sound, which could appeal to a country audience. Before doing country Darius put out a neo soul type album that didn't really do that well. Sort of like when Garth Brooks released a R&B type of album as "Chris Gaines". It flopped. Darius voice fits with country. Here's a few songs from Darius' R&B album

 

[KOPV]

The fact we have to come up with stuff like.. "but this black guy is famous for country" says enough....

what exactly are we debating here? IF there is racism in the entertainment industry?? If that's the case, its silly because people IN the entertainment industry will admit it themselves..

 

[DuranDuran]

country

The fact we have to come up with stuff like.. "but this black guy is famous for country" says enough....

Since few black people have tried to go into country music exclusively (ig. DeFord Bailey, Charley Pride) rather than releasing an album or 2 in the genre like Ray Charles, bringing that up in the first place makes no sense to me. There hasn't been many Latinos (Freddy Fender, Johnny Rodriguez) or Japanese in country either. Black people in general don't listen to country, but many whites listen to rap. How many black people go to Renaissance Faires in comparison to whites? So it is less likely a black person would go into country music in the first place. In general, there's been relatively few white acts who have made R&B that have been popular with the black audience. Eric Clapton may have sold more than the black blues acts he was influenced by, but Eric was not that big with the black audience itself. Teena Marie was popular with the black audience but not the white audience.

 

[KOPV]

there are several black country singers and fans - even if you have not heard of them... And yes partially because they are black.. We know Darius Rucker because of Hootie & the Blowfish.. how successful would his solo country career really go without it..

and lets also not forget he transitioned to country, he did not pop out as a black country star out of nowhere.. he already had his name...

 

[DuranDuran]

there are several black country singers and fans - even if you have not heard of them... And yes partially because they are black.. We know Darius Rucker because of Hootie & the Blowfish.. how successful would his solo country career really go without it..

and lets also not forget he transitioned to country, he did not pop out as a black country star out of nowhere.. he already had his name...

Darius name did not help his R&B album, so that doesn't really mean anything. Charley Pride did come out of nowhere. He did not start out in one genre and then switch. Charley wanted to make a career in country and he did. He started in the 1960s, when that was an unusual thing for a black artist to do country as a career. Ray Charles had some country success before Charley, but he was not exclusively a country singer. There was also DeFord Bailey who perfromed at the Grand Ole Opry, but he did little recording. There's been some others, but some of them started out in another genre like Big Al Downing. Having a name in another genre and then switching to another doesn't guarantee success, like Paul McCartney releasing electronic albums as "The Fireman" and the Garth Brooks R&B album I mentioned.

Out of the entire history of country music, few blacks have tried to do it exclusively. There's some who made country like songs like Sail On by the Commodores and The Pointer Sisters won a country Grammy for Fairytale in the 1970s, but neither were in country as a career. So that still is not the same as Eminem. He was not a folk singer who changed to rap. Beastie Boys were originally a punk rock band though. The country singer Kenny Rogers started in a jazz band, then became known for a psychedelic hit in the 1960s in the group First Edition. Another popular country singer Ronnie Milsap started out in R&B. Kenny & Ronnie (who are both white) are more like Darius Rucker than Charley Pride, in that they were in other genres before doing country

 

[KOPV]

Whats your point?? That a black artist can make it in country? If so, point taken.. 1 point for white acceptance for minorities... i guess we dont have an issue than... smh

 

[ChrisC]

There's also a current crop of artists melding 'country' sounds with 'blues' sounds with success.

Chris Stapleton and Nathaniel Rateliff off the top of my head.

I don't know what the racial composition of their audiences are, I'm not really interested in this particular debate. Music is music, man.

 

[KOPV]

Can someone clarify for me the point people are trying to get across that there are famous black country artists? That there are black people that like country or that we don't have a racial issue in the entertainment industry?

 

[HIStory]

Can someone clarify for me the point people are trying to get across that there are famous black country artists? That there are black people that like country or that we don't have a racial issue in the entertainment industry?

I lost track myself too. LOL.

 

[DuranDuran]

country & western

Can someone clarify for me the point people are trying to get across that there are famous black country artists? That there are black people that like country or that we don't have a racial issue in the entertainment industry?

Neither, I'm only talking about country music because a poster wrote this:

For any black rapper, you have Eminem or Ugly Azalea. How many black musicians play country music and are successful at it?

Anybody who says something like that must not know much about country or hip hop. I pointed out that not many black performers have attempted to do country music exclusively, so is not relevant to white rappers. I also said that few white rappers have become popular out of many black rappers, and that more whites listen to rap than blacks who listen to country, so there is less chance that black singers will go into country. Like not many black people go to a Renaissance Faire compared to whites. And there is not an Eminem & Iggy Azalea for every black rapper.