A Century Of Soul (Part II)

Mourning And Celebration

This week we continue with our month-long celebration of a century of soul and Black History month. It is a month that began with mourning and grief over the death of a civil rights icon and one we hope will end with the celebration of American music, virtue and leadership.

One thing that is becoming apparent in our century of soul celebration is how musical history is being made. We continue to be impressed with how hip-hop and R&B are changing trends. Trends that are starting to tear away a lot of the barriers used to categorize our music.

This time we want to take a brief look at some of those trends and the reasons they are changing. To better understand today's audiences, we need to remember that we're the only group in history raised during an era of continuous technological and social change. We never really got a chance to catch a breath, so we became a generation that figured the only way to get through all of this quagmire was to continue to experiment, to try new things, to find new music.

We're also the generation that found the original "Quiet Storm." The one that Melvin Lindsey put on WHUR back in the late seventies. The reason behind all this is if you don't try new ways of doing things, you're going to get stale and stall.

Today, in 2006, urban music and radio are still experimenting, still looking for that newest thing. Urban music in all its forms is enjoying a popularity surge. It's probably at the peak of visibility, enjoying an unprecedented presence not just in radio airplay and sales, but also in movies and commercials. It continues to overshadow other popular music forms.

As we go forward, we must continue to allow all the music in. This includes the blues that spawned R&B, jazz, gospel and all the other forms which we now see imploding, including neo-soul and smooth jazz.

Closet Listeners

Yes, black music, in all its forms is growing. Despite that growth and the fact that demographics are aging and changing, we're probably still not getting enough 25-39 year olds to reinvigorate the format. Research shows that close to 18% of today's urban radio listeners may be "closet Urban listeners." They simply will not admit they listen to our music or our radio stations This is the basis for "phantom cume." Why is this? For some it's because they want to present an image that they've outgrown the music their children or younger brothers and sisters listen to. To get them back we've got to make them proud of our music and its history. Then, when they finally realize our music and stations are happening, and it's what most of their friends listen to, they'll be less reluctant to say they listen. We'll get them back.

But wait, maybe it isn't just that black music is happening, perhaps some folks just got tired of some of the mindless meandering that was going down in pop, rock and country. Maybe it was the experimentation and substitution that attracted them to black music.

Many will say that urban music is in a cycle, but the situation isn't really cyclical. It's spiral. You've got a high experimental demographic with new listeners willing to give it a try. The musical movement is one ultimately driven by optimism.

Non-Music Historical Movement

There's another non-musical movement surfacing. This one is a demand for America to rise up and defeat the twin evils of bigotry and segregation. However, it is also a demand fueled by faith in God and a devotion to the principles of equality and liberty upon which this nation was founded. It is a demand made with the certainty that America will honor its promise and live up to the "true meaning of her creed."

Stripping away all of the pre-analysis, post-analysis, overlong speeches filled with applause lines, empty promises, disinterested congressmen and perfunctory nods in the direction of bi-partisanship that have come to symbolize so much of the annual state of the union address, the vision offered by our president was one filled with a similar faith in America's founding principles, belief in American strength and demand for American leadership.

We are indeed living in historic times. Our nation is in a time of testing. We are engaged in a very real battle of blood and ideology with an enemy that embraces a culture of death. Islamic fascists are intent on imposing a totalitarian government on the people of the Middle East and the rest of the world and determined to bring weapons of mass murder to bear on the people of America in order to achieve their ends.

We are engaged in an economic contest with China that demands we improve the education of our children and train American workers for the technology jobs that will drive the world economy. Domestically, we are challenged with balancing entitlement spending with our commitment to the poor and elderly, expanding opportunities for ownership to all citizens while nurturing the American entrepreneurial spirit. Ultimately our success hinges on national unity, resolve and, most of all, American leadership.

I am certain that many who have committed their lives to the uplift of all people came to "a point of choosing." There is little doubt that in quiet moments they asked themselves "should I go on?" And, "can I lay this burden down?" As we are constantly reminded, we must march forward because we have been called to leadership in a time of consequence.

The consequences will shape our thinking and the century of soul through which we are passing will remain special. It will continue to be special because of the music and the music makers. And they will be special because since early slave times, we have learned that music combined with faith and determination, dignity and grace can help us to shape history instead of being shaped by history.

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