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Lauryn Hill
As the century ended, the pop charts consisted mostly of an uncomfortable blend of Hip-Hop/R&B and Country/Mainstream, suffused with a smattering of huge teen-based acts and Latin-tinged pop. I say ‘uncomfortable’ because the audience that appreciates Country music usually despises Hip-Hop, and vice versa. In fact, fans of either genre rarely get to even hear music from the other. As Lauryn Hill collected Grammy awards for Album of the Year and Best New Artist in February 1999, more than a few Country music fans must have been muttering, “Who the hell is Lauryn Hill?” Over the years, pop music has done a fairly credible job of reflecting contemporary society, so this trend of alienated styles is not a good sign of the times. There is a distance between cultures that seems to be moving in the wrong direction. What could cause such a thing to happen? Taking a phrase from the Bob Marley songbook, why would Black society and White society abandon their ideals of “One Love”? Is it simply a matter of incompatible tastes, or is it something more subversive? Living in New York, there is plenty of evidence that suggests the latter. Violent incidents involving unarmed Black men and police officers have become almost commonplace, causing any neutral observer to question the equity of a system that allows undercover cops to question somebody without cause, when violence is often the end result. Since the presumption of innocence is often set aside in these cases, and since the issue of civil rights is ignored in the interest of a ‘common good’, we find ourselves becoming a society divided by its own social policies. It’s a horrid situation and something is causing it to grow worse instead of better. What caused the civil rights movement to become stymied? Why has the aura of inter-racial distrust grown out of hand?
It might sound crazy at first, but I blame radio for the cultural backlash that is taking place today. Before you dismiss this suggestion as out of hand, consider this; in previous decades, many sociologists gave pop music credit for healing the racial divide. Why not hold it at least partially responsible for the divisiveness that now plagues each and every one of us? If you think back to the sixties and seventies, there existed an intermingling of cultural ideas that was expressed most succinctly on the radio. For example, there was once a time when, say, Lauryn Hill and Faith Hill could’ve been played on the same radio station. Ray Charles was intelligent enough to bridge the gap single-handedly when he recorded Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music back in 1961. By 1967, commercial radio wouldn’t hesitate from playing Bobby Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe” back to back with Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” (both #1 in 1967). In ’68, “Harper Valley PTA” was in steady rotation with “Love Child.” At a time when the civil rights movement was flourishing, popular radio reflected the atmosphere with a playlist that was multicultural.
Eventually, though, it was determined that more money could be made if radio stations stopped trying to be everything to everybody. If radio stations played one specific type of music, then they would be more likely to attract a loyal audience. People who prefer rock and roll could listen to a station that played rock and roll exclusively. The same was true of virtually any genre. The mid-seventies saw the wholesale implementation of demographically based playlists, and its financial success was obvious. Most people liked it, since they could align themselves with a station that specialized in their favorite music, but the net result wasn’t quite as innocuous as it might have seemed. This simple idea brought radio into the corporate age, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, it also stymied diversity. People who tuned in to hear their favorite songs were unwittingly being exploited and manipulated into definable categories. It took a while, but the new programming caused a subtle shift in listening habits that eventually evolved into something more flagrant. Over time, people who were faithfully listening to stations that played their favorite music grew unaware of what was happening in other ‘demographic groups’. After awhile, they stopped caring about music outside of their realm. “All Soul Music, All The Time” meant that anybody who chose to listen to a niche-based radio station would become unfamiliar with other music styles. After awhile, unfamiliarity breeds indifference, which in turn eventually breeds ignorance. The fragmentation of radio drove us apart, and forced us to choose a genre by which we would define our tastes. Unwittingly, we were duped.
If money really is the root of all evil, then corporate radio provides us with a perfect example, because the subversive nature of this exclusivity soon dominated every facet of our music culture. In today’s market, it not only affects listeners, but the artists themselves. Artists who want airplay must aim for a target audience; ‘Urban’ artists create ‘Urban’ music about ‘Urban’ situations, and everybody else either scratches their heads or runs away screaming. As I write this, fragmented radio is the only type of radio that exists. As far as programmers are concerned, we are no longer a diverse people but a bunch of target demographics to be captured and categorized. This is why I think that demographics are, by definition, evil. Radio stations don’t reflect society; they attempt to define it. By pursuing a seemingly innocent means of increasing profitability, alienation and racism develop as side products. Our music has been polarized and as a result, our cultures have done the same. In essence, the media segregated us from one another.
A telling example of this occurred after I reviewed The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill on a local television station. In the review, I stated that Lauryn Hill stood a better than even chance of crossing over to the mainstream because she flouted convention. Hers was a genius that cross-pollinated genres seamlessly without diluting the essence of the ingredients that she chose to use. Since most people outside of Rap’s mainstream fear its antagonistic nature, I felt that Lauryn Hill had done more to salvage Hip-Hop’s image than any other artist might, male or female, and I said so. Sometime afterward a viewer recognized me, and the following dialogue took place;
“Y’know, I bought Lauryn Hill’s CD because of what you said on TV.”
“So, what’d you think?”
“I think you owe me fifteen bucks.”
Well, that’s one less guy who’ll take a critic’s opinion at face value. Racism is rampant, but it is usually subtle. People who feel this way might not even recognize that they have been programmed into a state of ignorance. As for me, I think that I probably underestimated the degree of apathy that existed between fans of disparate styles. If you are already convinced that you hate Hip-Hop, then Lauryn Hill’s album isn’t necessarily going to rock your world. I suppose that anybody satisfied with listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd records for the rest of their life just isn’t going to make the transition.
Music is about race, in terms of expressing who you are, or what you represent. It’s about class, too. The way our society is structured, music is one of the few arenas where anybody could (and still should) be able to express themselves as they see fit. It provides a venue for musicians to share their own experience, and for fans to experience what is being shared with them. Radio used to be like that. It used to let you hear different ‘target demographic’ styles all mixed up together, but lines have been drawn. Radio has co-opted diversity. They’ve sold us all out. What niche do we fit in? Contemporary Country Crossover? Urban Radio? Rock Alternative? Triple A? Which one of these genres best defines who you are? If you listen to one radio station, then you are seriously missing out on the diversity that is available, because there is hardly a commercial-based station left in the country that would proudly claim to be eclectic. What format today would play Shania Twain and Foxy Brown? Or Roseanne Cash and L’il Kim? For God’s sake, why can’t a ‘rock’ audience get to hear a song by Mary J. Blige or Lauryn Hill?
We can’t trust each other if we don’t know each other and if we want this racial dichotomy to end, we need cultural diversity. We can retain our individualism without being ignorant. We just need to broaden our horizons. Even when we don’t like something, that doesn’t mean we can’t learn something from it. Unfortunately, I don’t think that radio is going to change any time soon – there’s just too much money at stake. We allowed radio to tear the pop charts right down the middle and as a result, our society has been segmented. It’s a classic case of putting the cart before the horse, but we don’t need to accept the status quo. Separatism is neither a philosophy nor a solution – it’s an excuse. It’s surrender. We can change the world, and it might be as simple as turning the dial.
 
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