where is the soul
I remember as a kid on Saturday mornings, my mother would put on the TV, twist the channel knobs, (lord I’m telling my age) and stop when the screen shows brown skinned people with afros, bell bottom pants, tight button down shirts, grooving to music. Not just any ole music, but music that had a sound where a person can groove that had a style that made you wanna get up and try to copy it. The show was one of the most legendary syndicated dance shows on television. That show was soul train. The artists on the show were mainly African American performers like Marvin Gaye, Patti Labelle, the Ojays, when the 80s came about artists and groups like cameo, sos band, George Benson and many other artists that had that soulistic style and sound. Hip Hop started getting popular and though Don Cornelius wasn’t a fan of it he had to book rap artists to bless the stage.
The history behind this legendary dance show was a vision that came about due to another TV dance show — American Bandstand — neglecting the artists and music of artists that had more of a — well — soul to it, particularly African American artists.
I still remember watching my mother stop in the middle of cleaning the small apartment in Brooklyn, New York and start grooving to songs Don Cornelius introduced. The songs had instruments, where people on the show and my mother, grooved with such rhythm and style that made us as African Americans, the signature of grooving.
did we lose our soul
Last time I went to a social function where there was a DJ, a dance floor and a bunch of people, I can count a handful of folks that was moving their body, at least with some type of rhythm. Everybody and their mama was a photographer taking selfies or pictures of others smiling and hugging. Those that were so called dancing, were barely moving their bodies like what I saw on that legendary dance show. This event was R&B & Hip hop based, but most of the music the DJ played were up to date mainstream joints. The songs barely had instruments, the artists was barely understandable, and the songs was barely different.
Pardon me, but I’m just not a keep up with the joneses guy. The music industry is all about what’s hot now and how marketable are you to keep up with the latest trends. BORING.
real soul is still here
Thanks to the technology we have today, like iTunes, Spotify, and you tube we don’t have to any longer depend on the traditional radio or TV to tell what taste of music needs to be part of our catalog. I’m a big advocate of supporting the independent artists that revolutions their god given gift to attract a crowd that is appreciative of their way of providing their soul to us in the form of expression, whether it be verbal or through instruments.
Neo soul has been my favorite sub genre. Artists like Musiq Soulchild, India Arie, Raheem Devaugn, Jill Scott, The Roots and many many less known artists that have a strong cult following, have been artists that’s been part of my collection of music over the last 7 to 10 years. Like so many things that be about culture involving creativity we as African Americans gotta constanly be compromising of our authentic, genuine voice and styles just to be more so called marketable, and that snatches away the real soul. That defeats the whole purpose of the great history of that legendary dance show that made saturday mornings be the mornings we saw the way good times was to be had, whether with a partner or dancing down that line while being cheered on.
Somewhere down the line (pun intended) the show had to also come to the grips that it is time to be more up to date with the industry and Don felt it was time to hang it up and pass the torch. Well, lets just say it wasn’t the same. Unfortunately through health, and personal issues, the man that inspired and promoted soul with the pride of blackness died from the results of self inflicted gunshot wound to the head on February 1st 2012. May he RIP. His vision is still alive and well. Many of us never souled out.
