I don't see the big deal about Adele.

[Rayban Man]

I'll explain it. She's good.

Now her album doesn't contain any songs that reinvented the wheel. She is no trailblazer. But she sings a type of soul that most black singers (particularly the most popular) abandoned a long time ago. And her voice is fabulous.

Of course the white mainstream (the white public) always find themselves attaching to white artists what black artists had being doing forever. But if white guys can get away with that for all this time, what's the big deal if a white lady does as well?

No, her style is not really like Teena Marie. Adele's songs are closer to R&B of the late 50s and early 60s. She is not Neo-Soul like Jill Scott. There are some similarities to Amy Winehouse but Winehouse had more of a jazz element in her music that Adele doesn't use. But speaking of Adele and Amy, they aren't the only white female Brits who have been doing soul music. There have been quite a few who have popped up over the last ten years, The Brits (and Europeans in general) have a better feel, understanding and appreciation of old, old, old school R&B than their white American counterparts. At the very least they more readily give credit to their black influences (just like the Rolling Stones and Beatles were more likely to acknowledge the black artists that inspire them than Elvis ever did). Adele is part of that tradition. Don't diss her just because Amy Winehouse did that sort of thing first. That is like dismissing Marvin Gaye because Sam Cooke came first, or the Stones because the Beatles beat them to the punch. Adele was at least a half-decade younger than Amy so what do you expect?

There are highly respected producers in the business who feel Adele is the best female singer out there right now. But everyone has an opinion. The cool thing about Adele to me is that she is authentic. She didn't get a record contract or fame because she is a sexpot or beauty queen. No, I'm not just talking about Brittany Spears and Katy Perry here. I'm also referring to gals like Beyonce and Rhiana (particularly the latter) who would not have half their success if they didn't have pretty faces and didn't wear skimpy clothing on stage and in videos. Adele is on top because of her talent and because people can relate to her, see her as a real human being rather than a sex kitten. I loved the fact that she is successful. She is refreshing. I’m not necessarily interested enough in her to go check out a concert or anything, but she is a person whose success I don’t resent.

U summed it up perfect

 

[The Dark King]

U summed it up perfect

Cosign. My only critique is he left out my baby girl Joss Stone who also sings with a lot of soul and openly prefers bm.

 

[Ymra]

Adele sucks about as bad as ..Josh Stone & Amy Winehouse did..

No white woman will ever be able to replace Tina Marie in my eyes... she was unforced in her sound... and 100 percent original..and from Los Angeles (Venice).

RIP TINA MARIE

But see I don't under how Adele and Tina Marie can be compared except for the fact of them both being white. Different time, different music, different style. Do you understand music or are you just pickig people out of then air at random.

That's like saying Tupac is better than Kurt Cobain when the only pay to compare them is they both make music. Adele sucks? Huh?

We all have different tastes and likes but who can listen to this and say it SUCKS?


[YOUTUBE]0EJZ7q7iee8[/YOUTUBE]

 

[TreePixie]

Cosign. My only critique is he left out my baby girl Joss Stone who also sings with a lot of soul and openly prefers bm.

One of my favorites, and I raised her name very quickly in this thread.

 

[JamalSpunky]

Okay, i get all that. But i hope you're aware there are black british soul singers that are just as talented but get no burn. Like Estelle and Chrisette Michelle. But they won't get pushed here in the states because they're the wrong color. Adele is getting burn off what Aretha Franklin and many soul singers now still do.

Btw, one of those blue eyed soul artist Duffy was interviewed in a magazine recently and claimed she was influenced by the Stones even though her whole sound was inspired by the Supremes, Donna Summer and Aretha Franklin. Yet she never gives them any credit. I smell another Vanilla Ice.

Duffy has given props to black performers in the past so it's no big deal to me. Maybe it was how the interviewer was leading her.

Anyhow fuck the Supremes. They were the least talented of Motown's groups but got all the hype because it was easier to see a black female group to the masses than it was to sell a black male singing group and because Gordy was sleeping with Diana.

In terms of what singers get pushed I would readily agree with you all the way it we were talking about a white male. But Adele is a white female and over the course of the history of American popular music there have been less of them than black ladies to make it really big. The mainstream has not had a problem with black female singers dominating other women on the Billboard Pop charts. Black females have always been well represented in jazz, soul and pop compared to black men. White women have not been nearly as represented in jazz, country, pop and especially in rock. If there was truly an agenda to push white women to the forefront, there would have been a whole lot more famous ones in American music. Folks complain about the sexism of hip-hop, but even though white people have been dominating rock'n roll/rock music for almost fifty years now, the number of iconic white female figures in that music can be counted on, what, one hand? Two?

 

[JamalSpunky]

i take exception to mentioning beyonce with the others. b is a good singer, performer and writes many of her own songs....

Hey, I'm not saying she isn't good at any of those things. But she isn't great at any of them either. What helped lift her above her competitors was the emphasis on her looks. That's just a fact. And it is not a sif she plays those looks down. Ever.

 

[JamalSpunky]

Adele sucks about as bad as ..Josh Stone & Amy Winehouse did..

No white woman will ever be able to replace Tina Marie in my eyes... she was unforced in her sound... and 100 percent original..and from Los Angeles (Venice).

RIP TINA MARIE

Respect to Teena. But her voice isn't at Adele's level and I can't get past some of the corniness of songs like "Lover Girl" (although, sure I can govve to it). And why does there only have to be one white woman in your eyes doing soul music in the first place?

Anyway the late, great Teena Marie was a more accomplished musician that's for sure.

 

[JamalSpunky]

The funny thing is...all these ww singers will get 10 times the amount of money...than their black female counterparts...*smh

Ask Whitney, Mariah, Janet and Beyonce how much they made compared to most of their white female counterparts.

 

[JamalSpunky]

Cosign. My only critique is he left out my baby girl Joss Stone who also sings with a lot of soul and openly prefers bm.

That's why I wrote "there have been quite a few". I didn't feel the need to list all of them.

I always get amused when black people get mad at white people (especially white girls) singing old-school Soul. They keep complaining about how their music is being stolen. Stolen? Most of the black artists of the past two decades have been giving it away while they waste time doing songs about "where's your money" (female singers) and "can I grab your ass while while we're dancing in the club (male singers). If the white folks want to come around and sang more heartfelt stuff then so be it. We're not doing enough of it.

When the Weeknd puts out his first album it will be one of the few soul albums I'd end up purchasing over the past 12 years.

 

[JamalSpunky]

But see I don't under how Adele and Tina Marie can be compared except for the fact of them both being white. Different time, different music, different style. Do you understand music or are you just pickig people out of then air at random.

That's like saying Tupac is better than Kurt Cobain when the only pay to compare them is they both make music. Adele sucks? Huh?

We all have different tastes and likes but who can listen to this and say it SUCKS?


[youtube]0EJZ7q7iee8[/youtube]

Now that is worthy of a co-sign.

 

[saintaugusta]

Adele sucks about as bad as ..Josh Stone & Amy Winehouse did..

No white woman will ever be able to replace Tina Marie in my eyes... she was unforced in her sound... and 100 percent original..and from Los Angeles (Venice).

RIP TINA MARIE

Tina Marie was wonderful...I learned of her not too long ago (being sheltered from secular music as a child, I was not exposed to old R&B and soul, and did not hear about her until someone said that I kind of looked like her, which made me curious, and I did a little research... my favorite song so far is Portuguese Love...
[YOUTUBE]igcU_LBjX4I&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

All due respect Al Jahiz, but how on God's green earth can you possess ears and say that Adele, Joss, AND Amy Winehouse (may SHE rest in peace) ALL SUCK??????

That is a pure crazy statement. Justify it if you can, but I don't think you will be able to. They are all brilliant.

Amy Winehouse was a great artist, taken from us due to her own demons (similar to Billie Holiday) all too soon... it was so sadly predictable.... it pained me greatly to hear of her death.

 

[satyr]

Memo: Adele doesn't see you at all.

 

[AL JAHIZ]

Im not a fan of adelle...josh ..or winehouse...but im dont care for all that much for alicia keys

White ppl love cee lo green & macy grey...i dont.

I love to hear Me'shell Ndgeocello...Chrisette Michelle... & Michelle Ferrell.

Sting & Jon B are cool...Michael Bolton sucks.

Led Zepelen stole pretty much their whole catalog... which they were successfully sued over... most of their material came from southern unknown artist... and so in this case they decided to take advantage of the black white problem in america... they made themselves very rich ..took all the accolades & credit... and never once publicly apologize for the theft committed....no grammys or nothing was stripped
from them....and if im not mistaken I think they were still inducted... into the rock and roll hall of fame after all of this was found out about them.

In Zepelens case... if it aint white.. it aint right

 

[saintaugusta]

Im not a fan of adelle...josh ..or winehouse...but im dont care for all that much for alicia keys

White ppl love cee lo green & macy grey...i dont.

I love to hear Me'shell Ndgeocello...Chrisette Michelle... & Michelle Ferrell.

Sting & Jon B are cool...Michael Bolton sucks.

Led Zepelen stole pretty much their whole catalog... which they were successfully sued over... most of their material came from southern unknown artist... and so in this case they decided to take advantage of the black white problem in america... they made themselves very rich ..took all the accolades & credit... and never once publicly apologize for the theft committed....no grammys or nothing was stripped
from them....and if im not mistaken I think they were still inducted... into the rock and roll hall of fame after all of this was found out about them.

In Zepelens case... if it aint white.. it aint right

I love Macy Grey - how very fucking "white" of me. I also love Jill Scott, Erykah Badu (like any good cultured whitey should), and India.Arie. Also another broad you've probably never heard of, Res, from Philly. Among others.

"White people love"....

You know, that's starting to get on my damn nerves.

Do white people love Taj Mahal? You're probably going to say yes. I love him. I bet you a lot of black people do too.

I went to a Sade concert and it was a pretty mixed group of people.

Everyone loved Frank Sinatra. Harry Connick Jr. took his place IMHO and I bet you a lot of black people love him, too. I know he has a lot of soul and his heart is truly in New Orleans.

Do only white people listen to Muddy Waters and Sam Cooke, Howlin' Wolf anymore? You know, OLD black music that you all are tired of, supposedly. If you're gonna make fun, I will go there.

Do only white people love sushi? Mojitos? Tapas? Ballroom dancing lessons? Riverdance? Cappucinos? Poetry readings? (no I forgot - it's gotta be a poetry SLAM and then the black guys will bust out their spoken-word stuff - which I happen to like - how white of me)...

Ummm - what else do white people love... Bank accounts? 401ks? Imported beers? Farmer's markets? Bluegrass festivals? The Big Lebowski? energy bars? reading books? volunteering? marriage? kids named stupid things like Payton, Dakota, and Sage?

You know us white people - always doing lame stuff like trying to get a job, pay our bills, get an education, try to prove we're part Native American, and enjoy/learning about different cultures and appreciating good music.

I don't have sickle-cell anemia. Stuff white people like - not having it. Also, being able to have milk in my cereal. WTF???

This is a satirical post, in the spirit of Al Jahiz, but seriously, "white people like" this and that... what is that shit really all about??? Why do you say that if you would hate it if I said "black people like"... such and such?

Especially when really, we all like a lot of the same stuff. I mean who doesn't like fried chicken?

Come on.

I need some collard greens - STAT.

 

[Esoterik Dreadz]

Duffy has given props to black performers in the past so it's no big deal to me. Maybe it was how the interviewer was leading her.

Anyhow fuck the Supremes. They were the least talented of Motown's groups but got all the hype because it was easier to see a black female group to the masses than it was to sell a black male singing group and because Gordy was sleeping with Diana.

In terms of what singers get pushed I would readily agree with you all the way it we were talking about a white male. But Adele is a white female and over the course of the history of American popular music there have been less of them than black ladies to make it really big. The mainstream has not had a problem with black female singers dominating other women on the Billboard Pop charts. Black females have always been well represented in jazz, soul and pop compared to black men. White women have not been nearly as represented in jazz, country, pop and especially in rock. If there was truly an agenda to push white women to the forefront, there would have been a whole lot more famous ones in American music. Folks complain about the sexism of hip-hop, but even though white people have been dominating rock'n roll/rock music for almost fifty years now, the number of iconic white female figures in that music can be counted on, what, one hand? Two?

From what i understand Duffy has pulled an Elvis plenty of times in the past not acknowledging the music that influenced her. As for white female singers not enjoying mainstream success in america? You must've have slept walked my way through the 90's because i'm pretty sure we've had Jewel, Alanis Morissete, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Cheryl Crowe...the list goes on. Black singers have just always had better pipes. Right now though, music in general, just sucks all around. But whites have been stealing black musical forms for a while now. Don't be fooled.

 

[AL JAHIZ]

From what i understand Duffy has pulled an Elvis plenty of times in the past not acknowledging the music that influenced her. As for white female singers not enjoying mainstream success in america? You must've have slept walked my way through the 90's because i'm pretty sure we've had Jewel, Alanis Morissete, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Cheryl Crowe...the list goes on. Black singers have just always had better pipes. Right now though, music in general, just sucks all around. But whites have been stealing black musical forms for a while now. Don't be fooled.

Agreed....

 

[saintaugusta]

Black singers have just always had better pipes.

Esoterik, I tried to explain that there was a genetic basis for this, and got the hide torn off of me for suggesting it. Adele was also brought up in that conversation.

 

[AL JAHIZ]

Esoterik, I tried to explain that there was a genetic basis for this, and got the hide torn off of me for suggesting it. Adele was also brought up in that conversation.

Nobody does black....better than Black people... stop playing games...

When you look at ancient historical accounts about black musicians & dancers....we were always considered the best.

 

[AL JAHIZ]

Esoterik, I tried to explain that there was a genetic basis for this, and got the hide torn off of me for suggesting it. Adele was also brought up in that conversation.

Btw...i agreed with your genetic point with regards to voice & tones

 

[saintaugusta]

Nobody does black....better than Black people... stop playing games...

When you look at ancient historical accounts about black musicians & dancers....we were always considered the best.

Right - I'm not playing games - I'm linking the conversation to Adele, which is what this thread is about. Someone said black people have the best pipes for soul music, and I tend to agree 95% of the time. Just remarking that Esoterik Dreads could say it, but I couldn't say it without getting the skin stripped off of me for suggesting that it's a genetic trait for black people to sound different because of how their vocal chord structure is built (not everyone, but a lot of black people, which is why we say someone "sounds" black, with or without dialect, strictly coming from tone)... Some white people have great pipes too, which are built for this soulful sound (just not that many).

Just pointing out a black person can make that point, but I can't without being vilified.