Some artists are here for the short term and others are around for the long haul. But sometimes, when its still early in an artist’s career, it can be hard to tell the difference. During June, Black Music Month, our #Forward20 are the artists that we think will survive musical trends and changes to remain significant well into the future.
We’re talking artists like Marvin Gaye, who’s been dead for 30 years ,but people still revere his music so much that Pharrell and Robin Thicke were judged to have copied his classic song “Got To Give It Up” for their own monster hit “Blurred Lines.”
Lauryn Hill hasn’t made a record in several years but you can imagine that if she did have a new release, her still strong fanbase would want to hear it. Jodeci and D’Angelo just released new albums after over a decade of radio (and recording) silence. Sade has done the same thing. Some people just make their mark on music and despite years of inactivity, they can pick the mic back up and people flock to their hear their latest music.
But what of today’s artists? Are there any that make the cut? A recent study suggested that most people deem the best era of music whatever era it was when they were 17, because music, more than any other art form, is so closely associated with making memories.
It’s what was on the radio when you fell in love, it was your high school prom song, the song that was pumping in the car when you and your girls (or boys) drove down to spring break that summer that everyone had the best time. Who can we count on to create that kind of timeless music?
Well, our #Forward20 tries to answer that question with a list of folks that we think will still be vital and memorable 20 years from now. Follow along with our choices and let us know who you think will stand the test of time, or who you think will fall off and never get back on. We think our choices represent the best of today…and tomorrow…. and that no matter what course technology takes – whether we’re still listening to music in earbuds or whether our choices are implanted via an RFID chip that chooses music based on our mood, these are the artists that we’ll still want to hear.
Let’s go forward!
Use the hashtag #Forward20 to submit your own choices and Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
