When I was young, I was deeply in love with popular culture. Entertainment Tonight was my daily news because I was a kid, and the real news was boring. I always knew about things like the Berlin Wall, sort of; but I also knew when Spike Lee would release his films, when it was Michael Jackson’s birthday and whether his sister Janet would challenge him for pop supremacy.
Hyped & Ready to Conquer The music industry today is not the same as previous generations. Artists are discovered fast. Fan bases develop early and grow internationally at the same rate a town would’ve once learned of a band playing in a garage down the street. Social media and the unfathomable number of music blogs have made the competition fierce for acclaim and success, but also allows the strongest to survive and proposer at a quickened pace.
R&B is an ever-expanding and changing genre, especially in 2012… if you’re a man. Frank Ocean, Migeul, and The Weeknd all rose to higher notoriety and famethanks, in part, to their minimalist beats and crisp falsettos. They brought fresh sounds and perspectives and reinvigorated the likes of Usher, with “Climax” being a direct result of the Weeknd and Drake.