Culture and Society.

  

 

By 2010, Melanie Fiona's powerful song of It Kills Me topped the chart for 9 consecutive weeks. It was a very popular song. Trey Songz and Drake had the bold song of I Invented Sex being on the charts in early 2010 too. Robin Thicke's Sex Therapy grew to be number one for 2 consecutive weeks. Timbaland made a song called Say Something in 2010. Timbaland is known for using experimental, futuristic sounds in his music.  On April 3, Monica's "Everything to Me" ascended to number, and remained atop the chart for a further six consecutive weeks. On May 22, 2010, Alicia Keys' song "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)" topped the chart for twelve consecutive weeks. It ranked as the number one song on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs year end list. Usher's song "There Goes My Baby" peaked at number one for four weeks,  and ranked as the number two song on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs year end list.  Usher also had the song of OMG featuring hip hop artist Will.I.Am. Chris Brown's song "Deuces", featuring Tyga & Kevin McCall, topped the chart for nine consecutive weeks,  and ranked as the number nine song on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs year end list.  Trey Songz also topped the chart with "Can't Be Friends", a position it held for the final seven weeks of 2010. The Caribbean heritage of Rihanna was shown in her song of Rude Boy. In that same year, more R&B artists displayed their talent like Lloyd, Cee-Lo, Willow Smith (with Whip My Hair), Ciara, Jazmine Sullivan with Holding You Down (Going in Circles), Jamie Foxx, etc. Monica had classic songs in 2010 again like with Love All Over Me. One of the greatest albums of the 21st century was Sade's Soldier of Love which was released on February 5, 2010. That album was years in the making, and it was very much anticipated. Her album blew it out of the park with songs, messages, and dancing. Soldier of Love, Babyfather, and The Moon and the Sky were indeed songs in her album that expressed her excellent talent. The album debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart. It also debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 502,000 copies in the United States, marking Sade's first number-one debut on the chart in 25 years since 1985's Promise while also spending three weeks at the top of the chart. Upon its release, Soldier of Love received generally positive reviews from most music critics and won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The band promoted the album with their first concert tour in 10 years, Sade Live. Fantasia's song Bittersweet was one of her best songs. Fantasia by 2010 was already one of the greatest vocalists of our generation. Fantasia can sing very powerfully for real. Diddy and the Dirty Money group made Hello Good Morning. Miguel, Dondria, Maxwell,  Faith Evans, Jaheim, Kem with Why Would You Say?, Mary J. Blige, The Dream, Dwele, Teairra Mari, Eric Benet, Tank, Marsha Ambrosius, Gerald Levert, Jeremih, and other people made music during that time. 

 

Toni Braxton released her 7th studio album of Pulse  on May 4, 2010. It has many great ballads like Yesterday ft. Trey Songz, Woman, Hands Tied, Pulse, and Make My Heart. Singer and songwriter Ne-Yo worked on writing some of the songs on the album too. The album has uptempo music too. Erykah Badu's Window Seat song and video was about condemning groupthink and conformity for the sake of conformity. The video have her walking in Dallas, Texas which is her hometown. She strips all of her clothes until she is naked and mimics the shot that hit JFK (who was assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963). The song Pulse is one of her best songs in the 21st century with notes, skills, and diverse sounds. You have to be one of the greats to make a record like that, and Toni Braxton is one of the greatest artists of our time. "Pretty Girl Rock" is a song by American singer and songwriter Keri Hilson, taken from her second studio album, No Boys Allowed (2010). It celebrated women entertainers spanning many decades. It is one of the greatest videos of the 21st century with a message of celebrating womanhood. An accompanying music video for the song was directed by Joseph Kahn and features Keri Hilson portraying an array of American female icons of the past, including Josephine Baker, Dorothy Dandridge, The Andrews Sisters, The Supremes, Donna Summer, Janet Jackson and T-Boz of the R&B girl group TLC. The video received positive response from critics and was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2011 BET Awards, and Best Dance Performance at the 2011 Soul Train Music Awards. The end of the video shows Keri Hilson's image at the end. Keri Hilson's 2nd Studio album of No Boys Allowed had people in it like  Chris Brown, Rick Ross, Kanye West, J. Cole, Nelly and Timbaland. It talked about love, women's power, and other issues. Basic Instinct is the fourth studio album by American singer Ciara. It was released on December 10, 2010, by LaFace Records and Jive Records. Executive-produced by A&R agent Mark Pitts, Ciara, Tricky Stewart and The-Dream, Basic Instinct returns Ciara to her urban roots with mid-tempo R&B cuts and bass-heavy pop and dance songs. Aside from production by Stewart and The-Dream, Ciara collaborated with production by Soundz, Infinity and T-Minus. Ciara's album was about her responding to her critics, showing her sensual side, and her telling the world that she's a grown woman. Even in 2010, many narrow-minded people want to hate on artists for no reason. Ciara's music expanded into a new era with that album. Let Freedom Reign is the third studio album by American R&B recording artist Chrisette Michele, released November 30, 2010 on Def Jam Recordings. Production for the album took place at several recording studios and was handled entirely by record producer Chuck Harmony, who also co-wrote most of the album with Michele. Chrisette Michele is an artist with an old soul musically, and her voice is amazing. The album had songs like Let Freedom Reign (ft. Talib Kweli and Black Thought), Number One, So Cool, So Cool, 

 

In 2011, R&B Music has changed massively. The beginning of the year had Trey Songz's We Can't be Friends being high on the charts. Fall for Your Type with Jamie Foxx and Drake was popular. Moment 4 Life was popular with the hip hop artists of Nicki Minaj and Drake. By this time, many rappers increasingly sing on records.  Chris Brown's collaboration with Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes, "Look at Me Now", topped the chart for eight consecutive weeks. Although Miguel's "Sure Thing" only topped the chart for one week, it ranked as the number one song on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs year end list. Kelly Rowland's collaboration with Lil Wayne, "Motivation", topped the chart for seven non-consecutive weeks.  "Motivation" ranked at number two on the year end list. That song was part of Kelly Rowland's 3rd studio album called Here I Am. It was released on July 22, 2011. That album was Kelly Rowland's statement that she is her own woman, and this is her story. Kelly Rowland always had talent, and this album was her call out to the world about her experiences. It had pop sounds in it along with songs about love and intimacy. I heard of the song Commander ft. David Guetta. Here I Am also features guest performances from Lil Wayne, Nelly, Rico Love, Lil Playy, The WAV.s and Big Sean. Production of the album was handled by the likes of Rodney Jerkins, Guetta, Jim Jonsin, Hit-Boy, RedOne and The Runners. Kelly Rowland said that she wanted her music to be glam like the music of Donna Summer and Diana Ross. She worked with Ne-Yo too. 

 

The last number one of 2011 was Wale's collaboration featuring with Miguel, "Lotus Flower Bomb. On June 24, 2011, Beyonce released her 4th studio album called 4. It was a heavily R&B album that went into basics. It has party anthems, women anthem, and overall great that everyone can enjoy like Who Run the World (Girls), Party, Best Thing I Never Had, I Care, Countdown, End of Time, etc. 4 was promoted in mid-2011 by television performances and festival appearances, such as Beyoncé's headlining Glastonbury Festival set. The album received generally positive reviews by music critics; several publications included it on their year-end lists. It was her fourth consecutive album to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200, and it also reached number one in Brazil, Ireland, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Beyonce took a break in 2010, and she took her time to make new music. 4 had old school and new experimental sounds in it. It's one of the greatest album of the 2010's. All the Lights having Rihanna, Kid Cudi, and Kanye West was one of the most creative songs in 2011. Artists making music in 2011 include human beings who are:  Jazmine Sullivan's 10 seconds, Frank Ocean, Faith Evans, El Debarge, Elle Varner, Jennifer Hudson, Bobby V, Kem, Chrisette Michele, etc. One of the greatest artists of our time is Ledisi, and it's her Birthday today. She is 49 years old, and she was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her name means to bring forth or to come here in Yoruba. She has performed R&B, soul, jazz, pop, neo-soul, and gospel music. Her family sang music constantly like her mother and stepfather. New Orleans has a strong musical culture in general. She was 8 when she performed with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra. She moved into Oakland, California and attended now Edna Brewer Middle School. Ledisi played the piano and did opera in her life. She formed the group Anibade during the 1990's. Her first solo album was in 2000 called Soulsinger: The Revival. She made more music like Alright in 2007. Songs like Think of You and Joy are part of her legacy as well. Pieces of Me came out in 2011. Pieces of Me is one of her greatest songs from the album of the same name. Ledisi has performed at the White House 7 times at the request of President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

 

 

 

Hip Hop involving fashion has been diverse being long lasting. Clothing, hair, clothes, and shoes have always been shown in a way that celebrated hip hop music. Since the 1970's, urban apparel and looks have changed over time. Back in the day, breakdancers and hip hop artists wore top hates, Chuck Taylors, and chains. By the 1980's, Run DMC popularized Adidas shoes and leather clothes. Wu Tang clan promoted the Clark's Wallabees. By the 1990's, major fashion changes existed in hip hop. Many designers had a connection to many hip hop artists. Brands like Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, and Tommy Hilfiger dealt with hip hop. Also, black owned companies promoted products involving hip hop culture like Fubu, etc. By the late 1990's and early 2000's, baggy jeans, baggy T-Shirts, and jerseys were popular. By the 2000's, people like Jay Z and Pharrell owned their own clothing lines like Bathing Ape and Rocawear. Kanye West worked with Louis Vuitton to advance his clothing line. As time went on, the clothes go tighter, more classically fashionable, and expensive. Today, hip hop fashion has changed into being more experimental, diverse, and colorful. 

 

 

The Universal Hip Hop Museum is set to open in 2023. This comes to celebrate the 50th year anniversary of hip hop in the New York City borough of The Bronx. The museum will show music, dance, and fashion. There is a small pop up exhibit showing what visitors can expect. The museum's Executive Director is Rocky Bucano. Other hip hop museums exist now in Washington, D.C. and across the United States of America. The future NYC museum is supported by Nas, Ice T, and LL Cool J. When the museum is completed, it will have 5,570 square meter space. It will have interactive exhibits, live shows, film screenings, and conferences. One room will have a breakbeat narratives interactive console. The device was created by Microsoft Corporation and the MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality. The exhibit will include Kurtis Blow’s original beat box machine, and the first and second rap records ever released.

  

 

One great Caribbean legend was Bob Marley. He lived from 1945 to 1981. He was one man out of many men and women who made reggae internationally popular. Marley was a vocal activist who wanted justice for humanity and liberation in Africa. As a vocalist and songwriter, his music from Exodus included some of the greatest prose in music. As a Jamaican icon, Marley loved his country. He loved Jamaican culture and the essence of human expression prodigiously.  He had 11 children. His mother was Cedelia Booker, and his father was Norval Sinclair Marley. Marley's grandchildren are Skip Marley and Nico Marley. Bob Marley was a leading Rastafari icon, and he later converted to Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity just before his passing. His advocacy of Pan-Africanism was legendary. Like we all know, he was outspoken for his support for legalizing marijuana. Bob Marley was part of the Wailers before forming his solo career. Legend from Bob Marley was the best selling reggae album of all time. Bob Marley worked with legends like Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh, Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, and Cherry Smith. Bob Marley possessed a positive mentality, and that perspective was exemplified in his music in songs like Exodus, Jamming and One Love. Albums like Kaya are classics. Bob Marley wanted unity among diverse political factions in Jamaica. He was nearly assassinated, but he survived. He fought apartheid in South African and celebrated Zimbabwe's independence.  Celebrated worldwide, we fundamentally appreciate Bob Marley's courage and sacrifice for our freedom in the world. 

 

Arlene Harris-Webber is a Caribbean leader of the STEM community. She is an Area Manager for Verizon Inc., serving the Central Westchester, New York and Connecticut regions. Her hometown is Bridgeport, Connecticut. Ever since she was young, she had a love and interest in technology and science. She helped students to improve their grades massively as a teacher. She formed many mentoring and social programs for young people at her church. She promotes medicine to low income communities. 

  

  

From 1947 to 1971, one Gospel legend helped to spread the songs of the Lord globally. She was a woman who not only sang gospel music, but she was active to promote civil rights for black Americans. She was late Sister Mahalia Jackson. That time period signified her era of time involving gospel music. I have always mentioned that Mahalia Jackson in my opinion was the greatest vocalist in human history. She was so great that Aretha Franklin was the protege of Mahalia Jackson. Aretha Franklin was the Queen of Soul. Gospel, during that time, spread nationally in America and internationally in a higher level. This was the time when more corporations got involved in the musical genre, and more debates existed on the balance between gospel singers earning a living and maintaining his or her integrity at the same time. This balancing situation is not new as nothing is new under the sun. That balance is key in maintaining a righteous life. In our generation, haters of God are abundant, and many of them were ironically ex-Christians. After all of these years with new discoveries about DNA, science, and new archaeological discoveries being made all of the time, my faith has been maintained plus strengthened. The Post World War II era saw an expansion of inventions, the 2nd Great African American Migration, and new social movements changing the atmosphere of American society. The music reflected the new times. The essence of gospel music is about human beings expressing their love of God and dealing with issues of spirituality, religion, and everyday living. I know many in this generation believe in the new age teaching that religion in general is evil and spirituality is only good. The truth is that true, authentic religion is not evil, and spiritual is good when utilized in the right way. Gospel singers, who were on the scene back then, were the Caravans, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Soul Stirrers, Swan Silverstones, Bessie Griffin, The Davis Sisters, Albertina Walker, Clara Ward, the Skylarks, Alex Bradford and the Bradford Singers, The Hightower Brothers, and other human beings. Gospel music from the 1940's to 1971 saw a Golden Age of music in general. After 1971, the world would never be the same again. The songs of Gospel still remains powerfully strong. 

  

Recently, the World Economic Forum released a video called, "What is the Great Reset?" This video is used to discuss about certain issues from the pandemic to other matters. Like always, we have facts on our side. We know that many political and economic elites advocate for globalization and even one world government. I have plenty of quotes of those folks saying it from Walter Cronkite to David Rockefeller. The World Economic Forum's video in talking about the Great Reset was a propaganda piece to put it lightly in my view to omit certain real issues necessary to understand the bigger picture. I have watched the video to see what it is about. The  video talk about solutions, but the 1 percent control the majority of the wealth on Earth. Working together under token change is not enough. Revolutionary change is needed. The commercial is supported by the Davos agenda.  The video says that 2020 is the death of capitalism as we know it. We know that capitalism is imperfect. Capitalism in the modern sense existed since the late Middle Ages with nobles and Kings. Later, evil people used capitalistic exploitation to harm the world from the British Empire to Hitler (as Western capitalism from IBM to other corporations funded the Third Reich). Also, we know that Stalin Communism is complicit in the deaths of millions of people in the Soviet Union. Stalin was an anti-religious bigot and later an anti-Semite, so I have no respect for Stalin. Many populists do a disservice to legitimately expose Stalin, but are silent on the imperfections of capitalism (which has contributed to income inequality and other forms of oppression that we witness today). The WEF isn't calling for the end of capitalism per se, but a new form of capitalism. Many of the mega corporations own a large part of the resources of the globe. We certainly want change, but not an authoritarianism that violates human civil liberties in the process of that change. The global elites are involved in a system no where near socialism when only a select group of people own a large percentage of the means of production. We have a feudalistic system which is socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor. The World Economic Forum's video is slick in trying to talk about some legitimate issues on the environment, but it refuses to expose the Pilgrim Society, large corporations, and other entities responsible for much of the pollution, economic inequality, imperialism, and other evils that we witness today in 2021. 

  

 

There has been many stories about Tom MacDonald (or the Canadian rapper and singer) so much on the Internet, that I will issue this commentary about him. What Tom does is not new. Mark Dice  (when he mocks liberals and asks people questions in the street in a sarcastic way) does that this constantly. Tom MacDonald hypocritically criticizes cancel culture and wants divisions to end, but his music promotes divisions in bashing progressive activism and progressive ideals.  Also, Tom bashes rappers who promote nihilism, but he has many records promoting violence. There are many examples of him doing this. For example, in his song of Fake Woke (which was released in January 29, 2001), he doesn't agree with white privilege and lies saying that Black Lives Matter is a stupid name, because he believes that the systems harms people just the same. His lyrics shows his views and his agenda. He's a liar. The system doesn't oppress all people the same. Sociological studies and other studies document how racism, health discrimination, educational discrimination, and other forms of discrimination disproportionately harms the lives of black Americans more so than white Americans. Black people serve jail for more time than white people in America even if both groups of people are convicted of the exact same offensive. Not to mention that the term Black Lives Matter is not offensive. It is about promoting the dignity of black human lives, not promotes hatred of every white person. The Fake Woke song from him doesn't criticize Eminem and Cardi B for their racism, but he criticized them for criticizing Trump. Tom McDonald has a persecution complex where he feels that his whiteness is being bashed, but society from TV to movies constantly praise whiteness openly all of the time. That is why many self hating black people love some Tom MacDonald and his messages of obfuscation and taking things out of context. His songs of I Don't Care and Coronavirus (which made factual inaccuracies about the pandemic) are typical of him. MacDonald claims that straight white men are persecuted extremely massively, when the people in the 1 percent are mostly straight white men. Tom believes in the myth that black social activists are going around daily to  curse out or condemn every white person they see. That is why racists take comfort to him, because Tom omits the massive racism and oppression that black people and other people have experienced for a long time. Tom MacDonald is also a sexist. He Tweeted the following words on December 2, 2016: "I wanna tie a feminists to a chair, tape her eyes open and force her to watch a full season of Keys To The VIP. Bet she implodes." Police brutality, sexism, xenophobia, and systematic racism are realities that must end without compromise. White privilege is a documented reality, and some black people have to stop believing in the myth that seeking white acceptance in a compromising fashion is how to live life. Many of those claiming to be so "independent" are far right extremists. Tom MacDonald is honest in his coded language, his lies, and his distortion of what black liberation is. You live life by treating people right and promoting black liberation. The irony is that progressives brought the Civil Rights Act, clean water laws, the Voting Rights Act, and other blessings, but many radical conservatives (in FOX News, etc.) are propping up their hero MacDonald (when far right extremists have passed an unjust, voter suppression laws in Georgia. Georgia Governor Kemp signed that evil law near a picture of a plantation. A black woman legislator was unjustly arrested for just knocking on a door. Republicans are certainly dangerous for democracy. Pro-Trump far right extremists terrorized people at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. HR 1 and HR 4 must be passed by Congress ASAP). There is no middle ground with racism, xenophobia, voter suppression laws, environmental pollution, and other evils. We have to stand on truth, and we are never ashamed of the truth period. I stand by my words on this issue. 

 

By Timothy