Musicians: Stay True To Yourself

I've said it before and I'll say it again: music isn't what it used to be. It all sounds the same, and I feel like these days, certain parts of the music industry have become embroiled in what I would describe as a 'pop music movement'.

I have a lot of respect for any artist that can get themeselves out there so don't get me wrong or take this as an attack on any of the people I am about to use as examples. I also understand that to make it big you have to appeal to a mass audience and it helps to be versatile- but I think that certain artists have taken their styles too mainstream- to the point where they are shadows of the respectable, urban acts they used to be. If artists are starting to see the business as, 'I have to make music that sounds like this to make money', what will the music industry be like in a couple of years time? Will autotuned, loud and unsatisfying pop music with no depth and laughable lyrics be all there is to offer?

I have to admit that I have lost respect for a few people in the industry who have abandoned their signature style for a more generic, pop type of music and it kind of feels like they are abandoning their true fans- the ones that liked their music for what it was and the artist for who they were. By all means, do your thing, and whatever you have to do to live the life you want to live- whether that means making a lot of money, acquiring worldwide success, helping people or whatever your calling may be- but stay true to yourself. Real artists should never have to change their style of music to match what society says it SHOULD be. If you believe in yourself, you can make it big by doing what you do best in your own unique style and people will appreciate you for that unique style, not for sounding like everyone else.

It's one thing to try to appeal to everyone, but....calm down. Someone mainstream like Rihanna is an example of an artist who is versatile in a good way- she can do R'n'B, she can do commercial pop and dance. But it's all her, and even people who don't agree that it's her can't deny that every now and then she takes it back to her roots (Man Down, Watch 'n' Learn, Rude Boy) Now to back up my theory..

Here is a prime example:
Me and my friends loved Nicki Minaj last year. Everyone had her debut album Pink Friday, and it was really refreshing to see a woman, who was kind of girly and different to other female rappers, doing her thing and appealing to men and women with her quirky, confident and clever lyrics. We used to listen to her a lot and we were all constantly singing her songs, but this year the same group of people and myself barely talk about her unless we are taking the piss. What gets me is that she was doing fine on the popularity front, so why she went from this



to this...



I'll never know. Catchy when drunk, I'm not gonna lie..(LOL)but really?! Come on. I miss the old Nicki: come back or go away.

Then there's Chipmunk, which is debatable. It's fair to say he hasn't completly abandoned his grime roots with his recent (and decent) take on Hustle Hard and other tunes. He's actually not too bad, but how can someone who made this:



go on to to release THIS



and expect no confusion from people who actually liked and rated him for a song like Who Are You?

Are artists changing with the music or is music changing with the artists?
When looking at mainstream success, there is evidence in artists like Lil Wayne, 50 Cent and Jay Z and many others who have all pretty much stuck to their signature style of music without turning to adopting a more pop sound, and have still been able to be and stay popular within a mass audience. It can be done, so do it! I'm not saying the music the artists above are making now is bad...that's a matter of individual opinion and music taste. But is it them? That's another question entirely.