The year 2012 has begun with a flourish of some pretty interesting things for me. I have gotten involved in a couple of projects one of which I want to turn my friends and family on to here and now. It’s near and dear to me and I am honoured to have been asked to participate.
Here’s a little back story on how I became involved:
About a year ago I started listening to a radio program on Satellite XM – the Oprah channel. The show was called the Derrick Ashong Experience. I LOVED it. This guy made sense and spoke to me on a personal level. He summed up how I felt about the dismal situation in the USA, world issues and the like. I looked forward to my Saturdays in the car when I would nod my head and speak out loud saying YES! Fast forward one year and this brilliant radio show is now ending. My Saturday staple, my weekly dose of sanity will be gone! Derrick has moved to the East Coast and is now involved in another project. He is now host of The Stream on Al Jazeera. It’s a really great news network (IMHO) and his show is terrific. Cutting edge, intelligent and up to speed on the real things happening on our planet. I rarely get to watch though, as Maxim normally has command of the television during this time. I do have a firm commitment to listen to the podcasts!
When Derrick’s radio show ended, I found the only way to keep up with his wit, sense of humor and common sense was to follow him on Twitter. His coverage of the GOP debates is hilarious and right on the money. After a few tweets to him, telling him how much I liked his show and missed his radio show, he actually answered me a few times and voila, a connection was made. Social Media can be an interesting thing indeed. Then just over a week ago, his fiancee contacted me via this very blog asking me to get in touch with her about a project that may interest me. Suffice it to say I am very interested and very involved.
Derrick has a band called Soulfege and their album, AFropolitan is terrific. Diverse sounds, different genres, soulful vocals and great beats all in one album. They are on a mission to change the music industry and in order to do so have launched a campaign to get One Million downloads of their music.
Check out his website at www.derrickashong.com – you will learn more about the campaign, the band and the man there.
As well, here is the first blog entry about the campaign, and a big button to click on for an instant download of the music!
“I’m spending this MLK Day at Emory & Henry College in Emory, VA giving a keynote & a workshop looking at the “power of music in times of social unrest.” I love that I was asked to give a talk about artistry on a day when people are commemorating an icon of the Civil Rights Movement, because I think too often music and other forms of art are relegated to a kind of sideshow in discussions of societal change. Music is fun, it’s cool to kick it with at the club, but when we’re talking about serious economic, political and social challenges, there’s no room for that sort of “frivolous” thing.
To that I say there’s always room for Jell-O. And there’s even more room for creatives to take a place at the table in any discussion of where society is going. I was asked today before I began my talk about what has happened to “real music” or “music with meaning” in our culture. I know artists who are making meaningful statements in beautiful and impactful fashion on a regular basis, but who are not necessarily the ones you hear. The reality is, the consolidation of the Recording Industry has arguably constricted the breadth of traditional outlets for development and promotion of talent – if the best Indie labels are gobbled up by majors, the economics of running a multinational corporation will more often than not trump the kind of risk required to develop, launch and ultimately “break” truly groundbreaking voices. The very risk that was historically taken by those Indies.
This is not to say that there isn’t amazing music being made in the world today, even in the mainstream industry. But when you peer past the initial veneer of artistic success, you start to wonder how many of today’s major acts are actually doing something new, and how many are revisiting and reinventing sounds & styles of the past?
In the end, it may indeed be true that there is nothing new under the sun; as artists we are all discovering, interpreting and building upon those who played before us. But if we truly want to reframe the kind of music we hear, we need to start by reforming or replacing the systems that deliver that music to us.
The voices of change may not be perceived as profitable by the Major labels, but they’ve never mattered more than in these times of global upheaval. I want to hear songs that speak to my heart & soul, as well as those that stimulate the swaying of savory hips. In the end, we will vote with our feet, our tweets, our pocketbooks and word on the street, for the music that ultimately matters most to us.
D.N.A
THE MILLION DOWNLOAD CAMPAIGN
You wanna be down? DOWNLOAD!”
I hope you will all join in this great campaign and help us achieve the goal!
Love, Laughter, Happiness and Health everyone ~
Dana
