The Dominance of Cookie Cutter R&B Entertainers Hinders the Promotion of Bonafide Artists

Everyone Looks and Sounds like Beyonce

Anyone who knows me can tell you that when it comes to R&B music, specifically Soul/Neo-Soul music, I am an avid fan (as in short for fanatic). Regardless of the moniker bestowed upon this sub-category of R&B, this is music that I feel as I listen to it. If I listen to a particular CD ten years from now, for instance, Maxwell's "Urban Hang Suite," it automatically brings me back to that time in my life when I first heard it-and the magic of what I feel never goes away (but that's a different story for another day).

If anything, this music is like food for the soul (or at least my soul). Give me a whole heaping of Maxwell, with a dash of D'Angelo, spoon on a side of Jill Scott, sprinkle some Leela James, butter it with Angie Stone on top, and season well with some Musiqsoulchild, and watch me gorge on a musical feast! However, as I watch BET and listen to New York Radio (if you have not read my profile, I live in the wonderful, but very overpriced state of New York), I at first became bored, then annoyed and now disgusted by what I see and hear in R&B music today. For instance, within a two hour period, I heard Beyonce four times between two radio stations. However, when I try to hear a little Erykah Badu or Floetry, I am lucky to hear at least one their songs on the radio or see their videos during the entire day. When it comes to the ladies of R&B, there is a monotony of sound and appearance that is promoted on mainstream radio stations and television. Consequently, this overexposure of the same personalities leaves out the entertainers who possess real talent and individuality.