I will never claim to be a music critic but I do know good music when I hear it. Finding good music is difficult now that we live in the era of auto-tone and voice enhancement technologies; anyone can be made to sound like a true singer.
New technology in a odd way has also made it harder for music lovers to discover new artists. The market is so oversaturated with the same group of artists (e.g. Beyonce, Rihanna and Justin Bieber) that a shit-load of other talented artists are overlooked and oftentimes slip under our radar.
Two weeks ago I signed up for Milk, Samsung’s music streaming service and I am happy I did. What makes Milk different from other music streaming services is that it is similar to listening to the radio. I don’t even own a radio anymore and sadly this is where new music is played the most. Although, if you ask Tyrese radio is not a fair playing field in terms of playing new music. “Nearly 17 years after Tyrese made his Billboard chart debut, the singer/actor achieved his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with the arrival of Black Rose.” Tyrese publicly challenged and accused radio stations for not playing his music.
“White radio will ONLY play R&B/Soul if it’s performed by white guys … so claimed the black guy who had the #1 R&B/Soul album …” I agree with him but I believe it is more than a black and white issue. Talented unknown artists, whether they are white or black, struggle to be heard. Tyrese added that Sam Smith, Robin Thicke, and Justin Timberlake all sing R&B/Soul music just like he does yet they get played on both urban and mainstream stations.
Samsung’s Milk has allowed me to get back to what’s important, listening to good music. I’ve been listening to great music by artists I might not have heard on the radio. I created a new personal playlist; a friend suggested I post a few of those artist from that playlist that I would recommend.
Whether its getting ready for work, cleaning the house, working out or celebrating with friends we all create a playlist for each occasion. Here are a few artists I believe are worthy a playlist add; some recent and some older.
PJ – Wishlist (ft. K Camp) – iTunes
