I'm a Pop Culture Snob... So What?

There's so much I could bitch about but today I'll just focus on music.

I think a lot of music today is overrated. It feels as if black music is losing its identity, Britney Spears has been singing the same song for years and Rihanna's material is fun but often forgettable music (yes, as a Bajan, I support this sister of the soil but her music lacks that timeless quality of other acts like Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys and Bob Marley – at least she will be remembered in pop culture history for being a fashion icon and trendsetter).

Back to black music: I remember how I used to love Hip Hop when I was growing up. I remember the excitement I would feel from listening to the latest Missy Elliot, Ludacris, Ja Rule or Eminem song (Side Note: Eminem is still great). But now there's less and less to be excited about in black (American) mainstream music. I personally started to lose interest when I noticed that the pervading theme was “f*****g bitches and whores”, “tapping that ass” and “hitting and leaving it”.

Thankfully, we've moved on from that but now the main focus is materialism (Exhibit A: T.I.'s “Whatever You Like”). I guess more positive, less hollow messages aren't cool enough...

I hate to admit it but I prefer white music, especially Alternative and Rock, because there's usually more depth and creativity. I still listen to certain people like Kanye West (even though he's an arrogant ass), Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys and a little bit of Rihanna (“Disturbia” was the bomb) but that's as far as my current playlist goes for recent black music (Eminem has his own category).

Lately, I've been longing for something fresh and different. I'm just asking for some mental stimulation, people.

And on the home front

Soca music in Barbados feels like a hollow shell of itself that regurgitates the same monotonous crap every year.

“Rags in the air... we gine move our rags from left to right”, “anybody from St Michael” and don't forget “Left, right, left right” were fun when they were fresh methods to get the crowd moving in the 1990s but jeesh enough already.

And don't get me started on Contone and Pong... I don't care how many supporters of this pseudo-genre call Spooka cry me down – it is CRAP. Utter Crap. If Barbadians accepted it for what it is – nonsense that's good for a little laugh and a little juk (Bajan translator: Slightly obscene dance where the man's pelvis is slammed repeatedly into a woman's derrière or sometimes crotch) – then I could happily juk and sing along.

But when Bajans started calling it “good music” and jumped on the Contone and Pong bandwagon, getting mad at the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) for leaving them out of the Party Monarch Finals every year, I got pretty damned annoyed. Are we supposed to lower our standards so we can reward an alleged drunkard (he's known for downing lots of rum before every performance) who can string 5 words together on a 3 note melody that happens to be fun and wuk up (Bajan translator: vigorous wine/dance) friendly?

What does this say about us as a people?

I'm glad the NCF held its ground. If they lowered the bar for these jokers, it would have been the catalyst for further degradation of Bajan Soca music as we know it.

I'll end this on a positive note. I have to mention that, funny enough, as Soca music gets crappier, Bajan music has been growing and thriving in other genres, particularly R&B, Hip Hop and Alternative. We have a lot of talented people in Barbados. I just wish we wouldn't settle for mediocrity.