A recent article in the The Guardian caught my attention. Apparently, a collective of “senior black music industry execs” recently penned a letter to business leaders calling for “immediate action on racism and marginalization within the sector.” The letter states: “The music industry has long profited from the rich and varied culture of black people for many generations but overall, we feel it has failed to acknowledge the structural and systematic racism affecting the very same black community and so effectively, enjoying the rhythm and ignoring the blues.” I don’t know if I agree with this statement.

Have those “black execs” ever listened to the “black music” they’re talking about? The “structural and systematic racism” is outlined pretty well in most hip-hop, rap and if you like, “urban” music overall, by people who lived it. Who do you think coined the term “Fuck the Police” that BLM protestors were crowing? (That would be Ice Cube of the infamous N.W.A.) Music, more than many other industries, is responsible for giving black artists a place to shine–and they routinely do, especially over their white counterparts. There are no restrictions or glass ceilings for black artists; many sell far more records than white artists, and are even more popular. But now it seems that even record labels have to change so that they are BLM compliant? Rubbish. Record labels are going to do what they do best–taking advantage of their artists–regardless of color.

The deliberate division and gas lighting of this country has to stop, and if music is the place where this happens, I welcome it. It is well known that record labels take advantage of everyone, until as an artist you have enough clout from sales that you can demand a better contract. Black people as “artists” are no different from anyone else in the music industry, except perhaps that they produce much better urban, jazz and soul music than any other race on the planet. But to hold the music industry responsible for the structural and systematic racism of the black community is ridiculous. This shit has been going on for a long time, and music has been more of a bridge to these communities than a divider. Race issues will always be contentious among groups of people who are mysteriously more responsible for violent crimes than others. Don’t like the truth? Fix the problem instead of constantly seeking a scapegoat to deflect responsibility.

Still, we see the usual suspects drumming up faux sensationalism about how “racist” the music industry is. “A diversity report commissioned by UK Music in 2018 found that ethnic minorities represented 17.8% of roles within the British music industry. While 25.9% of workers age 16-24 age bracket are from an ethnic minority, that number drops steadily to just 11.4% in the 45-64 age bracket, indicating low representation at senior levels.” So basically, the experts have determined that while most black musicians are exceptional at their jobs, perhaps black executives are not. So the answer is to pad the numbers with more black music execs because? It’s just another form of unnecessary affirmative action that is being drummed up. Color shouldn’t matter. There are plenty of black owned and run record labels out there already. To act as if black execs and artists are somehow kept away from reaching their full potentials is just ludicrous.

It is getting so ridiculous that the cookie-cutter artist crowd, vis a vis Ariana Grande has stopped using the term “urban” to describe music made by black artists. Does that mean that when referring to country music as “rural” we are equal opportunity offenders? Listen to how stupid this quote sounds: “‘Urban’ does often relate to R&B, hip-hop – sub-genres of blackness,” said Whitney Boateng, a promoter at Metropolis Music. “‘Urban’ strips away the actual blackness from the music. Black is not a swear word. To say ‘black music’ doesn’t mean that people who are not black are not included – it just means that you’re giving credit to the actual genre and its makers and forefathers.” So, let’s just call it “black music” even if the artists aren’t black–people will still get it, right? WTF?? Apparently the term “urban” doesn’t quite support the advancement of peoples’ understanding of the layers of black music. But calling it “black” will fix it. Yeah ok, if you are high on rock it may seem that way.

So what is their solution? More money of course. But wait, it gets better. To counteract the racial targeting and injustice done to black people within the record industry, the group wants “mandatory anti-racism and unconscious bias training across each company for all non-black members of staff, led by black educators, the coalition asked for complimentary counseling and holistic services to be made available to black members of staff with immediate effect in order to address the effects of workplace racism and global violence against black people.” Holistic services…really. You can’t make this stuff up. In addition, “it is important for companies to equip black employees with mental health provision and support. Often our experiences – especially as black women – are [dismissed as] ‘You’re being a bit dramatic’ or, ‘It wasn’t that bad’ and it’s brushed under the rug. So it’s really important to be able to speak to somebody that can identify and understand and help to unpick that situation without the fear of losing your job.” Really?

So here’s a pro-tip to all musicians that may be caught up in this insanity: Stick to your instruments and keep playing. The media et al are working as hard as they can to create racial division, especially where it doesn’t naturally exist. Underneath it all, the stink of failed Marxist ideas linger in the air like the smell of dead fish. It’s obvious; we know it; we are just trying to play nice and be politically correct so as not to engage their dystopian fantasy world. And we may be running out of time to stop the deliberate destruction. Take time to educate yourself before you parrot the television.

As pro musicians, racism just isn’t there. Any real player knows that there is a healthy population of seriously good black musicians that they would die to perform with, regardless of their own skin color. Music, being a somewhat affordable ambition in life, doesn’t discriminate. It never has, which is why there are just as many awesome, talented black musicians as there are in other races, colors and creeds of people. Having to cow tow under the BLM movement now is just a bridge too far–in fact it’s ridiculous. As I’ve often said, “keep politics out of music!” Let’s keep the music pure and away from the insanity of the clown show. You’ll thank me later.