Current Events > SZA about to break a record held by Thriller album.

(+) Yeah! (+)

i think its a very fair metric though culture is defined by shared experiences, and while obviously not everyone shares EVERY experience, its certain things that its hard to miss without actively not participating in said culture.

I would say the same thing if somebody said they never heard anything about the Kendrick and Drake beef for example. Or had to have the Ralph Lauren FUBU line explained to them ya know (without being a young kid or a very old adult)

and not participating in the culture doesnt suddenly mean you arent black if thats what you guys are trying to imply Im saying.

The logistics definitely don't make sense. But I'm not going to make a deal out of it. Just as long as the records state that this was after or before internet streaming era.

No I think its totally reasonable to question his current you are with black American culture if youve never heard of snooze or Sza.

like obviously were speaking in generalities but to have no idea about the songs or the artist does pretty much mean youve been living under a rock.

you literally said that not knowing who SZA is means you're not attached to black people or culture.

also, I still disagree.

for one, if you're going to a club/party, what you're listening to is curated by the DJ or person controlling the music.

secondly, these days, if you're listening to streaming, the music you listen to is often based on what sounds similar to someone/something else - like, if I choose to listen to a rap artist, I might not get any r&b recommendations unless if that artist features on a song.

thirdly, because of streaming, a lot of people don't listen to the radio anymore and might not hear of certain hits.

lastly, even though SZA is a popular artist, the biggest consumer of black music has always been white people, and the continued success of Snooze might not necessarily be a product of black culture.

my main point is that a lot of things can slip through the cracks for a person while they're still involved with black culture, and creating these boundaries doesn't help anyone.

I've never heard of snooze, but I do know SZA. I don't claim to be connected to black culture or anything, however she's just one artist out of many who successfully sells themselves and their art, it's not that big of a deal if people don't know she is. I also think there's probably a lot of examples where people know her songs, they just don't know it's her. Like when I hear people say "I've never heard a Taylor Swift song", that's kinda like "ok, so you've never been inside of a retail store or restaurant that plays music?" Because literally every place I've been to has played her music. They may not know it's her songs being played, and that's understandable if they're not fans and don't want to pursue whatever they overhear on a radio system.

But still, this is your own arbitrary standard for who is and isn't attuned with black culture and people. Would a black person who only listens to gangsta rap from the 90s because that's what they grew up with know/listen to her? Maybe not. Would you say they are detached from the black community and culture just because of that? This attitude of yours indicates that yes, you would.

As for "living under a rock", that's also an arbitrary standard. I don't listen to terrestrial radio and even with satellite radio I mostly just listen to progressive political programming these days. The music I listen to/discover is mostly through friends and their recommendations or stuff I'm already familiar with. Or I hear it at work because the cooks play it. That's the only reason I know of Doja Cat's Paint The Town Red, and I only know she even existed because a friend showed me the music video for her song Mooo!

If "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys was released today and this topic was about that song you'd have this topic going "never it or the group..."

This the new gimmick after the ex thing wore thin?

This topic got way more active then I thought it would be.

If "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys was released today and this topic was about that song you'd have this topic going "never it or the group..."

So for one, being attached to black American culture, or not doesnt define your blackness, I never said that and thats on you guys if you guys every made that implication. Ive literally said my own dad would probably be one of those people because he actively does avoid most modern music. I wouldnt say hes not black, but I would say he actively avoids engaging with modern black culture for the most part, he likes the music he grew up with and thats enough for him, but even then Im still sure hes heard a sza song without actually knowing it was sza.

basically everyone got mad I said youre not actively apart of black American culture for not knowing one of the biggest acts in not only urban music but music in general right now

I couldn't even tell you what the big songs on the radio are. I have heard the name of quite a few artists, but shit, I could maybe name 3 Taylor Swift songs in her entire career. I couldn't pick Dua Lipa out of a lineup.

Like its exactly this. Like its certain things you cant miss without actively trying.

It is easier than ever to exist in your own bubble though. Like with streaming services you can listen to thousands of artists and still be completely out of the loop. While if you tried to listen to a bunch of things in the past, you'd be listening to all the radio stations and you'd know whatever the current popular songs of whatever genres were relevant enough to get radio play.

oh 100% you can actively choose to live in your own bubble, Im not saying its not possible.

im saying to have never heard of sza or snooze. Youd have to be intentionally in said bubble, and you cant claim to be culturally up to date while living in said bubble, those two things contradict each other

Is there a tier based system where if Ive purchased an expensive enough pair of sneakers I can get credit for this stuff?

Uhhhhh no thats not what that means lmao.

Black culture does not equal blackness thats such a weird equivalence to make. if you think Im saying that, I can see why you got so upset, but thats on you because I never said that.

and i doubt the algorithm, would have you listening to two of sza equally popular and most frequent collaborators and snooze not come up in your algorithm, and even if it didnt (probably because youd be on a rap only search) youd still be aware of who she is.

many black people intertwine their "feeling" of blackness to their culture.

like, when Kendrick was attacking Drake, for example, he wasn't saying he wasn't black but that he wasn't connected to the culture. but because the culture and personal sense of being black is so connected, a lot of people thought that was what he was doing.

as far as the music thing goes, that was my point - I could be listening to tons of modern black music, but because it's mostly rap, I might miss out on a lot of r&b. and like I said, of course I've heard of SZA, but you keep making this point about also not hearing about Snooze, which is weird.

and even if SZA is a big artist, which I agree she is, her and her music make up such a minute factor of black culture. at least with someone like Kendrick, his music transcends just music - used for protests, beef becoming mainstream - that it makes sense that he can be a topic of conversation. same with Jay-Z, Beyonce, Rihanna, and so on.

with SZA, she doesn't feel like she's a factor outside of music yet. but she's talented, has good collabs, and is still growing, so who knows the heights she might reach.

there's just no good point, IMO, as to why not knowing some of her songs means you're slacking as far as your connection to the black community goes.

Yeah Kendrick Questioned drakes sense of community and connection to the culture, while Rick Ross and Kendrick where calling him white boy, it wasnt because hes not black its because hes not native to the culture, due to his upbringing.

again you cant make the conflation that being black and being of black Americans culture are the same thing.

and I would again argue the biggest RnB song of the last 5 years minimum that was considered an instant timeless classic is something youd hear around if you werent actively avoiding it.

Like to have legitimately never heard not even snooze but a single sza song, you had to have actively tried.

like you keep saying maybe they just missed the song, but like genuinely how the fuck do you miss a song like that, without.

Not listening to any new music
avoiding radio or store sounds or tv soundtracks
Avoiding large black American gatherings
avoiding social media
not have any friends who you discuss or listen or music with or friends who also do the other 4 things.

legitimat question, how can you do that AND confidently say youre up to date/ in tune with black American culture.

Like SZA isnt a small act Id legitimately say shes a top 20 artist in terms of success/sales right now, across all music.

But this isnt just a sza thing

Like I would also say if you never heard before I let you go, you arent black American culturally at all.

can you just shut up already

You and one SZA song are not the gatekeeper of black culture. Its so easily possible to not hear SZA music and do many of the things you listed. Fucking stop attempting to say that knowledge of rnb is what measures your attachment to black culture

Its really weird and you should stop

can you just shut up already

Your upset about the statement and keep making it things Im not saying.

Like I would also say if you never heard before I let you go, you arent black American culturally at all.

Yeah Kendrick Questioned drakes sense of community and connection to the culture, while Rick Ross and Kendrick where calling him white boy, it wasnt because hes not black its because hes not native to the culture, due to his upbringing.

again you cant make the conflation that being black and being of black Americans culture are the same thing.

and I would again argue the biggest RnB song of the last 5 years minimum that was considered an instant timeless classic is something youd hear around if you werent actively avoiding it.

Like to have legitimately never heard not even snooze but a single sza song, you had to have actively tried.

like you keep saying maybe they just missed the song, but like genuinely how the fuck do you miss a song like that, without.

Not listening to any new music
avoiding radio or store sounds or tv soundtracks
Avoiding large black American gatherings
avoiding social media
not have any friends who you discuss or listen or music with or friends who also do the other 4 things.

legitimat question, how can you do that AND confidently say youre up to date/ in tune with black American culture.

Like SZA isnt a small act Id legitimately say shes a top 20 artist in terms of success/sales right now, across all music.

But this isnt just a sza thing

Like I would also say if you never heard before I let you go, you arent black American culturally at all.

some people feel like, I'm black, it's my color, heritage, etc. and others feel like it's also the community they engage with, a philosophy they push; something that you live.

also, I didn't say SZA was a small act, I said that she's "small" in relation to black culture. she isn't some generational talent (at least, not yet) where everyone is just buzzing about her.

secondly, it's just another weird gatekeeping thing you keep doing.

lastly, you keep saying Snooze is the biggest r&b song in 5 years, and because I got wrapped up in the other stuff, I didn't address it, but how?

thats the difference between race, nationality and culture.

its not gate keeping because Im not saying youre not apart of the culture or that you arent black or anything like that. Im saying that song is hard to miss without being in your own world and youve clearly missed somethings culturally if thats the case.. You cant gate keep culture cause that goes in the face of what culture is, you can push out disingenuous people, but actually gate keeping kills culture.

uhhhh its one of the driving force behind her album beating thriller, its won Grammys and is already considered critically one of the best RnB songs in 25 years and broke multiple the charts records for a RnB song.

also what song would you think is better

Shes got 10 years as an artist, 3 popular and critically acclaimed albums and song writing credits for Rihanna among others.

Its 100% fair to call her THE generational RnB act, either that or second to Beyonce

Thats crazy tho lmao

Thats crazy tho lmao