What if Madonna Was Black?
M-Tribe Team and Community member Cristian aka cristian_nyc is back with a new piece for his “‘Cause I Got Something To Say About It…” column.
What if Madonna Was Black?
With the news that Madonna had been nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and the several different critics who’ve lambasted her nomination, I wondered to myself: if she were black, would she be getting so much shit? For example, you don’t hear a bunch of critics ridiculing the nomination of Donna Summer who was “the queen of Disco” for several years, but yet, Madonna’s nomination is being raked through the coals.
Fox News, no surprise there of course, even went as far as to encourage the boycott of Rolling Stone magazine because some of their staff happens to be on the nomination committee. Why? Well, as Fox News put it: “There’s no stopping Madonna when she wants something. Chances are good she won’t bring Steve Bray, Patrick Leonard, William Orbit and all her writers and producers to the stage. They are Madonna.” Hmmm…well, if you say so.
Michael Jackson, whose career has been shaky at best, continues to be praised within critical circles as a “musical genius”. Despite his last successful record dating back to 1991’s Dangerous album, he is still regarded as a talented musician among music critics. Yet, Michael Jackson is no different than Madonna in many respects when it comes to his albums. His solo albums have been collaborations between producers and writers, in the same vein as Madonna’s. Teddy Riley, Quincy Jones, Dallas Austin, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis…these are just some of the people who’ve helped write and produce Michael Jackson’s albums. The fact that he collaborates doesn’t seem to take away from the “genius” that Michael Jackson is…why should it take away from Madonna’s right to be regarded in a similar light? Hell, you don’t even have to agree that she’s a “musical genius”, but to call Madonna’s producers the reason why her music is worthy of nomination into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is pretty unfair.
I have this nagging suspicion that if Madonna were black, she would’ve gotten a hell of a lot more respect and praise at this point in her career than she’s already received. Let me explain this in a bit more detail.
Click here or on the image below to continue reading the 9th issue of “Cause I Got Something To Say About It… brought to you by Cristian Gonzales aka cristian_nyc.
