I’m going with Chris Brown, John Mayer and Soulja Boy Tell’em for this one. I don’t like them as people, but do have (and enjoy) some of their music. Ironically, I wasn’t even a fan of Chris before the domestic violence on Rihanna. I found his music to be nasal in tone and childish. After his famous attack, I figured he would crawl off never to whimper again. Then it happened. He released “I Can Transform Ya” and me, being a sucker for a good beat, fell for it. A colleague then let me borrow the full deluxe CD and (gasp) there were more songs to like. So now I have his last album downloaded onto my iPod and am sad to admit I also like his new single “No B…S…” (Hanging head, waiting for an intervention.)
Though I didn’t know much about him, I’ve been a fan of John Mayer’s music for a few years and figured, being a bluesy like musician, that he’d be a cool person. Then I start reading about his pigwhore escapades with starlet after starlet. Dude, could you be a gentleman and keep your pie hole shut? It was like he’s a 15 year-old boy giggling about how good he is. After last year’s Playboy article and his declaration of his neither regions being a “white supremacist” (among other things), I vowed to purge my collection of his nastiness. But I didn’t. It is a thin line of separating the artist and their actions from the talent and artistry.
As for Soulja Boy, like everyone else I thought he’d be a one-hit wonder novelty act. Then “Turn My Swag On” was released and–there goes a catchy beat again–I’m sing-song rapping right along. I’m posting it so you can understand the source for my shame.
Barbara McDowell 