Let me be perfectly clear. I am a music fan. My fanship is not bound by race, religion, gender, genre, decade, or style. My only criterion is “feelability.” In other words, my measure for good music is the degree of emotional stimulation I experience when I press play.
The most talented artist is also unbound by these walls. Great works of art are indisputable. They simply evoke great feelings. When we listen to “you’re all I need” we feel the music. Rather it’s the Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell version or the Method Man and Mary J. version, we feel the song. Why? Cause good music is good music, no matter the decade. The same way that “It’s Been a Long Time Coming” by Sam Cooke or “Dead Wrong” by Biggie Smalls disturb our sense of mortality, we become vulnerable to music. That is the magic place for the musician.
Nobody does that better than R. Kelly. Like a thief in the night, he creeps into our radio on the winds of trend. Once in, he settles onto our conscious and waits for our ears to inhale. Like a contact high, his music gets you even if you don’t want it to. Exhibit A: "In the closet." Even if you swear you didn’t like it, you know what happened at the end.
R. is a genius. His music, every single song is a work of art because he has mastered the art of placing himself on the musical canvas. There is no “bad” Rembrandt or Picasso. There’s just some shit you don’t understand. Just because you don’t feel it, doesn’t mean the artist has failed. It’s more likely that you have failed to look closely. Most people have no idea why The Mona Lisa is so damned famous. (I’m not talking about Slick Rick’s song…the painting.) In addition to the “eye thing,” the painting is perfect and timeless. When you stand before it, you have no right to judge it, rather it is you and your reaction that should be judged. She is bigger than us.
Artists like R. Kelly, Bill Withers and Marvin Gaye create and created music as a gift from their souls. So when you listen to their music, you are getting a snapshot or their lives. Al Green said, “when I’m in love, I write love music. When I’m sad I write blues and when I’m feeling close to God, I write gospel music.” Thank god he’s a writer.
Here’s my point, finally. Just because you haven’t heard “better off dead,” “Touched a dream,” “Rockin After Midnight” or “Dreamgirl” doesn’t mean that they are not timeless works of art. You might need to tear down some walls and/or visit some more museums.
