Throughout most of the twentieth century, popular music has proved to be a barometer of our youth in America.  As the dominant music of our youth changed from jazz to rock n’ roll to soul to hip-hop, commercial radio was at the forefront of promoting and marketing music to popular culture.  Now, as we enter the second decade of the twenty-first century, commercial radio is on life support; slowly succumbing to the increasing popularity of satellite radio and the emergence of formatted high capacity music storage devices. Commercial radio stations have long been instrumental in breaking new artists and using repetition to boost album sales.  However, illegal music downloading, album leaks, and an economic recession have driven the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to make hard economic decisions that have changed the industry completely.  Many so called “urban” radio stations have responded to this threat by narrowing their target audiences and focusing on very specific demographics.  I believe it is this focus that, over the last decade, has contributed strongly to the cultural segregation of our youth.  This is a strong statement to make using only generalities but it appears that the popular cultural differences amongst our 18-25 year olds nationwide are becoming less and less defined from city to city.  The imagery and music associated with the most popular urban radio stations and cable outlets are becoming less and less diverse and as a consequence, so are their audiences.

While driving from D.C. to Philly about a year ago, I mistakenly left my compact disc folder and ipod at home, thus forcing myself to fill the ninety-minute drive with commercial radio.  After listening to approximately 180 minutes of commercial radio, I realized just how different radio stations are now than they were during the mid-eighties when I was growing up.  Typically, I may not hear ninety minutes of radio in a week, much less one sitting.  While listening to those stations, I realized that no matter what “urban” station I tuned into, the same 7-8 artists were being played in heavy rotation and they all seemed to cater to a younger audience than I remembered.  Additionally, when I was lucky enough to hear a different artist, I found that the music was still very similar to that of the artists who were played the most.

I believe that by not broadening the range of music played on urban stations, we are limiting our youth’s exposure to quality music and by default, limiting their images of what rappers, singers, and songwriters look and sound like.  It may be years before the results of the cultural segregation produced by radio formats and programming can be assessed.  Funding for high school music programs in public schools is at an all-time national low and as a result, fewer and fewer students can play instruments or read music.  However, everyone wants to be a producer and make beats.  For a select few, this may become an achievement but the music will suffer in the long run.

As a child growing up in the 1980s, I remember when radio stations had fairly broad play lists that allowed you to hear artists like Michael Jackson, RUN-DMC, Hall and Oates, Chaka Khan and Wham all on one station.  I believe that this musical diversity contributed to a youth culture that welcomed different approaches to popular music.  Today, radio stations seek a much more specific slice of the market share.  It appears that “Urban” music has become a synonym for rap and R&B (majority Black musicians) while “popular” music is still synonymous with majority music.  However this leaves out many artists who I believe could achieve success within the African American market.  Artists such as Jamiroquai, Lenny Kravitz, and Sade are popular within most African-American audiences, yet are seldom played on commercial radio.  These groups represent prominent influences that fit urban audiences but are not played primarily because younger audiences want younger artists.  While I am not certain whether or not there are more artists under 25 now than a decade ago, I am quite certain that the majority of video shows cater to this younger market.  These shows focus on formulaic rap and recycled R&B with a laser-like focus but it’s only the imagery that stays with our youth.

While on the Oprah Winfrey show recently, Jay-Z said he believed that Hip-Hop music brings cultures together.  I disagree.  I believe that while Hip-Hop may bring about different races together, it is still the same culture base.  It does not matter whether you are Black, White, Hispanic, or Asian, a hip-hop head is a hip-hop head.  I found it interesting that Jay-Z would say such a statement as he represents one of the biggest exceptions to the rule.  Here is a 40 year old rapper, who for all intents and purposes crosses over every musical demographic and is played on every format except country and talk radio.

In an attempt to stay relevant, many commercial radio stations have decided to market a very specific type of music.  This music, in most urban centers, is a mix of hip-hop and R&B that revolves around less than 10 artists or combinations there of throughout the day.  It is this practice of selling personalities and brands instead of music that has really limited our creative outlets in urban America.  We have far too many “quiet storms”, “top 8 at 8s”, or ”top 9 at 9s” formats.  I believe that if radio played more artists within their programming formats, we would see a much more diverse group of young people ready to invent, develop, and assist with novel ideas in the humanities and arts for the next generation.  Can I hear a little of the roots with my lil Wayne? Some Mos Def with my Drake? Will Lenny follow Trey Songz?  Rock stations may be able to play Matisyahu after Nine inch nails.  This may be a good time to diversify our musical portfolio on a national scale and maybe even save commercial radio while we are at it.