It also helps that he is one of the hardest workers in Detroit.
From my dealings with the people who have "made it" or whatever you want to
call it, the thing that separates all of them is that they work very hard.
Talent will only take you so far, it all comes down to how hard you work at
it.
There are a lot of people who want to sit around, smoke dope, not return
phone calls and not work in the studio who think race is the reason they are
not blowing up. I do not care what color your skin is, your work ethic
determines where you end up. Hawtin sells more records than me for a reason,
he workers harder and smarter than I do.
Where Kharris is coming from, and where I agree with her, it that his image
is much easier to market than say Juan Atkins. It is much easier for an A&R
or marketing exec to comprehend you and your weird science fiction music
when you are a skinny white dude who wears funny glasses and jump suits. The
larger music industry, in which Hawtin has an advantage, cannot comprehend
and sell an image of a middle aged black dude from Detroit making weird
electronic music from outer space. The only thing black they know how to
sell is rap music and sex jams, period.
This is where race comes into it. Because of Hawtin's skin color, he can
play on stereotypes that black artists do not have access to. In the small
indie-dance scene, I do not think color is as big of an issue. In the larger
industry, where real money is made and where culture at large is
manufactured, black artists who do not play off of black stereotypes do not
get signed. Any good Detroit Techno artist is at odds with those racial
stereotypes in the US music industry, and therefore cannot get ahead. Black
people don't make sci-fi music, they make songs about sex, greed, and
violence(unless they are conscious brothers, and then they make typical
conscious brother music...)
All of that being said, I think that if a lot of the black dudes who cry
race worked as hard and were as talented as Hawtin, they would be selling a
hell of a lot more records. The glass ceiling is definitely there, but most
dudes will never hit it because they do not have what it takes to get that
far. Juan is a perfect example of somebody who has hit that ceiling. Jeff
Mills has hit that ceiling. To avoid that ceiling Carl Craig is referencing
jazz and R&B. Race had nothing to do with why some people have not gotten as
far Mr. Mills, Mr. Craig, or Mr. Atkins. I do not care what color you are,
if you have talent and tenacity, you will get ahead in this business.
Take care,
mt
From: FC3 Richards <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "'neon tse tse'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
CC: "'313@hyperreal.org'" <313@hyperreal.org>
Subject: RE: [313] demf website
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 22:21:19 -0700
i'll answer this one!
> ability to market himself and his music FAR surpases anyone else
in detroit.
very interesting -
how do you know that ?
what are your facts, making you say this ?
He is the only Detroit artist that I have seen lately that has had an ad in
a magazine from Detroit lately. DJT-1000 had an ad for "The Last DJ on
Earth" CD, but it only took up a quarter of the page from top to bottom.
Richie Hawting on the other hand has thrown his picture out and made it
recognizable with full page ads, huge posters, and stickers handed out all
over the place. He has made the m_nus symbol almost as recognizable as his
face.
there is no point in arguing it...he just knows how to market himself. he
isn't ge greatest ever....but he is damn good.
Peace
Jeff
> -----Original Message-----
> From: neon tse tse [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Sent: Monday, April 29, 2002 5:02 PM
> To: Jayson B.; 313@hyperreal.org
> Subject: Re: [313] demf website
>
> am 30.04.2002 0:47 Uhr schrieb Jayson B. unter
[EMAIL PROTECTED]:
>
> > ability to market himself and his music FAR surpases anyone else in
> detroit.
>
> very interesting -
>
> how do you know that ?
>
> what are your facts, making you say this ?
>
>
>
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