Musical Separatism

A British R'nB singer is being pressured to kick a white guitarist out of his band.

Craig David, to his credit, is pushing back. It's apparently a different world in the UK, where "urban" isn't entirely a euphemism for "black".

Craig, son of a half-Jewish white mother and a father from Grenada, said he had no intention of changing musicians: "It shouldn't matter what colour or creed you are. Fraser plays licks that half those urban guys can't even fathom. They can lump it or leave it."

British critics argue that the American outlook reinforces a racial divide by labelling R&B and hip-hop as exclusively African-American music. "In America, the music scene is seriously segregated," said one British record label insider.

"Over there, urban music is just a euphemism for black music, and it's really hard for us to get our white artists played on urban radio."

It's interesting to remember back twenty years, when the most interesting, challenging and successful R'nB was benig done by Prince (whose band was 2/3 white) and Michael Jackson (whose big crossover breakthrough single was "Beat It", featuring an Eddit Van Halen guitar solo).

Posted by Mitch at November 16, 2002 07:14 PM