Lost Notes: 1980
“For all of the ways Grace Jones was unforgettable in 1980, it must be said that “Warm Leatherette” was not exactly a commercial success, despite its critical acclaim. “The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game” stumbled briefly onto US R&B charts, and the song “Warm Leatherette” did make it onto the dance charts in the states. “Private Life” had a decent chart run in the UK, but not enough to make too big of a splash. All in all, seven singles were released from the album, none of them charting well enough for it to have a sustained flourish. But, weirdly, the album still made a star out of Jones.”
As an artist, despite status, not every project will do well. This can apply to overall or in comparison to other projects. Abdurraqib describes that here with some of the music made by Grace Jones. Overall, she is a well-known and accomplished artist, that does not mean that some of her music was not as well received by the general public. Abdurraqib uses words such as “stumbled” onto the charts and “not exactly a commercial success” to show how the album did not do as well. Also despite all of this, it does not take away from the celebrity status of Jones at all. I picked this moment as I wondered if I should only include the accomplishments done by the artist. Since my infographic is an informative piece should I also include when certain projects did not do so well especially in relation to one another. This podcast is also meant to be informative, and we can see that Abdurraqib chooses to include every aspect of the artist because good or bad, it is still a part of their journey.
Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to a Tribe Called Quest
“So many artists fail because they try to get it all back in one swing, or they remain stubborn, in the hope that the trends will switch back. Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad had conquered the idea of jazz bleeding into hip-hop, but by 1993 the sound was changing, and they had the tools to change with it without the entire upheaval of their sound. Midnight Marauders was subtle in how it chose to catch up with the times. If hip-hop was to have a second wave, it needed A Tribe Called Quest with their ears to the West, unafraid and unthreatened”.
This quote is a description of the album Midnight Marauders. Based on the quote, it tells me that the album has a mixture of jazz and hip-hop as the focus. It also shows that the group is at a point in their career where they want to experiment more without starting too far from their signature sound. It was made in a way to be on trend, without making that the main focus. As someone who is not familiar with this album, this serves as a good description. It is the perfect amount of detail, it does enough to to know at least the basics and peak interest without giving away too much. It is accessible for those who are not well acquainted with the group and can also connect to major fans as well. I picked this moment specifically because while writing my infographics I also wanted to give a short description about multiple albums. I mainly stuck with the genres and accomplishments. This quote gave me a good idea on what to be to enhance my own work, as this works well to inform without giving everything away.
