True Tones
Root Tones: True Tones
The current state of pop music with it’s bleak, resigned, arid, and disenfranchised sound may not necessarily be a movement backwards in the progress of music as an art; it may be the most honest expression of popular music, clearly displaying the internal state of human beings in modern society.
It is common these days for those who claim that they are interested in the stylistic evolution of music, or, music as a discipline, to see most of the modern popular music that the youth embrace as clear evidence of a degeneration of musical technique, discipline, message, and overall integrity. Maybe it is something much deeper that has been lost.
There have been many social battles which have given rise to the inspiration and passion behind various styles of music in the past. This reality is present in almost every style of music including, classical, hip hop, reggae, punk rock, hardcore, afrobeat, folk, etc.
Today it is almost as though humanity has fought for every cause, fought every permutation of battle, and without fail, each battle (as hopeful as it may have seemed) was eventually politicized, commercialized, and diminished to a caricature of its former self.
This reality cannot help but disenfranchise and jade the human mind. It is as though all has been tried, and these movements, in which society invests its hope, keep ending up in the same compromised position.
This hopelessness, this disenfranchisement, this resignation, is now very apparent in the modern musical subject matter, as well as in the craftsmanship that is put into those compositions, those arrangements and those recordings.
It can clearly be observed that the music industry is putting its money behind this trend: streamlining the soundtrack of desperation. Still, the diabolical money-making efforts of the music industry do not diminish the fact that there is an underlying reason for the popularity of this sound. The music industry is able to push this sound for a reason.
They noticed that people identify with this expression, and this is what the music industry capitalizes on exponentially. This sound is spreading around the earth.
Their primary interest is in making money. Their musical projects are business plans, and like any good business plan, it will focus on what sells, and then push that commodity.
The fact that humans are identifying with this sound of desperation, bleakness, aridity, disenfranchisement, resignation, depression, darkness and self-destruction is clearly larger than the agenda of big record labels, it is reflective of the state of affairs of the modern human being and more specifically indicative of the disengagement of our fight.
The disengagement of the human beings fight is a very serious matter. It can be said that our fight, our will to go on in the struggle is all that we have. Our understanding as Kemetic people is that it is our energetic obligation as entities to rise like Heru. Heru is a very important God in the Kemetic pantheon, he is the God-Son of the God-Father and God-Mother. A Divine trinity. We all see ourselves as Heru, born imperfect and weak, destined to rise and fight for good.
Thankfully, it can also be observed that there are many forms of music on earth that play outside of this drama. Forms of music that are full of light, positivity, and vitality. When in Africa it can be noticed that almost all of the music you hear falls into this positive category.
It can be observed that when those positive sounds are played for modern people who embrace the depressive sound, they do not favor what they are hearing because they can not identify with it. It’s too joyful, too upbeat, and not reflective of where they are. Sometimes they will classify the sound as “childlike” or “naïve”, and are more accustomed to the depressive heaviness of their own sounds. The sweetness and heaviness of desperation is necessary for their satisfaction.
Conversely, it is amazing to play the depressive music for people in Africa. It is generally hard for people to get into it, although a larger audience is growing who embrace the sound. It is much easier to descend than it is to ascend, this is why the sound is taking over. There is a sweet seduction in desperation and lack. It could be said that this is really just the blues, but it is deeper than that; this is an anthem of resignation. So it must be asked, after a person gives up their fight, what is left? If they know they are on a sinking ship, then what is left to do? The simple pleasures spending time with their man or woman, and enjoying life. If they are going to hell in a bucket at least they’re enjoying the ride. Most of the musical and lyrical content is about sex, emotional passion, hedonism, suicide, pride with nothing to stand on, and the fulfillment of ambitions with no constructive end. The wisdom of our great Ancestors tells us that self-destruction is much easier than preservation of life and evolution. Not only have our Ancestors passed down this wisdom, but life continues to prove them right by exhibiting practical examples of this principle which play themselves out again and again in the realm of human behavior.
If a human being is to look realistically at its situation, it must acknowledge that it is part of the skin of the Earth, and in that, it is a component of the earth as a whole living being. When any living being or organism is healthy, it can be noticed that its components are functioning together harmoniously. Our Ancestors knew this, and the modern day custodians of our culture still know it as well. That is why our culture emphasizes living harmoniously with nature, survival, and a symbiotic relationship with the planet. It is very clear to us that this approach is in our best interest, because if we don’t follow these principles, then we risk our success of survival. This is why when you look at our culture and follow every practice down to its origin, search every practice down to its basis, you will find one thing: it is based on fitting into the structure that nature presents to us.
For various reasons over time, humans have lost, are losing, and will lose touch with this simple logic. Once some other logic, or lack of logic, replaces this simple principle, then it is as if humanity’s doom has already been predestined. Many people question why we put so much emphasis on traditional wisdom. Sometimes it seems as though traditional wisdom has nothing to do with modern reality. But when thinking about our existential destiny as a species, it is very clear.
It is so easy to lose knowledge, and it is so very hard to preserve it. All it takes is for one generation to experience something that compromises their ability to transmit this wisdom to the next generation, and it is as if libraries have burned down. This can happen very easily through colonialism, ambitions, you name it.
Losing the understanding of the concepts of survival, sustenance, and symbiosis with the earth, is the same as cutting a tree from its roots. Eventually the severed appendage will dry up and decompose becoming nourishment for other life. What this looks like for humans is a shift from living symbiotically with the earth, into living parasitically on the earth. And like any parasite and its host, the host’s immune system will try to rid itself of the destructive parasite in the interest of the host’s own survival.
We must not give up, and we must fight to maintain our spirit of survival. If we fall into this trap of resignation, then we are already finished. People can take many things from you, but they cannot take away your fight and your stance as a warrior. If they succeed in compelling you to give up that fight, then you are already finished no matter what other things you may have in life. So, this is a sincere congratulations to the honesty of today’s artists for putting themselves on the line to make something raw and honest. We cannot start from anywhere other than where we are if we are going to rise. Humanity needs to understand the seriousness of its situation and all of these pitfalls in order to reclaim its dignity. For humanity, the first step in reclaiming its dignity is in understanding where it really is as a species.
