THIS SET ME OFF TODAY!

I just got this email from the INCREDIBLE house music legend Inaya Day--who has kept dancefloors jumping with her powerful pipes for well over a decade. It set me off!

INAYA'S EMAIL:

I remember seeing the likes of CeCe Peniston, Crystal Waters, Barbara Tucker, Ultra Nate, Duane Harden, etc on the Billboard dance/club chart.

Now, it's dominated by Pop Artists.
It seems, unless your label has the "budget" for a chart position AND there's a pop DJ on your project, you're relegated to DJ, Beatport, and Traxsource charts.
I gotta say, at this point, I trust those charts more, as they are more authentic and true to the genre which they promote.

Check out the Billboard Dance chart to see what I mean.....

BILLBOARD

Thank God that charts don't make or break an artist, even though it DOES look good on paper.

Thoughts?


Inaya: HERE ARE MY THOUGHTS!

For decades, I was sorry that house music mainly caught hold in Europe and artist like you guys were in the top 40 pop charts overseas. Not in the US. It was mainly because straights in the US didn't like house--they danced to hip-hop only with an occasional breakthrough like One More Time by Daft Punk. Now that dance tempo is all over our top 40 as recorded by former hip-hop artists and excuses for vocalists like Britney, Rihanna and Nicki Minaj, IT COMPLETELY SUCKS! No creativity and cookie-cutter sounds with a side of VIP/bottle service/hands-in-the-air/product placement bullshit. Pitbull, Flo Rida, Enrique Iglesias--all garbage. At least Ne-Yo's Let's Go is  a good dance song with nice vocal and bassline.

The other sad thing is that house music selected the best vocalists like the ones you've mentioned. Those are mostly gone from the pop charts and even Mariah can't get a hit because the song as we know it is a dead idea. You no longer need a song--just some cheap synths with no chord progression and forget all about a bridge--the best you can hope for is Fergie's tragic London Bridge. And how many volumes does it speak that when Whitney died, the artist they chose to rep her at the Grammys was Jennifer Hudson. Well if Jennifer's such a fab singer, where are HER HITS? We don't value vocalists any more either. The very sad truth. Just slap dead Etta James on the chorus and add some bragging rap crap on the verse.

The pay for play system is in full effect as record companies, crippled by downloads, scramble to pay radio to shove "songs" with the sophistication of nursery rhymes down our throats in their desperation for sound-alike hits. TRY GOOD SONGS WITH GREAT SINGERS. That formula's worked for a very long time! It sure worked for Adele. And she never even had to show her belly button or flip her weave!

I first heard Inaya's voice on this smash by Mousse T.



A gorgeous song by Inaya which showcases her flawless pipes. Guaranteed to put me in a good mood!