British music festival is criticized for inviting Jay-Z (rap blamed for poor ticket sales)

AP (via Yahoo) ^ | 15 Apr 08

[Drew68]

Lol, well he’s a 38 year old rapper with a net worth of almost 700 million dollars, so I’m assuming he must be doing something right.

700 million? Holy smokes!

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Jay-Z more known as a behind-the-scenes mogul than a performer?

[Caramelgal]

I might want to see Kings of Leon, Crowded House and the Verve but I would definitely be headed for the exit well before Neil Diamond took the stage. And I’m 47 years old!

[redstateconfidential]

mnehrling wrote:
My bet is it is the state of British music. Jay Z outsells them all so it sounds like passing the buck to blame him. If memory serves me correctly, he isn’t even one of the gangsta rappers who degrade women and such, so it may not be a backlash either.”

Jay-Z was the Original 2 Live Crew,arrested on obscenity charges.

[Proud_USA_Republican]

Both. He’s kind of become the Cher of the rap world. Everytime he tours, it supposedly the farewell tour, but then he goes out on tours again after. And the tickets to his show are always some of the most expensive. You would think the fans would catch on.........

And yes, he’s worth easily over 500 million. Unreal.

[JSDude1]

I sure hope so, it and it’s culture is destroying the youth!

[Wil H]

There can be no backlash big enough. Rap/Hiphop is noise pollution and in many cases, very destructive.

The cacophony produced by some rock bands and grunge groups in the 90's was noise pollution - it sounded like you were sitting on the threshold of a runway at a major airport, it was like white noise.

The pollution element of Rap and Hiphop comes when you CAN hear the words..

[darkangel82]

She said the media stir over Gallagher's comments revealed an "innate conservatism" in some sectors of British society.

Good. Maybe there's some hope for them after all.

[the scotsman]

Nope.

State of current British music, esp live, is pretty good and strong.

Radiohead, Coldplay, Arctic Monkeys,Klaxons, Travis, KT Tunstall...

[the scotsman]

The Verve are one of THE iconic British indie bands of the 90’s.

Kings of Leon are very popular here, even more so than the US.

And several of the expected acts (Crowded House, Kate Nash, Massive Attack) are very popular in Britain.

[the scotsman]

Verve: iconic 90’s British indie band

K of Leon: popular American rock band(roots lie in CCR,Zep..)

Leonard Cohen: oh come on, everyone has heard of Leonard Cohen...

[the scotsman]

Really?.

Here’s me thinking Oasis are one of the biggest bands in the world and Gallagher probably the best songwriter of his generation.

Explain please how he is a has-been?.

Ted Nugent is a has-been.

[Lancey Howard]

Hmm. It's called "Glastonbury Festival", not "Glastonbury Music Festival", so if the organizers want non-musical acts like rappers and hip-hoppers, then let the public decide if it's worth the price of the ticket.

That dude from Oasis is bitter because he thinks the festival should be restricted to musical acts, the way it has been traditionally. But that's apparently not what this festival is about, at least not anymore.

Personally, I sure wouldn't go to this thing.

[Rastus]

"There is also an interesting undercurrent in the suggestion that a black, U.S. hip-hop artist shouldn't be playing in front of what many perceive to be a white, middle-class audience. I'm not sure what to call it, at least not in public, but this is something that causes me some disquiet," she said in an article published Tuesday in The Independent newspaper.

Oh, brother. Reaching for the race card. I don't know if Gallagher is right or wrong here, but I know it's not race based. I guarantee if Robert Randolph (a smokin' pedal steel player) were on the bill, Gallagher wouldn't have a bad word to say about him. He just has some sense and doesn't go in for rap and either knows or assumes that the festival audience won't either.

[arderkrag]

Oasis’ creative talent peaked with “What’s the Story”. Since then, they’ve had a hard time getting radio play in the states for any of their new stuff, while the guy he’s whining about being in a music festival has topped the charts a couple of times. He may not be as “talented” according to some, but he’s not struggling to get radio time, either.