The M2 Project Crew Blog

January 16, 2024.

Updated: January 9, 2024.

We have a big announcement coming.  When everything is finalized, everyone who reads this blog will be the first to know.

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Just (Black) Entertainers and Entertainment

August 22, 2022

In an interview from 1963, Malcolm X spoke about the insignificance of entertainers, when it pertained to important questions about society.  Malcolm said,  “These leaders…this included comedians, comics, trumpet  players, baseball players. Show me in the white community where a comedian is a white leader. Show me in the white community where a singer is a white leader. Or a dancer, or a trumpet player is a white leader. These aren’t leaders, these are puppets and clowns that have been setup over the black community by the white community and have been made celebrities and usually say exactly what they know the white man wants man wants to hear.”  One would assume that modern entertainers and celebrities would be familiar enough with Malcolm X’s speech archive to not do exactly what he was talking about almost 60 years ago. 

How many other high profile “Black” entertainers were aware enough to create an economic inclusion-focused initiative like artist and entrepreneur O’Shea Jackson (professionally known as Ice Cube).  Very few, because most entertainers remain in their designated roles in society, but over the years, many of them have been talking as though they were leaders. They are not, and the “Black” men who will address the situation like Malcolm X did are ignored by the “Black” community.  Why?  Because the “Black” community is more asleep that a baby who is taking a nap after a lunchtime meal.

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Compromising Positions

August 4, 2022

It is just business.  “Business” is the reason behind a lot of what is done in the entertainment industry.  Music contracts are not signed at gunpoint, and no one is forced to take a deal that they did not want.  Coercion is another story.  The saying is, “ten percent of something is better than 100 percent of nothing.”  Music executives explain to artists that after signing an agreement, the terms of the contract can be revisited and possibly renegotiated.

Artists know that they are only as good as their last project.  That is not necessarily true, but the idea is real.  That is why we see artists willing to compromise themselves for money.  For them, it is “business.” Integrity, ethics, and character do not supersede the expectations that artists accept when they enter the music business.

Beyoncé released her seventh album Renaissance July 29, 2022.  It is a sad state of affairs when an established artist decides to use their platform like she chose to do.  Adults do not like to be told that they have to be “age appropriate,” but her song Church Girl has lyrics that speak for themselves:

Whether new artists or established artists, performers must do whatever they feel they must do. The M2 Project Crew wants to be different.  Motown Records  and other companies like Motown taught the world something different.  We will continue to post new entries about music and the way respect and dignity should be displayed.  We don’t judge, but we do point to those who did it right.

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The Exploitation of Black Entertainment (BET) Television

July 11, 2022

On June 26, 2022, the world witnessed the downfall of the racial group referred to as American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS).  The message is hammered home a little more convincingly each year. Although the channel is called BET, it is not Black owned. The company formally known as Viacom owns it. The new name is Paramount Global and because it is a publicly traded company, it is not technically “White” owned.  It is publicly owned, which means anyone can own it. But “Blacks” don’t come close to owning it in any way.  For non-Blacks to broadcast such a racial circus is racist masked as an award show is completely disrespectful.  BET ( Black Entertainment Television) is a sad example of racial dysfunction.  Everything Berry Gordy and Motown Records did to uplift the “Black” racial image in America has been torn down.  In fact, very few prominent Black men in America will say a word against this exploitation. If they did, they would be placed under pressure and possibly “Blacklisted” from corporate opportunities.

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New York City is the Center

July 8, 2022

The center of the music industry has traditionally been New York City, because the major record labels are located there. Unfortunately, New York City has had a major impact on the way music is being heard today.  The mistake many people make is by saying that the music currently being make is not good.  For many, they are referring to stylistic changes, and not necessarily the creativity and quality of the music.  Music sales are lower today, because of the way modern music consumption has changed.  Music streaming has changed the way modern music is distributed.  More importantly, New York City has changed and become like many other cities.  The terrestrial radio station playlists in New York sound the same as any major city in America. New York City is told what to do, which reflects they way they are still hated for other regions around the country.  The most popular genre in modern music is Rap music, and New York is responsible for that. 

Cronyism and selfishness led to the inability to speak the truth in NYC.  We, the M2 Project Crew, needs the keys to the city. What does that mean?  We need immediate carte blanche as it relates to recording studio access in the top recording studios in NYC.  How? Why?  Many reasons, starting with the history explained in, R & B: Rhythm and Business:  The Political Economy of Black Music (2002) edited by Norman Kelley.  The exploitation of “Black” men is part of the fabric of America.  More realistically, the best producers and songwriters (M2 Project Crew) are being excluded from the music industry because we know how to focus on the business of music.  NYC says they want people to stop being violent and ignorant, yet that is what is being celebrated in mainstream music and media.  NYC is known for being the intellectual capital of the world.  Now, they feature complete ignorance and anyone who speaks about it is censored.

We are well-versed in multimedia, so our other ventures will open the door to everything we say.  We are reminding everyone that we are the best songwriters and producers on the East Coast and laughing at the incompetence that has destroyed the NYC music scene for decades.  We need the keys to the city of New York.  In Jay-Z’s 1996 debut studio album Reasonable Doubt, there is a song called Can’t Knock the Hustle where he rhymed, “You ain’t having it? Good, me either. Let’s get together and make this whole world believe us.”  In 1996, no major record labels in NYC took Jay-Z seriously and accused him for being unoriginal.  His lyrics in this song pointed to an ethos that authentic New Yorkers respected throughout the city before the  massive change came.  When someone said they were the truth, there was a time when NYC made sure  to acknowledge that fact.  Square business would be conducted, so everyone could prosper.  We shall prosper regardless.  Letting it be known that we are the best songwriters and music producers on the East Coast says a lot.  Being able to say that we are the top songwriters and music producers in NYC is a major feat. Common sense and the truth does not determine the direction of NYC like when NYC was realer. There was no way they would let a statement of that magnitude to be made without actively challenging the claim.  The current state of New York is a place where a few people hoard the opportunities, so they can give the illusion of being more valuable than they truly are.  The undisputed best does not need to stop talent and ingenuity.  In fact, preventing ingenuity creates stagnation.  Right now, the New York-based music industry is not performing at its full potential.  The entertainment leaders of NYC will see what was done by the West Coast and copy. The NYC representatives would potentially hire their friends to receive the funding.  AP News reported on a PR Newswire story published on June 30, 2022 titled, NFL Partners with Contract With Black America to Strengthen Economic Equality.  PR Newswire explained that, “The National Football League (NFL) announced today its partnership with Contract with Black America Institute (CWBA), an economic inclusion-focused initiative led by artist and entrepreneur O’Shea Jackson, also known as Ice Cube. The CWBA and NFL partnership enhances the NFL’s dedication to increasing economic equity and partnerships with Black owned businesses.”  This is an example of how the current cultural leaders in NYC’s music industry are no longer innovators.  We are the top songwriters and music producers, so we are going to put more effort into getting the resources that we need to elevate people’s live