Philadelphia has always been a hot bed for musical talent. The city and surrounding area, affectionately called The Delaware Valley, has always bred innovators in every genre of music. Dating back to the early 1900’s with Leopold Stokowski, the lead conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra from 1912 to 1940. He started a series of concerts known as “Youth Concerts,” which are still a tradition in many American cities. He also did the score for Walt Disney’s 1940 film Fantasia and was credited with bringing Classical Music to the forefront of American society during his lifetime. The Delaware Valley’s latest leader is a Question Mark, literally. Ahmir ?uestlove (Questlove) is the current reincarnation of Leopold. He is the drummer, producer, and face of The Legendary Roots Crew. The litany of his credentials are too many to list; he’s crossed genre’s and racial lines. Although his main genre is Hip-Hop, he has had success at every level from underground to commercial sales, which in today’s environment, is a major accomplishment. In between those two, the list is more impressive than any other city that considers itself a breeding ground for musical talent. Examples include (in no particular order,) Chubby Checker, Marian Anderson, Gamble & Huff, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Teddy Pendergrass. I could go on forever. But the question that I’ve been asking myself is who’s NEXT? Is it even possible for there to be a NEXT? Are Philadelphia artists getting the same stereotype the area’s athletes are getting - “they're lazy and lack the drive necessary to really achieve true greatness.”???
Over the last decade or so, it feels like The Delaware Valley has seen more artist start and burn out than New York & LA combined, as impossible as it may seem. Some local artists who've had short lived success are Charlie Baltimore, Neef of the Young Gunz, Res, Vivian Green (she actually has a concert coming up,) Khia (who claims Miami but learned her talent in Philly,) and Santogold. Again I could go on but why waste the time and energy; I just hope you get the point. Whether those artists are lazy or not isn't the real issue. The real issue is those local artists had enough talent to garner the attention of major record labels and saw some success in their careers; however nothing matching their potential. But to go back to the athlete analogy, Dajaun Wagner did get drafted…
While the question of who's next remains, I hope to find the answers. In this series of interviews, I’ll be conducting interviews aith local artists, producers, DJ’s, and anyone with a vested interest. The interviews and going to be genuine and honest; I am going to focus on the artist, their work to this point, and ask them all the questions you want answers to. You will also be able to dialogue with the artists through comments on each post, because I can guarantee, they want to know what you are thinking.
Follow my progress here through the RSS feed. The Twitter and Facebook profiles will be coming soon. See you soon with the first interview in the series.
