While many individuals have contributed their perspectives on whether her halftime performance (based on her newly-released video/song titled Formation) was a necessary gesture to highlight pressing matters in Black Society, perhaps the dominant society’s reaction to Formation should pose the REAL issue. For much of the past two decades, Beyonce’s star power has grown exponentially, and her extensive body of work has elevated her to a rarefied air that very few recording artists–especially Black artists–get an opportunity to experience.

Here are a few Tweets that highlight the white supremacists’ reaction to Beyonce’s Super Bowl 50 halftime performance.

https://twitter.com/kellyw1964/status/696824968928174082

https://twitter.com/ShoPny13/status/696973634057801728

https://twitter.com/9killhim/status/696887464128974848

The Tweets shown above are a drop in the bucket when it comes to illustrating the vitriol white supremacists spew toward Black recording artists when the artists don’t play by a certain script. Although these men have been deified posthumously, many seem to forget the amount of resentment that Tupac Shakur, Bob Marley, and Michael Jackson received. Much like Beyonce’s smash hit song Single Ladies, Tupac’s California Love can be heard blasting on any given day in any given place in the world in the homes, cars, and social gatherings where large numbers of non-Melanoid people are located. On the flip side, Tupac’s revolutionary background has been highly scrutinized by people in the dominant society.

Creatively speaking, perhaps nothing was more revolutionary than Michael Jackson’s decision to put together the music video for the hit single from his 1991 Dangerous album titled Remember The Time.

To the surprise of many during that time, the video featured an all-Black cast, and not just a typical all-Black cast for a music video. Besides the fact that the video was laced with a star-studded cast, the video’s actors all depicted people in an ancient Kemetian (Egyptian) setting, which gave credence to the historical accuracy of the African nation. As expected, Jackson was ridiculed because of the video, which was also around the time when the assassination attempt on his character began–besides the fact that he owned half of the Sony Music catalog, but that is an entirely separate ordeal all to itself.

 Bob Marley, whose music has warmed the hearts of multitudes of people, was no exception to the aforementioned collection of exceptional Black star power.

The work that Mr. Marley left behind includes highly-celebrated classics, such as Redemption Song and One Love, and these were just a couple of his musical masterpieces that the world-at-large embraces. While the music of Bob Marley (and/or Marley’s group, The Wailers) continues to wax poetic in the ear and hearts of non-Melanoid people everywhere, it is no secret that Buffalo Soldier  was a song that spoke directly to the trials, tribulations, and untapped greatness of  people in the African Diaspora.

In the eyes of white supremacists in the dominant society, Beyonce is nothing more than a “trouble making” superstar singer/dancer who has offended (and disappointed them) by her latest act. In the eyes of members of many non-Black people, Tupac Shakur was a young and angry rapper who, in their minds, made it cool for them to reduce the originally brilliant concept of ‘Thug Life’  to an ongoing series of viral videos based on nothing more than various scenarios involving slapstick humor.

Michael Jackson too, was viewed in the same light as the other musical luminaries. It was more than ok for Mike to give the world Thriller and Billie Jean, but as soon as Remember The Time’s video debuts on national television, white supremacists now have a problem…much like how “cool” it is for  non-Melanoid youths to idolize Marley for the simple fact that he smoked weed–largely unaware of Marley’s Pan-African ideologies and Rastafarianism.

Is it up to us as Melanoid people to go to great lengths to convince the dominant society that some of their favorite Black artists chose to use their platform to convey progressive Black propaganda in their music? No. Is it up to non-Melanoid people to care that their favorite Black recording artist just might occasionally make a song filled with progressive Black lyrics? Absolutely not.

In response to white supremacists’ full-fledged attack on Beyonce for her latest performance/song, we must quote the words of the Late, Great Michael Jackson when he sang: They Don’t Care About Us. 

They don’t care about us, nor should we value how they feel about how we choose to express ourselves artistically.

B. Clark

In today’s current climate of the dominance of the “popular” music that we seemingly hear everywhere, many Black artists have made the decision to use their talents to “cross over”–or collaborate–with artists of the dominant society with the promise of exposure to a broader audience, the opportunity to evolve as artists, and last but not least, more money. This is not an indictment on those Black artists who have made these career decisions (much love and respect to them for doing what they have to do), however, let us highlight a few notable Black recording artists (in no particular order) who–for whatever reason–never made such a move.

The criteria for the listing of these singers is that they had to have made music with Black Society in mind on a consistent basis over the years…In other words, their music had that “Black sound”. The following artists are also known for having their music played on a national scale, yet they were able to continue “keeping it at home” with their extensive body of work. Another interesting factor to consider about this list is that you won’t typically hear people outside of Black Society playing and/or referencing these artists’ music on an everyday basis. Although there are many more artists who could have made this list, here is a short list of Black singers who we have in mind.

1. Anita Baker

For over thirty years, “The Songstress” from Detroit has blessed Black Society with her graceful singing style, and has accumulated a long list of soulful ballads.

2.  Ronald Isley (and the Isley Brothers)

From It’s Your Thing to My Favorite Thing, the man who’s affectionately known in Black Society as “Mr. Biggs” doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

3. Luther Vandross

The instant smiles that make their way on the faces of Melanoid people as you mention Luther Vandross pretty much sums up the legacy that the legendary singer left behind. In spite of the fact that it has been 10 years since he passed, the indelible mark that his music has left on Black people remains intact.

4. S.O.S. Band

Long before the ATL blessed us with talented singers such as Monica, Jagged Edge, and Xscape, The S.O.S. Band hailed from the exact same city, and they set the airwaves on fire throughout the 1970s and 80s with smash hits like Tell Me If You Still Care and The Finest. This soulful collection of performers have definitely lived up to their name…The Sounds Of Success.

5. Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly

 No Black cookout is complete without a Maze record gracing the playlists of the music that day. The same group that brought you Joy And Pain makes sure that we never forget the great songs that they’ve created, still touring the country and causing you leave their shows with Happy Feelings in the process.

6. Donny & Lalah Hathaway

The Late Great Donny Hathaway was known and loved for his memorable duets with Roberta Flack in addition to his own solo hits. His daughter, Lalah, has carried on his legacy in a manner that would make her father proud.

7. Jill Scott

For 15 years since the debut of her first album, Miss “Jilly From Philly” has shown us the breadth of the talents that she possesses. Although she has experienced success in Hollywood, the music that she continues to create has never given us an inkling of the “pop” sound that the dominant society craves.

8. Erykah Badu

We could go “On & on” about this free-spirited singer, but her resume speaks for itself. With an array of songs laced with knowledge-dropping/down-to-earth lyrics that we can both expand our minds and relate to at the same time, she’s guaranteed to keep blessing Black folks for years to come.

9. Charlie Wilson (and the Gap Band)

Long before the band’s Charlie Wilson embarked on a highly successful solo career, The Gap Band put on one hell of a show for music fans everywhere, and we will always appreciate that.

10. Chaka Khan

In recent years, the Chi-Town native with the powerful voice has been re-introduced to younger audiences due to her Through The Fire being sampled by Kanye West’s debut hit Through The Wire. However, her music reigned long before that. Born Yvette Stevens, she took on her current name from a Yoruba Baba during a naming ceremony. She was also an active member of the Black Panther Party as a youth.

11. Floetry

Adding a little international flavor to Black music, the beloved duo from the U.K. have recently reunited after nearly 10 years of pursuing solo careers–both of who were very successful in their individual endeavors.

12. Anthony Hamilton

If you enjoy vibing to songs like Charlene and Can’t Let Go, then you enjoy the sounds of Anthony Hamilton’s songs.

13. Gerald Levert/Keith Sweat/Johnny Gill

What’s remarkable about this trio of singers is that not only were they smash hits as solo artists, but they also found an equal level of achievement when they decided to form the supergroup, titled LSG, in 1997. The group went on to have an album which would reach multiplatinum status. Although Gerald Levert passed away in 2006, we are left to wonder how much more great music that these vets of music could have made together as a group.

 14. Joe

This Brother has proved that he’s ‘not your average Joe’ by putting out album after album–each filled with great music. With an ever-growing body of work that he has compiled, you can almost guarantee that we’ll be seeing future work from him.

15. D’Angelo

The dominant society isn’t going to be crashing servers to purchase an album titled Black Messiah anytime soon. For that alone, we’ve gotta give pay our respects (on top of everything else he’s made previous to that). ‘Nuff said.

B. Clark