It’s fair to say that 1st world countries have had a head start. With so many people having easy access to computers and fast internet, it made it easy for people living in 1st world countries to literally surf the web.

With the rise of websites like MySpace, suddenly independent & unsigned artists had a platform to showcase their music, even sell it, oftentimes without having had a single shred of radio airplay. It became so easy for
people to explore the web & find new, undiscovered music. It wasn’t the popularity contest of “we all need to listen to this music that everybody’s listening to because if we don’t, we won’t be cool” but instead “I’m unique because I’ve discovered something wonderful, new & fresh that you’ve never heard before”.

My question would then be, did this culture only start with the advent of fast internet? In my opinion, no. Spending time in countries around the world I’ve always been amazed at the amount of options, musically available to the public & beyond the consumption of this music. its the exposure of
it. Every genre you can imagine & many more you’ve never heard before are available on a multitude of radio stations & tv channels. There is quite literally something for everyone. On a performance level, you’re bound
to find a jazz band playing while around the corner, an indie rock band is jamming & a few roads down from there, a Hip-Hop club where not so far from there you can dance the night away at a House club. Even these sort of clubs would cater to a specific sub-genre.

Bringing it back to South Africa, it’s my observation that we don’t have much variety, as far as music is concerned, on our radio stations. I’m going to focus on radio in particular because it still remains such a powerful medium in our country. I believe there’s an assumption that this is what White people listen to, this is what Black people listen to, this is what Indian people listen to & so on & so forth. The problem is, not all White people listen to Pop music & not every Black person listens to House music.

It does though, feel like a lot of people place all their trust in these stations with the notion of “this is it”. This is what’s out there, both locally & abroad. My fear is, are we not losing our uniqueness as a people by all listening to the same music & to a larger degree by not thinking for ourselves? Maybe you’re reading this, thinking maybe you’d love to listen to listen something you don’t hear on the radio.

True, In South Africa we still aren’t in situation where every citizen has easy access to computers & even adequately fast internet but we do have phones & pretty much every phone out there is now a smartphone, & thanks to our cellphone service providers, these “mini computers” we hold in our hands everyday can access the internet, sometimes at lightning speed, anywhere in the world. This means that any of us can access any music, in the world at the click of a finger. I can guarantee you will find a station that fits you. I can also guarantee that once you realise how much amazing music is out there, radio (fill in your name) will be the best station you’ve ever heard.

I wrote & co-produced this track with Chad Alexander for an artist named Jarrid John. Jarrid has had reservations about releasing his music & I’m curious to hear what you think of it so please give me some feedback.

Get it (right-click and choose “Save As” or “Download Link”)

This is long overdue but I’m sure what I have to say will appease some who read this.

I’m sure many people are wondering where the final album I said would be released in Feb 2011 is? 1stly I must say a big sorry to everyone for the delay of this release.

In a way I blame falling in love & spending 2 months of the year in London & traveling. The advantage of spending time outside of South Africa was I had time to reflect on the future. It also forced me to accept that although I had publicly stated I would release in Feb 2011, I could not rush this process if I wanted to put out the best quality album.

The good news is, the production for my final album Inside is done. The album is now in the process of being mixed & mastered. Ironically, the release of Inside will now be in Feb 2012. In the next few months I’ll be putting some footage on YouTube of some of the recording sessions & hopefully releasing some singles on radio.

Again, sorry for the delay but I can promise when you listen to the final product you’ll agree it was worth the wait.

Since I last had my rant about what the point would be in studying music in SA, I’ve engaged in many conversations & fierce debates about whether I’m right or wrong. What has become clear is that more musicians in South Africa agree with me than disagree.

It’s a relief to know that I am not the only one who feels we need to re-educate the youth if there is any hope in the survival of live music.

It’s not hard to see a post-apocalyptic SA (maybe even… world), say 20 years in the future where instruments are merely antique ornaments in people’s houses but no-one anywhere knows how to actually play one. How many kids in 2011 would rather invest in some CDJs as opposed to a violin or trumpet?

I certainly can’t blame the youth for not wanting to pick up an instrument or for the lack of understanding & appreciation of playing & mastering an instrument. I don’t think we’ll be seeing more music education in our schools, at least not from the governments side & therefore it’s up to the current musicians in South Africa & maybe even abroad to ensure we do not suffer a musical apocalypse.

I’m making it my life’s official mission to set up programs & workshops that will reach every school in South Africa. I am already in the process of recruiting some of SA’s best musicians to assist. I’m also going to approach touring international artists & ask that they run workshops in less fortunate areas.

If you, like me would like to know that the future of live music in SA is in safe hands, follow me on twitter – @RJBenjamin or become a fan on Facebook (facebook.com/RJBenjamin) & together, let’s start a music revolution!

After a few years of trying my hand at other things not music, I inevitably landed up studying music. It was what I had been born to do & therefore there was no reason I study something else. Following that I became a lecturer & have since been in music education for 10 years now. I’ve always encouraged people with talent to study music. The value you gain is taking that talent to another level the same way a good sports coach would.

It’s always been to my advantage being a music teacher & being in the industry at the same time. I’m seen as a teacher who can do. The flip side of that is I have seen over the last 8 years, being in the music industry how its changing & sadly, is becoming harder & harder for musicians to make a living. In defining what a musician is, this is someone who plays a musical instrument or sings with proficiency. They have to, to some degree have mastered their craft.

Right now as the SA music industry stands, DJs are taking over to such a degree that the mindset of the average person on the street is – live music (real instrument playing the music is boring). Being an artist who performs in clubs to house music, I see the reaction to that & then I see the reaction to live music with my band…not all the time but there is a mindset out there that live = boring.

There are many factors contributing to this. More music on radio & airwaves over the past three decades has become less real so people’s ears have adapted & gotten used to a specific sound. I don’t know how to change the perceptions out there but something… especially in South Africa has to be done because if we are not careful, we will become musically & culturally bankrupt!

In order to learn & master an instrument it can take decades… even a lifetime. Surely then when you see someone pouring their soul out through an instrument, you realize you are seeing something that takes skill, discipline & ultimately talent. There are DJs out there with true skill & talent, but to beat mix one song to another, in my mind doesn’t constitute as talent. Moreso, a DJ mixing songs out of key & my worst, a capellas out of key cannot be called talented. For the most part a DJ is a compiler.

Yet it is DJ’s that are for the most taking a large cut of what once would’ve been how a musician would make a living. Its all about what people want & yes, what you want are DJ’s, playing largely House & Hip-Hop.

Let me use this as an appeal to the minister of Arts & Culture & to the minister of Education to begin addressing the issue of a Country in threat of becoming culturally bankrupt.

Originally published on my fan page on Facebook on 29 November 2010

We live on the continent where in all likelyhood the 1st forms of music came from so it would stand to reason Africans & more specifically South Africans have some serious musical history. We’re one of the few nations on Earth that protest in song & dance. I’ve always remained confident that South Africa is full of great artistic talent yet the perception that is put out there is not the same.

Looking at the Idols competition that has become a standard throughout the world. The fact is our winners do not match with other winners around the world. Do we blame the lack of talent? I don’t think so. I’ve been teaching singers for 10 yrs & have come accross many great voices in that time & most haven’t come close to getting into the top 10 of an Idols competition. There are a few reasons that come to mind.

The 1st stage of Idols is judged by unknowns who I don’t believe are qualified to recognise talent. In this stage it’s their job to take 50% of the worst & 50% of the best. What is shown on TV is round 2. So already there’s a problem because only 50% of the so-called real talent is going though. Yes, I understand it’s entertainment & people wanna laugh at the terrible singing but its also a program that commercialises local talent & in many ways tries to show a reflection of SA singing talent. Unfortunately if that were the case, then 100% percent of the BEST should be going through to round 2.

The next problem is our main panel of judges. Simply put, right now, they’re all radio DJs. Compare that with the US, they’re all singers, music producers or managers with a track record of making stars. Listening to music (which we all do) doesn’t give you the ability to recognise talent. We all listen to music. The bottom line is that we need judges that are either talented themselves & understand true talent or are experts in recognising true talent. The final problem of course, is that for a true reflection of SA’s talent a show like this would need to cater for the majority, which it doesn’t.

It also doesn’t help that government places little value in the arts. It’s sad to me considering that poets, writers, painters, dancers & musicians are enshrined in our history & were so pivotal in the liberation struggle. We should be teaching our musical history in schools. I think it’s up to us to bring the arts back & show the rest of the world that Africa & South Africa, in our case, has an abundance of talent that can compete with the best the world has to offer.

I recently embarked on an arts campaign sponsored by one of the big corporate giants. As much as the competition was for them to build a client base with the youth, it used several art forms to do this including painting, singing, debating & poetry. It was so refreshing to see the amazing creativity particularly coming out of the less affluent schools. By the finals of this inter-schools competition, the less affluent schools had swept the floor with the schools from the suburbs. It proved to me that there is so much un-earthed talent in the rural areas & townships. It also proved to me that even without government we can assist the arts in SA.

We’ve got the talent. We have a rich culture of dance & music unlike any other country in the world. That needs to be reflected on TV & radio & on the stages. We need to raise the standards & expect the best, not average, the best. As supporters we have the power as we would as voters of making sure that true, great, future legends are born. Don’t settle for less & help SA’s talent get the respect it deserves.