MEGHAN KARSYNRAP
June of this year saw headlines breaking news of the artists XXXtentacion ' s death . Xxtentacion who was only 20 was shot dead in a drive by shooting . The conversation that followed stirred a moral debate over social media . The 20 year old was known for being physically abusive , sexist and wrought with violent habits . The question that then spurred was : did he deserve to die ? Twitter agressively campaigned against the young artist .
The underlying question that stands is : can we separate the art from the artist ? Do only those with power and money escape scotch free ? Can we let someone who advocates bad behavior continue to write music ? Would our consumption of their art delegitimize a crime ?
Xxxtentacion was an influential figure with a large teenage following . Often times the artists was inappropriate , he had been charged with various crimes over his career and even before he rose to fame . Parents can only hold a disfigured smile around the issue - they want better role models for their kids even though this often censors artists . For example , Teenage stars who try to transition to a more mature ideal tend to get backlash from society . There are many columns about Disney stars who went wild . Some artists like Rhianna even go out of their way to say that they shouldn ' t be considered role models .
So then is the purging of music the right way to deal with the situation ? People forget that a song isn ' t just the artist ' s hard work . There are people behind the scenes working to market the song make videos and produce the song . XXXtentacion was removed from Spotify because his behavior clashed with their principles . While spotify retains it ' s morally right status consumers lose out on music and maybe this is the right solution ? After all can we let someone who uses their mugshot as cover art for their music as though it ' s an achievement be allowed to get away with it ?
In the past classical musicians like Wagner out rightly supported Hitler , the repercussions of which continue today . His Operas receive backlash in Israel . One can argue if it ' s really okay to listen to his music knowing that he was anti-semitic and racist ? Beethoven was moody and dislikeable , Fritz Reiner was cruel and legendary Spanish guitarist Andrès Segovia would torment other guitarists who were not of his standards . We often say artists are Prima Donnas and should be allowed some eccentricity . But do we let such artists play over the silent ones . Can these artists hold a flame to good and honest artists ? Shouldn ' t we be appraising the right behavior ?
The consumption of art today is a little bit of a performance : it defines your identity and it compartmentalises your personality . The consumer has stake in the production as musicians want you to like what they ' ve made . Consumers are so important today that they can decide whose career they would like to end . So ideally the artists need to be on their best behaviors . But should we really have this power ? Is this not limiting art when those with talent could help the culture grow vastly ?
You , as a consumer , have to decide for yourself if you can consume art without context . Do you listen to music because of the artist or because of the art ?
The Score Magazine
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