"This permits the audience to take the position of a critic, without experiencing any personal contact with the actor."- Benjamin
"Fragile" by Tech N9ne feat. Kendrick Lamar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY2ugWgEQVQ
In my previous blog post, I commented on the confining affects of the consumer on actors and actresses careers. In this post, I'll utilize the same argument through the relationship between the musician, critic and consumer. A key element of my argument is the rap song "Fragile" by Tech N9ne featuring Kendrick Lamar, which is vital to intertextually explaining Benjamin's concept of the consumer critic.
The song "Fragile" is a direct dialogue between artist and consumer. In "Fragile," Tech N9ne accompanied by Kendrick Lamar explains the heinous ability of an individual to criticize his art form without experiencing it first hand or even understanding what the song is about. Tech N9ne comments, "Some of the people appointed to give an opinion, Never do get it." Meaning the aura of his music is lost due to the critic's failure to understand why he wrote the song and the song's purpose as his artistic form of expression.
Furthermore, Tech N9ne says, "Critics are really the enemy and I, can't stand the way they slam today's gifted. Effin' incredible, get fanned away with grands to pay, this jam will lay scripted, Deaf and impeccable. Write a rhyme and I put everything in a flow, I'm the N9ne I'm a look very mean, when a foe scribe a line but he has never been at a show." In this lyric, the aura of the song is lost because the critic fails to acknowledge what he's artistically expressing through his music. In addition, he notes that the critic will write to criticize his music without ever seeing him perform, which is when the aura of the song is at it's most powerful. Thus, the mechanical reproduction of his music provokes critic's to alienate his expression with harsh remarks on his music and the song's true aura, or value, is left "deaf and impeccable."
Although this is the main argument of "Fragile," the song also accesses the damage of the consumer on the artist and his craft. In the beginning of the song, the chorus sings, "You said you'd never, ever play… to crowds. But I've seen you hoping to play songs to them now." This point of view represents the internal battle within the musician to stay true to his aura as an artist, but also reach his fans without removing all meaning from his music. Highlighting the affect of the consumer, Tech N9ne struggles to be true to himself while the pressure of fame and "playing to crowds" is continually building in his career.
"Fragile" is an incredible song that details the journey of the musician to preserve his aura and produce music that means something to both himself and his fans. It also undermines the role of the critic and the consumer in the musician's journey explaining the damage both can have on a musician's personal and professional life. In summation, Tech N9ne's argument is most poignant at the end of his verse, when he asks the listener "You don't really get why I'm so pissed? Understand this: I'm an artist, and I'm sensitive about my shit, yes I'm… fragile."
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