Image Courtesy Universal MusicThe Dream has never been the kind of artist to hold his tongue. When asked about the the connection of race and and the music industry, the hitmaker expressed his frustrations with how some artists are treated like “slaves” with “terrible contracts.”
“If you got a hit and you’re white, there are no limits to what you can do. If you’re black and you have a hit today but can’t do it again tomorrow, then your ass is out of here,” he tells Billboard. “When the industry uses you up, that’s it. You’re gone. It’s a constant battle for our culture.”
The producer notes how black music is appropriated in other genres. “Everybody is taking from our culture to enhance the pop side of things,” he says before using Bruno Mars as an example. “Nobody listens to Bruno Mars like he’s a black artist. Which I’m sure for him, he’s like, ‘Thank God.’ There are urban artists and then there are pop artists, and urban artists get things taken from them. We create the swag, and everybody knows it. “
The Dream also shared his thoughts on select producers ripping off some of hits. “Dr. Luke has been remaking [Rihanna‘s] ‘Umbrella’ since we made ‘Umbrella’! I tell him that to his face!” The Dream says. “He has been making it over and over, and pop radio loves it every time.”
The singer concludes that he recently formed a record label, Contra-Paris, through Capitol to offset the “evil in the music business.“
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