With R&B Money making waves in the industry, Tank has been giving his takes on the state of the genre. The singer emerged in the 1990s as a background vocalist, but it didn’t take long for Tank to find his solo footing. Soon, he was amassing successes that matched those of artists he once worked for, and these days, the music veteran has quite a bit to say about where R&B is headed.
“Record labels are in this to make money,” Tank told Variety. “Radio conglomerates are in this to make money.”
He added: “Venues are in this to make money. A Rap record that was made for $2,500 in somebody’s basement sold a million copies. An R&B record made in the biggest studio in the world, had already spent $1.2 million, sold the same one million records. … ‘As Rap takes over, all of a sudden Melodic Rap sneaks in. Now, people would rather hear rappers singing bad than singers singing good.”
Elsewhere, Tank also touched on losing his hearing, something that the singer revealed over a year ago. He was diagnosed with tinnitus and it had understandably been a difficult time.
“For the first time, I wasn’t myself,” he said. “I was down mentally, physically, and spiritually. … Medication is a very big part of it. You can’t figure your way out of the fog; you can’t find your clearing. I went to the doctor, I was supposed to get an eighth or ninth round of shots in my eardrum. He said ‘Listen man, I think we’re going to stop because it’s not working. Before your body gets any worse, let’s pull you off of it. Let’s see what happens.’”
Tank added that he began “recording with my one ear” and while it was strange, he adapted to the change. “I started feeling good about my purpose again — I’m doing what I’m supposed to do.”
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