Black Women Need Better Music Management
We know better, so let’s do better.
Photo by Lisa Fotios on Pexels.com
Ari Lennox deserves better. She recently shared her experience touring with Rod Wave, and it was heartbreaking to hear how she was treated as the opener. “I never felt comfortable,” she said on her Instagram Live. In one incident, someone hit Lennox with a water bottle, and it prompted her to go off. During her justifiable rant, her mic was cut off.
When Lennox finally opened up about how this treatment affected her, it prompted a Twitter debate about management or lack thereof. One user tweeted, “Ari Lennox is one of the worst mismanaged artist just like Normani. Her lack of success can be attributed solely to her team which I’m starting to question why even sign an artist like her if you couldn’t market her.”
Sadly, Lennox’s experience is not unique. In 2021, Rico Nasty toured with Playboi Carti and experienced the same type of violence and disrespect. Afterward, Rico responded and called the fanbase “anti-Black” in a tweet.
She hit on an important point when she said this – the demographics of concertgoers. At many concerts I’ve been to for Black artists, the majority of the crowd was white. I can remember seeing J. Cole in Chicago, and the white fans next to me did not know any of the songs. Yet, race is not the only factor to consider when analyzing concertgoers. Socioeconomic status plays a role too.
According to Nielsen, “[Concert] attendees were more likely to be millennials and Hispanic, and 35 percent more likely to come from households with more than $80,000 in annual income.” Having so many non-Black fans in the audience comes with its problems. Watching videos of the Rod Wave concert, I couldn’t help but notice that most of the fans near the stage weren’t Black. In Rico’s case, it was the same.
And in both experiences, the women endured discrimination from audiences who simply could not relate to their music.
So who’s at fault? Some would argue it’s a management issue. In a thread, a Twitter user listed their gripes with Ari Lennox’s management, which included her not securing brand deals with natural hair companies. Ari has pioneered the natural look for Black celebrities, and it would make sense to see her partner with companies like Mielle and TGIN.
During the Twitter debate, some pointed out that Lennox expressed gratitude for what Dreamville did for her career, and these users ruled out her experience as a management issue. Yet, the other side of that is not biting the hand that feeds you. Realistically, Lennox would not want to speak out against who’s signing her checks (even if they are mismanaging her). Nonetheless, those who pushed back against the narrative that Lennox is a struggling artist said she has headlined sold-out tours.
In response, some users noted that Ari Lennox and Rod Wave do not make the same type of music, and their vibes were mismatched during the tour.
Lennox even spoke to this point when she said Rod Wave’s fans had a dark energy about them. Others added that Lennox is a bigger artist than Rod Wave, so it did not make sense for her to open for him. This, I can agree with. She’s collaborated with J. Cole, Jazmine Sullivan, and Summer Walker, and she had a classic album with Shea Butter Baby. Truly, she’s far from where she started.
In her PHO era, opening for someone would’ve made sense, but Ari Lennox is miles beyond that now. Unfortunately, though, as a Black woman, these are the cards handed to her. After all, women make up less than 3% of producers “and an even smaller percentage are women of color,” according to Forbes. Given this disparity as well as the mismanagement Black female artists face, there is a concrete ceiling in the music scene.
Take Glorilla for example. She had a hot song and generated a lot of buzz with F*** N*gga Free three years ago. This earned her a record deal with CMG, but it seemingly went nowhere because the buzz around her died. She generated some interest by collaborating with Cardi B in 2022, but that buzz died too. To me, it was because her label didn’t capitalize on it. Her label chose to pair her with Moneybagg Yo to make “Lick or Sum,” which downplayed her image as a confident rap baddie.
It was the Normani effect. Like Normani, Glorilla had a smash hit in 2021 but eventually lost her momentum when she didn’t have a label that was consistently pouring into her. Normani’s team never properly capitalized on Wild Side apart from Cardi’s feature, and the hype was lost. She teased a debut album but it never came out.
This same thing happened to Saweetie. She struggled project after project but built up anticipation around Pretty B*tch Music with her “Pretty B*tch Freestyle” in 2020. When the album never dropped, the hype around her stopped. Then, she returned to releasing songs and projects that ultimately flopped.
Conversely, Megan Thee Stallion built and maintained momentum from 2019 until 2020. After the shooting incident with Tory Lanez, she entered a contentious court dispute with her former label, 1501. Following the end of Meg’s battle with Carl Crawford, her music drastically improved, and it’s likely because of the departure. However, Meg is not the only one who had to fight her label about her music.
SZA’s last album, SOS, was pushed back by the label, but it went on to become a top Grammy contender, and it broke Billboard records.
In breaking concrete ceilings, Black women have to work overtime for half of the recognition given to nonblack women and men out the gate. If any of these women had gotten the Olivia Rodrigo treatment, we would be having a totally different conversation. Alas, we’re not. We’re still stuck on this same conversation because Black women are mistreated in the workplace, and that is exemplified by the examples I listed.
It’s a larger issue than just music; it’s in entertainment as a whole. Taraji P. Henson recently talked about being mistreated on the set of The Color Purple, which begs a question: if Black Hollywood’s A-listers can’t even get basic treatment, where does that leave us common folk?
About This Rwebel
Javanna is a multifaceted professional with a rich background in writing, education, and media. She holds a Master of Science in Journalism and a Bachelor of Arts in English, which has fueled her passion for storytelling and communication. Javanna is the CEO and founder of Rwebel, where she produces books, articles, and multimedia videos about culture and difference.
