Way Back Wednesday: Honoring The Underrated

Feb

29

2012

Way Back Wednesday: Honoring The Underrated

Written by TriniTrent | Filed under Cassie,Minnie Riperton,Way Back Wednesday

The music industry is a cruel field where true talent rarely rises to the top. Many of the most gifted performers struggle to accomplish a major impact and despite their enormous abilities, they often never receive the respect that they deserve.

This week’s Way Back Wednesday will honor some of those artists who have yet to achieve or never got the opportunity to reach their full potential. Perhaps, whether by force or natural curiosity, this segment will help young fans to rediscover generally overlooked sources of inspiration.

Watch some of the most underrated artists perform below:

Chante Moore – ‘I’m What You Need’

Deborah Cox – ‘Nobody’s Supposed to be Here’

Deneice Williams – ‘God is Truly Amazing’

Eric Benet – ‘Sometimes I Cry’

Minnie Riperton – ‘If I Ever Lose This Heaven’

Phyllis Hyman – ‘In a Sentimental Mood’

Tanya Blount – ‘Through the Rain’

Tevin Campbell – ‘Tell Me What You Want Me To
Do’

It is always frustrating to see an artist with serious talent being ignored in favour of acts who could barely hold a note. Even in the younger generation, JoJo and Jazmine Sullivan, the latter of whom is regularly compared to Phyllis Hyman, have been neglected by their labels and have not been given the support that they deserve.

Yet, while talented acts continue to struggle, the hack and close personal friend of Diddy otherwise known as Cassie is presented in the media as the future of music. Behold, the personification of nonsense below:

Cassie – ‘Me &U’

Thoughts?
- Follow @TheLavaLizard
  Tweet
- Make sure that you follow The Lava Lizard on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Tumblr
Keys: cassie, chante moore, deborah cox, deniece williams, eric benet, minnie riperton, phyllis hyman, tanya blount, tevin campbell, way back wednesday
- Ugh
  
  Tevin used to be pretty hot back in the day. I think puberty happened to him.
- DOMOdotSCORE
  
  YESSS Trent!!!!! I’ve been waiting for this post. Chante went off. Deborah is so excellent. Deniece’s runs were everything; she was singing straight to God. I didn’t know that Eric could sing like that. I felt the spirit. Minnie was fabulous, I might go buy that song, it’s great. Unsung got me up on Phyllis. My girl murdered In a Sentimental Mood. I’ve never heard of Tanya and I’m really disappointed in that because she sang that song. Tevin was so great.
  
  Cassie… that performance was atrocious. But I’m not gonna lie, Me & U was my jam when it came out. They played that song out in the Bay Area.
- larry
  
  Chante Moore and that whistle!!! Wow!!
  Loved that Cox song!!
  Deneice Williams had me bounce back!! Amen!
  Eric’s falsetto is goooooooooood
  Feel for Phyllis Hyman her potential was good! Sadly… Did you see her face and mouth at the end !!!!!!!!! yaaaaassssssssss Phyllis!!
  Tanya Blount :O Sister Act!! I didnt even know!! She had madddd potential!! That amazing typical but different r&b tone and voice!! Why didnt she make it!!
  YAS!!!!!! Tevin Campbell
- Justice198
  
  I think Tamia should be on this list too. That girl can sing circles around other artist but has never truly reached that “it” level
- khalele
  
  Yesss!! Minnie is my girl….love her.
- Cindy
  
  YESSS TEVIN CAMPBELL, he is soo underrated it’s a joke. That performance was vocally perfect, I love that song and the notes he used to hit were incredible. It’s a wonder that he was so underrated when the same industry exalts Trey Songz yodelling ass.
- Salem
  
  Tevin was the male version of Whitney!
- Julien
  
  Amazing post. Great, great singers! Jazmine Sullivan needs to be in a bio-pic about Phyllis. I’d love to see Deborah star in a musical on the big screen too.
- Jessi
  
  Trent this is awesome. I’m a fan of your site!
- dabomb
  
  I wish u would have added Heather Headley, a gifted vocalist who can sing, gospel, r/b and classical jazz.
- http://www.youtube.com/JonathanGardnerTV Jonathan Gardner
  
  YAS, DENIECE WILLIAMS >>>>>>>>>>>>
- -
  
  JoJo is extremely underrated
- bob
  
  tamia tamia tamia tamiaaaaaaaaa
- BittaSweet
  
  I honestly expected Dawn to be in the latter part of this post (next to Jazz & Jojo) considering she’s one of the many artists you say you’re rooting for. She’s def underrated, even at the early ages of her career. Nonetheless, this is an awesome piece.! This is exactly why TLL is the best blog, in my opinion. Keep it up Trent!
- eva
  
  WHERE IS TAMIA? But the list was on point though and I’m glad you mentioned the younger artists J Sullivan & JoJo I lOVE them JoJo’s new song We Get By is my jam!
- - Search for:
  - Hot Stories
    - Trini Trent TV: The Music of the Islands
      Comments Off Comments
    - Trini Trent TV: White vs Black Racism
      Comments Off Comments
    - Trini Trent TV: 2014 Soca Monarch & Trinidad Carnival Review
      Comments Off Comments
    - Trini Trent TV: Gay Men On the Down Low
      Comments Off Comments
    - Trini Trent TV: Homophobia in Pop Culture
      Comments Off Comments
- - Hot Links