littlebitofbass:
edsizzle:
In the presence of greatness you just be quiet and listen. Not sure which guy is speaking here. They are both legends.
This photo is iconic. Two of my all-time favorite artists. After Ed releases his Ghanaian-influenced album, so many people are going to compare it to Paul Simon’s Graceland album, which incorporated significant South African musical influences and remains one of the best albums of all time.
I know Ed has already had a lot of commercial success with his first two albums and has proven again and again how talented he is as a songwriter and performer and even producer and arranger, but his next album, which will put a mainstream spotlight on the unique musical styles of places like Ghana – bringing popular attention to the kind of music (and attitude toward creating music) that deserves more attention than it gets – already has the potential to become a true and enduring classic like Graceland. And I believe Ed will be smart enough about this project to show that he is not trying to appropriate the culture of Ghanaian people, but that he wants to use his access to the world stage in order to celebrate and promote and bring attention to their art. (Collaborating and touring with real Ghanaian musicians themselves would be a good way to do this, as Paul did with South African musicians on Graceland.) I think there will probably be less controversy over Ed’s album than there was over Paul’s due to the political climate at the time and place it was made, but Ed’s album will still be an exciting departure both for his music and for Western pop music as a whole. He is probably the only popstar out there right now who could pull off something like this and make it the best thing that it could be.
Without the project having actually started yet but knowing how talented and curious and eager and smart Ed Sheeran is about making music, how he soaks up influence like an actual sponge and produces amazing art while also giving credit where it’s due, and having faith that he will treat this thing with the attention and sensitivity it requires but still have a great time with it, I’m going to go ahead and say this could potentially be his best work, and I am so incredibly excited to see how it turns out!
