There are two kinds of artists in a time of crisis

In a time of crisis, there are two distinct ways to be an artist.

The first way is to confront the moment head-on; the second way is to avoid it.

I remember back in 2017 it became very quickly apparent who was facing the new reality of that era head-on and who wasn’t. My personal reaction was that I was very much drawn to the artists who were speaking to what was going on, in their music or their public presence or both, and I pretty much abandoned the artists who weren’t.

It wasn’t personal — I wasn’t, like, mad — I simply didn’t find myself compelled by what that second group was doing in that moment. And frankly that was rooted in the fact that I also didn’t have much respect for their acting as if there wasn’t an all-hands-on-deck emergency happening all around them. It felt cowardly, like avoiding something simply because it’s uncomfortable that very much shouldn’t be avoided — and I didn’t find that energy inspiring in the least. Kind of the precise opposite; it was a disappointment, a turn-off.

Which kind of artist are you going to be in this new era?

Forward, with intention — jamie