On Second Thought for Wednesday, July 13, 2016

When rapper Desiigner boasts about the female acquaintances he’s met in Atlanta on his hit song “Panda,” it’s, well, a little disingenuous.  See, the 19-year-old Brooklynite admits he’s never even been to Atlanta and that made some fans question just how authentic his music is – or any music, for that matter.  We talk about the importance of keeping it real in hip-hop with Georgia State University professor of literature Scott Heath and digital hip-hop scholar Joycelyn Wilson. 

Then, does authenticity matter when it comes to music? Do you care if Beyonce made up the story behind a whole album about Jay-Z's infidelity? Or that it's been a couple of years since Taylor Swift composed one of her hits on her own? We continue our conversation about authenticity among music artists with freelance writer Edward Sharp-Paul and Elijah Wald, a musician and author of “Dylan Goes Electric.” We talk about authenticity across music genres with Georgia State University professor of literature Scott Heath and digitial hip-hop scholar Joycelyn Wilson. Then, we continue our conversation with freelance writer Edward Sharp and musician, Elijah Wald, author of "Dylan Goes Electric." Next, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Shawn Mullins and singer Joi Gilliam wrap up our discussion on "keeping it real" in music. Plus, we discuss Southern identity and stereotypes with the creators of the comic series, "Southern Bastards."

Plus, we wrap up our conversation about the importance of authenticity to today’s music consumers with a musician.  Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Shawn Mullins joins us to talk about the pressures the music industry puts on artists to seem “real.”  Then, it’s easy to fall back on stereotypes when you describe the American South, but the creators of the comic series “Southern Bastards” show there’s more to Southern identity than what meets the eye. Described as a “Southern-fried crime series,” the series focuses on the men and women of a small Alabama town where high school football is religion and its coach is the kingpin. The third volume comes out today. We speak with creators Jason Aaron and Jason LaTour about their love-hate relationship with the South.