Frank,
reading the thread title was already a "Oh, Frank got beef with somebody again?" experience, wich to me is getting annoying, because your appeareances on the board are mostly around some beef-in-public thing when you accuse somebody else being a thief, a liar, you name it.
You chose to build your existence in public as the digging entrepreneur, discovering hundreds of raers and impossible to find records and make them accessible to the public. You always say that you are sharing very fair with your partners in africa, and that is very idle and generous , because you know exactly that you could get it for less. Anyway, you still make a fair share for you to make a living out of it.
But - paying higher amounts of cash doesn??t make you untouchable for the general discussion of explotation. Your business is buying and selling records or licensing records, promoting your gigs playing these records and getting paid for it. That is your business niche you are very successful in it, and this niche is very small to fit more people in it. And I totally understand you want to be on top of it. Everybody wants to be on top of the game.
Many on the board look up to you, because you are living a dream, but i totally agree with some voices that say, the lesser of your rants or crazy accusations against opponents go public, the better you look.
Tucker also gives the impression as if rock and funk are foreign and Western influences that are completely alien to Africa. Did he not know these musical forms have their roots in African music?
Yep, before America was even a glint in Christopher Colombus's eye, African bands were jamming with guitars and full brass sections. The slaves who were taken to the Americas decided to play dumb and pretend that European music was new to them. They'd done all of that Bach shit centuries ago and got bored with it. There wasn't any cross-pollination of music; everything, every note, every style, every instrument was all from Africa.
...I'd hazard a guess that he is aware that the roots of rock and funk are not as straight forward as this.
Tucker also gives the impression as if rock and funk are foreign and Western influences that are completely alien to Africa. Did he not know these musical forms have their roots in African music?
Yep, before America was even a glint in Christopher Colombus's eye, African bands were jamming with guitars and full brass sections. The slaves who were taken to the Americas decided to play dumb and pretend that European music was new to them. They'd done all of that Bach shit centuries ago and got bored with it. There wasn't any cross-pollination of music; everything, every note, every style, every instrument was all from Africa.
...I'd hazard a guess that he is aware that the roots of rock and funk are not as straight forward as this.
You don't need any brass sections to play rock and funk and they can be played with traditional African instruments. Rock and funk originated from Africa, it is what it is. Jazz is a different story, that's an amalgamation of European and African music.
You don't need any brass sections to play rock and funk and they can be played with traditional African instruments. Rock and funk originated from Africa, it is what it is. Jazz is a different story, that's an amalgamation of European and African music.
The game of football is derived from rugby.
Football originated in England, it is what it is????
You don't need any brass sections to play rock and funk and they can be played with traditional African instruments. Rock and funk originated from Africa, it is what it is. Jazz is a different story, that's an amalgamation of European and African music.
The game of football is derived from rugby.
Football originated in England, it is what it is????
Whatever cross-pollination occured was minimal. Rock and funk were African in essence when they first appeared. You disagree with this?
Boima Tucker said that instead of focusing on Rock and Funk, diggers should also look for more authentically 'African' music styles like Soukous or Highlife. But how was Soukous developed? It developed out of Rumba, which originated from the slaves that were brought from the Congo to Cuba, then it reached Congo again in the 1940s where it eventually was named Soukous a few decades later. So even though there were some very minor European influences (Hispanic) to Rumba, in essence Rumba and Soukous are still African, just like Rock and Funk.
However, blaming someone for the actions of their relatives of a previous generation is somewhat spurious
Well, I'm getting called out as a colonialist, imperialist plunderer based on my nationality, ethnicity and geographic heritage. So if the one calling me out happens to be the descendant of a infamous slave trading clan then I don't think it's out of place to point of the irony in that.
The Liberia bit was meant to point out that colonialism, slavery and exploitation in West Africa was not solely perpetrated by Europeans but also by African American colonialists.
I would assume that after having been called a Colonialist-Imperialist Exploiter many times and often here on this very board it would be legitimate to pint out these historic facts and casually mention that the US still today pursues Imperialistic interests in the region.
Liberia is hands down one of the most fucked up places I've ever been to and, like Haiti, it was fucked almost from day one. Once the Firestone/the US got its economic stranglehold on the place back in the 1920s it was downhill all the way. Aside from his wilful ignorance, I don't blame Jesse Jackson too much for supporting Taylor - he was hailed like a new Marcus Garvey and for a brief minute looked like he wasn't going to turn into a massacring psychopath. Liberia, or at least the idea of it, still has strong historical and ideological significance for some black Americans who either don't know or don't care about the reality of that failed utopia.
Don't know that Boima can be held fully accountable for his ancestors but I'm with you on the ridiculous projections of neo-colonialism.
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
I realize you were ultimately trying to zero in on an individual, but your opening Americans can't tell me shit or they're hypocrites garbage is just that.
Not all of us are related to former slave owners the same way all Germans aren't related to members of the SS.
It's a battle between good people versus bad people, not a battle of unrepresentative flags and titles and shit.
I think you should just face the fact that what you do is by design exploitative and either be truly comfortable with it and the criticism that comes with it or just quit doing it.
All of this rah rah from your side only makes you look worse.
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
Also, preparing a "manifesto" for a mere interview is kinda nutso.
I realize you were ultimately trying to zero in on an individual, but your opening Americans can't tell me shit or they're hypocrites garbage is just that.
Not all of us are related to former slave owners the same way all Germans aren't related to members of the SS.
It's a battle between good people versus bad people, not a battle of unrepresentative flags and titles and shit.
I think you should just face the fact that what you do is by design exploitative and either be truly comfortable with it and the criticism that comes with it or just quit doing it.
All of this rah rah from your side only makes you look worse.
I don't even know where and how to start dealing with this potpourri of ignorance so I'm just going to skip all but your two closing statements.
You don't know the first thing about what I do and to claim it would be exploitative bears any foundation.
There are several people who go to Africa for records. None of them pays nearly as much as I do. None of them besides me sends out links to ebay auctions so my agents in Nigeria can see what the records they found go for. I don't even sell records myself anymore as I don't have the time to do so. I simply broker arrangements between ebay retailers and the Nigerian diggers and make sure a full 50% of the sales price goes to the digger. What do I get out of this? I get a handful of records for myself for which I pay $50 to $100 a piece. Of course these choice pieces can be worth much, much more and the people I work with are fully aware of that fact. The service and steady income I provide them with is well worth this for them. Plus, not everything I buy are $500 funk records, some are stuff that at the current market would bring in less money if they'd have them sold on ebay. Just this morning I paid $50 for a copy of this http://www.popsike.com/BENIN-HIGH-LIFE-LP-Idemudia-Cole-The-Talents-Of-Benin-Nigeria-BREAKS-Listen/230978786254.html and a bunch of other Benin City stuff that nobody seems to care much about.
I don't exploit anybody. Why should I? I don't need to make any money. The last time I sold a record was more than 2 years ago. There's nothing that's missing from my life, there's nothing I could want -besides more records -and the only way to make sure they keep on coming is to out-pay anybody else on the market which is exactly what I do.
How does my "rah-rah" (whatever this hick-speak means) make me look?
There are very few things I care about: -Will I find better waves on the Caribbean Coast or on the Pacific side? -Should I spend this year's rainy season in Europe, Nigeria or South East Asia? -Or perhaps all three? These are issues I have to deal with. But how I look to some random dude on the internet is just completely irrelevant to me.
I do however from time to time enjoy to come up here and say what I feel like saying. Call it a misguided sense of nostalgia or call it a guilty pleasure.
Now go and chase some chemtrails, at least that's something you're knowledgeable about.
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
Exactly, you deny the exploitative element to what you do instead of acknowledging it and being comfortable with it...which leads you to having to scream on others as if you are actually the perfect Great White Hunter Who Only Helps.
I'm actually comfortable with what you do without having to pretend away the negative side of it. You too should try it out for once. Then you might not have to resort to such extreme measures when dealing with critics.
Exactly, you deny the exploitative element to what you do instead of acknowledging it and being comfortable with it...which leads you to having to scream on others as if you are actually the perfect Great White Hunter Who Only Helps.
I'm actually comfortable with what you do without having to pretend away the negative side of it. You too should try it out for once. Then you might not have to resort to such extreme measures when dealing with critics.
I wasn't screaming, those who know me personally know me as soft spoken yet opinionated.
What I do has no negative side to anybody but my direct competitors. I explained what I do, how I do it and why I can't find an exploitative angle to it. If you disagree then fine but maybe your definition of "exploitative" is off because I'm not taking unfair advantage of anybody.
I also did not resort to extreme measures, I was merely presenting some historical facts which I thought more people should know about. After all, you can never know too much, can you?
Pardon my ignorance but can someone explain to this dolt how buying records is exploitive?
Unless I'm missing something buyers like Frank are paying people for an object that would otherwise go unused and unsold and eventually be lost forever.
I remember Danno stating something to the effect that he paid a dude in Cuba the equivilent of a years salary for a doctor for his pile of records.
Who is being exploited and exactly how?
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
Rockadelic said:
Pardon my ignorance but can someone explain to this dolt how buying records is exploitive?
Unless I'm missing something people like Frank are paying people for an object that would otherwise go unused and unsold and eventually be lost forever.
I remember Danno stating something to the effect that he paid a dude in Cuba the equivilent of a years salary for a doctor for his pile of records.
Who is being exploited and exactly how?
You really need it explained to you?
If the people holding the records in foreign countries had the know-how and resources to sell their records for their full value, do you really think they would still allow dealers to come in and take their cut?
Again, I'm fine with it in cases that are relatively fair. But it's still exploitation = going to this country to find undiscovered treasures on the cheap so that I can sell them or use them to sell my brand of deejaying/music/etc.
not to generalize but in Africa it's not just about something collecting dust in a basement or garage, it's truly a race against time. The shit is getting destroyed, if not by humans then by the elements.
I think the concept of how the music is being presented to western ears is worthy of discussion, it's too bad this BS colonialism thing keeps overshadowing it.
Pardon my ignorance but can someone explain to this dolt how buying records is exploitive?
Unless I'm missing something people like Frank are paying people for an object that would otherwise go unused and unsold and eventually be lost forever.
I remember Danno stating something to the effect that he paid a dude in Cuba the equivilent of a years salary for a doctor for his pile of records.
Who is being exploited and exactly how?
You really need it explained to you?
If the people holding the records in foreign countries had the know-how and resources to sell their records for their full value, do you really think they would still allow dealers to come in and take their cut?
Again, I'm fine with it in cases that are relatively fair. But it's still exploitation = going to this country to find undiscovered treasures on the cheap so that I can sell them or use them to sell my brand of deejaying/music/etc.
So every time I go to a Store/Flea Market/Garage Sale/etc. and buy a record for pennies on the dollar I'm exploiting someone?
And if these people don't have the know how and resources, do you suggest the records just fading into oblivion as a better alternative.
Without the know how and resources this is a worthless commodity, the fact that people are going there and paying them for it seems like a positive.
Or are you suggesting Frank should just give them a computer and teach them how to sell the records themselves?
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
Somebody in America not knowing what a record is worth is very different from someone in West Africa not knowing what a record is worth.
Whatever though. I wasn't out to banish all record buying ever. I was just saying maybe Frank could come down from his perch enough to not go looney tunes any time someone predictably questions his practices.
as someone who has sold for Frank in the past, it is absolutely the most money I've ever paid someone for records (I paid direct to the Nigerian folks via Western Union, the money never passed through Frank's hands) and in no way is there some belief that "if only we had the means, we'd be KILLING THIS EBAY SHIT SON!" that is actually kind of condescending, these dudes are not dumb and they understand quite well that we have the infrastructure here both physically and digitally to maximize the value of the records.
Frank has bought all these dudes cell phones, portables, headlamps and even cars. He's re-investing in the people that are out there finding the records. I don't know too many record dealers here in America who do that, who are making investments in the black neighborhoods they scour for records beyond the immediate purchase price (which is often pennies on the dollar), creating a form of employment and allowing someone other than themselves to control the pipeline that brings a record from someone's basement to a curated eBay list.
I am not saying the enterprise is without fault, I think Frank would be the first to tell you he is not a golden god or saint, but he's a reasonable person with well-informed viewpoints who is happy to talk about the shit. and dudes keep coming in with their mistaken opinions. it doesn't help move the discussion forward at all, no matter whose side you're on, so I can understand the frustration.
as someone who has sold for Frank in the past, it is absolutely the most money I've ever paid someone for records (I paid direct to the Nigerian folks via Western Union, the money never passed through Frank's hands) and in no way is there some belief that "if only we had the means, we'd be KILLING THIS EBAY SHIT SON!" that is actually kind of condescending, these dudes are not dumb and they understand quite well that we have the infrastructure here both physically and digitally to maximize the value of the records.
Frank has bought all these dudes cell phones, portables, headlamps and even cars. He's re-investing in the people that are out there finding the records. I don't know too many record dealers here in America who do that, who are making investments in the black neighborhoods they scour for records beyond the immediate purchase price (which is often pennies on the dollar), creating a form of employment and allowing someone other than themselves to control the pipeline that brings a record from someone's basement to a curated eBay list.
I am not saying the enterprise is without fault, I think Frank would be the first to tell you he is not a golden god or saint, but he's a reasonable person with well-informed viewpoints who is happy to talk about the shit. and dudes keep coming in with their mistaken opinions. it doesn't help move the discussion forward at all, no matter whose side you're on, so I can understand the frustration.
This is exactly how I understand it and if I were Frank I would go ballistic every time somebody accused me of being exploitive and a Colonialist too!
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
Then y'all have fun going ballistic over something guaranteed to happen again and again and again.
man there is so much more fucked up shit to get worked up over w/r/t Africa I just don't understand the whole "RECORD COLONIALIST SCUM" shit. I mean, there are definitely unethical guys out there, I just don't think Frank is that guy. Mostly people just react to his (admittedly) abrasive personality.
Pardon my ignorance but can someone explain to this dolt how buying records is exploitive?
Unless I'm missing something people like Frank are paying people for an object that would otherwise go unused and unsold and eventually be lost forever.
I remember Danno stating something to the effect that he paid a dude in Cuba the equivilent of a years salary for a doctor for his pile of records.
Who is being exploited and exactly how?
You really need it explained to you?
If the people holding the records in foreign countries had the know-how and resources to sell their records for their full value, do you really think they would still allow dealers to come in and take their cut?
Again, I'm fine with it in cases that are relatively fair. But it's still exploitation = going to this country to find undiscovered treasures on the cheap so that I can sell them or use them to sell my brand of deejaying/music/etc.
Why not spell it out like this from the get go?
How many records were bought by wealthy, white US collectors at stores in impoverished areas of town where the owner, more often than not at the brink of bankruptcy unknowingly were selling $500 Soul 45s for $1 a piece? Those were the "golden days" before everybody had the internet and before popsike. And of course all of this was totally legit since it's ok to buy from your own disenfranchised compatriots on the other side of the tracks?
I spent 3 years living in West Africa, traveling the region and buying records. Admittedly, back then I paid much less than what I pay today. I had to. What do you think I should have paid for a record after I had spent $600 for a plane ticket from Conakry to Cotonou and a few hundred bucks more per week for local transportation, accommodation, guides, fixers, etc? Quite often you'd go days, sometimes a week without finding anything worth buying. Then when you do find something you should pay Popsike value? When I add up the money I had spent during this entire 3 year endeavor (which could have been a solid down payment on a very decent house) plus what my average income had been in the years prior to this then I'd probably come up with a number somewhere in the neighborhood of the combined value of all the records that I found during that time. To me this qualifies as fair. Anything else would have been a financial loss. Would I have been a bit less lucky with a few large and unexpected finds then I would definitely have lost a shitload a of money. Which actually I was prepared to do as the experience itself always was my main focus.
Since I've left Africa in 2008 I've mainly been getting records from two friends, one in Ghana, one in Nigeria and they both know what these records are worth. I routinely send them links to popsike and provide them with auction results. My friend in Ghana went to business school and my friend in Lagos has for decades sold to pretty much every person in this game and he knows most of them personally. I out-paid and out-dealed all of these other guys to a point where anybody trying to offer a better deal would be loosing money. This is honest competition. This is how a fair market works.
Somebody in America not knowing what a record is worth is very different from someone in West Africa not knowing what a record is worth.
For someone who has never been to West Africa that's a sort of bold statement.
I've bought records from wealthy people in West Africa who own several houses. I don't think you even realize how condescending and patronizing your statement really is.
HarveyCanal said:
Whatever though. I wasn't out to banish all record buying ever. I was just saying maybe Frank could come down from his perch enough to not go looney tunes any time someone predictably questions his practices.
I don't mind being asked questions and I'm prepared to answer them but I don't respond well to uninformed accusations.
No, not a family member. I also have no relations to Gabe Roth from Daptone, the American novelist, the Danish actress or the Israeli swimwear designer who all share this same family name. Roth is a very wide spread surname, if you're interested: http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roth_(surname)
You see, in the civilized world, beyond the snowy mountains and the dark valleys, where inbreeding is not the norm, matching family names are not an indicator for blood relations. I understand though how this concept might seem quite foreign to you: http://www.blick.ch/news/politik/ist-inzest-in-der-schweiz-bald-legal-id64969.html
"Chief" Boima Tucker enjoys referring to himself as the "Sherbro Son". This displays an obvious pride for being a descendant of the Sherbro Tuckers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherbro_Tuckers , a clan of infamous Afro-European slave traders and colonial merchants. Which I found ironic given the tone of his article. One either gets this irony or one doesn't. You certainly don't seem to get much of anything so why not instead make some beatz (sic) in (chuckle...) Switzerland. Or do you have any more oven jokes you might want to share?
Comments
reading the thread title was already a "Oh, Frank got beef with somebody again?" experience, wich to me is getting annoying, because your appeareances on the board are mostly around some beef-in-public thing when you accuse somebody else being a thief, a liar, you name it.
You chose to build your existence in public as the digging entrepreneur, discovering hundreds of raers and impossible to find records and make them accessible to the public. You always say that you are sharing very fair with your partners in africa, and that is very idle and generous , because you know exactly that you could get it for less. Anyway, you still make a fair share for you to make a living out of it.
But - paying higher amounts of cash doesn??t make you untouchable for the general discussion of explotation. Your business is buying and selling records or licensing records, promoting your gigs playing these records and getting paid for it. That is your business niche you are very successful in it, and this niche is very small to fit more people in it. And I totally understand you want to be on top of it. Everybody wants to be on top of the game.
Many on the board look up to you, because you are living a dream, but i totally agree with some voices that say, the lesser of your rants or crazy accusations against opponents go public, the better you look.
Yep, before America was even a glint in Christopher Colombus's eye, African bands were jamming with guitars and full brass sections. The slaves who were taken to the Americas decided to play dumb and pretend that European music was new to them. They'd done all of that Bach shit centuries ago and got bored with it. There wasn't any cross-pollination of music; everything, every note, every style, every instrument was all from Africa.
...I'd hazard a guess that he is aware that the roots of rock and funk are not as straight forward as this.
I would just like to say that this map is quite excellent, but I'm not sure that Chief Boima dude understood that it's a joke.
You don't need any brass sections to play rock and funk and they can be played with traditional African instruments. Rock and funk originated from Africa, it is what it is. Jazz is a different story, that's an amalgamation of European and African music.
The game of football is derived from rugby.
Football originated in England, it is what it is????
Whatever cross-pollination occured was minimal. Rock and funk were African in essence when they first appeared. You disagree with this?
Boima Tucker said that instead of focusing on Rock and Funk, diggers should also look for more authentically 'African' music styles like Soukous or Highlife. But how was Soukous developed? It developed out of Rumba, which originated from the slaves that were brought from the Congo to Cuba, then it reached Congo again in the 1940s where it eventually was named Soukous a few decades later. So even though there were some very minor European influences (Hispanic) to Rumba, in essence Rumba and Soukous are still African, just like Rock and Funk.
Liberia is hands down one of the most fucked up places I've ever been to and, like Haiti, it was fucked almost from day one. Once the Firestone/the US got its economic stranglehold on the place back in the 1920s it was downhill all the way. Aside from his wilful ignorance, I don't blame Jesse Jackson too much for supporting Taylor - he was hailed like a new Marcus Garvey and for a brief minute looked like he wasn't going to turn into a massacring psychopath. Liberia, or at least the idea of it, still has strong historical and ideological significance for some black Americans who either don't know or don't care about the reality of that failed utopia.
Don't know that Boima can be held fully accountable for his ancestors but I'm with you on the ridiculous projections of neo-colonialism.
Not all of us are related to former slave owners the same way all Germans aren't related to members of the SS.
It's a battle between good people versus bad people, not a battle of unrepresentative flags and titles and shit.
I think you should just face the fact that what you do is by design exploitative and either be truly comfortable with it and the criticism that comes with it or just quit doing it.
All of this rah rah from your side only makes you look worse.
I don't even know where and how to start dealing with this potpourri of ignorance so I'm just going to skip all but your two closing statements.
You don't know the first thing about what I do and to claim it would be exploitative bears any foundation.
There are several people who go to Africa for records. None of them pays nearly as much as I do. None of them besides me sends out links to ebay auctions so my agents in Nigeria can see what the records they found go for. I don't even sell records myself anymore as I don't have the time to do so. I simply broker arrangements between ebay retailers and the Nigerian diggers and make sure a full 50% of the sales price goes to the digger. What do I get out of this? I get a handful of records for myself for which I pay $50 to $100 a piece. Of course these choice pieces can be worth much, much more and the people I work with are fully aware of that fact. The service and steady income I provide them with is well worth this for them. Plus, not everything I buy are $500 funk records, some are stuff that at the current market would bring in less money if they'd have them sold on ebay. Just this morning I paid $50 for a copy of this http://www.popsike.com/BENIN-HIGH-LIFE-LP-Idemudia-Cole-The-Talents-Of-Benin-Nigeria-BREAKS-Listen/230978786254.html and a bunch of other Benin City stuff that nobody seems to care much about.
I don't exploit anybody. Why should I? I don't need to make any money. The last time I sold a record was more than 2 years ago. There's nothing that's missing from my life, there's nothing I could want -besides more records -and the only way to make sure they keep on coming is to out-pay anybody else on the market which is exactly what I do.
How does my "rah-rah" (whatever this hick-speak means) make me look?
There are very few things I care about: -Will I find better waves on the Caribbean Coast or on the Pacific side? -Should I spend this year's rainy season in Europe, Nigeria or South East Asia? -Or perhaps all three? These are issues I have to deal with. But how I look to some random dude on the internet is just completely irrelevant to me.
I do however from time to time enjoy to come up here and say what I feel like saying. Call it a misguided sense of nostalgia or call it a guilty pleasure.
Now go and chase some chemtrails, at least that's something you're knowledgeable about.
I'm actually comfortable with what you do without having to pretend away the negative side of it. You too should try it out for once. Then you might not have to resort to such extreme measures when dealing with critics.
I wasn't screaming, those who know me personally know me as soft spoken yet opinionated.
What I do has no negative side to anybody but my direct competitors. I explained what I do, how I do it and why I can't find an exploitative angle to it. If you disagree then fine but maybe your definition of "exploitative" is off because I'm not taking unfair advantage of anybody.
I also did not resort to extreme measures, I was merely presenting some historical facts which I thought more people should know about. After all, you can never know too much, can you?
---------
Unless I'm missing something buyers like Frank are paying people for an object that would otherwise go unused and unsold and eventually be lost forever.
I remember Danno stating something to the effect that he paid a dude in Cuba the equivilent of a years salary for a doctor for his pile of records.
Who is being exploited and exactly how?
You really need it explained to you?
If the people holding the records in foreign countries had the know-how and resources to sell their records for their full value, do you really think they would still allow dealers to come in and take their cut?
Again, I'm fine with it in cases that are relatively fair. But it's still exploitation = going to this country to find undiscovered treasures on the cheap so that I can sell them or use them to sell my brand of deejaying/music/etc.
I think the concept of how the music is being presented to western ears is worthy of discussion, it's too bad this BS colonialism thing keeps overshadowing it.
So every time I go to a Store/Flea Market/Garage Sale/etc. and buy a record for pennies on the dollar I'm exploiting someone?
And if these people don't have the know how and resources, do you suggest the records just fading into oblivion as a better alternative.
Without the know how and resources this is a worthless commodity, the fact that people are going there and paying them for it seems like a positive.
Or are you suggesting Frank should just give them a computer and teach them how to sell the records themselves?
Whatever though. I wasn't out to banish all record buying ever. I was just saying maybe Frank could come down from his perch enough to not go looney tunes any time someone predictably questions his practices.
Frank has bought all these dudes cell phones, portables, headlamps and even cars. He's re-investing in the people that are out there finding the records. I don't know too many record dealers here in America who do that, who are making investments in the black neighborhoods they scour for records beyond the immediate purchase price (which is often pennies on the dollar), creating a form of employment and allowing someone other than themselves to control the pipeline that brings a record from someone's basement to a curated eBay list.
I am not saying the enterprise is without fault, I think Frank would be the first to tell you he is not a golden god or saint, but he's a reasonable person with well-informed viewpoints who is happy to talk about the shit. and dudes keep coming in with their mistaken opinions. it doesn't help move the discussion forward at all, no matter whose side you're on, so I can understand the frustration.
This is exactly how I understand it and if I were Frank I would go ballistic every time somebody accused me of being exploitive and a Colonialist too!
Like you don't do this on any number of topics.
Why not spell it out like this from the get go?
How many records were bought by wealthy, white US collectors at stores in impoverished areas of town where the owner, more often than not at the brink of bankruptcy unknowingly were selling $500 Soul 45s for $1 a piece? Those were the "golden days" before everybody had the internet and before popsike. And of course all of this was totally legit since it's ok to buy from your own disenfranchised compatriots on the other side of the tracks?
I spent 3 years living in West Africa, traveling the region and buying records. Admittedly, back then I paid much less than what I pay today. I had to. What do you think I should have paid for a record after I had spent $600 for a plane ticket from Conakry to Cotonou and a few hundred bucks more per week for local transportation, accommodation, guides, fixers, etc? Quite often you'd go days, sometimes a week without finding anything worth buying. Then when you do find something you should pay Popsike value? When I add up the money I had spent during this entire 3 year endeavor (which could have been a solid down payment on a very decent house) plus what my average income had been in the years prior to this then I'd probably come up with a number somewhere in the neighborhood of the combined value of all the records that I found during that time. To me this qualifies as fair. Anything else would have been a financial loss. Would I have been a bit less lucky with a few large and unexpected finds then I would definitely have lost a shitload a of money. Which actually I was prepared to do as the experience itself always was my main focus.
Since I've left Africa in 2008 I've mainly been getting records from two friends, one in Ghana, one in Nigeria and they both know what these records are worth. I routinely send them links to popsike and provide them with auction results. My friend in Ghana went to business school and my friend in Lagos has for decades sold to pretty much every person in this game and he knows most of them personally. I out-paid and out-dealed all of these other guys to a point where anybody trying to offer a better deal would be loosing money. This is honest competition. This is how a fair market works.
For someone who has never been to West Africa that's a sort of bold statement.
I've bought records from wealthy people in West Africa who own several houses. I don't think you even realize how condescending and patronizing your statement really is.
I don't mind being asked questions and I'm prepared to answer them but I don't respond well to uninformed accusations.
It reminds me the time where you did lecture me on Switzerland history
Where do you come from again ?
family member ?
Dude, STFU. You only ever turn up to shit talk Frank. That's your big contribution to this site.
No, not a family member. I also have no relations to Gabe Roth from Daptone, the American novelist, the Danish actress or the Israeli swimwear designer who all share this same family name. Roth is a very wide spread surname, if you're interested:
http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roth_(surname)
You see, in the civilized world, beyond the snowy mountains and the dark valleys, where inbreeding is not the norm, matching family names are not an indicator for blood relations. I understand though how this concept might seem quite foreign to you: http://www.blick.ch/news/politik/ist-inzest-in-der-schweiz-bald-legal-id64969.html
"Chief" Boima Tucker enjoys referring to himself as the "Sherbro Son". This displays an obvious pride for being a descendant of the Sherbro Tuckers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherbro_Tuckers , a clan of infamous Afro-European slave traders and colonial merchants. Which I found ironic given the tone of his article. One either gets this irony or one doesn't. You certainly don't seem to get much of anything so why not instead make some beatz (sic) in (chuckle...) Switzerland. Or do you have any more oven jokes you might want to share?