Support-Bear all or part of the weight of; hold up.

I feel like the concept of “#SupportRI” is exactly what Rhode Island needs. In theory the plan is perfect, “let’s support all the talent that lives in RI”, but the idea in practice hasn’t worked out as well. “Supporting” has become merely a retweet here & a mention there with no tangible support in between. I think if you really enjoy someones talent that lives in the state you should support them to the best of your abilities. In no way am I saying you should become the person’s manager or promoter, but try and find that balance that works for you. Also, I am not saying you should support anyone just because they’re from Rhode Island either. If you don’t think an artist is good you don’t have to download, listen or recommend their work. What you shouldn’t do is bash the person, you should provide constructive criticism if asked, make suggestions, be considerate and honest. We can’t expect anyone outside the state to listen to us if we’re within the state putting down one another. You can’t expect people in other states to listen to our artist if you don’t.

Another issue is that idea that the only thing worth “Supporting” in our state are rappers. We should back them as much as we can, but we also must look at our painters, drawers, writers comedians and filmmakers. We have a bunch of talent born and raised in Rhode Island, but at the same time it is give and take. These artists need to produce quality art for us to consume and be critical of so they can perfect their craft. As I said earlier, it is give and take. Many creative people won’t make their talent known because they feel their art won’t be supported, that their work will be the topic of jokes on twitter. I’ve also noticed that only a small clique of people are getting all the support. Most of them deserve it and worked very hard, but the amount of support someone gets shouldn’t be based on their level of popularity, but on their talent and quality of work. There are some “lesser known” people who can rap just as well as Yung Cam or Crucial, and we need to show them love if and when they release their work to us.

I know that this state is full of interesting people, who are really worth meeting, but we only ever come out to parties. We need to have more forums, debates, art showcases and Poetry Slams. This provides the perfect avenue for a wider variety of talent to show themselves. It also gives us different chances to meet one another. I’m not writing this because I think it will change anything. I just think its something worth discussing.