Artists Are More Than A Genre

The mystery behind narrow-minded listening and Appreciating Artists that have blended genres into their own unique music

Often in the world of enjoying the beauty and inspiring sound that is music, we can tend to get defensive and narrow-minded in the way we enjoy it.

Whether it be "gatekeeping" or avoiding certain artists due to mainstream popularity, those of us who are heavily interested in the world of music and releases are doing themselves and their fellow music lovers a disservice by not branching out in taste or spreading the word about newly discovered artists.

Sure, there's bound to be artists we all swarm to and develop our preferences, but we collectively need to realize that not every artist is limited to their discography.

To name a few, here are some artists that pushed beyond their associated genre and have a diverse discography:

Harry Styles

Known Genre: Pop

Lesser Known Genres:

Folk, Pop Rock, Rock, New Wave, Synth-pop

Credit: Esquire

Harry Styles is a perfect example of a mainstream artist that explored different genres and produced music that reflects that diverse sound.

He may be widely considered a "pop" artist, but a quick listen to Harry's discography will show he's delved into several of the genres listed above.

(I promise you can listen to Harry Styles and not be shunned from your respective genre's community. He's actually quite talented.)

Taylor Swift

Known genres: Pop, Country

Lesser Known Genres:

Alternative Rock, Folk, Indie Folk, Soft Rock, Pop-Punk, Synth-Pop, pop-Rock, Electropop, New Wave, etc.

Credit: Variety

Most likely one of, if not the most misinterpreted artists of this generation, Taylor Swift did in fact begin her career as a country music artist. She then shifted to the pop genre and has since released a mixture of folk, indie, alternative, and so much more music as an artist.

To cast her off as just a pop artist who focuses on break-up anthems without having listened to her music in totality is just a shame to those who refuse to branch out. I encourage you to give her a shot.

Post Malone

Known Genres: Rap, Hip-Hop, Pop

Lesser Known genres:

Alternative, Indie, AC, Country, R&B, Soul, Rap ROck

Credit: Wonderwall

An artist that embodies the notion of creating what you want to create, Post Malone is more than a genre. He has the voice to sing country music, rap, pop, alternative rock, and likely isn't done exploring different genres. To many, he's a rapper and nothing more.

Truthfully, his first two albums were hip-hop and rap oriented, but since then Post has been pretty experimental with his discography.

Enjoy the art he's released without looking too much into what the industry and music world defines him as.

Honorable Mention:

Tyler the Creator, Childish Gambino, Billie Eilish

Credit: VICE, USA Today, and EW, respectively

There are so many more artists that are deserving of mention, but these three seem to get unwarranted, negative attention and most of the time with no logical reasoning.

There is, of course, preference when it comes to music. However, as the saying goes, don't judge a book by its cover. You may have heard a few songs from an artist, but that isn't enough to definitively to make a declaration.

Start listening to music for enjoyment and not the name beneath the title.

You might just unlock a newfound love for certain genres, songs, and artists as a whole.