Photo: Wenn
Grace Jones has dissected the state of modern pop music in an extract from her new book, I'll Never Write My Memoirs.
The singer, actress and fashion influencer will publish her autobiography on 29 September. This extract comes via print Time Out.
In the snippet, Jones talks about the ebb and flow of culture trends and how her status as an artist has been ripped off time and time again by stars who step into the industry looking to make their fortune.
She writes: " Trends come along and people say, 'Follow that trend'. There’s a lot of that around at the moment: 'Be like Beyonce. Be like Miley Cyrus. Be like Rihanna. Be like Lady Gaga. Be like Rita Ora and Sia. Be like Madonna.' I cannot be like them – except to the extent that they are already being like me."
"I have been so copied by those people who have made fortunes that people assume I am that rich. But I did things for the excitement, the dare, the fact that it was new, not for the money, and too many times I was the first, not the beneficiary."
Jones goes into further detail about the quick-rising nature of these popstars and the reprucussions of that artistic ascension: "The problem with... the Nicki Minajes and Mileys is that they reach their goal very quickly. There is no long-term vision, and they forget that once you get into that whirlpool then you have to fight the system that solidifies around you in order to keep being the outsider you claim you represent.
"There will always be a replacement coming along very soon – a newer version, a crazier version, a louder version. So if you haven’t got a long-term plan, then you are merely a passing phase, the latest trend, yesterday’s event."
Listen to Grace Jones' 'I've Seen That Face Before' below
The singer later mentions the modern artists that she approves of, labelling them her "pupils"- namely Kanye West, Katy Perry and FKA Twigs: "This is what I would say to my pupil: you have become only your fame, and left behind most of who you were. How are you going to deal with that? Will you lose that person forever? Have you become someone else, without really knowing it? Do you always have to stay in character for people to like you? Do you know that you are in character?"
I'll Never Write My Memoirs covers Jones' breakthrough as a model and spans her career in disco and cinema. See the book's cover below.
So looking forward to this and wondering just which adventures she will share!!! @Miss_GraceJones pic.twitter.com/Lx2tSzna6x
— Sarah Douglas (@TheSarahDouglas) June 30, 2015
