Open Letter on Last.FM
I recently had my bio on Last.fm changed - no, replaced by a complete stranger. There is a blues harmonica player also named Willie Green, and this person took it upon themselves to replace my bio with theirs. First I will clarify the obvious. Willie Green is not my born name. It is Paul Womack. I was born in Hartford, CT, not in the south with a harmonica. I chose this name in reference to the character Willie Green in the movie “Dolemite” NOT from the blues musician, 76ers basketball player, or NFL running back. I fully understand it is a common name, but ya know what? We all have to deal with it.
The albums in the Last.fm discography attached to that page are mine. The pictures, apart from the one the bio-changer added, are of me. I do not know what happened to the four videos I had uploaded to the site, and I cannot confirm at all that this person deleted them. But trust me, they were mine.
I actually did not even start the Last.fm page, someone else started it for me after I released …Of Heroes and Villains last summer. I’ve chosen to maintain it, and have dealt with the occasional tags of “Blues Musician” and “Harmonica” that pop up. However flat out erasing my bio and replacing it with one of someone else for it to sit next to my photograph is something I take as a matter if disrespect. Below is the message I sent to this stranger:
Dear Levy Nagy,
We have not met, my name is Willie Green, a hip-hop producer from Brooklyn, NY. Obviously not the blues harmonica player you are familiar with. We happen to share the same name, and this is no matter of disrespect to him. I am familiar with his music, and appreciate it.
What I DO find disrespectful, and DO NOT appreciate is having my bio on this site changed by a stranger. I don’t know what your affiliation with Mr. Green is, and apparently you are not familiar with my music. That’s fine. However, many people are, and if you look at the discography on the Willie Green page, the albums are mine. The photos are mine, except for the one you added. Typically on the internet, if artists happen to share a name, then their respective sites/pages/etc. will simply have distinctions.
I don’t understand the reason for flat out disrespecting my career, but it is certainly not appreciated. There are better, more reasonable ways of paying tribute your preferred artists.
Willie Green
Hip-Hop Producer
Brooklyn, NY
I post this letter to make one statement. People do not have to be fans of my work, it is totally fine if they aren’t even aware of me. I’m perfectly cognizant of my underground artist status. But what I demand is a basic level of respect. Just because you are not aware of my career does not mean it should discarded and deleted as if it were non-existent.
