What If America Loved Black People As Much As Black Music?
by Anijah Boyd
I’m going to skip the cliché introduction about the history of Hip-Hop and how she is the love of my life because I feel as though all of that is pretty self explanatory by now. If not, revert back to:
Things Fall Apart
Cultural Appropriation as defined by the British media outlet Independent: The adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of a different culture as a largely negative phenomenon.
Every problem with why people do not understand or refuse to understand the depths of cultural appropriation is in that vague definition. It overlooks what cultural practices symbolize to the people that belong to them. That definition infers that it’s okay to take someone’s sacred practices because they’re trending without appreciating and respecting the people that these customs originate. One can go on and on about how Miley Cyrus twerks, Kylie Jenner uses 100% Kanekalon Jumbo Braiding Hair in a 1B, and how some white rappers think they have inherited to right to say nigga, but I’d rather discuss why this is a problem, since 95 percent of you love to miss the point. 95 percent of people (I just made up a percent, but I’m definitely not over-exaggerating) outside of the Black race decide to pretend that we, the Black people that these cultural practices belong to, are “being dramatic.” There are two things we must come to understand before I continue. Cultural appropriation is a broad topic that does not limit itself to Hip-Hop or Black people, but these will be my focuses for the sake of this article. Why? Because I’m a Hip-Hop rooted Black girl with the best understanding and personal accounts with these problems specifically. The basic principles I discuss could also be applied to many other aspects of cultural appropriation as well, so read closely.
The Miseducation of PWIs
Imagine yourself as a young Black student at a Pro-dominantly White Institution, or more commonly known as a PWI. It’s Saturday night and you and your other Black friends have decided that you’re going to go to a party. The first question you ask when your plug that’s already at the function sends you the address is:
“Are there any Black people there?”
Luckily, this party is more diverse than normal, so you and your friends decide it’s safe to go. You get there, nobody’s really dancing, there’s some odd activity going on, a few dramatic situations go down and you’re ready to go when all of sudden BPT by YG plays. Oh, it’s hype now. If you’ve heard BPT, you know the lyrics can spark some trouble if you’re at a party full of non-Black people. Nobody in your small, Black group gets too excited to hear the song because you’re all too busy looking for the first White kid that is going to say nigga. Unfortunately, the ones at this PWI are bold and they all scream the intro and the hook at the top of their lungs. What do you do in a situation like that? The music is so loud that the angry words you and your friends scream and exchange are lost in the chaos. Your feelings toward it are smudged over. No one really notices your outbursts and the night continues as if nigga is just another word with no meaning behind it. The same goes for cultural appropriation. People ask daily why Black people are so upset when Kim Kardashian gets “boxer braids,” Marc Jacobs inspires “mini buns,” and some white girl on YouTube introduces the “the toothbrush trick.” What the hell are boxer braids, mini buns, and the toothbrush trick? You mean cornrows/scalp braids, bantu knots, and laying my edges down? Somethings that Black women have been doing forever due to our hair type? Interesting. You may be asking why all of this matters and how exactly it relates to music. It’s all a part of a cultural smudging. When Black people take part in Black cultural practices there is more often than not a negative connotation attached to it, but when a White person takes Black cultural practices without understanding or appreciating their value it’s sensationalized.
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
“There’s something about us that’s unique and magnificent and original and causes others to follow us even if it’s downhill.” — Minister Louis Farrakhan
Hip-Hop is the story of our pain. Think about it like this, do you open up to people you don’t trust or put value on people that fall well below the your standard? No. Hip-Hop for decades has been the emotional outlet for Blacks. She is our creation and the template that most follow in the industry today. Why should anyone that doesn’t appreciate the pain she has endeavored be granted the right to confide in her? A “blackcent” don’t make you Hip-Hop. Compton snapbacks don’t make you Hip-Hop. Baggy jeans don’t make you Hip-Hop. Record deals don’t make you Hip-Hop. Knowing every word to Fuck The Police don’t make you Hip-Hop. Experience makes you Hip-Hop. Love and appreciation for the culture and its struggle makes you Hip-Hop. A lot of people like to believe that Black people think that the only way into this industry is Blackness and that’s why Iggy Azalea catches so much heat. No, and you would have to be an idiot to believe that. Artists like Iggy Azalea catch heat because they’re faking the funk. Be yourself. Speak on what you know. Don’t make up struggles you don’t know anything about or preach this hood mentality. Trust me, we know a fraud when we see one, or in this case, hear one. You can’t finesse a finesser, especially when you’ve entered their game.
That’s The Way of the World
Let’s face the fact that White people love Black music and culture a Hell of a lot more than Black people. This is problematic. Why? Because how dare you not have respect for me, but want to take a piece of my history. How dare you make profit from my struggles, my pain, and the outlet I used to get through them and not even acknowledge that the pain was there. But, let’s not make this a White problem because they are not the only race appropriating Black culture. You don’t have to be White to appropriate someone’s culture. Let me say this again. You do not have to be White to be guilty of cultural appropriation. It’s not a White thing. It’s a people thing.
Black Music Is Black Music & It’s All Good
When Ice Cube said:
“I can’t believe today was a good day,”
What do you think he meant? Police rolled right past without pressing, nobody got shot in Central LA for the first time in a while, and no helicopters were looking for a murder. Wouldn’t dealing with this on a daily basis make you want to seek support? Unfortunately, Black people had few places to go and just like our ancestors we created something to confide in. The point is, Hip-Hop is ours and it’s deeper than just the music. Azealia Banks, as wild and free as she is, said something that will stick with us forever no matter how much you may question her outbursts:
“It’s like a cultural smudging is what I see. And when they gives these Grammys out all it says to White kids is oh yeah, you’re great, you’re amazing. You can do whatever you put your mind to and it says to Black kids you don’t have shit, you don’t own shit. Not even the shit you created for yourself.”
Luckily, there’s a solution to the untelevised revolution. We must recognize that there is social tension and animosity before we can successfully move on as an interacting, diverse society. If we continue to ignore them, mark my words, there will be a Race War. Something’s going to happen that will be the last straw. It’s easy to cover up and generalize social issues and pretend like everything is okay, but it takes a real leader to address the tension. It’s time for people of all backgrounds to speak up on what they believe even if it’s not of popular demand. A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything word to Malcolm X. Black music is Black identify. When taken away, the identify is lost and the is history smudged over. Who am I without Hip-Hop? Who am I without my history? Though we strive in many, many aspects of life, we had to start somewhere. Look how far Hip-Hop has come now. She has made professors, doctors, lawyers, and award winning journalists. She has united people of all backgrounds that choose to appreciate and respect her first.
Don’t front on her power. Know your history.
The Genesis
Cultural Appreciation as defined by Psych2Go.net: learning about another culture with respect and courtesy. It is appreciating a certain culture enough to take time to learn about it, interact with people among the culture, and actually understand the culture.
The women of my parents' country sport both sarees and sundresses. The average Caribbean menu features both dhal and…www.browngirlmagazine.com
Now, it seems as though this whole time we have lectured about why we should not partake in cultural exchange, but that is not the case. There are definitely a healthy ways to exchange cultural practices with absolutely no animosity. Eminem, Mac Miller, Action Bronson, Asher Roth, and even Jennifer Lopez are perfect examples of getting a foot in the Hip-Hop industry respectfully and being welcomed with open arms by other pioneers in the game. It’s all a matter of r-e-s-p-e-c-t. The definition clearly states what you need to do to respectfully partake in another culture’s practices. Don’t think it’s okay to just jump in because because box braids and rapping are the new hype. Learn something. Talk to and respect the people that have practiced these customs all of their lives. Understand the significance. Hip-Hop is a genre that saved the lives of many Black people and continues to do so even today. Respect the technique.
