HI I FEEL LIKE PRACTICING MY HIP-HOP THEORY The conversation on all this iggy azalea, bieber, miley cyrus, meaghan trainor cultural appropriation stuff needs to have some sort of focus on meaningful exchange occuring. The black music intertwined with a white mans line dance A Sage Francis lyric jumped out at me as an ready example of how to express your arts relationship with a black hip hop culture as a non-black person. Acknowledging the founders, and exchanging vulnerabilities and things unique to your identity for a chance to partake in a substantive cultural exchange. In my opinion when it comes to whether or not a white (or non-black) rapper is ripping off of hip hop in a disrespectful way, you have to look for what the artist is bringing to the table in terms of exchange. Are they taking more than they give? You can tell whose giving and whose taking in my book by how many times and in how many ways they beautifully and skillfully acknowledge and express their their right to be included within hip hop. You have to be able to trace and to feel the presence of love that love hip-hop created in them. If I feel love or feel two worlds in conversation, then I like you and youre doing it right. If my (subjective) scale tips too heavily in the direction of leeching, then youre outta here and i think u r whack 4 shure. The artist, either on or off the mic, must view their inclusion within a culture as contigent upon their art being a surface of discussion and exchange. It ceases to be a discussion when you outright ignore or shrug off the people who claim to be negatively affected by your involvement in a cultural art form. I do believe you need to prove yourself In other words, you need to wait for a nod, and i think thats totally reasonable. That proof can be something as simple as a good, honest song. Theres no magical gatekeeper who officially gives you one but hip-hop has a way of just resolving things based off of intuition, honest discussion and open appraisal. Critical questions can be: Are you bringing something new to the table? Are you helping hip hop spread elsewhere and allowing other to experience that love to motivate some growth? Are you aware and receptive to how your community recieves you? No one stamps you in, slaps you on the butt and says youre in kid!, but when you clearly show youre working your hard and putting your heart in to your shit, even if you never put the topic of race in your lyrics, its just unmistakeable. Its not even a question of skill, its just honesty. If youre felt, youre felt, and you know it. Then once you know it, you live it. Then when you live it, its hip-hop. Even right now for example, Im speaking as someone who has demonstrated and professed my love for hip hop and black culture both in words and in action, and Im confident the actions of my life will help the growth and proliferation of hip hop. I put alot of time, energy, and love into forming a relationship with hip-hop in a way that takes makes me a meaningful participant when I share, perform, discuss, teach etc even though im not a master of any craft. My opinion for now is that I can speak with hip hop. But the relationship between hip hop and non black artists is something that still needs to be discussed. https://youtube/watch?v=Lk4t8-VLxF4
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 00:14:35 +0000
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