Iggy Azalea is an example of cultural appropriation. When you listen to her in interviews, she speaks in her Australian accent. When she raps, she puts on this "blaccent" or tries to mimic the accent of a Black woman that's from the South. That's really the gist of it. It's like she's trying to be something she's not, basically a caricature of what she thinks a Black woman is. Artistically, she isn't authentic, either. The New Classic/Reclassfied idea for her albums sorta parallels Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday/Roman Reloaded idea. When you hear Eminem rap, he's being himself, not trying to sound or come off as if he's Black. On top of that, Eminem pays homage to other rappers in the genre that have influenced his own unique style of rap, while being a major player in genre by discovering rappers like 50 Cent and the group D12. Other White entertainers like Adele, Robin Thicke and Sam Smith, all of which have a little "soul" in their music, cite past Black singers and musicians that have influenced their work. Like Eminem, neither of these entertainers put on a "blaccent" when performing or put on a Black person act. These are examples of what Iggy doesn't do, which isn't a good thing. There is a culture behind this genre of music, and it should be acknowledged and taken seriously. It's no different from an Asian guy wearing a Native American headdress and not fully understanding the significance of it and the culture it comes from.
Never mind the fact that she called herself a runaway slave master. It's no surprise that this was quickly swept under the rug. T.I. is one of my favorite rappers, and the fact he defends her disappoints me. But, hey. Whatever it takes for the almighty dollar, huh?
I'm not a fan of Azaelia Banks, but what she said in that interview makes sense. She felt like whenever something is birthed from Black culture, the vast majority doesn't show any real appreciation for it or acts as if it doesn't belong within that culture. In the end, the majority (the White community) adopts it for themselves and capitalizes on it. For example, rock music was developed by the Black community, but that was during a very racist period in history. Most rock songs created by Black musicians didn't even get radio play, and White musicians were hired to do cover versions of those same songs before playing them over national airwaves. The only issue is that Azaelia comes off as immature and disrespectful when she speaks. Although she got her point across, she wasn't able to convey and articulate her thoughts intelligently. Iggy Azalea's response on Twitter addresses not was Azaelia said, but personally attacks Azaelia instead. This is the result of Iggy not fully understanding the point that she was trying to make. Iggy doesn't truly understand anything about Black culture, yet she tries so hard to be Black....
Hip-hop is created by people who were victims of issues that are detrimental to the Black community (institutional racism, mass imprisonment, gentrification, criminalization, police brutality, poverty, racial profiling, etc, etc.) and in most cases, those issues are conveyed through music created within the genre. At the end of the day, I don't mind White rappers as long as they don't disrespect and/or misrepresent the culture behind the genre. That's all.
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