Black Culture Discussion Thread

This post is filled with all sorts of ignorance

Of course they're upset black musicians haven't gotten their just do. You should be too!

You need to pay attention. They're are specially referencing album of the year not just a Grammy win.

No he isn't black that's the point!

They made a valid point that there were black artists who created great ORIGINAL works of music that were overshadowed by an album full of ripping off sounds from the 90's.

You need to separate your regular day job from someone who creates art for a living. He's blatantly ripped off parts of black music and repackaged it the same way Elvis did. The bigger issue is how the others before him aren't recognized, but here comes this non black and he's one of the greatest ever similar to Eminem who's elevated way past his talent level In my opinion. Most of his albums have been gimmicks, sub par, lacking any depth, and average.

You sounds ignorant for thinking the only way imitate black people is to say n***a or use slang while talking as if we aren't educated enough to speak any other way. You bought into the stereotype which is sad within itself.

It would be no different if it was jazz. Black people created jazz and it too was stolen by Anglo Saxon's. As far as rock and boy bands, this is a discussion on black culture so it doesn't really apply. This is part of a bigger issue that White America continues to steal, borrow, appropriate our culture without giving us our just do. Bruno Mars has benefited from this as much anyone intentionally or unintentionally (which I find hard to believe)

Hip hop wasn't created so it would be accepted by white people. Hip hop was created to be a voice of our culture and just like anything else white America wanted to be a part of something not their own. The art form was influced by Jazz and Blues two genres created by blacks. You fatal mental flaw is thinking we want to be ACCEPTED by white America instead of being RESPECTED by white America.

As far as Drake he's definitely 50% black and unlike Bruno Mars has direct connection to his heritage. People think because you send out a few tweets supporting blacks you somehow get a pass to use the culture how you see fit *****!

i didn't intend to write this much, sorry if it is a bit disjointed blame it on the fatigue...this is in response to both your own & PRIME's points:

true enough, there really doesn't seem much bruno mars could do/say that he hasn't already done or isn't already doing/saying, i can't imagine that it is really backfiring against him tho...i don't think there is a persuasive argument either way to the point it could affect how one perceives his music, which at the very least is decent if not very good...even if it is a facsimile of black music

i think bruno mars, while maybe not super innovative (which has never been the ONLY standard to judge an artist), is traditionally talented, in ways the many posterchild examples of appropriation, someone like elvis presley (who was talented, but in an unconventional way -thus easier to criticize) tend not to be; and part of elvis's appeal was that he was seen as a more appealing package to white folk for some parts of 'black' music...

although that maybe wasn't necessarily how elvis saw himself and prolly isn't how any artist who arrives at a particular sound via the influence of a culture they aren't explicitly a part of sees themselves; that the music industry seems to view 'blackness thru a non-black proxy' more salable is the part of the discussion/question that is maybe most pertinent to discuss...so it isn't really about bruno mars (elvis, or any individual for that matter), it is about a system that preferences a certain 'packaging' and often, that works against people of color generally and maybe black folk specifically (which isn't to say there aren't ways people of color in some circumstances can't/don't appropriate culture as well)...

which is unfair, but c'est la vie as the french say...that doesn't mean we can't/shouldn't want/try/hope to make the world more equitable but it is to say there the reality that is inherently unfair. to the point about jazz, i don't think it proper to say white folk 'stole' jazz (and it is rare that people don't give props to the black musicians on which the artform was built by)...rather culture & music tastes shifted, economics changed as well, the migration of blacks from the south, new opportunities for blacks, the growth of radio & recorded music, cats moving out to europe where those dudes were really lit, and it may well have been that whites had more of an interest & the means to pursue jazz (expensive investment into buying or renting an instrument, expensive lessons, expensive time commitment to practice) more so than blacks during the transition of generations?

i feel like part of why the appropriation is resonant in america particularly (which is a young relatively diverse country, in relation to the old world that has so much history and is fairly homogeneous) is the dichotomy/hypocrisy of a country that bills itself on being impartial, fairness, hard work, the diversity of ideas, rewarding excellence, meritocracy but splitting itself along ethnic lines...everyone is intellectually aware that people generally like & relate to seeing those that like themselves, but when we have people that purport to highlighting the best things produced of (american) culture and continually kinda overlooking black/people of color's contribution(s) it is at least worth talking about why there isn't more respeckt on the work produced by us?

so pointing out 'appropriation' (however salty it is to do it), can be good & necessary because it can be impetus for introspective interrogation...and in that process we ALL hopefully become more aware, learn something about, & curb our biases??? especially considering the fact that ideas, standards, & styles get accepted/championed/put down/opposed based on who is promulgating them...now that people are consuming things tailored to their tastes there may be even less discovery or serendipity, which could lead to less curiosity overall about who & how things come to us...

it doesn't seem particularly useful to talk about how and in what ways appropriating artists should apologize for their success, pay homage, compensate or contribute to 'the culture' because it could hardly be enforceable...artists make art, rarely is that art entirely original or not built off of something that came before it, and some of which is aimed at & commercially viable to demographics that are different than, the same as, or irrespective of, the creator...

i would say nelly was putting on in an artificial way singing with an accented 'country' affectation much different than his 'normal' way of speaking/singing that seems very inauthentic (from my knowledge & perspective of him) and in line with appropriation (not all that dissimilar from the 'blaccent' people were killing iggy azalea for), i think its corny but i don't find it to be anything other than an attempt at an artistic challenge/exploration (albeit one that comes with some significant potential for commercial benefit as well!), maybe he would say as much if he were to explain what influenced him to try country out?

after all "what/who are you influences" is not an uncommon question asked of artists and we'd like to think it was coming from an authentic place of inspiration, but i do think it is the case for hip-hop in particular where this question has often been answered with a kind of contempt & ignorance of the culture & craft entirely for the emphasis of the profit motive (#gettinthebag); such is their personal prerogative tho i do feel this general attitude has become more pervasive in popular culture generally...(#sidebar: if you aren't aware of who gary 'vee' vaynerchuk is, checking out his politicking with hip hop artist in particular is fascinating for its naked capitalism because the contrast is so apparent & you almost instantly ask if he would be meeting with a similar stature artist in another genre and if that artist would even entertain such a discussion? the answer to both questions is likely yes, but i think it is something you wonder...)

so while i see what you are saying and for the most part agree with your overall point, but also largely disagree with your reasoning...there are power dynamics that do influence how we see these things, isn't there a very tangible difference to how each side sees the 'majority' borrowing/taking from the 'minority' and vice versa?

in an ideal world things like appropriation and its inverse, almost, 'representation,' wouldn't matter...but given things aren't ideal you'd hope that all people would be more sensitive/understanding about things like appropriation and representation, it maybe unfair (especially to people of color given the historical antecedents) asking both folks on the 'appropriating' side and advocating for more representation side to have more imagination about addressing these things...but #itbelikethatsometimes

how are we not saying the same thing?

lets use your words:

“we conveniently forget that we saw little value in supporting those who tried to widen the appeal for our music.”


if we understood how to monetize our own culture, wouldnt we SEE the value in supporting it?

either way, both "we saw little value in supporting..." and "we don't understand how to monetize..." premises seems fundamentally distorted as relates to cultural commerce; both statements assume that these things would affect a tangible difference in a broad sense, when it is entirely possible, even likely that both would result in music (or culture more broadly) being basically exactly as they are now because neither monetization or support = control -to the extent culture can be even be 'controlled,' no one knows who is at the wheel (also why grand conspiracies, while not impossible, are hard to fathom for me)...

other groups are not successful in the states by writ of how they 'control' or monetize their culture or how they support those that disseminate it, rather they form tight knit communities, that provide networks of trust that support each other not cultural artifacts...instead we could asks why those with the means to build a sort of infrastructure of black business/wealth did not or could not? why haven't we built closer, stronger, tighter communities? what & why did tastes narrow in such a way that only certain representations of blackness were shown and/or deemed acceptable? it may well be that part of the answers to those questions have to do with some failing(s) of what is deemed 'black' culture but i'm not convinced that is the deciding factor...
 
That "we" stands for Black audiences, not content creators. As soon as artists start getting mainstream recognition, accusations of selling out start flying around.

ok?

the WE in my words are black audiences too

once again,
where is the disagreement?
 
And my point wasn’t that the only way to be ignorant is to say *****. My point was, he isn’t doing ANYTHING outside of singing the type of music he was influenced by growing up. What you want him to do, only sing Filipino music? So he can’t sing black music and be successful because he isn’t black?

You do realize that’s racist, don’t you?
This.

These dudes' heads would blow up if they knew just how many non-Blacks are making excellent rap out there. Some of the best French rappers are Arabs (and it used to be the second largest hip hop market after the US). ****, look at the breakdance scene these days.

Cultural appropriation means not acknowledging or misrepresenting where the art you're making comes from. White supremacists trying to tie the Egyptian pyramids to Europe is cultural appropriation. A white dude rapping his *** off/playing the blues with the best of them AND acknowledging where the art comes from isn't.
 
veryone is intellectually aware that people generally like & relate to seeing those that like themselves, but when we have people that purport to highlighting the best things produced of (american) culture and continually kinda overlooking black/people of color's contribution(s) it is at least worth talking about why there isn't more respeckt on the work produced by us?

It is. But it isn't a problem that can be fixed by directing anger towards the "offending" artist. What needs to happen is a conscious and sustained effort to teach about African American contributions as an integral part of American history and culture in the K12 system throughout the academic year as opposed to focus on it only in February.


ok?

the WE in my words are black audiences too

once again,
where is the disagreement?
There wasn't any.
 
But here we go getting social media mad and missing the bigger picture. So Bruno is out the paint, now what? Someone won't be out there to replace him along with the others already out there? He's not the issue, it's the system in place and what they choose to push. Black music will always have it's place of prominence, we've always been doing our own thing and supporting our own, now what do we do the infiltrate, redesign the system and take over so we can keep the music in it's rightful place? Dudes would rather hate on the dudes trying, talking about Jay a snake or engage in Puff gay rumors instead of backing their efforts while still posting fake woke think pieces.
 
In Wake of 9-Year-Old’s Suicide, Waterford Father Urges Other Parents to Talk With Children About How They Are Feeling and What They are Thinking
AR-180319664.jpg&maxh=400&maxw=667


http://www.theoaklandpress.com/gene...w-they-are-feeling-and-what-they-are-thinking



A’layah Weatherspoon loved to smile and give hugs.

She donated coins to charity boxes instead of buying candy. She loved her family, her three younger siblings. She wasn’t shy, even participating in a talent show at her school. She wanted to be a lawyer, a doctor, a singer or a judge.

On Jan. 4, her younger brother found A’layah hanging from her brand new bunk-bed with a leather belt around her neck. She died two days later. She was 9 years old.

A’layah was a third grader at Cooley Elementary School in Waterford, where her parents say she experienced bullying so intense that they believe it contributed to her suicide.

No one will ever know what pushed her to consider such an act. But something became clear to A’layah’s father, Charles Weatherspoon, a 37-year old plumber in Waterford, in the wake of her death.

“We were going to go out to eat that day to talk about everything,” he said. “She did it that morning.”

A’layah’s family had tried to talk with her about the bullying and her mental state on several occasions, her father said, but his otherwise healthy and happy daughter always told them she was okay.

“I had asked her before if she needed to talk to someone and she would say ‘No daddy.’ I think she was embarrassed. And then on New Year’s Day, she said she really, really needed to talk to me,” Weatherspoon said.

Over the winter break before A’layah’s death, she had been spending more time alone, distancing herself from her family. Weatherspoon said he felt something was wrong, but could never have imagined she was hurting to the extent that she would take her own life.

“It’s too late for her, but it’s not too late for someone else’s kid. Talk to your kids. As parents, we can think everything is okay and it’s not. A little girl that was full of life is gone.”

The children at school would call A’layah names and make fun of her braids, the texture of her hair, tell her she was ugly and that nobody liked her, Weatherspoon said. She entered the third grade last fall and the bullying appeared to escalate. She would call from school and ask to come home complaining of headaches and stomaches, he said. She would tell her parents she didn’t want to go to school anymore.

It wasn’t until after her death that Weatherspoon said he realized those were signs that her treatment was affecting her mental health.

The family never approached the school about the bullying, because he said they had no idea the extent of the emotional damage it was doing to A’layah. Likewise, the school never called home about the bullying because it was never witnessed or reported.

“Our Waterford school community is deeply saddened by the death of one of our students. It’s been a very difficult time for our district, particularly our Cooley families and staff,” Rhonda Lessel, director of school and community services and spokesperson for the district said in an emailed statement.

“We take accusations of bullying and harassment very seriously. We rely on the support and cooperation of all parents, students, and staff to report any incidents of bullying so immediate action can be taken. At no time were any bullying allegations brought forth to the Cooley principal and/or staff by the student’s parents, the student, or anyone witnessing incidents of bullying.”

Waterford School District utilizes multiple, nationally recognized anti-bullying programs including the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, The Leader in Me program and Mindfulness, according to Lessel.

At Cooley Elementary School, students participate in a cross-grade program with kindergartners to fifth graders called the Cooley Crew. Every student is assigned to a crew which meets monthly to discuss anti-bullying, friendship and conflict resolution.

“Parents are notified immediately if it is determined a student is bullied as are the bully’s parents as there would be discipline involved. This procedure is district wide,” Lessel said.

Weatherspoon said that in the end, he isn’t placing the blame on anyone’s shoulders for A’layah’s death.

“You have got to have that dialogue, to allow your kids to just talk about themselves. Ask them the tough questions, ask them if they’re being bullied in school,” he said.

“If we had known the type of environment our child was in, if we had known she was feeling this way, we could have taken her to get proper care.”

“We didn’t know she was hurting that bad and she was hurting so, so bad. She’d have this blank stare on her face … She was a strong kid, strong minded, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she had a strong heart. I think her heart was broken and that’s why she’s not here anymore,” Weatherspoon said.

From 1999 to 2016, 1,430 children aged 12 and under died by suicide in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 360 of those deaths took place in the Midwest.

Childhood depression is a lot more common than some people might think, according to David Rosenberg, M.D., a psychologist at Detroit Medical Center’s Children’s Hospital of Michigan and a professor and chair of Wayne State University medical school’s psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences department.

About 2 to 3 percent of children will experience depression. That’s about one or two children per school on average. The rate rises significantly after the child turns 11, when entering adolescence, to levels as high as 9 percent, according to Rosenberg.

Childhood depression is equally common in both boys and girls. Once reaching adolescence however, depression becomes two to three times more common in girls and young women, Rosenberg said.

“There is a considerable stigma around this issue and a challenge to getting good treatment and accepting the diagnosis. People say ‘Why can’t children just snap out of it?’ They’re the diagnostic and therapeutic orphans of American healthcare,” Rosenberg said.

Signs of clinical depression in children include: Sleep too much or too little, gaining or losing appetite; extremely low energy levels; feelings of guilt, worthlessness, loss of pleasure in all activities; suicidal thoughts and feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.

In recent weeks as the family sorted through the events leading up to A’layah’s death, Weatherspoon suspects an injury she received just before break might have contributed.

A’layah came home from school with a large bump protruding from her forehead just between her eyebrows and a small cut on the bridge of her nose. She told her parents she had run into a pole at recess.

“When a child is injured at school, it is our policy to notify the parent. On this particular day, the student hit her head on a piece of playground equipment. She was given ice for the area. However, the parents were not notified which was a mistake,” Lessel said in a statement.

Weatherspoon said that he suspects that the bump was serious enough to potentially cause a concussion. A 2016 study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that adults diagnosed with concussions had an increased long-term risk of suicide.

“Right after that, that’s when it got worse. If I can ever find the money, I will have her body exhumed and her skull checked … I’m kicking myself, every single day, because I should have taken her to get checked out for a concussion,” Weatherspoon said.

The day of her death, however, was not the first time A’layah had considered suicide, another detail that her family only learned after the fact.

A’layah was extremely close with her 8 year old brother, Charles. In the wake of her death, as A’layah’s brother began to realize and understand what had happened to his sister, he told the family she had thought about trying something similar last summer. She had shown him something on the internet and asked him if she should try it, according to the family.

The night before her death, the family discovered A’layah had created a Facebook page which she was not allowed to have, according to the police report. They took away her “internet devices” and told her that she was grounded, the report states.

The day of Jan. 4, Weatherspoon was cooking the family’s lunch when he asked Charles to take A’layah’s vitamins to her room. He came back and told his father that A’layah was playing a prank and pretending to be asleep.

Moments later, Weatherspoon found her. When police arrived at the house, they found a child’s black belt with hearts on it lying on the floor, separate from the one she used to hang herself, by a patch of vomit and a small drop of blood. A pair of scissors Weatherspoon had tried to use to cut his daughter down with were also nearby, the police report states.

“So at nine years old, we buried our daughter. She was going to be so beautiful, a beautiful little girl,” Weatherspoon said.

“That’s nine years just gone, it’s a person you can’t replace. I can’t replace the girl who gets in the car with me and sings songs as we dance together … That’s who I woke up to every day. Out of the nine years she spent on this Earth, I think there were only 12 days we ever spent apart.”

A’layah’s mother, Charity Wade, 29, and Weatherspoon have three other children together - 8 year-old Charles, a 3-year-old daughter and a 3-month-old son.

A’layah was the couple’s first child and the reason Weatherspoon said he turned his life around for the better. In just four years, he would have been sending her off to her first school dance.

“And my son found her that way. Can you imagine the mental trauma he’s going to go through? All for what? Because a person looked different?”

Before she died, A’layah checked out a book from the school library entitled “!”. It’s about an exclamation point who feels out of place in a world of periods. It’s about learning to accept one’s own uniqueness.

“Our home is so different now. It’s lifeless at times. There’s so much pain you feel from that loss. How is it that someone so beautiful can be here one minute and gone the next?” Weatherspoon said.

“Every moment in my life now will be bittersweet. I will not let her story go down in silence.”
 
But here we go getting social media mad and missing the bigger picture. So Bruno is out the paint, now what? Someone won't be out there to replace him along with the others already out there? He's not the issue, it's the system in place and what they choose to push. Black music will always have it's place of prominence, we've always been doing our own thing and supporting our own, now what do we do the infiltrate, redesign the system and take over so we can keep the music in it's rightful place? Dudes would rather hate on the dudes trying, talking about Jay a snake or engage in Puff gay rumors instead of backing their efforts while still posting fake woke think pieces.

Like I said, some folks just like to complain about **** at times.
 
Bro, a 9yr committing suicide? :smh:

I don’t want to be on this planet anymore :smh:

i learned about this years ago watching a HBO doc on suicide

they had a 9yo that hung himself the same way because a teacher was teasing him

messed me up
 
There is a glaring issue that keeps popping up to me so far in this Bruno Mars debate that not one is really talking about. And that issue is the misplaced anger Black folks have towards a capitalist system that extracts value and profit from our culture without us benefiting from any of it. We don't own or control the industries that sells our culture across the world to be consumed. We have historically been the creators or contributors of every musical genre this country has produced ( That includes country music). And yet we don't own or control any of it. Our relationship with America is one of theft, exploitation, murder, and violence.

This **** goes deeper than just music man. It really isn't about Bruno as much as it is about what he represents. He represents exploitation and the very real reality that society wants to enjoy black culture without black people and will gladly prop up those who are able to perform it. Now is that Bruno's fault? Absolutely not. Should he punished for that? No. But I think it's unwise to overlook how the system props up non-black people of color as adversaries to black folks. When I hear my people talk about these things, I can see the trauma for what it is. I can see the pain and frustration at seeing others being acknowledged and praised for the things you created while they relegate you to the margins for doing what you do naturally. Paul Mooney said it best man. Everybody wanna be....
 
This.

These dudes' heads would blow up if they knew just how many non-Blacks are making excellent rap out there. Some of the best French rappers are Arabs (and it used to be the second largest hip hop market after the US). ****, look at the breakdance scene these days.

Cultural appropriation means not acknowledging or misrepresenting where the art you're making comes from. White supremacists trying to tie the Egyptian pyramids to Europe is cultural appropriation. A white dude rapping his *** off/playing the blues with the best of them AND acknowledging where the art comes from isn't.

this happened to me! had an internship in italy where i worked with this french kid who put me on to bunch of dope french & euro hip-hop in the office and even did point out that some were arab, which i thought was interesting given some his opinions on arab tensions with french people within france at the time

tho i'm not sure the onus is on artists/people to always be able to acknowledge/articulate/know the origins of the art/culture...it would be great if all people did or were at least open to that dialogue, but i think it is especially hard to do now that so much (some of it conflicting) info is easily available without context.

i would think the real life example might be someone who's entry point into something is through a 'proxy' (ex: a white dude into rap might see guys like eminem [like how many of em's casual fans are aware that redman is/was em's favorite rapper and thus buy red's music?], asher roth, bubba sparks, mack miller, (gasp) fred durst/limp bizkit, or (deep sigh) worse some of these white, red neck, confederate flag totting, rapper as his influences)...if such a person isn't also curious/open you could see how they might fundamentally "misrepresent" where the art comes from but be totally genuine, and see a conversation that challenges their world view, and 'forces,' or puts upon them a context that isn't true to them...

also the power dynamic, is something appropriation if it is kinda the price of admission into a culture? i view nelly's exaggerated country twang & iggy azalea's blaccent in this way...as much as it might be interesting to hear what dirty south rap sounds like with an aussie accent or see nelly really deconstruct country music beyond what is already familiar, it'd maybe still be appropriation it just would be more honest...them being superficial about their approach is just how they had known it to be done and as such is an inherent acknowledgement of the origins...

there is a lot of nuance that can easily be lost in the passion of the argument...

i disagree

i put that in an incomplete way...those thing don't necessarily mean control; it may change the math but i don't know that monetizing culture changes the overarching system, it might just reinforce it...because in the most plainly stated way those things in & of themselves aren't about control per se, both may be necessary to have control but either could be their own goal...(there are people fine with getting money and not necessarily being a decision maker, just as there people who have many who support them but don't control anything)

this is an aside, but i look at the way companies like amazon, facebook & google have been able to monetize data, and it is probably inevitable that at some point that people will (and should probably) want to either control or at least access that data themselves, it will be interesting to see how that influences the existing structures of discrimination because looking at how things like the airbnbs & ubers have operated being able to monetize doesn't and isn't aimed at changing our underlying biases...

i learned about this years ago watching a HBO doc on suicide

they had a 9yo that hung himself the same way because a teacher was teasing him

messed me up

traumatic...what happened to the teacher???
 
smh I feel like the dudes with the dreads was the only one making sense during this debate. The crazy thing is nobody was trying to listen to him and look at the negative comments he receives in the chat area. I wish we spent more time talking about the men that are falsely accused and/or victims of rape/sexual harassment.

 
Have yall seen this NYT Upshot piece????!!!! MY GOD!!! The game is rigged man!

Rich White Boys Stay Rich. Black Boys Don’t.

Black boys raised in America, even in the wealthiest families and living in some of the most well-to-do neighborhoods, still earn less in adulthood than white boys with similar backgrounds, according to a sweeping new study that traced the lives of millions of children.

White boys who grow up rich are likely to remain that way. Black boys raised at the top, however, are more likely to become poor than to stay wealthy in their own adult households.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/19/upshot/race-class-white-and-black-men.html
 
Them cats straight up culture vultured that idea from Young Pharaoh. He shouldn't of told people about his plans/idea on one of recent videos,leasoned learned. People just sitting online waiting to bite ideas from mentally advanced people like Young Pharaoh.
 
Them cats straight up culture vultured that idea from Young Pharaoh. He shouldn't of told people about his plans/idea on one of recent videos,leasoned learned. People just sitting online waiting to bite ideas from mentally advanced people like Young Pharaoh.

So, when that app does come out will you use it?
 
Back
Top Bottom