Cultural appropriation

By Deauwand Myers

Is cultural appropriation appreciation?

Elvis Presley. Katy Perry in Geisha attire or cornrows. Iggy Azalea's rap career. Eminem. Every other K-pop singer. It would take a month of Sundays listing all the artists subscribing to traditionally African-American music and culture, often becoming more successful than the black artists they copied from.

Little Richard still has not gotten his due, and it is safe to say that the last 40 years of pop music would not exist in the fashion it does without Michael Jackson.

People ask if I am bothered by all this white and Asian usage of "black culture." My answer is yes and no.

It bothers me that Koreans or Japanese, both artists and the average consumer, readily appropriate hip-hop, R&B, and gospel music without acknowledgement of where it comes from. Some of these same artists and consumers scorn black people in private, while enjoying African-American culture reinterpreted by their respective societies.

This has been going on since Moses wore short pants. Nat King Cole experienced taunts, nasty letters, and finally, the murder of his family dog when he moved to an affluent neighborhood. His neighbors loved his music, just not his skin color. His famous daughter (and one of my favorite jazz singers) Natalie Cole recalled this as one of the most traumatic experiences in her childhood.

African-American culture, style, mannerisms, accents, vernacular, music, and whatever else artistically flowing from this dynamic community is appreciated and adored, while the people from which it comes are despised, feared, marginalized, and otherwise hated.

To paraphrase the inimitable comedian Paul Mooney, "Everybody wants to be a Negro, but nobody wants to be a Negro."

What I really dislike, though, is this: particularly with men, the appropriated "style" of black men is always a variation of the same thing: hyper-masculine, Brooklyn-accented, hand gesturing, and slightly aggressive. It is so obvious, outdated, stereotypical, and finally, boring (and boring art/entertainment is the worst kind).

Go on YouTube, if you dare, and every other male Asian-American YouTube star displays this affectation. Not every African-American man comes from Brooklyn or has that accent (and I like Brooklyn). Not every African-American man dresses the same, talks the same, has several children out of wedlock, and drives either a late-model Cadillac Escalade with GFT Italia rims or a refurbished 1980s Lincoln.

Consumers of the aforementioned genres of music need not know the long history of colored Americans or of the African diaspora, but if you plan to build your artistic career and your very persona around what you believe African-Americans are, perhaps reading up on the struggles and triumphs of said people would be in order. Further, when you see an actual African-American, like myself, perhaps you will not shrink away in fear or spontaneously combust upon my arrival.

This brings me to the following point. The fact B-boys and hip-hop stars in Asia and elsewhere often seem embarrassed and taken aback by my presence is proof positive of my main critique with cultural appropriation of everything black: it is inauthentic.

The blues, R&B, hip-hop, and jazz originate from African-American angst with centuries of brutal oppression. It aspires to humanity and light in the face of inhumanity and darkness. The pain and psychic trauma required to distill these art forms will never be genuine from vessels unaccustomed, uninitiated, and inexperienced with the trauma and triumph of the "the Black Experience." Middle-class life in the suburbs, of which I am a part, will not translate into a meaningful interpretation of good music in the classically black tradition.

Does one need to be black to be a great jazz singer, or rapper, or R&B artist? No, but it helps. Any talented person can be and some are actually quite good musicians in these genres, and they are of many races. A deeper understanding of the where, why, and how of music in the classically black tradition would most probably improve said artists' rendering of the art in question.

We live in a global society. There is nothing wrong with appreciating other cultures. But the line between appreciating cultures and appropriating them is thin, and there are far too many who use cheap derivatives/stereotypes of others' cultures to spice up their acts.

Here are some helpful tips for all parties involved. A black face is never appropriate. A yellow face is never appropriate. Dressing up in traditional attire of other cultures, particularly those on the brink of extinction (like Native Americans) or that involve complex, and often painful, histories is not advised. Acquiring accents you could not have naturally obtained (you have lived in Oregon, Osaka, or Seoul all your life, and yet you sound like you're from New York City) is not cool. It is lame and weird. Using racial slurs in your speech or music: again, no.

Appropriation is not appreciation. You would think people would understand that in the 21st century.

Deauwand Myers holds a master's degree in English literature and literary theory, and is an English professor outside Seoul. He can be reached at deauwand@hotmail.com.