Leslie's blog?

Continuing our theme on "Everything is a Remix", I wanted to connect a current news event I noticed going on. Ariana Grande recently dropped her new song "7 rings" which is a hip-hop infused song that celebrates the joys of excessive wealth and luxury. Frequently mentioning shopping for diamond rings, hitting up ATM machines, and buying whatever she sees and wants, it isn't hard to see that Grande is enjoying the luxuries of her wealth. However, she is catching wind from some fans who have accused her of "stealing" her lyrical concept and instrumentals from a less known Puerto Rican rapper, "Princess Nokia" as well as the popular rapper "Soulja Boy". Princess Nokia wrote a song called "Mine" in which she talked about the important relationship that black and brown women have with their hair, in a predominately European beauty standard dominated society. In the song "Mine", Princess Nokia repeats the words "It's mine, I bought it" to claim ownership of her hair and her weave. Weaves and wigs are usually talked about in a negative light when referring to black and brown women, but Ariana Grande, a white pop star, comes out with the song "7 rings" which sounds similar to "Mine" and also discusses weaves, with the lyric "You like my hair? Gee thanks, just bought it". So, now we have Ariana Grande being accused of stealing the lyrics and concept from Princess Nokia, and also stealing the rap "flow" from Soulja Boy's earlier song, "Pretty Boy Swag".

It gets complicated when trying to nit pick through each song and decide if Grande really "stole" anything from Princess Nokia or Soulja Boy. Lines become blurred, and it is hard to know if any singer is in the right or wrong. The controversy is applicable to the "Everything is a Remix" video we just watched. It is common to take ideas from different genres of music, and even make songs with similar sounds. But when does it become "stealing" form another artist? In this case, it is a little more complicated, since Grande is a white international pop star who has enormous amounts of media attention and popularity amongst her fan base. I personally find it problematic to see a white pop star who has tanned her skin so much that many people are surprised to find out she is actually white. She makes herself appear somewhat "racially ambiguous" to gain a wider fan base, which she profits off of. Making a music video for "7 rings" using trap house imagery similar to that of 2 Chainz, surrounding herself with black artists and producers, wearing 3 foot long maki weaves, and turning to rap after years of being known as the "princess of pop" is making some people raise their eyebrows. Her using of black culture to stay relevant and to be taken more seriously isn't new amongst white women in pop music. Iggy Azalea, Miley Cyrus, Fergie, and Gwen Stefani have all used black culture to gain popularity in the past. The question is, is it just simple appreciation of different cultures, and being a creative musician, or is it more on the side of appropriation? Writer Erin McLaughlan weighs in: “Black American culture is the most popular phenomenon in the world to be honest, so everyone thinks it’s always up for grabs. It’s always been the norm to expect ANYTHING from Black people—whether it’s our time, labor, or creativity. [Grande] being white makes it even worse…How do you look as a white girl with a team full of Black people doing a video like this?”.

It's hard to know where to draw the line, but it doesn't seem like the criticism is going to stop Grande's popularity. Miley Cyrus also had a rap/hip hop phase, where she used twerking, rap music, and other forms of black culture to gain popularity. However, she is back to making country/pop music now, and her popularity hasn't seemed to be impacted one bit. White artists are often able to transform themselves and insert themselves into any culture they want, and decide they don't want to partake anymore when they get tired of it. The trend of white artists dabbling in black culture reminds me of the quote "everybody wants to be black until it's time to be black", which basically means, everybody wants to take part in black culture, listen to hip hop music, follow the trends, etc. but nobody wants the negative stigmas, the police brutality, the everyday racism and struggles that black people go through on a daily basis. People want to use black culture at a safe distance and go back to their white homes when it is time to feel safe and privileged again.