After hearing the popular hit “212” for the first time, I fell in love with Azealia Banks, a spunky rapper backed by energetic beats. Recently, Banks made headlines for a completely different reason. On her various social media outlets, she posted jarring criticisms of institutional racism and sexism. As a black, bisexual, female rapper, Banks is all too familiar with power structures that privilege certain demographics over others. Her most famous social media feud is with white, female rapper Iggy Azalea.
On Dec. 3, 2014, Banks tweeted, “its funny to see people Like Igloo Australia silent when these things happen… Black Culture is cool, but black issues sure aren’t huh?” She also compared Iggy’s act with minstrel shows. Unfortunately for Banks, her “extreme” tweets target people in a harsh and uncomfortable way that damages her credibility. Many see her as a bully, using shock value to gain attention and notoriety.
While I recognize that Banks doesn’t always approach issues in a mature fashion, it’s clear she is pointing out an underlying problem: cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation is defined as taking on elements of another’s culture, often without permission or consideration for what those aspects of culture may mean to that minority.
Consider Iggy: A white Australian woman, rapping about hard times in a stereotypically “black” accent, yet she grew up in a house surrounded by 12 acres of land. Iggy is putting on an act to perform her rap music and this act includes taking on cultural elements of African Americans. Considering the fact that white rappers like Macklemore and Iggy tend to achieve more mainstream success, it is understandable that Banks feels frustrated. As Banks said in an interview for the New York Hot 97 radio show, “The message to white kids is, ‘You’re great. You’re amazing. You can do whatever you put your mind to.’ And it says to black kids, ‘You don’t have shit. You don’t own shit, not even the shit you created yourself.’” Rap music originated from black culture as a form of escape and self expression in a society where blacks lacked power in so many other areas.
Cultural appropriation through music goes beyond white artists involved in rap music. The portrayal of “twerking” in Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift music videos remains highly controversial. Both videos featured women of color as backup dancers. These artists, perhaps with harmless intentions, make aspects of black culture kitschy. The videos portray black women as laughable sex objects with no consideration for actual Caribbean dance history. They make it a joke.
I’m not saying that white artists should be banned from participation in hip-hop, but there must be increased awareness of a pervasive double-standard. When hip-hop is performed by black kids, it’s considered “hood” and threatening. When Cyrus does it, it’s cute. It is hard to condone cultural appropriation while institutional racism still exists. Though Banks may thrive off of fiery comments, she brings up a poignant issue that many are uncomfortable addressing.