Cultural Appropriation

[bennyboy]

re: black people in rock

I'm white, and grew up on rock, hard rock and metal. I own many Jimix Hendrix albums, and so do many of my friends-- because that's the kind of music I like. I don't own any rap albums, because that's not the kind of music I like. I didn't run out and buy Eminem albums because he's white, and most black kids didn't run out and buy Hendrix albums because he was black.

So what kind of music will new musicians usually gravitate to? The ones that will make them popular with girls in their culture, or which their friends identify with. And for black kids, that's clearly rap and hip hop much more than rock. The only sense in which black people are "pushed out" of rock is that they've become disgusted by the fact that annoying white kids like certain kinds of music.

[Athene]

Except we have. Name a few prominent black people in the rock scene today… go on…I'm waiting…

There are a few. Check out the Black Rockers on Facebook. I've heard that a good place to check out a lot of the newer acts, but I don't do the Facebook thing, so can't be sure. 
A Band Called Pain is a fairly popular metal/grunge group, and I'm pretty certain I've heard some of their music in movie soundtracks. Btw,the lead singer could catch a fish without a hook...really fuckin' adorable.Think they're from Oakland.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

You don't see a lot of black faces in 'the mainstream' though, Panda, so obviously they've been pushed out. They're only accepted as a part of the genre if they're hugely popular -and if there's enough to meet that hard to tack down diversity quota- otherwise they have been oppressed.

Oh, those small time and foreign artists don't matter. 'cos reasons.

I hear you.

It's stupid because, here in the UK, loads of American and British black artists helped to change music culture forever through soul and funk. The entire 80s and 90s dance and rave scenes emanated from the riffs that were first created in those movements.

You know what's racist? Awards like the MOBOs (music of black origin awards) which are a big award ceremony over here. Not because of what they are trying to celebrate, but because of all the award ceremonies I can remember of recent years not a single funk, soul, jazz or blues musician has been recognized. They do a great job of reinforcing the racial stereotypes propagated seemingly by BQ that black people 'own' RnB, Hip Hop and Rap. Seriously it's all they ever recognize. As though the entirety of black music is just those genres and nothing else.

BQ probably isn't familiar with the Grime genre which started on UK inner cities either (as far as I'm aware anyway) with both Black and White (and Asian, and anyone else) artists forging a new genre of music which became very popular in the 90s and is still going strong today through a well formed and recognized underground movement. Grime of course as a genre is heavily influenced by, and influential to, drum and bass, dub step and generic dance trance. So there's a few other genres of music they owe their evolution in large part to black people. Not that it matters one goddamn bit because nobody 'owns' music styles or genres.

See how silly this is?

[bennyboy]

Except we have. Name a few prominent black people in the rock scene today… go on…I'm waiting…

There are a few. Check out the Black Rockers on Facebook. I've heard that a good place to check out a lot of the newer acts, but I don't do the Facebook thing, so can't be sure. 
A Band Called Pain is a fairly popular metal/grunge group, and I'm pretty certain I've heard some of their music in movie soundtracks. Btw,the lead singer could catch a fish without a hook...really fuckin' adorable.Think they're from Oakland.

That's freaking great!

[bennyboy]

These kids aren't that great yet, but nice to see that they are interested in metal:





Isn't anyone going to stand up and tell these kids to stop appropriating white music?