The question of is cultural appropriation ever okay in music has been argued for years some say yes and some say no and the answer to the question is still undecided however many artist face scrutiny for taking apart in this act and for those who have not heard of this term cultural appropriation it is when someone takes from another culture without knowing the origin and properly understanding why this material is so important to the culture that they are taking from a big proponent of this musically is white rappers especially ones who don’t understand or comprehend how rap came about and why it is important to black culture and are only trying to make money without furthering the genre and making a difference with some claiming that because some of these rappers have become more famous due to their skin color. There is something else that needs to be understood about cultural appropriation the difference between tourism and travelers. Tourists only take what they like and visit quickly and then go home. While travelers spend time deepening their understanding and learning everything they can and understand all aspects of the culture in order to produce something different and new and help bring more attention to culture.
Can today’s artists still sellout is a question that is being asked more than ever now as artists are increasingly using their popularity to make money as a brand however just over 20 years ago this kind of behavior would have been frowned upon if a musician did this it could spell the end of their career regardless of how well known they are but it has become increasingly popular for musicians to market themselves as a brand so I guess the question has now become do you feel like you a listener of music or consumer because I doubt that musicians are going to stop doing this.
I feel like people shouldn’t direct their criticisms of cultural appropriation towards white people as other races make music that are from other cultures from there own but is not put under a microscope however I think that one thing should be understood about this subject is if the music is really good I think it cultural appropriation as well as if artist is defined by this music that they put out then I think it is not cultural appropriation as well as if the artist came up in the same circumstances as others whos culture the music is associated then I can also understand why they would make this kind of music an example of this would be Eminem as he came up in Detroit as a very poor and made something out of nothing. Now on the topic of selling out, I feel like artist are just like athletes and should be allowed to sell themselves in order to get rich as I feel like everyone if they have the opportunity to should get rich and in the music industry, you are never guaranteed a lot of money whereas by signing big contracts to make like a jingle or something for a brand in order to make a lot of money is ok as Just like you and me artists are people too and they do require money to live.
