Cultural Appropriation in Music

 

“As long as there is racial privilege, racism will never end.” – Wayne Gerard Trotman

 

What is cultural appropriation?

In my own words,  cultural appropriation occurs when a person,group, or organization profits from something from another culture without giving it its proper respect. In class, I have seen various examples of how cultural appropriation has played into music even today. I think one of the first origins of cultural appropriation was in minstrel shows, where white performers would perform black face and act as black caricatures for comedic purposes. Today the same type of thing is happening, just in more subtle ways. People act “black” or adopt African American customs in order for social or financial gains. 

 “Hound Dog” and  Why this is complicated?

 Elvis grew up in Tupelo, Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee, so he grew up listening to African American music. The blues music that a lot of rock n rollers borrowed from was created by black artist relegated to a genre called race music. Race music was deemed unsuitable to be played on mainstream white stream radio.  Elvis was not an avowed racist who purposely was appropriating black music. He once said Elvis was not an outspoken racist who purposefully appropriated black music. "A lot of people seem to think I started this business," he once said. But rock 'n' roll existed long before I arrived. Nobody can sing that type of music like people of color." "When I was a kid in the 1970s, I used to hear Elvis Presley say, " he was accused of saying. this,  “When I was a child in the 1970s I used to hear that Elvis Presley said, "The only thing a Black woman can do for me is buy my records and shine my shoes." However, he denied the claims and many famous black people expressed their admiration for him as an artist and human being. 

This isn't going to change the fact that "Hound Dog" was created through cultural appropriation. Big Mama Thornton was the song's first performer. Her song reached number one on R&B charts, but it did not chart on pop music because it was a race record. It's sad because her singing is more raw, and you can hear the rage and heartbreak in her powerful voice.

Why  is  this similar to spirituals?

So many spirituals are sung in church, and many people do not have any idea the true origin of them. The original creators of these songs gained no profit or recognition as most of them were not even considered a full person, and the new singers have benefited massively. Elvis Presley is known as the “king of rock and roll” and Big Mama Thronton did not get any compensation for “Hound Dog”. This is the world we live in and even though there are some things to do to lessen the pain of the core issue, I do not think we can ever truly do it because the original creators are long gone. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?Why or why not?

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG6_u5RJjTY

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZmICs4I5iQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOvhbyw0jSs