Cultural Appropriation In Hip-Hop

For many years, black culture has been something that has repeatedly been looked down upon then mimicked. Cultural appropriation is defined as the act of a minority 's culture being paraded as someone else 's own without knowledge of the culture. This is not to be confused with culture appreciation, in which an individual chooses to obtain knowledge of a culture before they wear or become a part of it. The problem in this generation is that people see something they like, and simply copy it without knowing where it originated from and why. There is no attempt to learn more about it and that is the problem that most people have. Although cultural appropriation is something that can cause confusion as to why it 's offensive, most people blatantly

Hip-hop originated from New York and was created by young black artists looking for a new type of music. However, when you look at social media, artists like Iggy Azalea and Macklemore are being called the queen and king of hip-hop. The reason these artists are so “hot” is because they are appropriating black culture and using that in order appeal to their audience. While white people being a part of hip hop and rapping is not a problem, them using black people as stepping stones for popularity is. Everyone loved Iggy Azalea. She was a white girl with a black booty who rapped like she was black. There is one thing however that most people overlook. In a song she made when her career was first starting, she referred to herself as a “runaway slave master” then proceeded to make a whipping motion. Many people came to her defense saying that she was just making a joke, however this “joke” is making light of slavery. People always forget the true horrors that happen at this time. She is making fun of Africans being torn from their home, brought to unknown lands in horrible conditions, forced to work to bone, were raped, beaten, humiliated, and seen as nonhuman. The fact that anyone could joke out of this, and a white person at that, is unacceptable. This has not been the only case however. Now, Justin Bieber was signed by Usher, so he is bond to use him as inspiration in his music. He has using hip hop beats and has done some universally black dances such as pop locking. He has used black culture to get ahead in the music industry. With all the popularity he achieved form the black community, he still did not respect the culture. At the age of fifteen, he had already been popular for a minute. However, a video was released where he makes racist jokes and repeatedly says “nigger” while laughing with his friends. Miley Cyrus is also guilty