[chilluminati]

Originally posted by Rihinvention

Why? Why can't we question someone's talent, credibility and the deservedness of their success in a mature way? It's how we have interesting discussions on here. This is clearly a really thought-provoking topic. It beats "which song is better, x or y?" threads.

Definitely. I agree.

[Michete]

Originally posted by Kkamjong

I hate the mentality that "You wouldn't be popular if you weren't pretty and white," however when a Black person makes it in a market different from urban "Good for you! You fought the power and rose against the bias against your race!"



If Iggy is appropriating a culture just for rapping in an "black" accent to be appealing to Americans, then what about Nicki? Her voice when rapping and her voice when singing do not sound the same, yet no one ever accuses her of appropriating white culture to be appealing to mainstream masses.

Compare her "rapping" in Starships to her rapping in Lookin Ass ***** and tell me she isn't purposely making it sound different to be more appealing I literally just do not get why the urban community are willing to see the faults in everyone but black people. Point fingers at Iggy, but Nicki is a legitimate artist who doesn't appropriate either? Ok

lmao

"white culture"

[GreasyBruce]

Originally posted by Doc

I've already wrote paragraphs on this in this thread, but basically, Iggy did not initially become successful in "this genre", if you're referring to hip hop. She was struggling until mainstream (aka white people) put her on and made Fancy a huge pop hit. It wasn't until Fancy smashed Top 40, that it even began making an urban dent.

Toting Iggy's recent surge in success as something that happened despite her race is just incorrect.

Exactly. Iggy was a niche artist until her marketing team realized that they should market her to white gays and white woman, which is why her music video was a Clueless homage, why she had a Top 40-friendly beat and a catchy hook courtesy of Charli XCX, another white girl. She has become successful because she's been marketed as a pop artist, and that's only happened because she's white. The music industry flat out refuses to market black women as anything other than RnB or hip-hop stars (usually just RnB), and in the rare occasion that they do get pushed as pop stars (even if they still have urban influence), they experience a lot more resistance from radio (Kelly Rowland), backlash from the media (Alexandra Burke in the UK) and the mostly white, racist buying public in the US refuses to buy their material no matter how good it is ("Talk Dirty" by Wynter Gordon is a perfect example, a 100% certified A+ bop that should have smashed but didn't).

Iggy is successful because she's white. She's a safe, white girl rapper for people who don't want to actually listen to a black person.

[Kkamjong]

Originally posted by Michete

lmao

"white culture"

Just like you guys with "black culture"

[Aatthew]

Originally posted by Kkamjong

I hate the mentality that "You wouldn't be popular if you weren't pretty and white," however when a Black person makes it in a market different from urban "Good for you! You fought the power and rose against the bias against your race!"



If Iggy is appropriating a culture just for rapping in an "black" accent to be appealing to Americans, then what about Nicki? Her voice when rapping and her voice when singing do not sound the same, yet no one ever accuses her of appropriating white culture to be appealing to mainstream masses.

Compare her "rapping" in Starships to her rapping in Lookin Ass ***** and tell me she isn't purposely making it sound different to be more appealing I literally just do not get why the urban community are willing to see the faults in everyone but black people. Point fingers at Iggy, but Nicki is a legitimate artist who doesn't appropriate either? Ok

I think the reason we do that is because we see someone "stealing" our sound and we immediately feel the need to belittle them because that is literally the only way we have of fighting back. We are powerless and can't stop something from continuing being successful.

Is white culture even a thing? Like, I'm being serious. I just assumed that isn't acknowledged as existing because whites are the majority, etc.

She definitely dumbed her raps down for the GP, but I wouldn't say she was trying to intentionally appeal to whites with that song and her other dance stuff like Iggy is intentionally trying to appeal to everyone with all of her music with her accent.

idk my arguments are prolly mad weak fshdkfjisdafiaisodf

[Vespertine]

Originally posted by Kkamjong

Compare her "rapping" in Starships to her rapping in Lookin Ass ***** and tell me she isn't purposely making it sound different to be more appealing I literally just do not get why the urban community are willing to see the faults in everyone but black people. Point fingers at Iggy, but Nicki is a legitimate artist who doesn't appropriate either? Ok

Nicki sounds like Nicki on all her songs though... it's just variations on her own voice across different songs, which is quite normal for any artist. No different than Gaga sounding different on Bad Romance and Just Dance. Unless you're talking about her characters of course, which are just that: admitted characters.

Iggy on the other hand has this one particular fake voice that she uses across the board. We know it's not really Iggy's natural voice.

You're also missing that Nicki is actually, you know, black. I think that gives her some leeway to sound as "black" as she wants, no?

[Doc]

Originally posted by Cupid

Please tell me more about what I have experience with.



She was only struggling in the U.S, she had hits on the UK/Aus Urban and R&B charts before Fancy. To say her race was a factor in her success is just silly, it's a moot point, there's no way to prove or disprove it. On one hand she was mocked for being a white woman rapping, on the other hand it may have helped her break into the mainstream like you stated. But you can't call it either way because it's both helped and hindered her.

If we're talking Urban, the only relevant market is the US. It's not UK and it's certainly not Australia. Moreover, this thread is about race, and race in America is much different from race in other countries, and thus, other countries are simply not relevant. Iggy's goal was to become successful in America's urban market. That's why she moved to the US. That's why she got in with TI. That's why she took up the accent. She came for US Urban and she struggled and struggled until mainstream/white people took notice of her and Fancy and put her on the national spotlight.

It is just as valid to say that Iggy's race hindered her in becoming successful on Urban as it is to say that Iggy's race helped her become successful on Top 40. Help =/= sole reason why, but it's silly to act like race is not a factor in 2014.

[chilluminati]

Originally posted by Kkamjong

Just like you guys with "black culture"

[Maiko]

Originally posted by Cupid

Please tell me more about what I have experience with.

You're going on about what was huge in the UK and other places that are irrelevant to Hip-Hop's home, and how this is not a problem outside of ATRL and the blogosphere, when it clearly is.

Yes it's an issue local to America, but just because it isn't an issue for you living in Europe doesn't mean it isn't an issue.

You should just acknowledge it as being sound instead of fighting blindly against a cause you don't truly understand.

[Roman Holiday]

Lol all the white people getting butthurt. They steal everything, now yall want to steal oppression.

[Doc]

Originally posted by Roman Holiday

Lol all the white people getting butthurt. They steal everything, now yall want to steal oppression.

Sis

[Fatality]

Originally posted by chilluminati

From the moment she opened ha mouth on her very first song (idk which song that is???) and out came a faux 'Southern' accent is the moment she was a joke. I mean your statement alone -- "anointed new queen of rap from the white media"...doesn't that contradict your generalization about the black community 'using' her? Is she not a queen of the 'black' media and community like you previously stated?

And good for you for stanning her before she blew up. Such an achievement!

The point im trying to make is black people placed her as one of the many pieces in the giant machine of rap, she was special because of her race but at the end of the day she is an average rapper so no one paid special attention. but to the white media she is the queen because she is their only association with the genre and only see her as making it. Also using =/= to being a queen, like really?

also kudos to you from hating from the beginning! both the bandwagon stans and haters are so tired so glad to see you have had this position on her.

[Maiko]

Originally posted by Kkamjong

Just like you guys with "black culture"

Alright. I'm done.

[Kkamjong]

Originally posted by Aatthew

I think the reason we do that is because we see someone "stealing" our sound and we immediately feel the need to belittle them because that is literally the only way we have of fighting back. We are powerless and can't stop something from continuing being successful.

Is white culture even a thing? Like, I'm being serious. I just assumed that isn't acknowledged as existing because whites are the majority, etc.

She definitely dumbed her raps down for the GP, but I wouldn't say she was trying to intentionally appeal to whites with that song and her other dance stuff like Iggy is intentionally trying to appeal to everyone with all of her music with her accent.

idk my arguments are prolly mad weak fshdkfjisdafiaisodf

It is clear as day that she makes songs like Super Bass and Starships to appeal to white people as well as black people. They may have her "rapping" but they have a typical autotuned generic top 40 chorus she can barely even sing live (much like how Iggy can hardly rap her own songs live).

Doesn't matter to me, at least you have more an argument than "she's white, so she's popular" like most people in this thread.


About earlier, "white culture" isn't really a "thing" because it's so diverse, but so is black culture which is why I don't get why everything is lumped together as one. Black people have many different accents which is why I don't understand why Iggy is being accused of copying black accent as if all black people have the same accent.

And I like the conversation because as a Black person myself, I've grown up in the suburbs of Georgia and Texas around wealthy white people my whole life so I feel like I may look at it from white perspective. I like hearing other points of view that offer more than the petty arguments I usually see

[Barbie.]

Imagine if Lance wasn't banned

OT: I agree with most of the article.

first things first, Iggy isn't the realist

I cackled

[Rihinvention]

I love the title of this thread hahahaha. It's like "how to talk to your kids about drugs" or something

[TrillUSA]

Originally posted by Roman Holiday

Lol all the white people getting butthurt. They steal everything

They did it with Elvis too

[Maiko]

Originally posted by Cupid

I'm entitled to my opinion as much as everyone else living in the U.S. I'm not fighting blindly against anything, I'm here having a civil discussion. You're the one who seems to blindly hate everything she does and you seem to be looking for a reason to hate her as usual. You should be more like Doc and understand both sides of the discussion.

You're just kissing Doc's ass though, we are on two different spectrums here. Although the implication was the same in our last two comments in reply to you. The UK isn't irrelevant to the discussion.

Hm...

Anyway, I call all spades what they are, and I was just praising Iggy yesterday, find that here

So that was a lie. All I can say is respect that it's an issue for some, and stop trying to downplay it because you aren't experiencing it.

[Lipton]

This thread is such a mess.

Like, beyond.

[Barbie.]

Originally posted by Kkamjong

Just like you guys with "black culture"