Minute by minute, I enjoy the soulful crooning of Michael McDonald. I have absolutely no problem with blue-eyed soul. I mean seriously, how could anyone hate on Paul Simon? Why All The Fuss Over Non-Blacks Singing Black Music?Īs I stated previously, most blacks don’t care about non-black musicians playing black music. Paul Simon was criticized for performing with - and using the musical stylings of - African artists like Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Sting and The Police have been slammed for their jazz, reggae, and R&B influences. Elvis Presley still gets criticized for incorporating black musical stylings into his music. This type of criticism is nothing new, and Bruno Mars isn’t the first non-black artist to be accused of exploiting black music by a small amount of overly sensitive individuals. For the record, Bruno Mars is Jewish, Puerto Rican, and Filipino. “He is not black at all, and he plays up his racial ambiguity to cross genres,” she said. In an asinine rant against Mars, Sensei stated that the singer “100 percent is a cultural appropriator.” She also indicated that Mars uses his mixed-race heritage to exploit black music. Last week, writer Seren Sensei appeared on an episode of a web series called “The Grapevine.” The episode included a panel of artists and writers who attempted to answer the question “Is Bruno Mars a cultural appropriator?” The Social Justice Left’s Fixation On Cultural Appropriation Unfortunately, the social justice movement’s philosophy of cultural totalitarianism dictates that Americans should be gravely offended. Indeed, many blacks don’t care if a white, Hispanic, or a person of another race borrows from the stylings of black musicians. Unfortunately for them, they are out of touch. Their latest target is singer Bruno Mars, who is famous for hits like “24 Karat Magic,” “Grenade,” and “Just The Way You Are.” Why? Because the singer’s music is influenced by black music - and he’s not black.įor decades, many on the left have whined about non-black musicians who are influenced by black music. The Cultural Appropriation Police have been quite busy lately. What some see as appropriation, others see as appreciation and vice versa.For an Audio Version of this article click here: When it comes to appropriation, everyone has different definitions of what that really looks like. Overall, the issue has proven to be far more complex than the individual perspectives that have been presented. Being Puerto Rican, even salsa music stems back to the Motherland.” He continued to share his respect for black music and the black artists that has influenced him, including Whitney Houston, Boys II Men, and New Edition. Mars said, “When you say ‘black music,’ understand that you are talking about rock, jazz, R&B, reggae, funk, doo-wop, hip-hop, and Motown. Mars has not yet responded to this debate, but in an interview for the February issue of Latina Magazine, he discussed the impact black music has had on his music career. They’re basically saying that only black people can sing black music.” Senior Sandy Park shares her thoughts on the accusations stating that “the people who say he’s a cultural appropriator are being racists themselves. Many other black celebrities have to come to Mars’ defense as well as the youth who see Mars as a talented artist. Jeff J., another participator in the panel, defined cultural appropriation as having malice or the intention to rape the culture for individual interest, but “Mars is just paying homage to people who came before him.” While some agreed with Sensei, many disagreed or didn’t understand where she was coming from. The overall issue is that “we want our black culture from non-black bodies,” said Sensei, and Mars is a contributor to that. In the full video, others echoed Sensei’s opinions saying that it’s unfair that Mars, who is not black, won the Album of the Year Grammy against a majority of black nominees and is praised for singing black music. In the two-minute clip, activist Seren Sensei took a stance against Mars, stating that he “is 100% a cultural appropriator” and that “he plays up his racial ambiguity” by incorporating a fusion of “black genres” in his current music style. The clip that got around 3 million views is from an episode titled “Is Bruno Mars a Cultural Appropriator?” The Grapevine is made up of “young game changers, artists, cultural innovators, and professionals” who discuss topics in today’s current events and pop culture. After clip from an episode of The Grapevine, a YouTube channel that describes itself as “a fresh and innovative take on panel style discussion,” went viral in the beginning of March, a debate has surfaced around artist Bruno Mars and his role in cultural appropriation.
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