Cultural Appropriation By Any Other Name…

Underground USA

Before we get to this segment of America’s Third Watch, I wanted to touch on a hypocrisy everyone is letting slide. It may sound insignificant to you at first, but the more you contemplate the double standard being applied here, the more you see that one demographic is getting pushed around, and has been pushed around since the 1960s (for those calculating the math that’s 64 years).

Currently, the number one hit on the Billboard Country Charts belongs to Beyonce, who critics describe as specializing in R&B, funk, rap, and hip-hop. She is commonly understood to be a performer predominantly of the Black culture, although she is knee-deep in the woke culture.

Her new song, Texas Hold ‘Em, is certainly of the country flavor. That’s unmistakable. Here’s a short clip:

Now, I am not saying that Beyonce doesn’t have a good product here. It’s well produced and I am sure the pop-country fans will glom onto it like an urban cowboy gravitates to a Tony Lama boot sale. But it’s not country music and, in fact, I will go as far as to say Beyonce has transgressed the line of cultural appropriation.

And when one looks at the cover art for this single, it’s clear Beyonce holds a certain contempt and disdain for the more modest culture that is the country culture.

Cultural appropriation is a charge the Black community often slings at the White community. Put succinctly, it is the use of elements of one culture by members of another. The Black community claims that in any form, Black cultural appropriation is offensive – especially when done by a White person – because the original significance of the elements is not respected. Black activists also, quite vocally, insist it reinforces stereotypes.

When you understand the “ground rules” for the cultural appropriations game it’s clear that Beyonce and her producers are co-opting elements of the country lifestyle in an extremely opportunistic manner: to make money. Do they “respect the original significance” of the country culture? If you believe that you had better check the oil in your intelligence engine because you are not firing on all cylinders.

Don’t get me wrong and don’t attempt to paint me with the disingenuous broad brush of political racism. There are successful Black performers who have both made the jump from pop to country and come up paying their dues doing it in a way that respects the country culture. Darius Rucker, Charlie Pride, Rhiannon Giddens, and Mickey Guyton have done so, but succeeded in doing so because of their true passion for the genre, not because they saw dollar signs in grabbing for their piece of the pie.

The country culture is – by its very nature – the most inclusive demographic in the United States and that’s because it isn’t predicated on skin color or identity politics.

You become a part of the country culture when you work hard, provide an honest day's work, live life being responsible for yourself and taking responsibility for your actions, respect and help your neighbors, when you strive to make your community and your country – no matter any perceived flaws – a better place to live, and you judge others by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.

Now, ask yourself this question. Did Beyonce move to a small Texas town and fall in love with the lifestyle; and experience an epiphany about country life? Or did she see dollar signs and a cute hat she could exploit to enrich herself through cultural appropriation, something her community rails against?

Do you see why it matters? If cultural appropriation is going to be a thing, then it should apply across the board. The special interest, “I’m a minority so I get to do whatever I want without consequence” double standard must stop.

Then, this morning’s segment on America’s Third Watch, broadcast on the Genesis and Salem Communications Networks.

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