Throughout the years, white artists have abused Urban culture for their own personal gain. Seeking to increase their record sales, access broader markets and keep up with industry trends, these individuals conveniently adopt the styles of their peers without a true appreciation of the music.

However, this exploitation of Urban culture is far from a new phenomenon. White artists have imitated their Hip-Hop, R&B, Soul and Rock & Roll counterparts for decades; blatantly cloning their music, performance styles and even fashion so that they could achieve greater success.

For instance, Elvis Presley was often accused of imitating Little Richard and James Brown as he established himself as the supposed King of Rock & Roll. In fact, that particular genre of music was developed primarily by African-American artists, such as Ike Turner and Fats Domino, yet quickly became dominated by white acts.

How did those white acts of the 1950s and 1960s easily rise to the forefront of Rock & Roll? Quite simply, they were white. That obvious fact afforded them the label resources and support to nab media promotion that their black contemporaries did not receive.

Imagine yourself sitting on your carpeted living room floor while watching your black and white television in the 1950s. Don’t you think that if you constantly saw Presley or another random white artist being introduced with the tagline “the King fo Rock & Roll” on your screen then you would easily believe it? That is the power of media propaganda and at that time, only popular white performers were given that level of promotion.

Of course, that does not mean that the white artists were the only people who got the opportunity to perform on television. Really, Ike & Tina Turner were incredibly successful in the 1960s and 1970s but their impact was easily dwarfed when compared to that of Presley.

This Urban culture whitewash persisted throughout the last 60 years and expanded into various other genres of music. I doubt anybody has forgotten Snow’s ridiculous take on Reggae

with‘Informer’ in which he tried his best to imitate a Jamaican accent.

Additionally, despite her current haughty speech and platinum blonde hair, Christina Aguilerawas also an abuser of Urban culture. Flashback to 2002 when she was promoting her ‘Stripped’album and she cleverly pierced her nose, layered her hair with weave, partied with Lil Kim and suddenly learned how to speak in ebonics. Aguilera even visited BET’s ’106 & Park’ where she proudly boasted about her Latina roots and her love of Hip-Hop.

“…being Latina does not equate to being from the hood so why did Christina Aguilera suddenly become a representative of the streets?”

Yes, Aguilera never denied that her father was born in Ecuador (her mother is white) and she even released a Spanish album, ‘Mi Reflejo’, in 2000, but it seems that she only remembers her heritage when it is convenient. Also, being Latina does not equate to being from the hood so why did Aguilera suddenly become a representative of the streets? It was the ‘in’ thing for her do at that time.

Now, before you defend Aguilera and write hateful comments about my island being washed away by a tsunami, ask yourselves this: why did she stop speaking in ebonics? That’s right, she moved on to another album campaign and the bad cabaret music of ‘Back to Basics’ didn’t include any references to the bitches and hos from Harlem. So, Aguilera dumped her Urban persona and started speaking similar to Madonna (post-Sean Penn).

Other artists who regularly imitate Urban culture are Justin Bieber and Justin Timberlake. The latter’s request to work with R. Kelly was publicly rejected because of his clear exploitation of R&B music:

“I [R. Kelly] refuse to write hits for someone who uses and abuses this thing called R&B music just to gain respect and acceptance from their opposite counterpart. I refuse to write hits for someone with the name of Justin Timberlake .”

Furthermore, let’s not forget about Beiber’s confirmation that he is only pulling from Hip-Hop so that he could sell records to an older crowd. Meanwhile, people are overlooking these comments and writing heated letters to Mary J. Blige about her Burger King chicken wraps commercial.

The key point about this incredibly long article is that many white artists simply do not have a real understanding and appreciation of Hip-Hop, R&B or Soul. Instead, unlike Adele, Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone and others who actually study these artforms, they simply emulate their peers when the time is right.

Yet, that is the nature of popular culture; it is defined by shifting trends and themes. Indeed, many Urban artists are currently prancing on the Dance/Pop bandwagon and utilising Dubstep production styles just to score a hit so who are we to blame the white artists for doing the reverse?

http://thelavalizard.com/...um=twitter

Couldn't the same be said for black artists and crossing over to the pop charts? Rihanna, Whitney, Beyonce, Usher (at one point), MJ...would any of them be as rich as they are or were if they appealed primarily to the black community like a Keyshia Cole or a Trey Songz?

musicjunky318 said:

Couldn't the same be said for black artists and crossing over to the pop charts? Rihanna, Whitney, Beyonce, Usher (at one point), MJ...would any of them be as rich as they are or were if they appealed primarily to the black community like a Keyshia Cole or a Trey Songz?

I don't really agree with all of it. There are some that used it but I have no problem with a white artist doing black music if they are truly a fan of it. And I love black artist that appeal to people outside the black community.

That article's biased. We abuse it ourselves by either ignoring it or trying to find something that don't sound stale. We're all notorious for moving on to "something else" and then ten years later go "what happened?"

Timmy84 said:

That article's biased. We abuse it ourselves by either ignoring it or trying to find something that don't sound stale. We're all notorious for moving on to "something else" and then ten years later go "what happened?"

I sense some negativty in the article.

SoulAlive said:

x's 2 calling P&R

babybugz said:

Timmy84 said:

That article's biased. We abuse it ourselves by either ignoring it or trying to find something that don't sound stale. We're all notorious for moving on to "something else" and then ten years later go "what happened?"

I sense some negativty in the article.

Yeah lots of it actually. It's almost as if people want to blame someone on why "things changed". That argument is as old and tired as Methuselah... and I hate how it gets shoved down people's folks.

EDIT: added "as old and"

[Edited 5/11/12 17:05pm]

The only piece I agree with is the success argument but to call it abuse isn't exactly correct. I know a lot of people that want to blame Elvis for his status but it wasn't him, it was just the era. Any fan that really studied Presley would know he had a great appreciation for African-American music and called out numerous influences by name. Would he have been as popular if he was black? No, but that's not his fault. That's just the way it was. People need to stop with this.

Timmy84 said:

babybugz said:

I sense some negativty in the article.

Yeah lots of it actually. It's almost as if people want to blame someone on why "things changed". That argument is as old and tired as Methuselah... and I hate how it gets shoved down people's folks.

EDIT: added "as old and"

[Edited 5/11/12 17:05pm]

It's not their fault that some of them are doing it better than some of the black artists these days.

babybugz said:

Timmy84 said:

Yeah lots of it actually. It's almost as if people want to blame someone on why "things changed". That argument is as old and tired as Methuselah... and I hate how it gets shoved down people's folks.

EDIT: added "as old and"

[Edited 5/11/12 17:05pm]

It's not their fault that some of them are doing it better than some of the black artists these days.

YOU KNOW?!

musicjunky318 said:

The only piece I agree with is the success argument but to call it abuse isn't exactly correct. I know a lot of people that want to blame Elvis for his status but it wasn't him, it was just the era. Any fan that really studied Presley would know he had a great appreciation for African-American music and called out numerous influences by name. Would he have been as popular if he was black? No, but that's not his fault. That's just the way it was. People need to stop with this.

Right. Elvis was also controlled too. Col. Tom Parker made the majority of the decision making. But I guess people wanna blame someone. It was the times as they say. Though I can argue that despite what was going on, Chuck, Little Richard and Fats (as well as Sam Cooke) were able to have success in spite of everything so I'm proud they all made a way out of no way, you know what I'm saying?

This is an argument that can go on forever-so many Black artist have been ripped off from their music to their style it's a shame. Even today things that occur in the "hood" are first looked at as just shit black folks do then within weeks you see it in the suburbs-black culture has been used and abused so much it's a shame and it's not a problem until it reaches white folks

Timmy84 said:

musicjunky318 said:

The only piece I agree with is the success argument but to call it abuse isn't exactly correct. I know a lot of people that want to blame Elvis for his status but it wasn't him, it was just the era. Any fan that really studied Presley would know he had a great appreciation for African-American music and called out numerous influences by name. Would he have been as popular if he was black? No, but that's not his fault. That's just the way it was. People need to stop with this.

Right. Elvis was also controlled too. Col. Tom Parker made the majority of the decision making. But I guess people wanna blame someone. It was the times as they say. Though I can argue that despite what was going on, Chuck, Little Richard and Fats (as well as Sam Cooke) were able to have success in spite of everything so I'm proud they all made a way out of no way, you know what I'm saying?

It's sad because he often doesn't get the accolades he deserves in the black community for being so tremendously gifted (and he was). There have been a lot of slaps in his face over the years about him being racist, how he did nothing but steal, how he was this and that. But like I said, this was something that he couldn't help. He was a pawn, used and abused in a lot ways himself by the people around him.

nursev said:

This is an argument that can go on forever-so many Black artist have been ripped off from their music to their style it's a shame. Even today things that occur in the "hood" are first looked at as just shit black folks do then within weeks you see it in the suburbs-black culture has been used and abused so much it's a shame and it's not a problem until it reaches white folks

ALL types of artists got ripped off... unless you had smart managers, that's what usually happens. Ray Charles was one of the few that refused to let that happen to him. Sure folks covered him and all but he got the bigger sales over anyone who covered him. Even those that took his voice (and black folks did too, Tina Turner? Little Richard in his early years? Stevie (by way of Motown)? ) couldn't get by unless they produced their own sound. Even Ray ripped off Charles Brown and Nat King Cole before finding his sound. Thing is in business, people knew what was more profitable then. But Chuck Berry was actually one of the few (before his scandals) that profit off having a "hillbilly" sound with his usual blues so he did a reverse that folks were doing with Elvis.

musicjunky318 said:

Timmy84 said:

Right. Elvis was also controlled too. Col. Tom Parker made the majority of the decision making. But I guess people wanna blame someone. It was the times as they say. Though I can argue that despite what was going on, Chuck, Little Richard and Fats (as well as Sam Cooke) were able to have success in spite of everything so I'm proud they all made a way out of no way, you know what I'm saying?

It's sad because he often doesn't get the accolades he deserves in the black community for being so tremendously gifted (and he was). There have been a lot of slaps in his face over the years about him being racist, how he did nothing but steal, how he was this and that. But like I said, this was something that he couldn't help. He was a pawn, used and abused in a lot ways himself by the people around him.

That was him in a nutshell... and you're right overall.

Timmy84 said:

nursev said:

This is an argument that can go on forever-so many Black artist have been ripped off from their music to their style it's a shame. Even today things that occur in the "hood" are first looked at as just shit black folks do then within weeks you see it in the suburbs-black culture has been used and abused so much it's a shame and it's not a problem until it reaches white folks

ALL types of artists got ripped off... unless you had smart managers, that's what usually happens. Ray Charles was one of the few that refused to let that happen to him. Sure folks covered him and all but he got the bigger sales over anyone who covered him. Even those that took his voice (and black folks did too, Tina Turner? Little Richard in his early years? Stevie (by way of Motown)? ) couldn't get by unless they produced their own sound. Even Ray ripped off Charles Brown and Nat King Cole before finding his sound. Thing is in business, people knew what was more profitable then. But Chuck Berry was actually one of the few (before his scandals) that profit off having a "hillbilly" sound with his usual blues so he did a reverse that folks were doing with Elvis.

True-even to this day. They all Face down

nursev said:

Timmy84 said:

ALL types of artists got ripped off... unless you had smart managers, that's what usually happens. Ray Charles was one of the few that refused to let that happen to him. Sure folks covered him and all but he got the bigger sales over anyone who covered him. Even those that took his voice (and black folks did too, Tina Turner? Little Richard in his early years? Stevie (by way of Motown)? ) couldn't get by unless they produced their own sound. Even Ray ripped off Charles Brown and Nat King Cole before finding his sound. Thing is in business, people knew what was more profitable then. But Chuck Berry was actually one of the few (before his scandals) that profit off having a "hillbilly" sound with his usual blues so he did a reverse that folks were doing with Elvis.

True-even to this day. They all Face down

Yeah unless you were a smart businessman like Ray Charles, Sam Cooke or even Ike Turner (after the debacle with Rocket 88), you basically trusted anyone you signed a contract with and it seems folks today still fall for the okey doke.

I doubt anybody has forgotten Snow’s ridiculous take on Reggae with‘Informer’ in which he tried his best to imitate a Jamaican accent.

I guess the writer has never heard Shaggy speak.

I don't know WTF this is, but this is all I have to say.

Evis was better at singing gospel type songs than Little Richard style. Compare his Hound Dog cover to his Bridge over troubled waters cover, undoubtedly he only enjoyed unprecedented success because he bought the great rock n roll sound of the true greats in a nice white, reatively safe package for bible belt america but he did also have a great voice and stage presence.

EDIT: That article also seems pretty bitter. I'm not sure why, it's been amost fifty years since back artists were really being outdone by white "copycats" solely on the reason they were white.

[Edited 5/11/12 17:48pm]

People assume that Elvis was just embraced by whites just because he was the same race. He wasn't accepted by many. Here is an excerpt from a 1988 interview Johnny Cash did in Creem magazine in which he mentions Elvis' last appearance at the Grand Ole Opry. I'm typing it from the article, so there's no link.

JC: They wouldn't let him take drums onstage and they said some very unkind things about him. I remember one singer-and I won't give his name because he's dead now. Elvis walked by, and I started talking to him because he didn't know anyone there. I mean, there were some people he idolized: the Louvin Brothers, Bill Monroe, he idolized some of these people. But this one country singer walked by and said "god- n- singer" and kept walkin'. I turned to Elvis and looked and the tears were runnin' off his chin. He dropped his head and said "I gotta go". I walked him to the door and said, "Where you goin'?". He said, "I've gotta get out of here and I'll never be back".

MickyDolenz said:

People assume that Elvis was just embraced by whites just because he was the same race. He wasn't accepted by many. Here is an excerpt from a 1988 interview Johnny Cash did in Creem magazine in which he mentions Elvis' last appearance at the Grand Ole Opry. I'm typing it from the article, so there's no link.

JC: They wouldn't let him take drums onstage and they said some very unkind things about him. I remember one singer-and I won't give his name because he's dead now. Elvis walked by, and I started talking to him because he didn't know anyone there. I mean, there were some people he idolized: the Louvin Brothers, Bill Monroe, he idolized some of these people. But this one country singer walked by and said "god- n- singer" and kept walkin'. I turned to Elvis and looked and the tears were runnin' off his chin. He dropped his head and said "I gotta go". I walked him to the door and said, "Where you goin'?". He said, "I've gotta get out of here and I'll never be back".

Yeah in fact at first country radio wouldn't play him because they felt he was an R&B singer. Kinda how R&B fans thought he was a country singer. Rufus Thomas was one of the first to break the ice as far as Elvis' radio play with his Sun Records recordings in the South.

[Edited 5/11/12 18:20pm]

musicjunky318 said:

Couldn't the same be said for black artists and crossing over to the pop charts? Rihanna, Whitney, Beyonce, Usher (at one point), MJ...would any of them be as rich as they are or were if they appealed primarily to the black community like a Keyshia Cole or a Trey Songz?

They cross overed because of their image primarily EXCEPT for Michael Jackson and Whitney who for the MOST part crossed over because of their music. There MUSIC catered to everyone but Whitney and Michael both singed R&B and black genres EVEN when they were very popular so I dont think that was a good example in my opinion. I dont even think Whitney ever experimented with rock or other mass genres aside from pop.

I somewhat agree with the article. Regardless of what genre a white artist does its always going to be easier for them to appeal to the majority which is white anyway. There are alot of factors that come into play with this. Sometimes it has nothing to do with music and is all about image...

Elvis gets the heat that he does because he gets alot of credit for doing things most African American artists/entertainers had been doing before him or started during that era.

Regardless whether he admired them or not it doesnt change the fact that his overrated and overly credited for starting things his African American peers did. I also think he could have did alot more in giving them credit and shining more light on racism and how it affected the other black artists not getting played or getting credit at all. Ive seen pictures of them with him but he could have been more outspoken. Given the position he was in, I think he could have been more vocal about it beside saying a generic safe responce that he was influenced by them thats what annoys me about his own act beside him being overrated in general.

[Edited 5/11/12 18:44pm]

^^Elvis couldn't even speak up to Colonel Parker and just did what he said. Elvis never really spoke on anything social. He did do interviews with Jet magazine though. Besides during that time, even if he wanted to, it wouldn't have been a good idea to do any speaking. He would have been labeled as communist and shut down by McCarthy or Hoover. Elvis was already being spied on by the FBI, for what I don't know.

MickyDolenz said:

^^Elvis couldn't even speak up to Colonel Parker and just did what he said. Elvis never really spoke on anything social. He did do interviews with Jet magazine though. Besides during that time, even if he wanted to, it wouldn't have been a good idea to do any speaking. He would have been labeled as communist and shut down by McCarthy or Hoover. Elvis was already being spied on by the FBI, for what I don't know.

I think Elvis could have given props to the true innovators of rock regardless. He might not didnt have to touch on racism but sometimes in these discussions people imply that is what Elvis was doing when that isnt true. He was playing safe to keep his image in line and I dont think he cared about blacks getting the credit they deserved because if he did he would have spoken on it. I think regardless Elvis could have spoke out if that was something he truly cared about regardless of the back lash or other risks.

Imagine yourself sitting on your carpeted living room floor while watching your black and white television in the 1950s. Don’t you think that if you constantly saw Presley or another random white artist being introduced with the tagline “the King fo Rock & Roll” on your screen then you would easily believe it? That is the power of media propaganda and at that time, only popular white performers were given that level of promotion.

Elvis wasn't promoted as "the King of Rock & Roll" in the 1950's. That was towards the end of his career.

Furthermore, due to the race divide in America at the time, no one but a white dude was gonna popularize what was crudely dubbed "black music" to the white middle American masses.

It's not like Elvis was denying his influences or posing as the only true 1st person to do it. He always fully acknowledged his R&B and gospel influences. He just was the person to popularize it all.

[Edited 5/11/12 19:12pm]

mjscarousal said:

MickyDolenz said:

^^Elvis couldn't even speak up to Colonel Parker and just did what he said. Elvis never really spoke on anything social. He did do interviews with Jet magazine though. Besides during that time, even if he wanted to, it wouldn't have been a good idea to do any speaking. He would have been labeled as communist and shut down by McCarthy or Hoover. Elvis was already being spied on by the FBI, for what I don't know.

I think Elvis could have given props to the true innovators of rock regardless. He might not didnt have to touch on racism but sometimes in these discussions people imply that is what Elvis was doing when that isnt true. He was playing safe to keep his image in line and I dont think he cared about blacks getting the credit they deserved because if he did he would have spoken on it. I think regardless Elvis could have spoke out if that was something he truly cared about regardless of the back lash or other risks.

Didn't he once say Fats Domino was the real king of rock n roll?

I doubt that even if he had said something it would have gotten publicity.

mjscarousal said:

I think Elvis could have given props to the true innovators of rock regardless. He might not didnt have to touch on racism but sometimes in these discussions people imply that is what Elvis was doing when that isnt true. He was playing safe to keep his image in line and I dont think he cared about blacks getting the credit they deserved because if he did he would have spoken on it. I think regardless Elvis could have spoke out if that was something he truly cared about regardless of the back lash or other risks.

This was the 1950's, most entertainers didn't speak on politics or social issues. Bono wouldn't have gotten anywhere back then, except maybe shot or blown up. Look at what happened to people like Lena Horne and Paul Robeson who spoke out, they were blacklisted and couldn't get any work. Later, The Beatles were shot at in Texas and recieved many death threats because of John Lennon's Jesus comment, which was taken out of context. Elvis was called a n- lover at the time, so people already knew what he was about.

The key point about this incredibly long article is that many white artists simply do not have a real understanding and appreciation of Hip-Hop, R&B or Soul. Instead, unlike Adele, Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone and others who actually study these artforms, they simply emulate their peers when the time is right.

There are posers in music in all colors from all backgrounds. Many artists (black too) abuse urban culture and perpetuate horrible stereotypes for money. It's called selling out you don't have to be a certain race to do it.

The music biz has never been more full of more posers. Elvis was fuckin' legit compared to what's going on now. Hell, MC Hammer was legit compared to what's going on now. 2 legit you might say (see what I did there?).

[Edited 5/11/12 19:20pm]

Timmy84 said:

That article's biased. We abuse it ourselves by either ignoring it or trying to find something that don't sound stale. We're all notorious for moving on to "something else" and then ten years later go "what happened?"

the guy who wrote it is a a rabid Mariah stan and the things he post are always biased toward the older divas