tag:theconversation.com,2011:/nz/topics/beyonce-2115/articles
Beyonce – The Conversation
2024-02-29T17:41:19Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/224018
2024-02-29T17:41:19Z
2024-02-29T17:41:19Z
Drinking olive oil: a health and beauty elixir or celebrity fad in a shot glass?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578716/original/file-20240228-16-ys3r3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C3594%2C2408&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kim-kardashian-west-kourtney-los-angeles-621595559">Tinseltown/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the ever-changing world of wellness trends and celebrity endorsed health fads there is a new trend on the scene: daily olive oil shots. </p>
<p>Celebrities such as <a href="https://poosh.com/why-kourtney-kardashian-drinks-tablespoon-evoo/">Kourtney Kardashian</a>, Beyonce, Gwyneth Paltrow and <a href="https://www.womanandhome.com/life/news-entertainment/jennifer-lopez-credits-her-grandmas-crazy-beauty-secret-for-glowing-skin-and-chances-are-you-already-have-it-at-home/">Jennifer Lopez</a> all extol the virtues of swigging extra virgin as well as slathering it on their skin, crediting olive oil for their glowing complexions. </p>
<p>Lopez even based her JLo Beauty brand around the kitchen staple, claiming that her age-defying looks were not the result of botox or surgery but the family beauty secret: <a href="https://graziamagazine.com/us/articles/jennifer-lopez-skincare-routine/">moisturising with olive oil</a>. </p>
<p>And she’s in good company. Hollywood star <a href="https://jnews.uk/goldie-hawn-swears-by-olive-oil-for-perfect-skin-at-76-best-life/">Goldie Hawn reportedly drinks olive oil</a> before bed and uses it topically as a moisturiser, while <a href="https://www.redonline.co.uk/beauty/a31184313/julia-roberts-olive-oil-hair-skin/">beauty icon Sophia Loren</a> really goes to town by bathing in the stuff. </p>
<p>While these celebrities swear by the skin beautifying properties of olive oil, some skin types should <a href="https://scholarhub.ui.ac.id/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1182&context=jdvi#:%7E:text=Background%3A%20Dry%20skin%20or%20xerosis,water%20in%20the%20stratum%20corneum.">give it a swerve</a>. Those <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/dth.14436">prone to acne</a> or eczema, for example, might find the <a href="https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(21)00813-7/fulltext">olive oil exacerbates their problems</a>. Some <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22995032/">dermatologists warn against</a> using it as skin care altogether – bad news for JLo.</p>
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<p>Thanks largely to celebrity promotion, drinking olive oil has now become a <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/lifestyle/tiktok-dua-lipa-ice-cream-olive-oil-b2479725.html">worldwide TikTok sensation</a>. Viral videos show influencers tossing back shots of cult olive oil brands, and proclaiming a wide range of health benefits from improving digestion to clearing up acne. </p>
<p>Celebrity and influencers are sold on liquid gold but what about the rest of us? Can drinking olive oil really work on miracles for our health? </p>
<h2>The benefits of olive oil</h2>
<p>There’s no doubt that olive oil is full of good stuff. It’s high in polyphenols and antioxidants, which have protective qualities for the body’s tissues. It’s also a rich source of essential fatty acids, including oleic acid, which is known for <a href="https://foodrevolution.org/blog/olives-and-olive-oil-benefits/#:%7E:text=Compared%20with%20olives%2C%20olive%20oil,in%20polyphenols%20and%20antioxidants%2C%20however">lowering cholesterol</a> so reducing the chances of heart disease. </p>
<p>Research has found that the inclusion of olive oil in the diet shows encouraging effects in a variety of <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fnu11092039">inflammatory and medical diseases</a> and can <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffnut.2022.980429">support weight management</a> if used correctly. </p>
<p>Replacing butter, margarine, mayonnaise and dairy fat with olive oil has been linked to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jacc.2021.10.041">lower risk of mortality</a>. There’s also evidence to suggest that the protective compounds in olive oil may help <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0261649">guard against cancer</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10376491/">dementia</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29141573/">support the liver</a> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7916323/">and kidneys</a>.</p>
<p>But none of this is new information to health professionals. The health benefits of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7466243/">extra virgin olive oil</a> are <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fnu11092039">well researched</a> and nutritionists have promoted olive oil as a swap for saturated cooking fat for years. </p>
<p>After all, the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7536728/">Mediterranean diet</a> has been touted as one of the healthiest diets in the world for decades. The diet itself can vary from region to region, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fnu15092127">virgin olive oil</a> is a <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fnu11092039">consistent element</a>. It’s used as the <a href="https://www.themediterraneandish.com/cooking-with-olive-oil/">main source of cooking fat</a> and included in everything from salad dressings to bread.</p>
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<h2>Can fat be healthy? Yes and no</h2>
<p>Fats are crucial for a balanced diet, aiding in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A,D,E,K and enhancing the nutritional value of meals. </p>
<p>However, fat of any kind is also dense in calories and excessive consumption <a href="https://doi.org/10.1159/000336848">can lead to weight gain</a>. According to the <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/17-07-2023-who-updates-guidelines-on-fats-and-carbohydrates">World Health Organization</a>, to prevent unhealthy weight gain, adults should limit their intake of fat to 30% of total energy intake with no more than 10% coming from saturated fats. </p>
<p>Two tablespoons of olive oil – the standard amount in the shots taken by celebrities and social media influencers – contain 28g of fat (238 calories) and 3.8g of saturated fat equating to <a href="https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/171413/nutrients">19% of the recommended daily intake</a>. </p>
<p>That daily shot of extra virgin, then, might not be the best idea. Adding small amounts of olive oil to meals throughout the day is a more balanced – and appetising – approach to incorporating healthy fats into your diet.</p>
<p>But what about Kourtney Kardashian’s <a href="https://poosh.com/why-kourtney-kardashian-drinks-tablespoon-evoo/#:%7E:text=First%20things%20first%2C%20it's%20recommended,a.m.%20(every%20other%20day).">claim that</a>: “It’s recommended to consume extra virgin olive oil in the morning on an empty stomach so the oil can coat your system and neutralize your stomach walls for optimal benefits?” </p>
<p><a href="https://www.oliveoiltimes.com/briefs/consuming-olive-oil-on-an-empty-stomach-health-benefits/91503">Some brands</a> have also echoed the idea that consuming olive oil on an empty stomach offers unique health benefits. But no. There’s no scientific evidence to suggest this is true. </p>
<p>For a healthy but more satisfying snack, Kourtney might try including a handful of olives into her daily diet. Olives offer the same rich array of nutrients, including vitamins E, A and K, alongside essential minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium and amino acids. </p>
<p>Unlike olive oil, olives have the added benefit of a high fibre content. The combination of fat and fibre enhances feelings of satiety, making olives a nutritious addition to the diet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224018/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hazel Flight does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The benefits of consuming olive oil have been known for years – but the evidence about using it for skincare is fairly mixed.
Hazel Flight, Programme Lead Nutrition and Health, Edge Hill University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/223831
2024-02-22T13:44:20Z
2024-02-22T13:44:20Z
With Beyoncé’s foray into country music, the genre may finally break free from the stereotypes that have long dogged it
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576856/original/file-20240220-24-x8s4qi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=461%2C17%2C2850%2C1598&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Beyoncé and her husband, Jay-Z, at the 66th Grammy Awards on Feb. 4, 2024, in Los Angeles.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/beyoncé-and-jay-z-onstage-during-the-66th-grammy-awards-at-news-photo/1986605934?adppopup=true">Kevin Mazur/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On Super Bowl Sunday, Beyoncé released two country songs – “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhKNjTb6U1Y">16 Carriages</a>” and “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=238Z4YaAr1g">Texas Hold ‘Em</a>” – that elicited a mix of admiration and indignation. </p>
<p>This is <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/4/28/11526188/beyonce-country-music-black-roots">not her first foray</a> into the genre, but it is her most successful and controversial entry. As of last week, Beyoncé became the <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/beyonce-first-black-woman-number-one-country-song-texas-hold-em-1234970301/">first Black woman to have a No. 1 song on the country charts</a>. At the same time, country music stations like <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/14/arts/music/beyonce-oklahoma-radio-station.html">KYKC in Oklahoma</a> initially refused to play the record because it was “not country.”</p>
<p>Many non-listeners <a href="https://apnews.com/article/country-music-us-news-ap-top-news-lil-nas-x-music-c34fd394a0275f0726cb5bb231f70833#">stereotype country music</a> as being white, politically conservative, militantly patriotic and rural. And you can certainly find <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/06/1229407614/toby-keith-dies-cancer">artists</a> and <a href="https://americansongwriter.com/the-unabashed-meaning-behind-toby-keiths-patriotic-hit-courtesy-of-the-red-white-and-blue-the-angry-american/">songs</a> that fit that bill. </p>
<p>But the story of country has always been more complicated, and debates about race and authenticity in country are nothing new; they’ve plagued country artists, record companies and listeners for over a century.</p>
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<p>As someone who <a href="https://www.middlebury.edu/college/people/william-nash">researches and teaches Black culture and country music</a>, I hope that Beyoncé’s huge profile will change the terms of this debate.</p>
<p>To me, Beyoncé’s Blackness is not the major bone of contention here.</p>
<p>Instead, the controversy is about her “countryness,” and whether a pop star can authentically cross from one genre to the next. Lucky for Beyoncé, it’s been done plenty of times before. And her songs are arriving at a time when more and more Black musicians are charting country hits.</p>
<h2>Cross-racial collaboration</h2>
<p>Americans have long viewed country music – or, as it was known before World War II, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/41446344">hillbilly music</a> – as largely the purview of white musicians. This is partly by design. The “hillbilly” category <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2013/08/23/213852227/race-and-country-music-then-and-now">was initially created as a counterpart</a> to the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-forgotten-voices-of-race-records-pullman-porters-the-rev-tt-rose-and-the-man-with-a-clarinet-37907">race records</a>” aimed at Black audiences from the 1920s to the 1940s.</p>
<p>But from the start, the genre has been influenced by Black musical styles and performances.</p>
<p>White country music superstars like <a href="https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/carter-family">The Carter Family</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hank-Williams">Hank Williams</a> learned tunes and techniques from Black musicians <a href="https://birthplaceofcountrymusic.org/search-lesley-riddle/">Lesley Riddle</a> and <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15185820/rufus-payne">Rufus “Tee-Tot” Payne</a>, respectively. Unfortunately, few recordings of Black country artists from the early 20th century exist, and most of those who did record had their racial identity masked. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/johnny-cash">Johnny Cash’s</a> mentor, <a href="https://www.elderly.com/pages/gus-cannon-celebrating-black-history-month">Gus Cannon</a>, proves a rare exception. Cannon recorded in the 1920s with his jug band, <a href="https://www.nps.gov/locations/lowermsdeltaregion/cannon-s-jug-stompers.htm">Cannon’s Jug Stompers</a>, and he had a second wave of success during <a href="https://www.si.edu/spotlight/american-folk-music/musicians">the folk revival of the 1960s</a>.</p>
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<img alt="A black and white photograph of an older, balding Black man wearing glasses and sitting in a chair while strumming a banjo." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576840/original/file-20240220-18-kyp71y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576840/original/file-20240220-18-kyp71y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576840/original/file-20240220-18-kyp71y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576840/original/file-20240220-18-kyp71y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576840/original/file-20240220-18-kyp71y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576840/original/file-20240220-18-kyp71y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576840/original/file-20240220-18-kyp71y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Gus Cannon was an early mentor to Johnny Cash.</span>
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<p>Similarly, the genre has always included a mix of Anglo-American and Black American musical instruments. The banjo, for instance, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2011/08/23/139880625/the-banjos-roots-reconsidered">has African roots</a> and was brought to America by enslaved people. </p>
<p>In the case of “Texas Hold ‘Em,” which begins with a lively banjo riff, Beyoncé has partnered with Grammy- and Pulitzer Prize-winning MacArthur Fellow <a href="https://rhiannongiddens.com">Rhiannon Giddens</a>, America’s foremost contemporary Black banjoist and banjo scholar. (I would argue that this choice alone undercuts objections about the track’s country bona fides.) </p>
<h2>Different tacks to navigate race</h2>
<p>By releasing these tracks, Beyoncé joins performers like <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/12/arts/music/charley-pride-dead.html">Charley Pride</a> and <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/06/14/mickey-guyton-takes-on-the-overwhelming-whiteness-of-country-music">Mickey Guyton</a> – country stars whose success has forced them to confront questions about the links between their racial and musical identities. </p>
<p>Pride, whose hits include “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’,” “Just Between You and Me” and “Is Anybody Going to San Antone?,” became, in 1971, the first Black American to win the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year award. In 2000, he was the first Black American <a href="https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/charley-pride">inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame</a>. </p>
<p>But throughout his career, Pride resisted attempts to emphasize his Blackness. From his 1971 hit “I’m Just Me” to his <a href="https://andscape.com/features/charley-pride-wanted-to-be-judged-by-his-work-not-his-race/">2014 refusal to discuss his racial “firsts” with a Canadian talk show host</a>, Pride consistently strove to be seen as a country artist who happened to be Black, rather than as a country musician whose Blackness was central to his public persona and work. </p>
<p>At the other end of the spectrum is Guyton, who gained recognition and acclaim for songs like her 2020 hit “<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/31/entertainment/mickey-guyton-country-singer/index.html">Black Like Me</a>” – a frank, heartfelt commentary on the challenges she’s faced as a Black woman pursuing a career in Nashville, Tennessee. </p>
<p>Both Pride and Guyton reflect the zeitgeists of their respective decades. In the wake of the civil rights struggles of the 1960s, Pride’s “colorblind” approach enabled him to circumvent <a href="https://www.whitehousehistory.org/racial-tension-in-the-1970s">existing racial tensions</a>. He chose his material with an eye toward averting controversy – for example, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/12/16/946727442/theres-only-one-charley-pride">he eschewed love ballads</a>, lest they be understood as promoting interracial relationships. At the start of his career, when his music was released without artist photos, Pride made jokes about his “<a href="https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/country-music/charley-pride-biography">permanent tan</a>” to put surprised white concertgoers at ease.</p>
<p>Guyton’s work, on the other hand, resonated with the national outrage over the murder of George Floyd and tapped into the celebration of Black empowerment that was part of the ethos of Black Lives Matter. </p>
<p>And yet I cannot think of another Black musical artist with Beyoncé’s cultural cache who has taken up country music. </p>
<p>Some might argue that <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ray-Charles">Ray Charles</a>, whose groundbreaking 1962 album, “<a href="https://www.wideopencountry.com/ray-charles-modern-sounds-in-country-and-western-music/">Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music</a>,” brought legions of new listeners to country artists, is a forerunner of Beyoncé’s in this regard. </p>
<p>Without diminishing Charles’ significance, I expect that Beyoncé’s forthcoming <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/beyonce-announced-renaissance-act-ii-at-the-super-bowl-and-yes-its-a-country-album">Renaissance II</a>“ <a href="https://www.grammy.com/artists/beyonce-knowles/12474">will outshine</a> Charles’ landmark recording.</p>
<h2>Black country in the 21st century</h2>
<p>Over the past five years, in addition to the buzz over <a href="https://variety.com/2019/music/news/old-town-road-billy-ray-cyrus-fendi-sports-bra-lyric-songwriter-1203294198/">Lil Nas X’s "Old Town Road</a>,” a significant number of Black musicians – including <a href="https://dariusrucker.com">Darius Rucker</a>, <a href="https://www.billboard.com/artist/kane-brown/">Kane Brown</a> and <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/celebrities/18228636/who-country-music-singer-jimmie-allen/">Jimmie Allen</a>, to name a few – have charted country hits. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.blackopry.com">Black Opry Revue</a>, founded in 2021 by music journalist Holly G, produces tours that bring together rising Black country musicians, giving each more exposure than performing individually could. </p>
<p>Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” topped the country charts and made Chapman the first Black woman to win the Country Music Association’s Song of the Year award. Their <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEqb6xbeuCo">performance of the song</a> at the 2024 Grammys went viral, demonstrating both the fluidity of genres and the <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/02/tracy-chapman-luke-combs-fast-car-grammy-performance/677361/">power of collaboration</a>.</p>
<p>Beyoncé’s loyal fan base, known colloquially as “the Beyhive,” is already propelling “Texas Hold ‘Em” to the top of the pop and country charts. While there may continue to be pushback from traditionalist country music gatekeepers, country radio executives holding sway over national broadcast networks are calling Beyoncé’s new songs “<a href="https://variety.com/2024/music/news/beyonce-country-format-radio-bullish-texas-hold-em-1235913252/">a gift to country music</a>.” </p>
<p>As more and more listeners hear her directive to “just take it to the dance floor,” perhaps the sonic harmony of the country genre will translate to a new way of thinking about whether socially constructed categories, like race, ought to segregate art. </p>
<p>And what a revolution that would be.</p>
<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/1oZI4BarEecGfZd9oVvjI3?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="352" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223831/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Nash does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Her new songs are arriving at a moment when country music’s reputation as overwhelmingly white is finally starting to crack.
William Nash, Professor of American Studies and English and American Literatures, Middlebury
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/202804
2023-04-05T12:25:25Z
2023-04-05T12:25:25Z
‘Swarm’ is a dark, satirical look at how the absence of meaningful relationships can spawn a serial killer
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519088/original/file-20230403-20-pd3r0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=425%2C34%2C3236%2C2080&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Dre finds comfort in the fantasy that she'll befriend her favorite pop star. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p24057296_i_h8_aa.jpg">Amazon Studios</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Editor’s note: This article contains plot spoilers for “Swarm.”</em></p>
<p>“<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14961048/">Swarm</a>,” the new streaming series created by Donald Glover and Janine Nabers, centers on a deranged superfan named Dre who becomes a serial killer. </p>
<p>Dre longs to meet a global pop star named Ni’Jah, <a href="https://www.vibe.com/news/movies-tv/swarm-co-creator-janine-nabers-beyonce-1234744447/">who’s based on Beyoncé</a>, and Dre’s obsession with the singer sparks a multistate murder spree that begins after the death of her only friend, Marissa.</p>
<p>As a criminologist, I look to understand what causes people to commit crimes, and I see more driving Dre than her extreme fixation on a celebrity. As the story unfolds, viewers learn about Dre’s childhood. To me, these early experiences explain a lot more about her crimes than her fandom does. </p>
<h2>Social isolation and criminal behavior</h2>
<p>In 1969, criminologist Travis Hirschi came up with what he called <a href="https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/36812_5.pdf">Social Bond Theory</a> to <a href="https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/social-control-theory-and-delinquency-multivariate-test#:%7E:text=Hirschi's%20social%20control%20theory%20suggests,in%20social%20rules%20and%20convention.">explain delinquency in adolescents</a>. </p>
<p>His theory, also known as Social Control Theory, suggests that criminal behavior is much more likely to happen when a person fails to develop normal societal bonds, which Hirschi divides into four categories: attachment to parents, peers and school; occupational and educational commitment; academic involvement; and belief in social rules and convention.</p>
<p>From the start of the series, it becomes clear that Dre has few friends outside of her foster sister, Marissa. After Marissa dies by suicide, Dre is truly alone in the world. She resorts to exotic dancing and living out of a cheap motel.</p>
<p>Then, in the series’ pivotal sixth episode, viewers learn that Dre is a product of the foster care system and was severely bullied in school. </p>
<p>Dre was taken in by Marissa’s parents as a foster child. However, Marissa’s parents struggled when Dre began exhibiting violent outbursts. So they returned her to state custody. It becomes clear that Dre has lived in at least three homes as a child, and she was already exhibiting symptoms of failure to develop normal bonds. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18575260/">2008 study</a> examining the delinquency in adolescents who grew up in foster care suggests that children who jump from home to home are more likely to engage in criminal behavior than adolescents with stable homes and permanent placements. Strong attachments play a large role as a foundation for receiving and giving care and contribute to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11061791/">healthy psychological development</a>.</p>
<h2>Fleeting relationships</h2>
<p>Given this troubled upbringing and the death of Marissa, Dre’s fixation on Ni’Jah represents the last existing person who hasn’t abandoned her. Holding on to the fantasy that she would one day meet Ni’Jah and befriend her gives Dre something to believe in and connect to. </p>
<p>Throughout the series, Dre encounters a number of people who seem to offer potential for the formation of healthy relationships. Each relationship is elusive, however, as Dre fails to overcome her fixation on Ni’Jah. A fellow stripper named Hailey seems to want to bond with Dre, but the feeling is not reciprocated. Dre also meets a caring man with loose connections to Ni’Jah. That connection is short-lived as well. Dre even inadvertently joins an all-female cult but ends up murdering the cult leader, who tries to keep Dre from seeing Ni’Jah perform at a festival. </p>
<p>Why did these budding relationships all fall apart? </p>
<p>Because the damage, according to Hirschi’s theory, had already been done. The ability to form healthy bonds is meant to be cultivated in adolescence. For Dre, that ship had already sailed.</p>
<p>People with unstable childhoods like Dre’s often end up suffering from an <a href="https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Attachment-Disorders-085.aspx">attachment disorder</a>, which refers to the inability to form meaningful relationships as an adult, often due to the failure to establish proper bonds as a child.</p>
<h2>On Beyhive and Barbz</h2>
<p>The underlying narrative in “Swarm” is exaggerated, but not far-fetched. </p>
<p>Stories of fans-cum-stalkers are relatively commonplace. Justin Beiber can lay claim to one of the <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2013/03/justin-bieber-castration-plot-mastermind/317013/">creepier stalkers</a>. That man, who is now serving a life sentence in prison on unrelated charges, has a tattoo on his leg devoted to the singer and masterminded an elaborate plan to kill Bieber after the singer failed to respond to his fan mail.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman at a concert wearing sunglasses that read 'Justin Bieber.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519348/original/file-20230404-1181-vs7cz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519348/original/file-20230404-1181-vs7cz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519348/original/file-20230404-1181-vs7cz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519348/original/file-20230404-1181-vs7cz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519348/original/file-20230404-1181-vs7cz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519348/original/file-20230404-1181-vs7cz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519348/original/file-20230404-1181-vs7cz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Fans of singer Justin Bieber at a 2022 concert in Rio de Janeiro.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/justin-bieber-fan-reacts-to-the-concert-of-the-brazilian-news-photo/1242950939?adppopup=true">Mauro Pimentel/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Super fans have long been a prominent feature of popular culture, but social media has facilitated the emergence of full-fledged communities dedicated to celebrating, tracking – and protecting – stars. Beyonce has <a href="https://www.eonline.com/photos/28165/when-the-beyhive-defends-beyonce">her Beyhive</a>. <a href="https://yale-herald.com/2021/12/02/swifties-connection-and-obsession/">The Swifties</a> belong to Taylor Swift. <a href="https://i-d.vice.com/en/article/xwxn73/inside-the-rihanna-navy-her-most-extreme-super-fans-speak-out">Rihanna’s Navy</a> comes to her defense, while Nicki Minaj <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/meet-the-barbz-the-nicki-minaj-fandom-fighting-the-nicki-hate-train-705438/">has the Barbz</a> in her corner.</p>
<p>Of course, the overwhelming majority of these fans are passionate but harmless. However, for those who lack strong social connections, superfandom can evolve into blind, <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/selena-gomez-wants-the-bullying-of-hailey-bieber-to-stop">unquestioning devotion</a> to the celebrity. That sense of belonging can transform into a menacing adoration.</p>
<p>Towards the end of the series, Dre is arrested in her last desperate attempt to meet Ni'Jah. However, an idyllic ending ensues, even though what play out appears to be Dre’s fantasy.</p>
<p>In the last scene, Ni’Jah – whose face has been replaced with Marissa’s – saves Dre from security and the two leave the concert together. </p>
<p>Though Dre doesn’t say much, she radiates, for the first time in the series, a sense of calm, comfort and connection.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202804/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jenae Harris does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
What causes people to obsess over celebrities – to the point where they’re willing to do whatever it takes to make contact? Criminology may hold some answers.
Jenae Harris, Lecturer in Criminal Justice, Kennesaw State University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/202389
2023-03-23T16:12:24Z
2023-03-23T16:12:24Z
Swarm: Donald Glover’s new show is a dark meditation on fan culture from a decidedly Black female perspective
<p>Swarm, a new show from Janine Nabers and Donald Glover, exposes the very real dangers of obsessive fandoms. Each episode begins with a series of title cards that let the audience know that “this is not a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is intentional.”</p>
<p>A horror-comedy, the show depicts a young Black woman, Andrea “Dre” Greene (Dominique Fishback), as a superfan of fictional pop star Ni’Jah (blatantly based on Beyonce) and obsessive member of her online fandom, the Swarm (Beyoncé’s is called the BeyHive). Dre falls deeper into her obsession after the death of her foster sister and roommate, Marissa (Chloe Bailey), which sends Dre on a two-year murderous rampage to “defend” Ni’Jah.</p>
<p>Shows about obsessive fans aren’t new, but Swarm is the first to take this concept and centre Black womanhood and contemporary Black popular fan culture. </p>
<p>Online fandoms have arguably become more extreme since the 2010s, when social media changed how we interact with celebrities, allowing people to form intimate but one-sided connections called “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/feb/13/too-close-for-comfort-the-pitfalls-of-parasocial-relationships">parasocial relationships</a>”. </p>
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<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life._</p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/rihanna-and-radical-pregnancy-fashion-how-the-victorians-made-maternity-wear-boring-182000?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Rihanna and radical pregnancy fashion – how the Victorians made maternity wear boring</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/chris-brown-a-fandom-expert-on-how-racialised-loyalty-helps-the-controversial-singer-retain-his-fans-201123?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Chris Brown: a fandom expert on how racialised loyalty helps the controversial singer retain his fans</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/lucky-girl-syndrome-the-potential-dark-side-of-tiktoks-extreme-positive-thinking-trend-198439?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Lucky girl syndrome: the potential dark side of TikTok’s extreme positive thinking trend</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>Fans who display obsessive, dangerous behaviour are called “stans”. The name came from the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOMhN-hfMtY&ab_channel=EminemVEVO">2000 Eminem song</a> that portrays stalker fan, Stan, who, failing to get a reply to his fan letters, kills himself and his girlfriend. </p>
<p>The term “stan” has evolved to describe a fan with an unreasonable <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/life/2021/09/07/stan-culture-fans-need-reconsider-how-they-worship-celebrities/5666108001/">obsession that is not inherently dangerous</a> and more people are using it to describe themselves. Swarm, however, does explore the darkest side of this culture and how, for some people, being a stan can be an emotional blanket under which deeper issues lie.</p>
<h2>When a fan becomes a ‘stan’</h2>
<p>Most fans are <a href="https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/13624/">not pathological or extreme</a>, but for some social media users hate has more power than pure devotion. As such, it’s become a common occurrence for fans to show support for the people they idolise by attacking anyone who might be seen as criticising them. </p>
<p>Incidents like this have been seen many times in the Beyhive. For instance in 2019,
Beyhive stans <a href="https://dlisted.com/2019/06/07/beyonce-was-not-mad-at-the-nba-finals-and-her-publicist-wants-the-hive-to-stop-threatening-to-kill-people-please/">levelled death threats</a> at Nicole Curran, wife of Golden State Warriors basketball team owner Joe Lacob, for leaning over Beyoncé to talk to the singer’s husband, Jay-Z. In response, Beyoncé’s publicist <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByZJa6SAwm6/">posted a message</a> on Instagram asking that the fanbase not “spew hate” in the name of their idol. </p>
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<p>This is a real-life example that Swarm dramatises, with the “offending” party suffering a grisly end as Dre “defends” Ni'Jah. In these hyperbolic representations, Swarm forces audiences to think about how we interact with the artists we love. </p>
<p>Ni'Jah does not drink or do drugs. Her addiction, however, is to Ni’Jah and the way she makes her feel. That feeling is of belonging. </p>
<p>In a pivotal scene, Dre manages to get into the VIP section of a club where Ni’Jah is. She picks up a plum as she ogles the artist dancing. </p>
<p>In a close-up shot, we see her grotesquely devour the fruit. This is intercut with a shot of her teeth moving closer to something. This dream-like sequence is abruptly ended, as the closeup cuts to a standard full shot, and we learn that Dre bit Ni’Jah’s face. </p>
<p>Again, Nabers and Glover have taken a <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/we-finally-know-who-bit-beyonce">real rumour</a> about Beyoncé being bitten and turned it into a critique of our sometimes dangerous treatment of celebrities. Her consumption of the plum is unsettling and greedy. Nothing else exists in that moment or matters. She has lost total control. Reality has given way to fantasy and Ni'Jah becomes the plum to Dre. </p>
<p>Biting may be extreme, but it isn’t far off from fans’ attempts to <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2013/06/fan-grabs-rihanna-rihanna-hits-fan-with-mike.html">grope</a> their <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRf42SVsYo4">favourite artists</a> as if they are a piece of fruit or a doll.</p>
<p>Clinical researchers Randy and Lori Sansone have developed what they call the “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3960781/">number one fan</a>” phenomenon. Their research has found that celebrity worshippers are more likely to have poor mental health and exhibit symptoms of anxiety, addictive behaviour and depression. Throughout the series, we can see a lot of this in Dre, for whom the fantasy of Ni'Jah makes her feel alive and not repressed. </p>
<h2>Uncomfortable black representations</h2>
<p>It would be a shame to dismiss the series as a shallow portrayal of extreme fandom, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/mar/22/swarm-series-review-donald-glover-amazon">some critics have</a>. Swarm is a satire of the darker elements of fandom but also a meditation on Black characters and Black popular culture. </p>
<p>The character of Dre, in particular, has made a few uncomfortable. As one <a href="https://twitter.com/pagekennedy/status/1636613444148527105?s=12&t=kVSIEsPPhVYR5zhFZjgsRA">Twitter user</a> put it: “R we supposed to like Dre? Root for her? Or hate her?” She went on to name other serial killer characters from popular shows who she liked, including (the fictionalised) Jeffrey Dahmer and Dexter, stressing she wasn’t sure she could like Dre.</p>
<p>I don’t blame this viewer because characters like Dre are extremely rare on TV. When was the last time you saw a Black queer female serial killer as opposed to a white male one?</p>
<p>The show’s representation of stans is purposefully dark and offers a Black female perspective. Co-creator Donald Glover <a href="https://time.com/6262848/swarm-ending-explained/">said</a> that the idea for the show was inspired by a tweet from a Black woman complaining about the trope of the very put-together Black woman who is neat and successful. This tweeter wished, instead, to see grittier depictions of Black women. </p>
<p>Dre is the opposite of put together. She is a murderer, user of people, emotionally stunted and fiscally irresponsible. She’s falling apart and actively destructive as she embraces fantasy to escape trauma. Being uncomfortable is the point.</p>
<p>When we limit “good” representation only to portrayals that uplift Black people, we do a disservice to all the Black creators who want to sink their teeth into the complex humanity of our Blackness. This includes the darker parts that we would prefer to hide from a general audience.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202389/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kadian Pow does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
A murderous super fan, Dre is the messy Black female character audiences deserve.
Kadian Pow, Lecturer in Sociology and Black Studies, Birmingham City University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/199543
2023-02-09T14:56:14Z
2023-02-09T14:56:14Z
Beyoncé is not the most commercially successful artist of our age but she might be one of the most culturally significant
<p>There is always a flurry of media excitement at this time of year surrounding the <a href="https://www.grammy.com/">Grammys</a>, the American music business’s peer-recognised music awards delivered by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.<br>
But away from the gossip about who deserved to win, the outfits on display and the racial and gender politics surrounding the awards, this year there is one thing that stands out. In 2023, Beyoncé won the Grammy for best dance/electronic album and in the process <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/feb/05/beyonce-breaks-record-grammys-harry-styles-kendrick-lamar-adele">became the Grammy’s most-awarded artist</a>.</p>
<p>The record had previously rested with Hungarian-British conductor Sir Georg Solti, <a href="https://www.classicfm.com/artists/sir-georg-solti/beyonce-grammys-win-record/">whose tally of 31 Grammys had stood for more than 20 years</a>. </p>
<p>Beyoncé has been the subject of Grammy controversy in previous years. She was widely perceived to have been twice robbed of the album of the year.</p>
<p>In 2015, her album Beyoncé lost out to electronic musician Beck’s Morning Phase. The award presentation was hijacked by Kanye West in protest who demanded Beck forfeit the award and “<a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/beck-besting-beyonce-grammy-new-album-colors-interview-8005680/">respect [Beyoncé’s] artistry</a>”. </p>
<p>In 2017, the critically acclaimed Lemonade failed to top Adele’s 25. The British singer <a href="https://www.grammy.com/news/adele-25-beyonce-lemonade-grammys-2017-album-of-the-year-win-acceptance-speech-video-rewind">stated on accepting the album of the year</a>: “I can’t possibly accept this award. And I’m very humbled, and I’m very grateful and gracious, but my artist of my life is Beyoncé.”</p>
<p>The resulting outcry brought about <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/will-the-grammys-2018-be-a-breakthrough-moment_uk_5a21389ce4b05072e8b56810">a heightened public interest in the racial politics of the awards</a> with the #grammyssowhite hashtag trending and the Academy making the voting system more accessible. </p>
<p>Beyoncé did not win best album again this year, losing out to British singer Harry Style’s Harry House. However, she is now the most recognised artist at the award show with 32 Grammys. </p>
<p>The Grammys are voted on by record companies and Recording Academy members, Beyoncé has been recognised by her peers as an accomplished artist. Whether this record makes her one of the most successful artists of our current age, however, is questionable. Looking at her sales and figures as well as her fandom and the critical response to her work paints a more complicated picture. </p>
<h2>Critically but not commercially successful</h2>
<p>In 2022, Beyonce’s Renaissance didn’t break the top ten albums in terms of units sold. That list was topped by the Puerto Rican artist <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/2022-us-year-end-music-report-luminate-top-album-bad-bunny-un-verano-sin-ti-1235196736/">Bad Bunny</a>. </p>
<p>Her streaming figures <a href="https://ledgernote.com/blog/interesting/most-streamed-artists-ever/">are also not as impressive as you might think</a>. She doesn’t break into the top ten list of all-time streamed artists or even figure in the top 30 of monthly listeners on Spotify. The Canadian rapper <a href="https://routenote.com/blog/most-streamed-artists-all-time-spotify/">Drake</a> topped the list in 2022, followed by <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-latin/bad-bunny-spotify-most-streamed-artists-2022-1234638759/">Bad Bunny</a>. </p>
<p>So it’s clear that despite her status, in purely commercial terms Beyoncé is not a dominating presence in the music industry, with many artists selling and streaming at considerably higher levels. </p>
<p>If we move beyond the relatively crude tool of sales and streaming figures for assessing Beyoncé’s status, however, she does fare better. </p>
<p>An analysis of critical response to her last four albums shows that her last three albums have struck more of a chord with the critics than previous efforts, as her brand has developed into an almost mythic status.</p>
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<p>Renaissance won the <a href="https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/best-albums-2022/">Pitchfork Best Album of the Year</a> in 2022. Lemonade from 2016 <a href="https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9980-the-50-best-albums-of-2016/?page=5">only reached the third spot</a> in Pitchfork’s Best album of the year list, but still <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/nov/30/the-best-albums-of-2016">gained the top spot in the Guardian’s list</a> with the paper saying: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>With this sumptuously produced visual album, Beyoncé once again pulled the rug out from under the idea of what a pop R&B record could be – it’s hard to think of a pop star who has travelled further from bumping and grinding out Top 40 fodder, to this politicised avenging angel.</p>
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<p>The artist’s 2013 self-titled album Beyoncé became Billboard’s Best Album of the Year with Q magazine dubbing it “one of the greatest albums of the past 30 years”. </p>
<p>However, when we look at the album 4 from 2011, it only reached 25 in the <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/50-best-albums-of-2011-154391/beyonce-4-2-32075/">Rolling Stone “best of list”</a> and <a href="https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/8727-the-top-50-albums-of-2011/?page=3">27 in Pitchfork’s</a>. </p>
<h2>The BeyHive</h2>
<p>Her last three albums have touched on issues from racism and blackness to sexism and religion. These albums have cemented her cultural importance and developed her status as <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/5/8/18531299/beyonce-taylor-swift-plagiarism-controversy-billboard-homecoming-me">idol</a>. </p>
<p>Her songs have had a powerful cultural impact. She has been described as empowering new generations of <a href="https://www.grammy.com/news/beyonce-black-power-empowerment-black-sounds-beautiful">young black women and artists</a> and even inspiring a new wave of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/shortcuts/2019/oct/23/cult-beyonce-christian-worship-new-york">Christian worship</a>.</p>
<p>This sort of idolisation of the singer has meant she has one of the most active fan bases in pop culture. Known as <a href="https://www.theringer.com/2016/6/3/16042806/beyonce-beyhive-online-fan-forum-b7c7226ac16d#:%7E:text=The%20BeyHive%20is%20massive%20%E2%80%94%20more,for%20access%20to%20the%20group">the BeyHive</a>, they are known for coming out in force anytime even a hint of criticism is levelled at <a href="https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/pictures/12-times-the-beyhive-attacked-to-defend-beyonce-w206014/">Beyoncé</a>. In particular, when feminist academic bell hooks described Beyoncé as a “<a href="https://livestream.com/thenewschool/slave">terrorist</a>” for how she chooses to appear in her music videos. </p>
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<p>On occasion, they have been so fervent, levelling death threats at those they perceive as slighting the singer, that Beyonce’s publicist has issued reminders <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByZJa6SAwm6/">like the following</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I also want to speak here to the beautiful BeyHiVE. I know your love runs deep but that love has to be given to every human. It will bring no joy to the person you love so much if you spew hate in her name. We love you. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00332747.1956.11023049">parasocial</a> relationship – where people become deeply attached to and invest a lot in a media figure who doesn’t return the emotion – that her fanbase has with the artist is intense. This sort of die-hard fandom could explain why so many feel as if she has been “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2023/02/06/beyonce-grammys-album-year/">snubbed</a>”, despite becoming the most awarded artist at the Grammys of all time. </p>
<p>So while she might not be the most commercially successful she certainly is culturally important and her record as the artist who has won the most Grammys ever is certainly reflective of that.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199543/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adrian York does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
She doesn’t have the most streams or biggest sales figures but she does have a die-hard fan base.
Adrian York, Senior Lecturer in Commercial Music Performance, University of Westminster
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/188080
2022-08-11T15:25:24Z
2022-08-11T15:25:24Z
How Burna Boy set the world alight with his mixed brew of influences
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478504/original/file-20220810-590-s2rtpf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Burna Boy promotes his new album Love, Damini in the US.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Prince Williams/Wireimage</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nigerian Afrobeats star <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/burna-boy-mn0003297650/biography">Burna Boy</a> burst onto the global stage in 2018 with a slew of irresistible hits on his third album, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4wXXJEoblA">Outside</a>, accompanied by mandatory fiendish good looks and charm. <a href="https://www.grammy.com/artists/burna-boy/251682">Grammy</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsvCb59TcDk">BET</a> awards helped firm up his status within a highly competitive global music industry. </p>
<p>Before his international success, which has been cemented by his latest offering <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/burna-boy-love-damini-album-stream-1235109630/">Love, Damini</a> (2022), Burna spent years experimenting with different sounds in London and South Africa and his ragga-inspired vocal style became distinctive.</p>
<p>His 2014 contribution to South African hip hop mainstay AKA’s infectious song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIuXDU-V954">All Eyes on Me</a> first put him on the African radar. His smouldering hook on the multiple award-winning track made all the difference and demonstrated he was an artist to watch, channelling both West African and Jamaican musical flavours.</p>
<p>Although he was deemed talented by his South African hip hop peers, his shine remained somewhat muted. He had to return to his native Nigeria to attain the level of success he obviously yearned: awards, global tours and A-class industry connections.</p>
<p>Although he rose in a whirlwind, with an enigmatic combination of singing styles and influences, Burna Boy has, at least for the moment, become mainstream; a slightly compliant agent of the commercial music industry. (The same is true of most of today’s Afrobeats stars, even if this is a Faustian truth everyone might choose to ignore.)</p>
<p>On Love, Damini (he was born Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu) Burna still exudes just the right amount of foreboding and palpable intrigue to remain credible as an artist. But how much of his much-touted originality does he have left? Perhaps a way to begin to answer this question is to revisit his musical influences.</p>
<h2>Spotting his influences</h2>
<p>It is difficult not to love club bangers such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-h7ltwACLs">Soke</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPe09eE6Xio">Ye</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7WfPHHXCAY">Gbona</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecl8Aod0Tl0">On the Low</a>, all produced before Burna Boy’s groundbreaking 2021 Grammy win with his fifth album, <a href="https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/burna-boy-twice-as-tall/">Twice as Tall</a> (2020). </p>
<p>In most of these songs, Fela Kuti’s influence is crystal clear in samples and the unequivocal lifting of various hooks. For many, it seemed like Burna was Kuti’s heir apparent. </p>
<p>From the late 1960s Nigerian musician and singer Kuti, along with his amazing bands, almost single-handedly pioneered a genre called <a href="https://www.masterclass.com/articles/afrobeat-music-guide#what-is-afrobeat">Afrobeat</a>. This sound incorporated strong Pan Africanist politics, intricate call and response singing, and heavy West African drumming laced with enticing jazz and funk riffs. <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/afrobeat-history">Afrobeats</a> is an umbrella term for a more radio-friendly and commercial version of Kuti’s Afrobeat. </p>
<p>Burna Boy’s Kuti credentials appear impeccable. His maternal grandfather, the broadcaster and jazz enthusiast Benson Idonije, had <a href="https://guardian.ng/art/dis-fela-sef-a-benson-idonije-memoir/">managed</a> Kuti in the 1960s. In one <a href="https://www.okayafrica.com/bose-ogulu-burna-boy-mom-manager-fela-kuti-dancer-okayafrica-100-women-2019/">interview</a>, his mother and manager, business woman Bose Ogulu, reportedly refers to Kuti as the closest thing she had to a godfather.</p>
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<p>Burna has also been influenced by ragga, dub and grime ever since his days as a student in the UK. The foundations of these genres were laid mainly in Jamaica but found fresh creative wings in urban UK music scenes. This culminated in a hit like Burna’s 2017 song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xho39TPlL4Q">Rock your Body</a>. </p>
<p>Even before the arrival of Love, Damini, Burna Boy had succeeded in melding his diverse cultural and sonic experiences into one powerful aural stew.</p>
<p>Burna has not only cribbed the Jamaican sound. He’s also adopted the rude boy persona with tales of <a href="https://guardian.ng/news/burna-boy-faces-police-probe-for-the-second-time-in-six-years/">private security gunshots</a>, <a href="https://dailytrust.com/burna-boy-shatta-wale-and-rape-culture">rape allegations</a> and a trail of broken hearts that have clouded his already threatening aura.</p>
<h2>Ways to weigh Burna</h2>
<p>Obviously, Burna was aiming to act as some kind of generational spokesperson for a restless and burgeoning <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/17/world/africa/who-are-afropolitans/index.html">Afropolitan</a> brigade. It couldn’t have been otherwise after being fed on a diet of Kuti-inspired Pan Africanism and neocolonial resistance. By most standards, this is heavy stuff for a market and generation captured by instant gratification.</p>
<p>And then he struck musical gold with his eclectic brew of West African rhythms, West Indian jungle grooves and the ubiquity of hip hop. Burna once <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa6DweKPf1A">described</a> part of this gumbo as “pepperoni pizza” with Kuti’s Afrobeat as the dough. There is nothing particularly unique about this recipe. Instead, the X factor can be found in his own winning combination of ingredients – bound with an arresting personality. Of course, there’s also his amazing dexterity in sampling to ponder.</p>
<p>He has <a href="https://theconversation.com/setting-the-record-straight-burna-boy-didnt-create-a-music-genre-called-afrofusion-187189">proclaimed</a> that his brand of music is a new genre called Afrofusion. Probably this is just a way of leveraging newfound success for greater effect. A way to distinguish himself from the teeming throng of Afrobeats aspirers. </p>
<p>To the undiscerning, Burna Boy’s sound is pure genius. But for those conversant with Kuti, with Jamaican godfather of dub, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/reggaes-mad-scientist-65011/">Lee “Scratch” Perry</a>, and similar genres of <a href="https://jamaicansmusic.com/learn/origins/toasting">Caribbean toasting</a> (lyrical chanting over dancehall music), it all seems a bit déjà vu. </p>
<p>There are different ways to weigh Burna. If we put him against Kuti, Perry and the greats of dub, he is arguably minor. But in an incessantly Instagrammed era, endlessly photographed and reproduced, he is a giant bristling with substance, creative menace and yet to be decoded signification. </p>
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<p>Burna was birthed from robust foundations of Afrobeat, hip hop, ragga, grime, drum ‘n’ bass and dub-related sounds. There are hardly any other foundations as deep as these. His work, up till now, has mainly consisted of translating and reconfiguring those jungle-laden sounds for a mass audience. </p>
<p>In this regard, he is a faithful conduit, a vehicle for simmering, unadulterated and quasi-spiritual grooves. Sometimes, it isn’t even certain that Burna recognises the depth of what he is channelling. If he did, he wouldn’t be so eager to pair up with every hot music star that pops up on the scene.</p>
<p>Burna’s lyrics in hits such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=421w1j87fEM">Last Last</a> (2022) are replete with profanity, inanity and nonsense rhymes that sound good to the ears especially if you happen not to understand West African <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38000387">pidgin</a>. This is yet another aspect of his work that can be quite bewildering; the sudden swings between sense and nonsense, pseudo-philosophical gravity and outright puerility.</p>
<h2>Rolling in dollars</h2>
<p>Lately, Burna has launched a campaign to gain even greater success. Just look at his high profile collaborations with the likes of US musicians <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aiCPsNcRMU">Pop Smoke</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxb5GItBjJI">Beyoncé</a> as well as UK pop stars like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byO74UGa8bI">Sam Smith</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDZ25anwgjc">Ed Sheeran</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXeOBkKdiAg">Stormzy</a> or Nigerian singer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNTkoLf5x5U">Wizkid</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/100-years-of-pop-music-in-nigeria-what-shaped-four-eras-181298">100 years of pop music in Nigeria: what shaped four eras</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Already, some of his hits are beginning to sound a little laboured, over-thought or under-thought. But perhaps this hardly matters as long as the dollars, brand endorsements and festival invitations keep rolling in. In today’s music industry, that’s all that counts. </p>
<p>Burna Boy has won the world and retained his brooding sense of menace, but it remains to be seen how much of his true creative soul he has left. </p>
<p><em>This article was updated to more accurately reflect the biography of Bose Ogulu.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188080/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sanya Osha does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
With his new album Love, Damini he has conquered the world. But how much of his creative soul does he have left?
Sanya Osha, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Humanities in Africa, University of Cape Town
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/188431
2022-08-10T20:11:50Z
2022-08-10T20:11:50Z
Disco ain’t dead: how Beyoncé resurrected dance music and its queer history for Renaissance
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478225/original/file-20220809-24-orxjcu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2995%2C2308&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jason LaVeris/ Getty</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you felt the world stop turning for a moment in July, it’s because Beyoncé dropped her new album, Renaissance. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-beyonce-songs-1378620/find-your-way-back-2019-1380991/">Rolling Stone</a> has described her as the world’s “greatest living entertainer”, with <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-beyonces-world-were-just-living-in-it-185603">a stardom that intersects</a> fashion, dance, multiple genres of music and visual albums. </p>
<p>Renaissance is her seventh solo studio album, and her first in five years. It is being widely acclaimed as an “<a href="https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/beyonce-renaissance/">immaculate</a>” dance record. </p>
<p>Part of Beyoncé’s continued success involves her sampling from a diverse range of artists across history to layer and create new meaning. She has done this repeatedly as a way of <a href="https://theconversation.com/beyonce-has-helped-usher-in-a-renaissance-for-african-artists-188099">showcasing African artists</a>, and on Renaissance she pays special tribute to house and disco music, and especially it’s queer history.</p>
<p>In fact, the entire album is dedicated to her late gay Uncle Johnny. “He was my godmother and the first person to expose me to a lot of the music and culture that serve as inspiration for this album,” <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/07/29/beyonce-renaissance-queerness-lgbtq-fans/">Beyonce wrote</a>. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Thank you to all the pioneers who originate culture, to all of the fallen angels whose contributions have gone unrecognised for far too long.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The first single from the album, Break My Soul, features two key samples and songwriting credits. The first is New Orleans artist Big Freedia, previously featured on Beyoncé’s 2016 Formation. The second is from Show Me Love by Robin S., a song that typifies the house genre that grew from the 80s and became mainstream in the 90s. </p>
<p>The use of house music throughout the album, and her sampling of queer artists such as Big Freedia, points to a queer history of disco and house music that was once controversial enough to cause public riots. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-beyonces-world-were-just-living-in-it-185603">It's Beyoncé's world. We're just living in it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The day they killed disco</h2>
<p>On a warm night in July 1979, disco was murdered. </p>
<p>Referred to as “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/jul/19/disco-demolition-the-night-they-tried-to-crush-black-music">Disco Demolition Night</a>”, 50,000 people showed up to a baseball park in Chicago to watch a crate of disco records be blown up. In the aftermath, the crowd rushed onto the field. A riot followed in which over 30 people were arrested and many were injured.</p>
<p>Disco had grown in popularity across the 1970s reaching its apex with the release of Saturday Night Fever in 1977. A concentrated rebellion against the genre grew in popularity among rock music fans, who felt the genre was too fixated on mechanical sounds that lacked authenticity.</p>
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<p>Rock fans genuinely feared they would lose out to disco, but it is difficult to separate their fears from racism and homophobia. </p>
<p>John Travolta’s starring role in Saturday Night Fever in 1977 presented a different version of masculinity, concerned with fashion and dancing. Acts such as The Village People did little to ease fears of the death of rock and roll. The gradual rise in gay and queer visibility in New York and San Francisco, particularly in music clubs, were also seen as a threat.</p>
<p>Critics have since identified the anti-disco movement <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/jul/19/disco-demolition-the-night-they-tried-to-crush-black-music">as almost completely</a> populated by white men between 18-37. The leader of the movement was <a href="https://www.wbur.org/onlyagame/2019/07/12/disco-demolition-dahl-veeck-chicago-white-sox">radio DJ Steve Dahl</a> and in the weeks leading up to the explosive protest, Dahl and press agencies covering the movement conflated disco with R&B and funk music, and with gay men. </p>
<p>Disco Demolition Night was the climax of a protest years in the making. To a certain extent, it was successful in its desire to kill disco. In the years that followed, disco disappeared off the charts and glam-rock began to take its place. </p>
<p>The artists and audiences who adored disco were forced underground, particularly the queer community, and such was the birth of house music.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/beyonce-is-cutting-a-sample-of-milkshake-out-of-her-new-song-but-not-because-she-stole-it-188187">Beyoncé is cutting a sample of Milkshake out of her new song – but not because she 'stole' it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Don’t stop the beat</h2>
<p>As disco declined in popularity, artists were no longer able to afford the lush sounds of a full orchestral backing, forcing a reliance on cheaper, synthetic sounds. Disco clubs moved to literal warehouses, giving house music its name. </p>
<p>House music, like disco, is dance music for clubs. It focuses on mechanical sounds, fixed tempos and repetitive sounds. By the 1990s, thanks to hits like Show Me Love by Robin S., house music became mainstream, and was used by Cher, Madonna, Kylie Minogue and even Aqua’s quintessential 90s pop hit Barbie Girl.</p>
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<p>In recent years, <a href="https://switchedonpop.com/episodes/beyonce-house-break-my-soul-show-me-love">disco has seen a steady re-emergence</a>, spearheaded by producers such as Pharrell, who collaborated with Daft Punk for the 2013 hit Lose Yourself to Dance. Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia (2020) was a finely crafted, album length tribute to disco music.</p>
<p>Beyoncé’s new album also features a pantheon of <a href="https://twitter.com/WrittenByTerry/status/1552891193998151680">other queer artists</a> (Ts Madison, Honey Dijon, Syd, Moi Renee, MikeQ and Kevin Aviance), and is deliberately designed to be played in dance clubs. In contrast to her other albums, each track blends seamlessly into the next, as if the entire album is an elongated DJ set.</p>
<p>Beyoncé has been particularly open about the release of an acapella and instrumental versions of Break My Soul for use by DJs who may remix the work. She has even released a new remix of the single featuring Madonna. </p>
<p>Beyoncé’s Renaissance may secure 2022 as the year disco and house fulfilled their resurrection. Lizzo’s new album, Special, features About Damn Time, a retro-disco dance hit that is currently sitting at the top of America’s <a href="https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/">Billboard charts</a>. </p>
<p>These female artists follow a trend already set by Cher, Madonna and Kylie Minogue, who publicly ally themselves with the queer community and deliberate create dance albums for their dedicated audience. In doing so, they have become the biggest pop stars of their time. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/beyonce-has-helped-usher-in-a-renaissance-for-african-artists-188099">Beyoncé has helped usher in a renaissance for African artists</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188431/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Burton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
On Renaissance, Beyoncé pays tribute to the queer history of house and disco music.
David Burton, Lecturer, Theatre, University of Southern Queensland
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/188187
2022-08-04T15:49:59Z
2022-08-04T15:49:59Z
Beyoncé is cutting a sample of Milkshake out of her new song – but not because she ‘stole’ it
<p>There was lot of excitement leading up to Beyoncé’s album Rennaissance, which was <a href="https://variety.com/2022/music/news/beyonce-renaissance-leak-1235327192/">leaked two days before it release</a>. Maybe it could have done with a bit more time, as two songs are set to be rerecorded and released. The song Heated will have <a href="https://www.insider.com/beyonc-remove-ableist-lyric-heated-renaissance-2022-8">ableist language</a> removed from it, while the song Energy will be rerecorded without one of the samples on which it is built.</p>
<hr>
<iframe id="noa-web-audio-player" style="border: none" src="https://embed-player.newsoveraudio.com/v4?key=x84olp&id=https://theconversation.com/beyonce-is-cutting-a-sample-of-milkshake-out-of-her-new-song-but-not-because-she-stole-it-188187&bgColor=F5F5F5&color=D8352A&playColor=D8352A" width="100%" height="110px"></iframe>
<p><em>You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/audio-narrated-99682">here</a>.</em></p>
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<p>This second change has been portrayed as a response to the singer Kelis calling the use of the sample “<a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/beyonce-removes-kelis-interpolation-energy-1235121669/">theft</a>”, and to Beyoncé “allegedly failing to seek permission for usage”. But that’s not actually true. While Kelis might not have been paid for the sample – and that is an issue – that’s to do with her legal contract with her producers, not a failure on Beyoncé’s part.</p>
<p>Kelis is the performer of Milkshake, which was released in 2003. Now you might think she should be getting money for any use of the song. However, the credits and the royalties for Milkshake go to Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams, together known as The Neptunes, who reportedly wrote and produced it. </p>
<p>In the music industry, when a song is recorded it has two rights attached to it. One in the actual sound recording and one in the song itself. This is why Taylor Swift re-recorded and release her music to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB1nyP_O7II">reclaim her rights</a> in the sound recordings. She was the owner of the songs themselves but not the recordings, so she made new recordings. </p>
<p>These different rights are often owned by different people and are governed by contracts. So who owns what and how much they earn depends heavily on the agreement between the people involved.</p>
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<p>In 2020, Kelis revealed in an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jan/30/unmasked-singer-kelis-on-music-men-and-her-missing-money">interview</a> that she doesn’t make any money from her two albums produced by The Neptunes. She said that she was told everything would be split three ways and so didn’t double check when presented with the contract.</p>
<p>She was 19 at the time of signing the contract and claimed that she was “blatantly lied to and tricked” but didn’t notice at first because she had other sources of income, like from touring. “Their argument is: ‘Well, you signed it.’ I’m like: ‘Yeah, I signed what I was told, and I was too young and too stupid to double-check it.’” So, due to the contract, Kelis doesn’t have any copyright in the song Milkshake, or indeed much of her first and second albums. </p>
<p>In an <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2022/05/producer-chad-hugo-neptunes-interview-pharrell.html">interview </a> earlier this year with the culture publication Vulture, Hugo brushed off these comments: “I heard about her sentiment toward that. I mean, I don’t handle that. I usually hire business folks to help out with that kind of stuff.”</p>
<h2>Different type of samples</h2>
<p>The sample of “Milkshake” in Beyoncé’s new song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9rk6ldyFkA">Energy</a> is credited to Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams, but not Kelis. The Milkshake singer commented on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CgcSNyHsTVW/">Instagram</a>: “My mind is blown too because the level of disrespect and utter ignorance of all three parties involved is astounding.” And said that she found out about the sample use at the same time everyone else did.</p>
<p>This has happened because of the way that sample licensing works alongside the song rights and the sound recording rights. </p>
<p>When you sample directly, you take the sound recording and cut and paste it into a new song. This means you are using both the sound recording and the musical work, and so need permission from both owners. </p>
<p>For example, the artist Ashnikko recently directly sampled another hit song performed by Kelis – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3JFwd1bk4Q&ab_channel=KelisVEVO">Caught Out There</a>, taken from the same debut album Kaleidoscope – in her song <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=DXGelmwqfm4">Deal With it (feat. Kelis</a>). Williams and Hugo also both appear in the writing credits.</p>
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<p>Beyoncé, on the other hand, did not directly sample the sound recording, but instead recreated the sound herself, known as an interpolation. There are a number of reasons why a song creator might choose to use either a direct sample or an interpolation. It can relate to budget (unlikely in Beyoncé’s case), or artistic choice based on the meaning behind the use of the sample or the formation of the song. </p>
<p>For example, in a dance track it’s common to use the sound recording and lean towards more of a remix. Whereas an interpolation can be more about building on a theme or making a cultural reference. </p>
<p>An interpolation only requires clearance for the musical work that is usually owned by the publisher and credits the songwriters. Kelis is not credited as a songwriter and doesn’t own any of the publishing rights, so legally there was no requirement to clear the sample with her.</p>
<p>So Beyoncé may have decided to remove the sample due to the public backlash, or because she sympathised with Kelis. But it does not appear to have been for legal reasons and it certainly wasn’t the case that she stole the sample.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188187/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hayleigh Bosher does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
It’s not a copyright infringement, it’s a far more complicated and personal issue.
Hayleigh Bosher, Senior Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law, Brunel University London
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/188099
2022-08-04T14:28:23Z
2022-08-04T14:28:23Z
Beyoncé has helped usher in a renaissance for African artists
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477361/original/file-20220803-25-ysnjua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Beyoncé on stage in South Africa in 2018. Her new album is called Renaissance.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Beyoncé has <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/07/29/1114328079/beyonce-releases-seventh-album-renaissance">released</a> her seventh solo studio album, titled <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jul/29/beyonce-renaissance-review-joyous-soundtrack-to-a-hot-girl-summer">Renaissance</a> (2022). The album, an event in global popular culture, is the first of a three-part project by the US artist. Her previous outing, the visual album Black is King (2020), collaborated with a host of <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/meet-the-african-artists-and-creatives-behind-black-is-king">African artists</a>. Renaissance pays <a href="https://www.okayplayer.com/music/beyonce-renaissance-album-review.html">tribute</a> to black dance music and again <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/entertainment/music/local/3-african-artists-are-credited-as-contributors-on-beyonces-upcoming-album-renaissance-9c7de217-5236-49e4-8713-9142fede615e">features</a> African artists, including Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems, who is having a <a href="https://www.okayafrica.com/tems-beyonce-renaissance-nigeria/">global moment</a> of her own.</p>
<p>In history, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Renaissance">renaissance era</a> (from the 1400s) was characterised by the rebirth and renewal of culture and scholarship in Europe following a period of stagnation. Today, still, art – paintings, music, fashion – contributes to how people dress and behave, what they choose to post and talk about, and how they perceive themselves and society. </p>
<p>For the last three decades, Beyoncé has played a major role in shaping global popular culture. She has continuously empowered listeners and sparked debate, and her lyrics have often been quoted in discussions on societal issues. Her views on monogamy on the album <a href="https://www.beyonce.com/album/dangerously-in-love/songs/">Dangerously in Love</a> (2003), for example, offer a counter narrative to the patriarchal depiction of hypersexuality in black women.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477364/original/file-20220803-23-t5ba54.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477364/original/file-20220803-23-t5ba54.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477364/original/file-20220803-23-t5ba54.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477364/original/file-20220803-23-t5ba54.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477364/original/file-20220803-23-t5ba54.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477364/original/file-20220803-23-t5ba54.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477364/original/file-20220803-23-t5ba54.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477364/original/file-20220803-23-t5ba54.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The vinyl cover art for Renaissance.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Parkwood Entertainment</span></span>
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<p>On <a href="https://www.beyonce.com/album/lemonade-visual-album/songs/">Lemonade</a> (2016), Beyoncé uses music genres beyond those expected of a black female artist. In the process she challenges the discrimination she faces. On <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12607910/">Black is King</a> she reflects a renaissance of African art forms in a time when cultural norms dominated by western thinking are on the decline and Africa’s star is rising in popular culture.</p>
<p>In this article, I argue that throughout her career, Beyoncé has contributed to a renewal of various narratives in popular music and has in so doing engaged meaningfully with African culture and music.</p>
<h2>African collaborations</h2>
<p>Beyoncé has involved various African artists in her projects and many a time introduced them to international audiences. Before Black is King, these include poetry by Kenyan-born <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/warsan-shire">Warsan Shire</a> on <a href="https://www.beyonce.com/album/lemonade-visual-album/songs/">Lemonade</a>, a quote by Nigerian novelist <a href="https://www.chimamanda.com/about/">Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie</a> on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyuUWOnS9BY">Flawless</a> (2013) and choreography by <a href="https://face2faceafrica.com/article/mozambican-dance-group-tofo-tofo-influences-beyonc-s-choreography">Tofo Tofo</a> – the Mozambique-based dance group – in the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBmMU_iwe6U">Run the World (Girls)</a> video. </p>
<p>Though not as prominently as on Black is King, Beyoncé has included African artists on Renaissance too, particularly on the song Move, which has an <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/afrobeat-history">Afrobeats</a>-inspired style and features P2J (Nigeria) and GuiltyBeatz (Ghana) as producers, as well as Tems as a writer and performer.</p>
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<p>Tems (Temilade Openiyi), a versatile vocalist who also writes songs, rose to fame after being featured on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m77FDcKg96Q">Essence</a> (2020) by Nigerian star vocalist WizKid. Her discography consists of music across different genres, including alternative R&B, neo-soul and Afropop. Her debut single Mr Rebel (2018) displays her R&B talents (as both a producer and vocalist), while her 2021 feature on Canadian rapper Drake’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwtWYFUwenE">Fountains</a> shows her ability to convey emotions through her voice. </p>
<p>Tems’ name is on everyone’s lips following the release of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlOB3UALvrQ">trailer</a> for the Black Panther movie sequel set to her cover of Bob Marley’s No Woman, No Cry. She has contributed to the renewal of perceptions towards Afropop and commercial African music, and its popularisation across the globe through her unique style of music.</p>
<h2>Black is King</h2>
<blockquote>
<p>I believe that when Black people tell our own stories, we can shift the axis of the world and tell our REAL history of generational wealth and richness of soul that are not told in our history books. – Beyoncé</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Black is King, Beyoncé’s previous album, is a celebration of African traditions with a “modern twist”. In the visual album, she incorporates a Pan-African-inspired lens and integrates elements from several African countries. She partners with various African actors, directors, designers, choreographers and musicians, highlighting the continent’s diversity. </p>
<p>Viewers are exposed to African elements ranging from music genres like Afrobeats (Nigeria) and <a href="https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/bluffers-guide-to-gqom">gqom</a> (South Africa) to popular dance styles like the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRzdtpT6jQQ">Network</a> (Ghana) and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNz-DGCrUII">Kpakujemu</a> (Nigeria). There are also visuals of landscapes across the continent. </p>
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<p>Beyoncé must not mistakenly be credited with originating these elements, nor even popularising them. They existed and were appreciated by people long before she started filming. However, one cannot deny the instrumental role Beyoncé has played in bringing these elements to the forefront of global popular culture as a result of her platform as an international star. </p>
<p>Moreover, the visual album portrays a more accurate representation of the African continent and its diversity than other works that adopt an African label in global popular culture. Black is King has introduced a renaissance of Africa’s image in popular media and empowered many African and black people as they finally feel more represented in mainstream popular culture.</p>
<h2>Renaissance</h2>
<p>Beyoncé has once again incorporated an element of renewal on Renaissance. Through the 16 tracks on the album, she takes listeners on a journey with the stated intention of creating a safe space, free from judgement, perfectionism and overthinking. Listeners are exposed to music that channels the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/mar/13/studio-54-exhibition-brooklyn-museum">Studio 54</a> disco era of the 1970s with effortless transitions to more contemporary pop, R&B and house genres.</p>
<p>Early <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/disco">disco</a> music was influenced by the funk, soul and jazz of the late 1960s, and combined these styles with technology such as synthesisers, multitrack recordings and drum machines. This created a lavish and decadent form of dance-orientated pop music characterised by a steady beat and vocals that are prominent, high and reverberated. The genre was at its peak between 1975 to early 1979, with artists such as <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/donna-summer-10th-death-anniversary-of-disco-legend/a-17334510">Donna Summer</a> and <a href="https://www.gloriagaynor.com/bio/">Gloria Gaynor</a> dominating the charts. </p>
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<p>On the appropriately titled Renaissance, Beyoncé has brought this style back to the forefront of pop culture, introducing many young listeners to it. From the outset of the lead single Break My Soul, listeners are exposed to the album’s pervasive dance-pop and house-inspired style. Beyoncé successfully integrates music genres including pop, electronic house, Afrobeats, trap and soul, to name a few, in combination with various disco influences. Through the lyrics on the album, an overarching sense of self-love and pride is portrayed. This resembles the music by one of South Africa’s and the continent’s most prominent pop artists, <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/brenda-nokuzola-fassie">Brenda Fassie</a> (1964-2004).</p>
<p>Throughout her career, Fassie, one of the queens of African pop, made disco and pop music that was influenced by her township roots. Her iconic music narrated the stories of black South Africans during the country’s <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa">apartheid</a> era.</p>
<h2>Global stage</h2>
<p>When considering how popular music acts as a locus for social change within popular culture, it is evident that Beyoncé plays a key role in shaping parts of popular societal thought. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-beyonces-world-were-just-living-in-it-185603">It's Beyoncé's world. We're just living in it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Throughout her career, her music has challenged and renewed various narratives within the popular music industry. </p>
<p>Her work serves as a platform for African artists on a global stage, using various music genres as a method to counter people’s perceptions of black female musicians. Her latest album continues to do this by introducing new listeners to a revival of disco with a contemporary flair.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188099/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Chikomborero Paradza does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
With Renaissance, Beyoncé is again shaping pop culture, honouring black disco pioneers and Africa’s rise.
James Chikomborero Paradza, Doctor of Music Candidate, University of Pretoria
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/185603
2022-08-02T04:13:59Z
2022-08-02T04:13:59Z
It’s Beyoncé’s world. We’re just living in it
<p>As <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-beyonce-songs-1378620/standing-on-the-sun-remix-2014-1380877/">Rolling Stone</a> wrote last month, “for at least the past decade, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter has been the world’s greatest living entertainer.” </p>
<p>The African-American pop star has reached single-name fame status like other mega pop stars Madonna, Cher, Britney and Adele. </p>
<p>Her long-standing and extremely successful career within girl group Destiny’s Child (1990-2006) and as a solo artist (2003-present) has been filled with pop cultural “moments” and record-breaking releases. </p>
<p>As <a href="http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n4313/pdf/ch08.pdf">I have written elsewhere</a>, Beyoncé’s stardom is an interesting form of world-building. World-building, or “worlding”, is the ongoing construction and maintenance of stardom by creating an intimate, identifiable, holistic world around the star – not just a singular star image. </p>
<p>The audience is in on Beyoncé’s world-building the same way we watch a film. We know it is “made-up” but we want to believe it’s real – or at least go along with it for the ride.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/10-years-of-beyonce-a-decade-causing-all-this-conversation-128500">10 years of Beyoncé: A decade 'causing all this conversation'</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Beyoncé World</h2>
<p>Our obsession with celebrity is centred around the “search” for the “authentic” person behind the manufactured persona in pop videos. </p>
<p>The Beyoncé (2013) visual album was a sign of the increasing personal intimacy of Beyoncé’s stardom, and her transition to the active creation and ownership of an intimate, identifiable and holistic world.</p>
<p>“Beyoncé World” is created and maintained primarily through Beyoncé’s music videos and visual albums, but also across her concerts, performances and public appearances, and her social media accounts and website.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CglSD06D_0z","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Other contemporary pop stars construct an “authentic” star image through sharing intimate details of their lives via social media or semi-autobiographical albums and music videos. </p>
<p>But Beyonce’s <a href="https://www.instagram.com/beyonce/?hl=en">social media posts</a> are notoriously curated and tight-lipped about her private life. </p>
<p>She rarely posts captions and favours fashion photoshoot images of herself rather than “authentic” makeup free selfies (although she wrote a long caption to launch the Renaissance album – a rarity).</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN-ElZwUADQ&list=OLAK5uy_m9dO997hqyquaE-xTYmZUqhm2pyKbQj-k&ab_channel=Beyonc%C3%A9-Topic">Lemonade</a>
(2016) was Beyoncé’s most personal album. It addressed the infidelities of her husband, rapper and music mogul Jay-Z, as well as her own personal outrage at racial injustices in the United States.</p>
<p>Beyoncé World is not the messy, no-makeup selfies or confession videos of other stars. It is a more curated, high fashion, high art, high concept world for fans to participate in. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/black-madonna-beyonce-projects-positive-image-of-good-motherhood-81105">Black Madonna: Beyoncé projects positive image of 'good' motherhood</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Taking care of the Beyhive</h2>
<p>Beyoncé’s work always makes a splash but her seventh solo album, Renaissance, leaked online <a href="https://variety.com/2022/music/news/beyonce-renaissance-leak-1235327192/">36 hours</a> before its scheduled release. <a href="https://twitter.com/CrashTalkPod/status/1552338260822745092/photo/1">Fans in France</a> were able to buy CD versions two days before its scheduled release. </p>
<p>But Beyoncé has such a loyal fanbase some of her die-hard fans (called the “Beyhive”) thought it was blasphemous to listen earlier than Queen B had intended, posting instructions on social media to <a href="https://themusic.com.au/news/new-beyonce-album-has-leaked-beyhive-are-out-sting/eXRhbWxvbpE/28-07-22">wait it out</a>.</p>
<p>If it’s Beyoncé’s world, you need to play by Beyoncé’s rules, and the Beyhive are a key cornerstone of maintaining these rules.</p>
<p>Being “in the know” about specific visual and musical references the star makes (in every single output) helps fans enter into the world-building process - and they certainly want to interpret her art the way she intended it. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CgTNUb6Db97","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Her past two solo albums were both surprises: the internet-breaking digital drop Beyoncé, and the politically charged celebration of Black women in Lemonade. (She also directed, wrote and produced the film/visual album and celebration of Black Excellence, Black is King in 2020, to accompany The Lion King remake.)</p>
<p>Renaissance has received more of a traditional marketing buildup. </p>
<p>The lead single, Break My Soul, was released on June 21, and the full tracklist and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cfb3ddsFe2S/?hl=en">album cover</a> were posted on her Instagram before the album’s release.</p>
<p>While she has been teasing the album’s imagery for months, some were hoping for a visual album – or a music video for every song on the album – like her two previous solo releases.</p>
<p>Beyoncé has yet to release any music videos for Renaissance, other than <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjki-9Pthh0">lyric-only videos</a>. This either means the star is about to release a Renaissance visual album or has bigger plans for a longer music film project. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/beyonces-lemonade-tell-all-or-fizzy-soap-operatic-art-object-58513">Beyoncé's Lemonade: tell all or fizzy, soap-operatic art object?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Renaissance woman</h2>
<p>Renaissance is Beyoncé’s first solo album in more than five years, and her first fully dance album. </p>
<p>A large part of her success is due to her ability to constantly reinvent herself and her music, borrowing from all genres and collaborating with a range of hit-makers and unusual musical artists. </p>
<p>Renaissance covers numerous genres, referencing many musical touchstones and pays an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/29/arts/music/beyonce-renaissance-dance-music-guide.html">important homage</a> to African-American dance music creators and LGBTQI+ dancehall culture. </p>
<p>The album includes nods to 1970s disco queen Donna Summer and New Orleans bounce-music icon Big Freedia, as well as a collaboration with Grace Jones on the track Move. </p>
<p>Renaissance traverses disco, funk, techno, hip-hop, house, dancehall, Afrobeats and ballroom. Aside from Jones, Beyoncé has worked with a wide range of collaborators including Drake, The-Dream, Honey Dijon, Skrillex, Syd, Hit-Boy, Mike Dean and A.G. Cook, among others. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CglPOPjOYsT","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>While Renaissance celebrates diversity in dance music, the star has been called out for using an <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-02/beyonce-to-change-lyric-on-renaissance-album-backlash/101290462">ableist slur</a> in the song Heated, and has now announced she will remove the lyric. It might be Beyonce’s world, but that doesn’t mean she won’t listen to her fans.</p>
<p>Lemonade came out during a time of great political upheaval in America and directly addressed the Black Lives Matter movement. Renaissance is less overtly political and more a celebration of a post-pandemic opportunity to hit the dance floor. She hopes it inspires fans to “<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CglPOPjOYsT/">release the wiggle</a>”. </p>
<p>Beyoncé World is not just created by the star and her team, but also by fans connecting the dots between her social media, her website, Renaissance and their own real world. </p>
<p>They’ll know not to take this album too seriously, and to imagine themselves on the dancefloor with Queen B.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185603/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phoebe Macrossan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Renaissance is Beyoncé’s first solo album in more than five years, and her first fully dance album.
Phoebe Macrossan, Lecturer in Screen Media, University of the Sunshine Coast
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/179775
2022-03-31T13:29:42Z
2022-03-31T13:29:42Z
Who is Nigerian music star Wizkid – and why is he taking over the world?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454346/original/file-20220325-17-1cg2rdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Joseph Okpako/WireImage</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The global appreciation of West Africa’s Afrobeats music has grown significantly in the last decade. Afrobeats stars are touring the world, racking up record sales, winning awards and collaborating with big-name international artists. </p>
<p>In fact, seven of the <a href="https://www.musicinafrica.net/magazine/playlist-africas-2022-grammy-awards-nominees">nine</a> African artists <a href="https://www.grammy.com/news/2022-grammys-complete-winners-nominees-nominations-list">nominated</a> for a 2022 Grammy Award – one of the world’s most sought after music awards – are West African. Most of these make music driven by Afrobeats sounds.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/afrobeat-history">Afrobeats</a> is a broad, generic term for African contemporary popular music with rhythmic and harmonic influences of West Africa’s <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/highlife-African-music">highlife</a> and <a href="https://www.masterclass.com/articles/afrobeat-music-guide#what-is-afrobeat">Afrobeat</a> traditions and Euro-American funk and hip-hop.</p>
<p>For the 2022 edition of the <a href="https://www.grammy.com">Grammy Awards</a>, Nigeria’s <a href="https://www.grammy.com/artists/wizkid/20080">Wizkid</a> is nominated twice – for best global music album and best global performance. Wizkid <a href="https://www.grammy.com/videos/beyonce-blue-ivy-wizkid-win-best-music-video-brown-skin-girl-2021-grammy-awards-show">won</a> his first Grammy Award in 2021 for the video of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRFS0MYTC1I">Brown Skin Girl</a>, a track he made with US superstar Beyoncé.</p>
<p>The 31-year-old stands out as a leading Afrobeats artist from Nigeria whose music has already made a huge sway on the charts of many countries. Wizkid boasts over 32 hits, more than 70 music awards, 50 singles and four albums, as well as sold out concert performances across Africa, Europe and America. As a result, he commands a fan base of more than 30 million combined followers on <a href="https://twitter.com/wizkidayo?lang=en">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/wizkidmusic">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/wizkidayo/?hl=en">Instagram</a>.</p>
<p>His songs straddle the rhythmic texture of Nigerian pop that connects with West African diaspora communities across the globe. And when it comes to his career, he set his eyes firmly on America and strategically propelled himself to global fame.</p>
<h2>Career</h2>
<p>Wizkid was born Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun on 16 July 1990 in Surulere, Lagos State, Nigeria. He started singing and recording music at the age of 11 in a group called the Glorious Five. He joined Empire Mates Entertainment record label in 2009. </p>
<p>The songwriter, singer and performer worked hard in the early days of his music career in Nigeria’s highly competitive industry. In one of his hit songs, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7QiLceJSLQ">Ojuelegba</a>, he narrates his experience at Mo’Dogg studio in Lagos, where he toiled for a better life. He became famous in Nigeria in 2011 after the release of his debut album titled <a href="https://guardian.ng/life/music/celebrating-wizkids-superstar-album-seven-years-later-top-seven-songs/">Superstar</a>. The album opened up many more live performance opportunities.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Joro references Fela Kuti.</span></figcaption>
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<p>As a young star who foresaw his music traveling beyond Nigeria, Wizkid seized every opportunity to make connections across the music world. For instance, when US R&B star <a href="https://www.chrisbrownworld.com">Chris Brown</a> (also famous for allegations of sexual violence against women) performed in Lagos in 2012, Wizkid was with him on stage and subsequently collaborated with Brown on the song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v17Ob7pCP8">African Bad Gyal</a>.</p>
<p>Unlike some other Nigerian popular musicians, Wizkid understood the power of transnational collaboration and worked hard to align his music within the structure and texture of American hip-hop and R&B. In a 2019 <a href="https://davidsmyth.co.uk/2019/10/wizkid-interview-evening-standard-11-oct-2019/">interview</a>, he is quoted as saying he did not make music just to be an African superstar. </p>
<p>In 2016, transnational appreciation of his music grew after his collaboration with <a href="https://drakerelated.com/#front">Drake</a>, the Canadian singer and rapper. It is a <a href="https://pan-african-music.com/en/one-dance-wizkid/">popular opinion</a> among Nigerian music analysts and journalists that Wizkid’s collaboration with Drake marked the genesis of his global appeal.</p>
<p>He has since collaborated with top-notch American stars such as Beyoncé, Akon, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj. </p>
<h2>Sexism</h2>
<p>Wizkid’s music career has not been without controversy. Like many of his contemporaries in the industry, he rose to fame amid worries over objectifying images of women in some of his lyrics and music videos. I have argued <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07494467.2020.1753479">elsewhere</a> that sexual objectification of women has been a useful strategy for publicity, and serves as a means of enhancing his social status and commercial viability in the Nigerian popular music industry. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/video-vixens-and-cash-how-nigerian-hip-hop-music-objectifies-women-149020">Video vixens and cash: how Nigerian hip hop music objectifies women</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>Wizkid is particularly accused of emphasising and objectifying female bodies in the songs <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YsSCQpJm7M">In My Bed</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQU99okRgvk">Expensive Shit</a>.
The <a href="https://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2016/04/17/olamide-wizkid-lil-kesh-banned-by-nbc/">public outcry</a> against sexist messages in his music culminated in the <a href="https://www.musicinafrica.net/magazine/nigerian-body-bans-songs-wizkid-nicki-minaj-and-others">banning</a> of In My Bed in 2015, by the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. Despite this, his local and international appeal continued to grow.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">With fellow Nigerian star Tems.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Pop’s promised land</h2>
<p>Wizkid has won more prestigious local and international music awards than any of his Afrobeats peers. He has more than 100 nominations in different categories of music awards. Some of his big wins include Artist of the Year at the 2021 Apple Music Awards, two BET Awards for Best International Act, three Soul Train Music Awards, an MTV Europe awards for Best African Act, three Billboard Music Awards – and that 2021 Grammy. </p>
<p>For Africa, especially Nigeria, America is the popular culture promised land. To make it in America is to conquer the pop world. And a US Grammy is the most cherished music award. Following the global spread of West African migrants that consume and promote Afrobeats, the music will continue to gain more listeners across the world as more people yearn for new sounds from Africa. Likewise, the demography of its global consumers on Youtube and Spotify grows as top record labels – such as Sony and Universal Music – sign up and promote more Afrobeats artists.</p>
<p>Propelled by the growing spread of Afrobeats, Wizkid has achieved global fame through a strategic set of music goals throughout his career – and has boosted his image by courting controversy and big name collaborators, infusing Western pop with African flavour in the process.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179775/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samson Uchenna Eze does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
His rhythmic sounds connected with the diaspora and his collaborations with stars like Drake and Beyoncé elevated his name.
Samson Uchenna Eze, Lecturer, University of Nigeria
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/151680
2021-01-28T14:11:29Z
2021-01-28T14:11:29Z
Hip hop and Pan Africanism: from Blitz the Ambassador to Beyoncé
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373944/original/file-20201209-19-4bf5nl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Zambia-born, Botswana-raised hip hop artist Sampa the Great.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marc Grimwade/WireImage</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Hip hop is many things. Most recently is has become more of <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/korihale/2019/02/06/goldman-sachs-bets-on-hip-hop-and-millennials-for-music-revival/?sh=2b3ab2a46f17">commodity</a>, a commercial venture, but it has always been and remains a global culture that represents local realities. It speaks about where one is from – through rap lyrics, DJing, graffiti or breakdancing – by incorporating local slang, references, neighbourhood tales, sounds and styles.</p>
<p>Hip hop <a href="https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/how-the-burning-of-the-bronx-led-to-the-birth-of-hip-hop/">emerged</a> in the 1970s in the South Bronx, in New York City in the US, among young, working class African Americans as well as Caribbean and Latino immigrants. </p>
<p>Hip hop culture’s connection to African musical and social traditions would be well <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780739193297/Hip-Hop-and-Social-Change-in-Africa-Ni-Wakati">documented</a>, including in my <a href="https://www.ohioswallow.com/book/Hip-Hop+in+Africa">book</a> <em>Hip Hop in Africa: Prophets of the City and Dustyfoot Philosophers</em>. </p>
<p>In its roots and manifestations, I argue, hip hop has also proven to be a powerful vehicle for spreading and shaping Pan Africanism.</p>
<h2>Moving beyond borders</h2>
<p>Pan Africanism is an acknowledgement of the social, cultural and historical bonds that unite people of African descent. It’s an understanding of shared struggles and, as a result, shared destinies. It’s also an understanding of the importance of dismantling the divisions among African people in order to work towards greater social, cultural and political solidarity. </p>
<p>My <a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-319-77030-7_134-1">work</a> has focused on hip hop as a soundtrack for the transnationalisation – the spreading beyond national borders – of African communities and identities. </p>
<p>This includes the increased and diversified migration of Africans to countries around the world. Today, an increasing number of Africans have lived in more than two countries. There have also been increased migrations to Africa from the African diaspora – people of African descent who are spread across the world. Some of these diaspora migrants are also Africans migrating to countries in Africa other than their own. </p>
<p>One artist whose work is both an articulation of these transnational trends and of an advancing Pan Africanism is Ghanaian-born, New York-based hip hop star <a href="https://www.npr.org/2013/11/27/247481464/blitz-the-ambassador-fighting-against-invisibility">Blitz the Ambassador</a>. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373947/original/file-20201209-16-mctlq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man plays African drums and sings into a microphone, behind him a row of trumpeters and saxophonists." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373947/original/file-20201209-16-mctlq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373947/original/file-20201209-16-mctlq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373947/original/file-20201209-16-mctlq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373947/original/file-20201209-16-mctlq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373947/original/file-20201209-16-mctlq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373947/original/file-20201209-16-mctlq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373947/original/file-20201209-16-mctlq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Blitz the Ambassador in New York in 2013.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images</span></span>
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<p>We see this throughout his entire catalogue, from songs like <em><a href="https://blitzemmetstill.bandcamp.com">Emmet Still</a></em> and <em>Sankofa</em> on his 2005 album <em>Double Consciousness</em> to <em><a href="https://youtu.be/zyQNUGMBhLY">Hello Africa</a></em> on his 2016 release <a href="https://jakartarecords-label.bandcamp.com/album/diasporadical"><em>Diasporadical</em></a>. </p>
<p>In <em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmqvguxPvu4">Hello Africa</a></em> he raps: </p>
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<p>Just touched down, Ecowas passport. Internationally known, I give ’em what they ask for. From Accra city all the way outta Marrakech…</p>
</blockquote>
<p>He proceeds to take us on a journey across Africa in a way that acknowledges his identity as an African belonging to the continent, and also his transnational relationship with the continent. He throws in different languages – Arabic, Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Wolof – as he moves through different cities.</p>
<h2>The new Pan Africanism</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/pan-africanism">Pan Africanism</a> is not a new idea, or movement. Its roots are pre-colonial. There continues to be serious investment in a Pan African agenda set by intellectuals like <a href="https://www.lincoln.edu/departments/langston-hughes-memorial-library/kwame-nkrumah-digital-information-site">Kwame Nkrumah</a> of Ghana, <a href="https://www.pambazuka.org/pan-africanism/nyerere-nationalism-and-pan-africanism">Julius Nyerere</a> of Tanzania, <a href="https://www.marxists.org/archive/james-clr/biograph.htm">C.L.R. James</a> of Trinidad and <a href="https://www.naacp.org/naacp-history-w-e-b-dubois/">W.E.B. DuBois</a> of the US.</p>
<p>While we see growth in hip hop’s Pan African voice through artists like Blitz the Ambassador, we do also see movement away from a United States of Africa under a socialist state as a primary goal of Pan Africanists. What then are some of the primary objectives of Pan Africanism today? African music, especially hip hop, has always given us clues.</p>
<p>Hip hop is an important <a href="https://www.ohioswallow.com/book/Hip-Hop+in+Africa">catalyst</a> for Pan Africanism today. We are seeing a major cultural shift through collaborations between African and African diaspora artists, as well as the inclusion of Pan African elements in their music. </p>
<p>Some of these songs are significant in bringing together artists known for making social statements, such as <em>Opps</em> (2018) with Vince Staples (US) and Yugen Blakrok (South Africa) for the <em>Black Panther</em> <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2018/02/a-guide-to-black-panther-soundtracks-south-african-artists.html">soundtrack</a>. There are many more, like the remix to <em><a href="https://sampathegreat.bandcamp.com/album/time-s-up-remix-feat-junglepussy-3">Times Up</a></em> (2020) with Sampa the Great and Junglepussy.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Sampa the Great’s work embodies Pan Africanism today.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Zambia-born, Botswana-raised hip hop artist Sampa The Great spends her time between Australia and Botswana. Her album <em><a href="https://sampathegreat.bandcamp.com/album/the-return">The Return</a></em> (2019) was an important work that received much <a href="https://www.metacritic.com/music/the-return/sampa-the-great">praise</a>. From it, the songs <em><a href="https://youtu.be/H2lvgKDpiSA">Final Form</a></em> and <em><a href="https://youtu.be/dDubhAKSeB0">Energy</a></em> are representations of hip hop’s Pan African voice. </p>
<p>In the songs’ music videos, for example, we see dance styles found in diaspora and African communities. We see facial paint designs like those seen in South Africa and masks like those found in Mali. In <a href="http://pilerats.com/music/rap/sampa-the-great-energy/"><em>Energy</em></a> she features British-Sierra Leonean artist <a href="https://www.radicalartreview.org/post/black-visual-frequency-interview-with-nadeem-din-gabisi">Nadeem Din-Gabisi</a> performing poetry in <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-west-africas-pidgins-deserve-full-recognition-as-official-languages-101844">Pidgin English</a>.</p>
<h2>Collaborations</h2>
<p>We’ve seen important collaborations between hip hop artists across Africa and in the diaspora that go back to the early 1990s. But we see an increase after 2010. When African artists started using social media and file sharing they were able to increase their collaborations. </p>
<p>In 2011, Senegalese hip hop pioneer <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/feb/15/worldmusic.urban">Didier Awadi</a> released the major collaborative project, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/1fWlrQsVTwZo9avHCeZDzF?autoplay=true">Présidents d'Afrique</a> (Presidents of Africa) featuring collaborations with artists from Burkina Faso, DRC, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, France and the US. It also sampled speeches from past leaders like Aimé Césaire, Nyerere, Nkrumah, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.</p>
<p>And the growing presence of Africans in important positions in the US entertainment industry has meant these collaborations are beginning to happen in more mainstream platforms. </p>
<p>Two big budget projects that have attracted significant attention are the US film <em>Black Panther</em> (2018) and US pop star Beyoncé’s <em>Black is King</em> visual album (2020). </p>
<p>There are many important <a href="https://culture-review.co.za/black-america-is-king?fbclid=IwAR2aBSKryCvXuX1blBwJz7sFhViOestuSHNLtexPM6Npyzs4EQ6b6v3WTgU">criticisms</a> of these projects. Major labels prefer proven (profitable) formulas over artist innovation. There is a tendency towards a homogenisation – a lumping together – of Africa and a marginalisation of African artists’ voices. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Beyoncé is criticised for her representations of Africa.</span></figcaption>
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<p>But we also need to understand that both projects are products of the transnationalisation of African communities and identities. They exist in part because of the increased mobility of African communities around the world. We also must recognise their impact on helping to cultivate Pan African identities. </p>
<p>In <em>Black is King</em>, we see the prominent influence of West African culture. The project was the product of the creative vision of Beyoncé, Ghanaian creative director <a href="https://www.essence.com/entertainment/only-essence/black-is-king-director-kwasi-fordjour/">Kwasi Fordjour</a> and Ghanaian creatives Blitz Bazawule (Blitz the Ambassador) and <a href="https://www.emmanueladjei.com">Emmanuel Adjei</a>. Also on the project were Nigerian creative directors <a href="https://www.okayafrica.com/ibra-ake-mission-show-african-creatives-value-ownership-childish-gambino/">Ibra Ake</a> and <a href="https://100women.okayafrica.com/editorial/jennnkiru">Jenn Nkiru</a>. </p>
<h2>Pan Africanism is hip hop</h2>
<p>There will be more of these projects produced. There will also continue to be these projects produced on smaller budgets. But imagine if Sampa the Great’s <em>Final Form</em> had a <em>Black is King</em> budget? Would there be criticism of this artist if she incorrectly used a particular African symbol?</p>
<p>Songs like <em>Final Form</em> and <em>Hello Africa</em> are celebrations of Blackness, in global spaces. This Pan Africanism is recognition that African peoples are transnational and multicultural. It is an understanding that African peoples must stand together. It is also a call to understand and respect the differences in our struggles and to resist the temptation of imposing “universal” models of liberation. Pan Africanism is also feminist, anti-homophobic and anti-imperialist. </p>
<p>The importance of African music and hip hop is that it also clues us in on what is going on with Pan Africanism. Pan Africanism is not a movement that faded away or only lives on among a small minority. It is dynamic, and has adjusted to new realities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151680/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Msia Kibona Clark does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The increased migration of Africans and the global growth of hip hop culture has seen a dynamic new generation of Pan Africanism emerge.
Msia Kibona Clark, Associate professor, Howard University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/145300
2020-08-31T05:54:53Z
2020-08-31T05:54:53Z
Towards Wakanda – Chadwick Boseman’s passing and the power and limits of Afrofuturism
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355448/original/file-20200831-22-ygmn6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C21%2C1763%2C893&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNjE4Mjk0MjY1MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNzg2NjI5MzI@._V1_SX1777_CR0,0,1777,937_AL_.jpg">Black Panther/IMDB</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’re not a comics fan, you may have been surprised at the <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/29/us/most-liked-tweet-of-all-time-chadwick-boseman-trnd/index.html?fbclid=IwAR1gOLYtIbL-5KIldoR779qme0B0_SVX39v8IsQp6HT8GHsVMYFxsQmevz8">extent</a> of the <a href="https://twitter.com/amjoyshow/status/1299715220445843457?s=20.">heartfelt</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/29/chadwick-boseman-helped-us-understand-our-history-his-death-shatters-our-hearts/">grief</a> expressed following the death of actor Chadwick Boseman. </p>
<p>One explanation lies in the extraordinary power of the 2018 movie <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1825683/?ref_=ttmi_tt">Black Panther</a>, in which Boseman starred as T’Challa/Black Panther, to address racist stereotypes about Africa and Africans. </p>
<p>Boseman’s character was heir to the hidden kingdom of Wakanda, a mythical African nation free of European colonisation. The film’s subtext explores African Americans’ varying identifications, past and present, with Africa and a global Black diaspora. </p>
<h2>Dark continent</h2>
<p>Westerners’ ideas about Africa are steeped in myth. The United States, <a href="https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/hi/introduction-lectures.htm#q">wrote German philosopher Georg Hegel in 1830</a>, was “the land of the future”. Africa, by contrast, was “the land of childhood” where history was meaningless. European powers dubbed it the “Dark Continent”, as if its people could never make progress.</p>
<p><a href="https://pages.vassar.edu/realarchaeology/2017/03/05/phrenology-and-scientific-racism-in-the-19th-century/">Fields of science emerged to classify human beings</a>, relying on simplistic notions of evolution and psychology. They all agreed “black” people inhabited the ladder’s bottom rung.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">‘We must find a way to look after one another … as if we were one single tribe.’</span></figcaption>
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<p>From explorer <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/henry-morton-stanleys-unbreakable-will-99405/">Henry Morton Stanley</a>’s tales of impenetrable jungles to the <a href="https://www.historybyday.com/pop-culture/the-men-behind-tarzan-the-real-life-jungle-man-and-the-troubled-author-who-brought-him-to-life/">Tarzan</a> novels and early “talkie” films, entertainment portrayed Africa as irredeemably backward.</p>
<p>These (pseudo) scientific and cultural stereotypes underpinned colonisation. They served Western extraction of Africa’s natural resources, enslavement of Africans and of their descendants all over the Americas.</p>
<h2>Breaking chains and forging links</h2>
<p>Such ideas meant that when Black Americans broke slavery’s chains, starting in the 1820s in northern US states and ending in 1865, it was not straightforward to claim African allegiance. The Atlantic and internal slave trades had devastated ties between families and communities on either side of the Atlantic Ocean. </p>
<p>Black Americans had, instead, forged ties between themselves in the United States. This meant few people (roughly 12,000) were keen to migrate to Liberia, established by the <a href="https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/american-colonization-society-1816-1964/">American Colonization Society</a> in 1816. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-louisiana-to-queensland-how-american-slave-owners-started-again-in-australia-140725">From Louisiana to Queensland: how American slave owners started again in Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>By the 1920s, with memories of enslavement the preserve of older people, Black Americans began once again to forge links to Africa. Marcus Garvey’s <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/garvey/">Universal Negro Improvement Association</a> suggested a global black United States of Africa. When Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935, African Americans were incensed. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355473/original/file-20200831-16-f8nr4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="African American woman with afro hairstyle" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355473/original/file-20200831-16-f8nr4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355473/original/file-20200831-16-f8nr4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355473/original/file-20200831-16-f8nr4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355473/original/file-20200831-16-f8nr4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355473/original/file-20200831-16-f8nr4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355473/original/file-20200831-16-f8nr4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355473/original/file-20200831-16-f8nr4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Colourised portrait of activist and academic Angela Davis. Original black and white negative by Bernard Gotfryd (1974).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1597954088261-4dc20374af14?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1268&q=80">US Library of Congress/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the 1960s–70s era of <a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/black-power#:%7E:text=Black%20Power%20was%20a%20revolutionary,of%20political%20and%20cultural%20institutions.">Black Power</a>, accelerated by film and television, ties to Africa became more prominent again. </p>
<p>Activists changed their names: Stokely Carmichael became Kwame Ture; Cassius Clay chose Muhammad Ali; and JoAnne Byron’s rebirth was as Assata Shakur. More widespread was the adoption of <a href="https://timeline.com/harlem-couple-afrocentric-fashion-dashiki-2e806f792794">dashikis</a> and “natural” <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1343885">hairstyles</a>. </p>
<p>Interest in Africa spiked dramatically with Alex Haley’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/546018.Roots">Roots: the Saga of an American Family</a>. The book (1976) and the miniseries (1977) told the story of Haley’s “furtherest-back ancestor”, Kunta Kinte, and his generations of American descendants.</p>
<p>In more recent decades, Black American <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destinations/africa/black-americans-are-going-to-west-africa-in-search-of-roots/">tourism to Africa</a> has soared as people seek out their own roots. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/growing-up-african-in-australia-racism-resilience-and-the-right-to-belong-113121">Growing Up African in Australia: racism, resilience and the right to belong</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A different world</h2>
<p>In Black Panther, Chadwick Boseman – along with a host of other wonderful actors, and director and screenwriters Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole – brought to life a “<a href="https://time.com/black-panther/">splendidly black</a>” utopian vision. The film, which reverses stereotypes about Africa, <a href="https://twitter.com/FallonTonight/status/1299709632752033798?s=20">delighted</a> many African American fans.</p>
<p>In Wakanda, the fictional metal vibranium is the bedrock of a society in which wealth is distributed so justly that both men and women thrive and King T’Challa can stroll the city streets unnoticed.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355485/original/file-20200831-21-1jt70ub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Black Panther Marvel Comic books." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355485/original/file-20200831-21-1jt70ub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355485/original/file-20200831-21-1jt70ub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355485/original/file-20200831-21-1jt70ub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355485/original/file-20200831-21-1jt70ub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355485/original/file-20200831-21-1jt70ub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355485/original/file-20200831-21-1jt70ub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355485/original/file-20200831-21-1jt70ub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Comics from the Black Panther series.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1574959540245-2a2a574a0375?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1575&q=80">Alicia Quan/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Vibranium represents the resources of the 54 countries of Africa, whose extraction has not, on the whole, benefited Africans. It is mahogany, ivory, rubber, diamonds, salt, gold, copper, and uranium. </p>
<p>Black Panther draws on an artistic movement known as <a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/a/afrofuturism">Afrofuturism</a>, in which knowledge about past violence and injustice inform an imagined future built on equality. Afrofuturists have included <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/zama18740">novelists</a> Sutton E. Griggs and George Schuyler in the early days, and later Octavia Butler, Samuel Delaney, and Ishmael Reed, and now N. K. Jemisin and Colson Whitehead. </p>
<p>Afrofuturist musicians include <a href="https://www.treblezine.com/beginners-guide-sun-ra-music/">Sun Ra</a>, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/07/09/how-george-clinton-made-funk-a-world-view">George Clinton and P-Funk</a>, and recently <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/5/16/17318242/janelle-monae-science-fiction-influences-afrofuturism">Janelle Monáe</a>.</p>
<h2>Black is King</h2>
<p>Beyoncé’s new visual album <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12607910/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Black Is King</a> also draws on the Afrofuturist tradition. </p>
<p>It <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/08/07/899421948/opinion-we-are-africans-heres-our-view-of-beyonc-s-black-is-king">has been criticised</a> for prioritising aesthetics over politics. In particular, Beyoncé’s effort to reclaim colonial stereotypes linking Africans to flora and fauna by donning couture animal prints has drawn mixed responses. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355484/original/file-20200831-23-1hri08y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Singer Beyonce in leopard print on car with suited men" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355484/original/file-20200831-23-1hri08y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355484/original/file-20200831-23-1hri08y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355484/original/file-20200831-23-1hri08y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355484/original/file-20200831-23-1hri08y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355484/original/file-20200831-23-1hri08y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355484/original/file-20200831-23-1hri08y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355484/original/file-20200831-23-1hri08y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Beyoncé’s Black is King is a lush aesthetic exploration.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://photos-cdn.aap.com.au/Image/20200728001482142873?path=/aap_dev2/imagearc/2020/07-28/38/b0/e3/aapimage-7bmns8wcoo91j0glx9en_layout.jpg">Travis Matthews/Disney Plus via AP</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Dedicated to her son, Black Is King falls into a long tradition of romanticising black ancestors as kings and queens. Criticising this tendency, <a href="https://www.questia.com/library/117353615/we-can-t-go-home-again-an-argument-about-afrocentrism">historian Clarence Walker has asked</a>: “If Everybody Was a King, Who Built the Pyramids?” </p>
<p>But kingship is also a metaphor for the power of history, properly told. “History is your future,” Beyoncé tells the film’s young king. An exchange following the track Brown Skinned Girl starts with a male voice saying, “Systematically, we’ve had so much taken from us”. A second voice responds:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Being a king is taking what’s yours. But not just for selfish reasons, but to actually build up your community. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>King T’Challa comes to the same realisation and at the end of Black Panther, we see him leave his tech-whizz sister at the helm of a new Wakandan outreach centre in Oakland, California.</p>
<p>In both Black Is King and Black Panther, global connections underpin a reimagined future universe – a marvellous one, even – where disadvantage and injustice stemming from racism are overcome. Wakanda forever.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1299794910837694464"}"></div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145300/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clare Corbould has received funding from the Australian Research Council. She is a member of the Australian Greens.</span></em></p>
Both Black Panther and Beyoncé’s Black is King represent a utopian vision of empowerment and connection to Africa.
Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Deakin University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/128500
2019-12-17T18:27:54Z
2019-12-17T18:27:54Z
10 years of Beyoncé: A decade ‘causing all this conversation’
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306986/original/file-20191215-85397-14c4j6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C0%2C2982%2C2140&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Beyoncé arrives at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating "China: Through the Looking Glass" on May 4, 2015, in New York.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Evan Agostini)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When the American Music Awards gave Taylor Swift the title of Artist of the Decade, TV show host Wendy Williams was likely not the only one <a href="https://youtu.be/di-WKsoQBK8?t=90">surprised.</a> Of this decade’s pop juggernauts, Beyoncé has stood at the intersection of a turbulent political climate and a problematic celebrity culture. </p>
<p>A look back at Beyoncé’s 2010s shows that her work — radical and important — also comes with uncomfortable contradictions. Her status as celebrity and family woman has come to represent black empowerment but despite her triumphs, the singer was far from uncontroversial.</p>
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<h2>‘You Know You’re that Bitch When — ’</h2>
<p>The decade began rather quietly for Beyoncé who, notably, <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/beyonce/chart-history/HSI/2">did not dominate the 2010s with hit singles</a>. But her albums imprinted into pop history, particularly in the years after the 2011’s <em>4</em>. </p>
<p>In January 2013, David Bowie <a href="http://diymag.com/2019/03/25/brief-history-of-surprise-albums">released a surprise album <em>The Next Day</em> recorded in secret</a>. In February of the same year, the band My Bloody Valentine <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopmusic/9846770/My-Bloody-Valentine-release-surprise-album-after-22-years-and-stream-on-YouTube.html">released their last album on their website</a> and, later, for free on YouTube. The surprise album drop may not have been a new invention. Yet when Beyoncé’s self-titled visual album burst onto iTunes in December 2013, it forced conversations about artists <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2013/12/13/beyonces-big-surprise-secret-game-changer-music-industry/4013681/">bypassing traditional media and middle-men to strengthen the bond between themselves and their fans</a>. Some stores, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2013/12/17/target-wont-sell-beyonces-new-album/4050521/">like Target, refused to stock the physical album in defiance</a>. </p>
<p>Beyoncé’s legacy at the end of the decade is apparent now. Singers can garner fanbases, fame and success with little more than a <a href="https://www.thefader.com/2019/06/12/playboi-carti-starter-pack-best-songs">Soundcloud</a>, <a href="http://www.thembj.org/2019/11/blood-sweat-tears-a-closer-look-at-the-k-pop-phenomenon/">YouTube</a> or <a href="https://theblast.com/c/megan-thee-stallion-freestyle-over-biggie-smalls-hypnotize-video-instagram">Instagram</a> account.</p>
<p>Beyond daring business strategy, Beyoncé continued to push the creative envelope. <em>Beyoncé</em> was <a href="https://medium.com/black-feminism/beyonc%C3%A9-s-self-titled-a-black-feminist-text-7d2b1120527e">concerned with feminism</a>. But she intensified her resistance politics when she released <em>Lemonade</em> in 2016 with an accompanying hour-long film on HBO. In her performances of the album after its release, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/feb/08/beyonce-black-panthers-homage-black-lives-matter-super-bowl-50">Black power</a> and <a href="https://qz.com/africa/908973/at-the-grammys-beyonce-paid-an-epic-tribute-to-afro-diaspora-spirituality/">Afrocentric</a> iconography took centre stage. Notable of these was the 2016 Super Bowl halftime show, in which her performance of the anti-police brutality lead single “Formation” featured backup dancers courageously wearing the uniform of the <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/civil-rights-movement/black-panthers">radical Black Panther Party</a>.</p>
<p>Ultimately, <em>Lemonade</em> <a href="https://pitchfork.com/features/article/2010s-pops-great-awokening-black-lives-matter-beyonce-kendrick-lamar-solange/">aligned itself with the #BlackLivesMatter movement that exploded in the middle of the decade</a> as protests against the oppression of African Americans <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/bjw4j4/the-2010s-were-the-decade-when-black-protest-music-went-mainstream">entered the mainstream</a>. With its frank revelation of the infidelity of her husband, rapper Jay-Z, the album has also been <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19392397.2016.1203613">hailed as a celebration of Black (female) resilience</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WDZJPJV__bQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">In 2016, Beyoncé <em>Lemonade</em> album release launched with the “Formation” video which referenced Southern culture and the new civil rights movement while centering Black womanhood.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A Black Bill Gates in the making</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/2/8/10940558/beyonce-super-bowl-conservative-backlash">Criticisms</a> of this new radical Beyoncé were <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ociMBfkDG1w">parodied brilliantly by Saturday Night Live</a>. Though some were decidedly unfair, it is true that contradictions simmer beneath the surface of her political image. </p>
<p>How does one reconcile the centering of the African diaspora in <em>Lemonade</em> with her controversial <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/beyonce-september-issue-2018">2018 <em>Vogue</em> interview</a>, in which she references her slave-owning ancestor as a man who “fell in love with and married a slave”? <a href="https://atlantablackstar.com/2018/08/10/more-details-revealed-about-beyonces-slave-and-slaveowner-lineage/">Romanticization</a> of the union between a white slave master and Black slave woman is especially problematic when one considers the disproportionate power dynamics between white slave owners and Black slave women during the time and the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20686156?seq=1">lack of agency slave women often had in such sexual relationships</a>. </p>
<p>Using the language of love and romance to describe such relationships between Black women and white men not only <a href="https://time.com/5362781/beyonce-ancestor-slavery-marriage/">highlights Black women’s lack of sociopolitical rights</a> but seemingly clashes with her overt displays of Black feminist power.</p>
<p>Furthermore, how does one reconcile Beyoncé’s <a href="https://africanarguments.org/2019/09/05/some-global-stars-steal-african-music-on-the-gift-beyonce-celebrates-it/">promotion of Black singers</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXrhqhW2kiU">Black women</a> in <em>The Gift</em> with the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03007766.2019.1555897">theft of Black singer Ledisi</a>’s opportunity to reprise her performance in the movie <em>Selma</em> (2014) <a href="https://www.etonline.com/awards/grammys/159381_ledisi_john_legend_respond_to_beyonce_selma_controversy">at the 2015 Grammys</a>? </p>
<p>In an industry often reluctant to give Black singers opportunities and accolades (of which Beyonce has <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-vilanova-grammys-beyonce-adele-glass-ceiling-20170118-story.html">herself</a> been a <a href="https://theundefeated.com/features/beyonces-homecoming-emmy-snub-is-historic-disrespect/">victim</a>), Beyonce’s selection of which opportunities to give to and to take from less-exposed Black singers requires some consideration. As cultural theorist and music industry insider Kristin J. Lieb has argued, in a <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315160580">competitive music industry, a pop star’s continued survival, wealth and fame depends on having a consumable brand</a>. Black experience and struggle <a href="http://doi.org/10.2979/blackcamera.9.1.12">can certainly be useful commodities</a> in that regard, especially during these politically intense times. That may or may not represent the singers’ true politics.</p>
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<h2>A billion dollars in an elevator</h2>
<p>There is a tension between Beyoncé the Black Revolutionary and Beyoncé the Business Woman/Brand in the 2010s. Her album releases are landmark cultural moments that generated conversations around feminism, Afrocentricity and artist agency. But this tension — between capitalism and liberation — shadowed Beyoncé’s decade, including in the domestic sphere.</p>
<p>At <a href="https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Pregnant-Beyonce-Knowles-Performing-2011-VMA-Video-18902838">the 2011 VMAs</a> Beyoncé ended her performance of “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob7vObnFUJc">Love on Top</a>” by rubbing her protruding belly, revealing her pregnancy to fans. The Knowles-Carters became one of the Black superfamilies of the 2010s. After the 2014 Met Gala, fans saw <a href="https://www.nickiswift.com/153964/we-finally-understand-solange-and-jay-zs-elevator-fight/">Jay-Z in elevator fight with Beyonce’s sister, Solange</a>. </p>
<p>Fans also watched Beyoncé’s firstborn, Blue Ivy, blossom and begin to participate in her mother’s work. Beyoncé’s child <a href="https://time.com/5731660/blue-ivy-wins-award/">became an icon for Black empowerment for young girls</a>. In the photoshoot for Beyoncé’s second pregnancy with twins Rumi and Sir Carter, <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/7/14/15971588/beyonce-twins-birth-announcement-madonna-venus">Beyoncé was staged as a pregnant goddess</a>. The singer powerfully <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2015.1036901">contradicted deep-seated cultural beliefs of pathological Black mothering</a> famously displayed in the sociological <a href="http://doi.org/10.1353/jsh.2002.0025">Moynihan Report of 1965 that demonized and blamed Black mothers for the “failure” of Black families</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/BP-rXUGBPJa/?utm_source=ig_embed","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>The frenzied behaviour of Beyoncé’s fans, called The Beyhive, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03007766.2013.798546">along with Lady Gaga’s Little Monsters</a> changed fan-celebrity relationships. It marked a neoliberal turn towards <a href="https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2019.1489">intense inter-fandom competition and worship</a> that helped lay the foundation for <a href="https://repository.usfca.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1818&context=capstone">the today’s pop fan culture</a>. But towards the end of the 2010s, the voices of scrutiny grew louder. Like earlier criticisms of Beyonce’s professed radicalism, many grew tired of the family’s <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/style-beauty/fashion/look-tweeps-upset-after-beyonce-shows-off-1bn-money-bag-37555189">flaunting of their wealth</a> and distrustful of their business endeavours. </p>
<p>For example, the streaming service Tidal was accused of <a href="https://www.spin.com/2018/05/tidal-fake-streams-kanye-beyonce-investigation-300-million/">fabricating numbers of their exclusive artists (including Beyoncé)</a>. Jay-Z’s 2019 deal with the National Football League <a href="https://uproxx.com/music/rihanna-jay-z-nfl-deal/">despite the league’s treatment of Black players and protest</a> seemingly contradicted the family’s pro-Black politics. Fans <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/06/do-beyonce-fans-have-to-forgive-jay-z/563021/">feel conflicted about Beyoncé’s continued support of Jay-Z</a> despite his famous infidelity. This tension showed in the <a href="https://www.papermag.com/5sos-easier-2637892035.html">lack of support from fans for the couple’s joint 2018 album, <em>Everything is Love</em></a>.</p>
<p>Lyrics like “<a href="https://pitchfork.com/news/56103-beyonces-flawless-remix-features-nicki-minaj-references-elevator-incident/">Of course shit goes down when it’s a billion dollars in an elevator</a>,” attempt to dismiss the tensions within the Knowles-Carter family image. And despite the <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2019/06/beyonce-publicist-message-beyhive-nicole-curran">continued strength</a> of the Beyhive’s support, by the end of the decade, contradictions continue to haunt the brand of the Knowles-Carters as a powerful Black family.</p>
<h2>A winner don’t quit on themselves</h2>
<p>And yet, the fact that Beyoncé’s Black family were considered worthy of elevation and/or complex readings through nuanced critical discourse is itself an important rebuke of old anti-Black dehumanizing stereotypes. This cannot be ignored. </p>
<p>Such is the duality of Beyoncé: a powerful Black woman working within a white patriarchal music industry in which the pursuit of fame and wealth is the goal, strategically using, yet still amplifying, narratives of Black empowerment in the mainstream. Despite the contradictions and controversies, Beyoncé’s star power, virtuosity and ability to “<a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/beyonc%C3%A9-s-way-with-words-lyrics-of-style-and-substance-1.2713889">cause all this conversation</a>,” will undoubtedly see her play an integral role in the 2020s as well.</p>
<p>[ <em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/newsletters?utm_source=TCCA&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128500/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah R. Olutola does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
From a quiet start to cultural dominance, Beyoncé’s work over the last decade is groundbreaking. But it is also filled with questions and contradictions.
Sarah R. Olutola, Postdoctoral Fellow 2018-2019, Human Rights Research and Education Centre, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/118950
2019-07-01T19:28:30Z
2019-07-01T19:28:30Z
Business-to-artist: record labels and sub-labels in the digital age
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279819/original/file-20190617-118535-1hbts7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C300%2C2448%2C1660&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/assorted-vinyl-record-lot-908965/">Robin McPherson/Pexels</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The history of recorded music has been marked by profound and continuous change – not just recording technology, but also musical form, style, technique and beyond. From the late 19th century until the present, technical change has been omnipresent – wax cylinders gave way to 78 rpm records, then LPs arrived and were surpassed in turn by CDs, downloading, and now streaming. </p>
<p>The evolving technology and shifting economics of the music industry have coincided with the emergence of major labels, which in turn have built diversified portfolios of sub-labels. From a marketing point of view, they’re intended to build brand equity, defined as “the added value a brand gives a product” (Farquhar, 1989). Having a better understanding of brand equity can help explain the abundance of labels and sub-labels in today’s digital world.</p>
<h2>Psychological and economic approaches</h2>
<p>When considering brand equity, there is the approach grounded in cognitive psychology, generally associated with Aaker’s work (Aaker, 1991) that encompasses brand associations, brand awareness, perceived quality, brand loyalty and other assets such as patents. There is also the economic approach dating back to Stigler (1961) and Stiglitz (1987) suggesting that branding and multiple brand development are related to decreased information costs and decreased risks from the consumer perspective.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279822/original/file-20190617-118530-hc542u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279822/original/file-20190617-118530-hc542u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279822/original/file-20190617-118530-hc542u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279822/original/file-20190617-118530-hc542u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279822/original/file-20190617-118530-hc542u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279822/original/file-20190617-118530-hc542u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279822/original/file-20190617-118530-hc542u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279822/original/file-20190617-118530-hc542u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Aaker (1991)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Major labels do not necessarily behave as traditional umbrella brands because their sub-labels do not always share the same musical identity or genre. Sub-labels benefit from their parent label’s financial and marketing support – artist recruitment, product development, promotion and distribution. </p>
<p>Let’s consider Sony, Warner and Universal as the three dominant major labels concerning economics based-theory, as well as Motown (Universal’s sub-label today) regarding the psychology based theory.</p>
<p><strong>Sony Entertainment</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279834/original/file-20190617-118526-1vkvuyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279834/original/file-20190617-118526-1vkvuyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=244&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279834/original/file-20190617-118526-1vkvuyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=244&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279834/original/file-20190617-118526-1vkvuyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=244&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279834/original/file-20190617-118526-1vkvuyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279834/original/file-20190617-118526-1vkvuyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279834/original/file-20190617-118526-1vkvuyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sony Music Entertainment Japan and other independent national companies are not included.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.discogs.com">discogs.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Universal Music Group</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279835/original/file-20190617-118514-1go52k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279835/original/file-20190617-118514-1go52k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279835/original/file-20190617-118514-1go52k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279835/original/file-20190617-118514-1go52k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279835/original/file-20190617-118514-1go52k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279835/original/file-20190617-118514-1go52k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279835/original/file-20190617-118514-1go52k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Does not include all national companies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.discogs.com">discogs.com</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Warner</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279836/original/file-20190617-118510-2g9qlh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279836/original/file-20190617-118510-2g9qlh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=188&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279836/original/file-20190617-118510-2g9qlh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=188&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279836/original/file-20190617-118510-2g9qlh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=188&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279836/original/file-20190617-118510-2g9qlh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=237&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279836/original/file-20190617-118510-2g9qlh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=237&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279836/original/file-20190617-118510-2g9qlh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=237&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.discogs.com">discogs.com</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tracking sub-labels’ history can be difficult. For example, DefJam is currently a sub-label for Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1984 by Rick Rubin at New York University with early artists such as LL Cool J and the Beastie Boys. The label was distributed through CBS Records in the 1990s, went through some financial difficulties, then had several major owners including Sony, Polygram, and Universal Music Group (see a <a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8096177/def-jam-history-timeline-paul-rosenberg">timeline of Def Jam history</a>).</p>
<p>Today, Motown is a sub-label of Universal music Group, but was originally founded by Berry Gordy and became the Motown Record Company in 1960. The label has always benefitted from a strong, reputation for bringing together African-American musical genres and pop music featuring artists as Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Four Tops, and The Jackson 5 (see a <a href="https://classic.motown.com/history/">timeline of Motown’s history</a>). Certainly, the Motown roster boasts strong consumer awareness, loyalty and brand associations (Aaker, 1991).</p>
<h2>From marketing to risk-management tools</h2>
<p>While pricing, promotion, product quality and brand credibility are important factors for major labels and sub-labels, risk reduction by portfolio management is now one of the key motivations for major labels that manage sub-labels as separate assets.</p>
<p>Non financial risks are those that may threaten the image or the operations of the company. Today, the importance of the music label to consumers is less evident, and they primarily act as financial and marketing organizations. In this sense, we observe a shift from the label as having a highly visible business-to-consumer (B2C) function to something closer to business-to-business (B2B) or even business-to-artist (B2A).</p>
<p>We define B2A as the relationships between a company (or label) and an artist (a musician or a group) requiring financial support for recruitment, production, product distribution and promotion. We interpret the proliferation of sub-labels primarily as a risk-aversion brand strategy. Record labels know that brands’ rate of mortality has always been high, with an uncertain return on investment. A closer look at labels’ management practices in our current digital age does question the reason beyond taking such risks.</p>
<p>Music labels benefit from the profitability attached to their selling music to consumers. The artist benefits from having resources to make their music known to the market. In the past, consumers recognized the label-artist connection. Today, the brand is the artist, and the label as a brand in and of itself is vanishing. This disappearance is reinforced by digital technologies, and what remains is the label’s support for the artist. What is new is that labels and sub-labels stand in the shadow of the artist so that an artist can be managed as a personified global brand.</p>
<h2>B2A and the artist’s value chain in the digital era</h2>
<p>An artist’s value chain once involved business and tour managers, label representatives, marketers, and executives, and promotion and distribution specialists. Nowadays, small independent labels are embedded in the artist’s digitalized and simplified value chain.</p>
<p>Besides basic career or business functions, an artist’s manager can coach the artist in multiple dimensions of her or his identity, leveraging social media to distribute music and promote aspects of the artist’s existence, including lifestyle and performance and practice skills (Cartwright, Küssner and Williamon, 2019). The key is to spin online popularity and create meaningful experiences within a virtual community of consumers, fans or experts. The promise is a long-term instant online conversation. Our B2A concept is also linked to the stream of research called <a href="http://cctweb.org/">consumer culture theory</a>, which explores the world of consumer tribes and shows how they pursue common consumption interests and ways of life.</p>
<p>By creating strong interactive experiences with their fans, artists can keep fans engaged. A group like <a href="http://www.umphreys.com/">Umphrey’s McGee</a> has stayed successful in this way, experimenting with many genres since the band’s first studio album released in 1996 up through their most recent album in 2018. Their website even allowing fans to record their own personal shows and leave reviews on the band’s performances.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279826/original/file-20190617-118501-8ib79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279826/original/file-20190617-118501-8ib79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279826/original/file-20190617-118501-8ib79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279826/original/file-20190617-118501-8ib79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279826/original/file-20190617-118501-8ib79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279826/original/file-20190617-118501-8ib79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279826/original/file-20190617-118501-8ib79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279826/original/file-20190617-118501-8ib79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When it comes to digital sales today, generally there is no obvious display of the labels on the cover artwork of albums. The gap is extremely plain when comparing the original LP of the Beatles’ album <em>Meet the Beatles</em>, released in 1964, with how it is currently presented on Amazon. On the LP, the label name is extremely present, particularly above the song list. As now presented on Amazon, the label’s logo is in small type on the original cover, but not in the listing at all.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279828/original/file-20190617-118505-aith6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279828/original/file-20190617-118505-aith6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279828/original/file-20190617-118505-aith6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279828/original/file-20190617-118505-aith6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279828/original/file-20190617-118505-aith6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279828/original/file-20190617-118505-aith6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279828/original/file-20190617-118505-aith6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279828/original/file-20190617-118505-aith6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Beatles, <em>Meet the Beatles</em>.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GJ7ROX4/ref=cm_sw_r_pi_dp_U_x_DN0UCb75QC7YX">Amazon.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Compare this to Beyoncé’s <em>I Am Sasha Fierce</em>, released in 2008 by Columbia Records and Music World Entertainment. Here, the label isn’t visible at all.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279829/original/file-20190617-118497-1rcdo7h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279829/original/file-20190617-118497-1rcdo7h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279829/original/file-20190617-118497-1rcdo7h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279829/original/file-20190617-118497-1rcdo7h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279829/original/file-20190617-118497-1rcdo7h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279829/original/file-20190617-118497-1rcdo7h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279829/original/file-20190617-118497-1rcdo7h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279829/original/file-20190617-118497-1rcdo7h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Beyoncé, <em>I am Sasha fierce</em>.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/i-am-sasha-fierce/id296016891">iTunes</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>B2A thus serves labels’ and sub-labels’ identity shift inside the ever-changing digital music marketplace. They exist as brands that have become removed from the consumer awareness and now mainly serve as financial and marketing companies. </p>
<p>Ultimately, the artist is the brand, pushing labels to focus on the management of financial and non-financial risks via a proliferation of sub-labels that belong to a broader portfolio management strategy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118950/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>
The history of recorded music has been marked by endless artistic and technological changes. While music labels persist, digital technology has profoundly altered why they exist and how they work.
Françoise Passerard, Professeur assistant en Marketing, PSB Paris School of Business
Phillip Cartwright, Professor of Economics, PSB Paris School of Business and Visiting Researcher, Royal College of Music, PSB Paris School of Business
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/98563
2018-06-20T15:09:36Z
2018-06-20T15:09:36Z
Beyoncé and Jay-Z: the world is going APES**T for their vision of black culture
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223762/original/file-20180619-126553-2yqd7c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">beyonce</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Anyone who is familiar with Beyoncé’s work knows that every outfit, song sample, visual reference and album cover art contains a deeper, more significant meaning behind its mainstream pop culture sheen. Now that Beyoncé has added her relationship with her husband Jay-Z and her passion for art to her vast repertoire, the symbolic and literal depth of her own work has an added resonance.</p>
<p>From the On The Run Tour II tour poster which references and pays homage to the 1970’s classic African film, <a href="https://www.criterion.com/films/28412-touki-bouki">Touki Bouki</a> to the surprise release of the joint album <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/how-beyonce-jay-z-made-joint-album-everything-is-love-w521642">Everything is Love</a>, which takes a direct swipe at the white dominated high culture palace of the Louvre, Beyoncé and Jay-Z as reigning global megastars are turning their joint attention to celebrating black culture and highlighting historical and contemporary inequalities.</p>
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<p>The On The Run II tour images offer a direct reference to the 1973 Senegalese film written and directed by <a href="http://newsreel.org/articles/mambety.htm">Djibril Diop Mambéty</a> in Wolof, a native language of Senegal, and its title loosely translates to “The Hyena’s Journey”. The story of Touki Bouki follows a young couple from Dakar, who steal and scheme to acquire the money to travel to their dream city of Paris. The lead characters are reminiscent of Bonny and Clyde, whom Beyonce and Jay-Z have <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm0Xba8eFTg">previously referenced</a> in their work. </p>
<p>This homage, though celebrated by many fans and cultural commentators, was not entirely welcomed by Mambéty’s family (the director passed away in 1998). <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/monicamark/beyonce-jay-z-on-the-run-ii-tour-touki-bouki?utm_term=.srz6oJG1P#.tbV78yeEl">Buzzfeed News reported</a> they were somewhat critical of the press tour material, which was unveiled on social media. </p>
<p>Mambéty’s son, Teemour Diop Mambéty, <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/monicamark/beyonce-jay-z-on-the-run-ii-tour-touki-bouki">told Buzzfeed</a>: “We must welcome any creative exchange respecting the integrity of the works and their authors.” Despite this, for many, this referencing is important in that it highlighted an African film that, on release, <a href="http://amper.ped.muni.cz/%7Ejonas/knihy/vizualni_antropologie/questioning%20theories%20of%20an%20authentic%20african%20cinema.pdf">generated intense political debate</a> about colonialism and heritage.</p>
<h2>From pop to politics</h2>
<p>As two of the most prominent African-American musicians in pop culture, Beyoncé and Jay-Z have played increasingly visible political roles – from <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/jay-z-beyonce-raise-money-for-obama/2012/09/18/7a8e1190-01f7-11e2-b257-e1c2b3548a4a_story.html?utm_term=.00380c704b22">campaigning for former president Barack Obama</a> to championing the <a href="https://twitter.com/Blklivesmatter">Black Lives Matter</a> movement. </p>
<p>Beyoncé, in particular, has referenced the richness of African culture in recent years. In her visual album Lemonade, Nigerian influences were woven through with <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/siahlwilliams/6-african-gods-you-can-find-in-beyonces-lemonade-2bk2e">numerous references to Oshun</a>, the Yoruba mother deity, whose colour is yellow. Oshun is the goddess of beauty and love who unleashes her wrath when provoked. </p>
<p>Bricolage – or the construction or creation of a work from a diverse range of cultural references that happen to be available – is keenly at work in the scope of Beyonce’s artistry. She has an astute ability to plunder high and low culture to make her own output appear completely fresh and relevant. This became even more apparent with the surprise release of Everything is Love, which dropped during the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/beyonce-jay-z-on-the-run-2-tour-review-london-stadium-tickets-setlist-grenfell-tribute-a8402081.html">universally praised</a> On The Run II tour, which itself offers a paean to African American identity. </p>
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<p>Black Effect, which opens with a monologue about self-love, references being in love with your own blackness and becoming a symbol of black wealth. Jay-Z raps: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Shit I am the culture<br>
I made my own wave, so now they anti-Tidal.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here he explores his own contribution to capitalism, which both he and Beyoncé celebrate – but he is equally aware that as a black man, this comes with much public criticism.</p>
<p>He also name-checks <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/trayvon-martin-6488">Trayvon Martin</a>, the 17-year-old African American shot dead in 2012 by a neighbourhood watchman in a Florida gated community – and, in a twist on arena performers call and responses for crowd gesticulation: “Get your hands up high like a false arrest.”</p>
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<h2>Occupying ‘white’ space</h2>
<p>The couples plundering of almost the entire canon of art history for maximum effect is no more on display that in the video for APES** T. This is perhaps the most direct statement concerning the redressing of an oppressive, exclusive power structure that the power couple have ever made. They literally occupy a white space with images of black love and black unity – understanding that it was the institutional exclusion of these images that allowed a pervasive white-dominated narrative to govern the collective consciousness. That narrative being that blackness does not belong in galleries, that black art does not hold the same value structures. </p>
<p>The video, which was directed by <a href="http://rickysaiz.com/">Ricky Saiz</a>, who previously directed the “Yoncé” video, and produced by Iconoclast, intersperses close-ups of the Louvre’s most famous artworks – most prominently Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Jacques Louis David’s Consecration of Emperor Napoleon and Coronation of Empress Josephine. </p>
<p>Shot in a way that allows Beyonce and Jay-Z to almost obstruct the globally renowned works behind them – kneeling, swaying and smiling in the process – images of black bodies directly challenge the limited portrayals of blackness that audiences are used to seeing in museums. This invites the audience to take in an entirely new narrative, one that is direct and beautiful in its celebration of an (often intensely capitalist) sense of the many virtues of blackness.</p>
<p>It is abundantly clear that the power couple are effectively inserting themselves into the Western art canon and deftly highlighting the importance of a diversity of representation in such traditionally hallowed halls. What is so brilliantly relevant is that the pair have claimed white spaces and hosted their own black cultural moment that <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/what-it-means-when-beyonce-and-jay-z-take-over-the-louvre">has the world talking</a>. Art as an explicit metaphor for power has never seemed so present.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98563/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kirsty Fairclough does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Teeming with references to African culture and experience, the couple’s latest work places ‘blackness'at the heart of the Western canon.
Kirsty Fairclough, Associate Dean: Research and Innovation, University of Salford
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/96379
2018-05-10T10:02:42Z
2018-05-10T10:02:42Z
Childish Gambino: This is America uses music and dance to expose society’s dark underbelly
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218318/original/file-20180509-184630-1tg2s0s.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">This is America.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY">Childish Gambino/YouTube</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Childish Gambino’s new music video for his song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY">This is America</a> was viewed almost 50m times in five days. It is a remarkable artistic achievement given that it utilises finely-tuned choreography to satirise the role of the black man’s supposedly “joyous” song and dance routine. </p>
<p>The release of the video was particularly timely. Encountering the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2033604/">Hiro Murai-directed</a> promo brought some much-needed satisfaction – and sanity – to a week that had notably featured a Trump-endorsing Kanye West <a href="http://www.tmz.com/2018/05/02/tmz-live-kanye/">claiming slavery was “a choice”</a>. </p>
<p>After already amassing over 49m YouTube views, This is America has demonstrated the potential for an artist like Donald Glover – aka Childish Gambino – to use popular culture to critically address ongoing and deeply-ingrained issues surrounding race. </p>
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<h2>Not so ‘happy’ after all</h2>
<p>It achieves this while simultaneously criticising popular culture for placating audiences. It can be seen as the antithesis of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Sxv-sUYtM">Pharrell Williams’s Happy</a> – a video that achieved its own constant rotation via more obvious feelgood escapism. </p>
<p>Glover’s hard-hitting cynicism can be pitched against Williams’ most buoyant song in a way that recounts Public Enemy’s 1990 citing of Bobby McFerrin’s similarly rose-tinted <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-diB65scQU">Don’t Worry Be Happy</a> as little more than a distraction within their own call-to-arms, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PaoLy7PHwk">Fight the Power</a>.</p>
<p>Perhaps most controversial of all, This is America appears to openly question the entertainment industry’s support for what amounts to a continuation of “minstrelsy” (the once highly popular 19th-century “blackface” tradition that relied on damaging racist stereotypes). This aspect was picked up by creator of the comedy <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5707802/">Dear White People</a>, Justin Simien, <a href="https://twitter.com/JSim07/status/993302602287792128">who observed</a> how Glover even contorts his body into the caricatured figure of Jim Crow – a slave archetype who was a mainstay of such performances.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218427/original/file-20180510-4803-n562n4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/218427/original/file-20180510-4803-n562n4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218427/original/file-20180510-4803-n562n4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218427/original/file-20180510-4803-n562n4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218427/original/file-20180510-4803-n562n4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=762&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218427/original/file-20180510-4803-n562n4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=762&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/218427/original/file-20180510-4803-n562n4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=762&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Justin Simien on Twitter.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://twitter.com/JSim07/status/993302602287792128">Twitter</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Utilising sharp choreography as part of his own bewitching performance, he leaves no misunderstanding about where he locates either the origins or the current role of the black man’s upbeat song and dance routine. </p>
<p>As a video, it immediately appears to have some kinship with Beyoncé’s Grammy-nominated <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDZJPJV__bQ">Formation</a>. Both appear to pull us towards the motivation behind the <a href="https://blacklivesmatter.com/about/">Black Lives Matter campaign</a> but, more than that, these are both examples of the music video as a politicised event. Formation is a fierce commentary on events from <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-the-black-lives-matter-movement-changed-america-one-year-later/">Ferguson</a> to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-35248428">Sandra Bland</a> to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-30350648">Eric Garner</a> and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-36494645">Freddie Gray</a>. The video marked Beyonce’s entrance into the political sphere while also ensuring that it is couched in mass appeal.</p>
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<p>As cultural theorist <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/musicvideo-9781501313929/">Sunil Manghani identified</a>, these videos transcend the format of the music video itself, resulting in “a combined ‘object’ of music-video-news as it forms and reformulates through social media, news networks, and print journalism”. </p>
<p>Glover has now had a “moment” where he has dominated a cultural conversation by presenting work that is so fully formed in its complexity and accessibility. </p>
<h2>A satirical dance</h2>
<p>What is so remarkable about the way in which Glover used the form of the music video as a politicised event is in the layered and nuanced content with a direct message. Peppered throughout the video are the traces of various dance styles, from viral video moves to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t8Gies2Zps">Blocboy JB’s shoot dance</a>, to the South African <a href="http://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/38824/1/rihanna-gwara-gwara-dance-grammys-wild-thoughts">Gwara Gwara</a>. Brought together, the differing origins form something that looks very American and which Glover appears to comment on directly.</p>
<p>Placing the choreography so front and centre seems to be saying that that mainstream culture is all America sees when they see the black community. The exaggerated facial expressions while dancing in the video, further pointing to the disparaging caricatures of the black man popularised in the Jim Crow era.</p>
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<h2>The Sunken Place</h2>
<p>At the end of the video, Glover is seen running in semi darkness being chased by a group of what seem to be non-black people. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&q=this%20is%20america%20sunken%20place&src=typd">Like many on Twitter have theorised</a>, it is plausible to suggest that Glover is in fact running from the Sunken Place – a concept developed in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRfnevzM9kQ">Jordan Peele’s film Get Out</a>. </p>
<p>The Sunken Place represents a system that no matter how hard individuals and groups protest, it will silence them. <a href="http://www.indiewire.com/2017/11/get-out-jordan-peele-explains-sunken-place-meaning-1201902567/">As Peele explained</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You know when you’re going to sleep and it feels like you’re about to fall, so you wake up? What if you never woke up? Where would you fall? And that was kind of the most harrowing idea to me. And as I’m writing it becomes clear that the sunken place is this metaphor for the system that is suppressing the freedom of black people, of many outsiders, many minorities. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Glover in effect represents this concept through choreography and visual imagery in just four minutes and four seconds. Like Beyoncé, Glover has offered up a multi-layered political statement and one which the mainstream is now grappling with. If ever the music video had a moment, it is right now.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96379/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Donald Glover’s music video is a multi-layered political statement which aims to kick its audience out of its complacency.
Daniel Cookney, Lecturer in Graphic Design, University of Salford
Kirsty Fairclough, Associate Dean: Research and Innovation, University of Salford
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/87399
2017-11-22T12:38:56Z
2017-11-22T12:38:56Z
Should we be ashamed to watch a Kevin Spacey movie?
<p>Enjoying the work of Kevin Spacey the actor doesn’t make you a bad person. Even now, knowing what you’ve read about him in the media, you are under no moral obligation to switch channel if American Beauty comes on. Enjoying the actor’s work doesn’t mean you tacitly endorse the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41884878">alleged behaviour of Kevin Spacey</a> the private citizen. Glengarry Glen Ross remains a masterpiece. But you’d probably think twice about watching it on your iPad on a crowded train, wouldn’t you?</p>
<p>The moral panic around people watching – and appreciating – Spacey’s many critically acclaimed dramatic performances isn’t about Kevin Spacey and whether he deserves an audience. Let’s not forget, he hasn’t been convicted of anything. This is about us. It’s about how Spacey reflects on us as arbiters of public virtue.</p>
<p>Because in 2017, the people we admire, much like the brands we buy and the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/21/paperchase-daily-mail-newspaper">ones we boycott</a>, form an integral part of our own identity.</p>
<p>We’ve learned to treat the virtues of our favourite public figures and our favourite brands as if they’re our very own. When our favourite celebrity sends a Tweet attacking Donald Trump or attacking sexism, or – as is quite likely – attacking Trump’s sexism, we retweet.</p>
<p>When Justin Trudeau makes a progressive political statement <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2017/09/justin-trudeau-chewbacca-socks-sock-diplomacy">with his socks</a>, all of his supporters <a href="https://www.indy100.com/article/19-reasons-why-the-world-has-fallen-in-love-with-canadas-prime-minister-justin-trudeau--Z1nJRgUCcx">own a share of the credit</a>. When Beyoncé Knowles awards someone a scholarship, <a href="https://www.beyonce.com/formation-scholars/">we all award someone a scholarship</a>. Celebrities invite us to partake in their good deeds – and we gladly accept. The blurb for Beyoncé’s <a href="https://twitter.com/BeyGood">#Beygood</a> initiative is explicit: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We’re all in this together. Each and every one of us can make a difference by giving back. Join Beyoncé and #BEYGOOD.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A solid set of ethics are now part of the artist’s public persona. “Woke” celebrities need only mutter in support of a popular idea and their social capital rises. It rises because we amplify it. We amplify it because it reflects well on us. Social media has enabled celebrities and brands to communicate a social purpose at a volume that was impossible before. They can reflect back to us what we want to see in ourselves.</p>
<p>They’re allies to our cause. They prove to us that we chose wisely in elevating them with our patronage. So when they fall short of the standards we demand, as humans often do, it feels like a personal betrayal. We put them in this position of great influence.</p>
<h2>Abusing trust</h2>
<p>But investing this heavily in the social construct of a celebrity is unhealthy. It’s what drives us to worry about whether or not we’re allowed to still like the actor Kevin Spacey or enjoy his work.</p>
<p>When Rolf Harris was convicted of 12 counts of indecent assault (<a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/rolf-harris-has-one-of-12-indecent-assault-convictions-overturned-a3692591.html">now reduced to 11</a>), it was a relatively new experience for us as an audience – it genuinely shocked us. Rolf Harris was a “national treasure”. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/jun/26/jimmy-savile-sexual-abuse-timeline">Jimmy Savile was different</a>. His public persona was never cuddly or pure like Rolf Harris’s.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"325156762326007808"}"></div></p>
<p>“Not Rolf too!” <a href="https://twitter.com/itvnews/status/325147471418384384">we protested</a>. “That’s my childhood ruined.” We weren’t equipped to be let down to this extent. We were so stunned at the deception that we barely spared a thought for the actual victims. Post-Savile and Weinstein (who, let’s not forget, has also not been convicted of any crime), that primitive, naive “Not you, Rolf!” reflex has evolved into a much more visceral protection of our own identity. This is why we question ourselves so harshly when one of our own transgresses.</p>
<p>Evolving concurrently to the morals as marketing concept was its ethical counterweight. If liking ostensibly good artists made you a good person, then surely it also reflects on on you when they transgress. And the bar for outrage is getting ever lower.</p>
<h2>Your fave is a problem</h2>
<p>Three years ago, six bloggers founded a Tumblr page called <a href="http://yourfaveisproblematic.tumblr.com/">Your Fave is Problematic</a>. It’s a meticulously compiled and zealously moderated archive of celebrity transgressions. High-profile individuals accused of micro-aggressions, cultural appropriation and fat-shaming were chronicled daily. It marked a turning point in what was already a burgeoning call-out culture.</p>
<p>The blog implicated not only the transgressor, but their admirers. The tone – and of course the name of the blog – effectively lays the blame for the celebrity’s transgressions at the door of his or her admirers. If you see your favourite singer on here, that’s on you. Make better choices.</p>
<p>Of course, if you never liked Kevin Spacey to begin with, it doesn’t matter. Your identity remains intact, enhanced even. It’s as beneficial to a person’s identity when someone they dislike proves them right by being a bad person.</p>
<p>There’s a reason <a href="https://www.stylecompare.co.uk/news/the-lamest-halloween-costumes-of-2017">Google searches</a> for Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein costumes spiked the week before Halloween this year. For some of us, it’s all fun and games. When the person never formed part of our own personal brand, their behaviour doesn’t impact us.</p>
<h2>So why do some people get a pass?</h2>
<p>Some celebrities have acted so wickedly that there’s no question of whether to disavow them. It’s impossible to hear any song by Lostprophets – not that you’re likely to – without instantly recalling the horrors of what <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25412675">singer Ian Watkins did</a>. Few will argue that the band are due a critical reappraisal any time soon, even if 83.3% of its members did nothing wrong.</p>
<p>The egregiousness of his crimes gives some of us a clarifying moral wisdom. It’s just safer to never, ever put a Lostprophets record on. Even for a joke.</p>
<p>But when you consider less open-and-shut cases, it’s hard to know how to proceed. Yet-to-be proven allegations, denied allegations and even plain old rumours are either cast-iron proof of a person’s lack of virtue, or they prove that the “other side” is making unfounded claims, depending on your existing opinion of that person.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"916639351425126400"}"></div></p>
<p>It often comes down to politics and ideology. The American right barely concealed their schadenfreude when the Democrat-supporting Weinstein was outed as a sexual harasser. Their opposite numbers were quick to point to the current inhabitant of the White House in response.</p>
<p>But when we invest so heavily in the public image of someone we don’t know, we do become blind to how problematic they are. <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/woody-allen-wife-soon-yi-their-bizarre-history-ronan-farrow-addresses-sex-abuse-2367707">Woody Allen</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/aug/19/roman-polanski-judge-rejects-request-from-victim-to-dismiss-case">Roman Polanski</a> have continued working while dogged by allegations of moral equivalence to those made against Spacey.</p>
<p>And as I write this, Manchester’s The Happy Mondays are on a UK tour. The band’s dancer, Bez (Mark Berry) will be with them as always, delighting audiences who probably don’t know – or can’t remember – that <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-10946093">he went to jail</a> in 2010 for “throttling” his girlfriend. Michael Fallon <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/01/michael-fallon-quits-as-defence-secretary">recently quit as defence secretary</a> for touching Julia Hartley-Brewer’s knee 15 years ago. She’d already forgiven him, but have we?</p>
<p>We’re right to question which people we admire – but the intense process of self-interrogation and policing of those who may consume the work of someone like Kevin Spacey is not healthy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87399/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cary Cooper does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The moral failures of a creative artist shouldn’t make their work any less valid.
Cary Cooper, 50th Anniversary Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health, University of Manchester
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/87077
2017-11-14T03:29:51Z
2017-11-14T03:29:51Z
Here’s looking at: Pipilotti Rist, Ever Is Over All
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194079/original/file-20171109-13344-1fnpe6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A still image from Pipilotti Rist's Ever Is Over All, 1997, single channprojectors, players, sound system, paint, carpet, courtesy the artist, Hauser & Wirth and Luhring Augustine.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> © the artist</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Since the invention of colour printing, photography and film in the second half of the 19th-century, the line between art and popular culture has been a highly permeable membrane. Some artists, like Toulouse Lautrec, danced elegantly on that tightrope, as did Andy Warhol a century later, gladly providing content for the insatiable beast while taking what they needed to push their ideas forward. Pipilotti Rist happily prances around in that same zone.</p>
<p>So, when Beyoncé released the video for her song Hold Up in 2016, Rist would have relished the homage. Dressed in layers of wafting yellow tulle Beyoncé takes to the sidewalk. Barefoot and with a baseball bat in hand she proceeds to demolish the front window of cars parked alongside. It is a clear homage to Rist’s Ever Is Over All, a two channel video installation the artist made for the 47th Venice Biennale in 1997. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PeonBmeFR8o?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Twenty years later, the image of Rist in a turquoise dress, sauntering down a footpath with an oversized flower in her hand, also smashing the front windows of parked cars, has been reimagined to sell Beyoncé’s anthem for a slighted woman who has decided to fight back. It works brilliantly.</p>
<p>Rist’s original video is memorable because of that simple rhythmic soundtrack and her swagger, which exudes a sense of confidence and inner resolve. Happy to add her own layers of popular culture homage, such as the ruby slippers she wears to reference Dorothy’s jaunt down the Yellow Brick Road, Rist depicts a sweet young girl holding a flower spike who anarchically destroys vehicles. Under the supportive gaze of a Policewoman, her action has just the right mix of sassy insouciance that Beyoncé was looking for. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a56RPZ_cbdc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>For Rist, the feedback would likely have been extremely gratifying. <a href="http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-features/magazine/from-the-archives-rist-factor/">She expresses</a> </p>
<blockquote>
<p>the greatest respect for some MTV clips, since they have a power of innovation and a spirit of discovery that really surpasses video art.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Rist first gained international attention following her selection for the influential Aperto’93, an exhibition curated by Helena Kontova and Giancarlo Politi for Achille Bonito Oliva’s 1993 Venice Biennale. Her early projection works emerged from her studies in audiovisual design in Basel, which in turn had led to animated cartoons and stage sets for music videos, made in tandem with her career as the drummer with the all-girl band called Les Reines Prochaines (The Next Queens).</p>
<p>The references to popular culture garnered from this milieu began to effortlessly cross-fertilise with her early video works.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194082/original/file-20171109-13311-163azr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194082/original/file-20171109-13311-163azr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194082/original/file-20171109-13311-163azr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194082/original/file-20171109-13311-163azr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194082/original/file-20171109-13311-163azr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194082/original/file-20171109-13311-163azr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194082/original/file-20171109-13311-163azr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194082/original/file-20171109-13311-163azr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pipilotti Rist, Sip My Ocean 1996, (still) two-channel video installation with sound, colour: projectors, players, sound system, paint, carpet, sound by Anders Guggisberg and Pipilotti Rist after Wicked Game (1989) by Chris Isaak, courtesy the artist, Hauser & Wirth and Luhring Augustine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© the artist</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another obvious pop-culture reference is her name, in part borrowed from Astrid Lindgren’s tomboy creation Pippi Longstocking and Rist’s nickname as a child, Lotti, hence Pipilotti. Indeed Longstocking’s parentage does seem to encapsulate Rist’s approach to her creative work. The daughter of an angel and a pirate, benignly stealing what is necessary to capture our imagination and urge us to take control of our world, perfectly captures the spirit of celebration of the feminine that pervades all her work.</p>
<p>Ever Is Over All is a vivaciously feminist call to arms. The protagonist (Rist herself) is presented as a joyfully anarchic figure, a wonderfully mischievous girl/woman grasping a flowering phallus and delivering well-timed blows to authority while remaining triumphantly graceful and elegant. Her carefree manner draws us along for the ride, and we happily join with her in her rampage. It is surprisingly liberating and, yes, amazingly joyous!</p>
<p>Technically, the video sits in that liminal zone between music videos and video art. While it borrows the tropes of the music video, it edges into the world of the art gallery through its installation on two screens, that juxtapose the film of Rist destroying car windows in an urban streetscape with imagery of the countryside and exotic flowering plants. </p>
<p>The environment it creates is embracing, welcoming and it encourages our complicity. It is luscious, intense and alluring, like so much of her work, presenting us with a world that is aesthetically heightened and very seductive. The combination of the allure of the music video and the sensuality of the installation is made even more compelling when we bring to it our knowledge of the feedback loop that locks in Beyoncé’s homage.</p>
<p><img width="100%" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/l3V0doGbp2EDaLHJC/giphy.gif">
Rist has been extremely successful in merging high and low culture and the art world. Her lush videos and multimedia installations mesh together notions of female sexuality and music video pop culture, with an imagined optimism presented in contrast to our everyday reality. This feminist intervention provides a powerful and ebullient critique, which is in turn having a powerful effect in re-shaping popular culture.</p>
<p><em>Pipilotti Rist, Sip my Ocean, Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney,
1 November 2017 to 18 February 2018</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87077/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ted Snell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
In 1997 Pippilotti Rist walked down a street of cars and smashed their windows in a vivaciously feminist call to arms. You might recognise the homage to Risk’s work in Beyoncé’s Lemonade.
Ted Snell, Professor, Chief Cultural Officer, Cultural Precinct, The University of Western Australia
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/83786
2017-09-15T04:26:48Z
2017-09-15T04:26:48Z
My favourite album: readers’ choice
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186146/original/file-20170915-16273-1tj7il0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Beyoncé in the music video for Sorry, from Lemonade. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Screenshot from Youtube</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>This week we’ve been asking our authors to name their favourite albums. We’ve heard about <a href="https://theconversation.com/my-favourite-album-kate-bushs-hounds-of-love-79899">Kate Bush</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/my-favourite-album-the-cures-kiss-me-kiss-me-kiss-me-82913">The Cure</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/my-favourite-album-the-beastie-boys-ill-communication-81104">The Beastie Boys</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/my-favourite-album-yothu-yindis-tribal-voice-83643">Yothu Yindi</a>, and <a href="http://theconversation.com/my-favourite-album-pulps-different-class-81395">Pulp</a>. I listened to these. Despite all being from a time before my sixth birthday I was pleasantly surprised. They’re not Beyoncé, but decent all the same. </p>
<p>Now it’s over to you. Many of you couldn’t choose one and protested that choosing a favourite album is an impossible task. </p>
<p>By numbers Pink Floyd is undoubtedly your favourite artist, with Dark Side of the Moon coming out on top. Readers called it “technically perfect” and “ageless”. You also liked four other Pink Floyd albums. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_FrOQC-zEog?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Other albums to make multiple appearances were Radiohead’s Ok Computer, The Beatle’s Sgt Pepper’s (which celebrated <a href="https://theconversation.com/sgt-peppers-at-50-the-greatest-thing-you-ever-heard-or-just-another-album-77458">50 years in June</a>), Joni Mitchell’s Blue, and Patti Smith’s Horses. Leonard Cohen, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones were all strongly represented. A lot of you love soundtracks, from A Single Man to Morning of the Earth to Jonathan Livingston Seagull. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fHiGbolFFGw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Many of you wrote in with lovely stories of your encounters with cherished albums. </p>
<p>Emily Piggott told us about her life-changing discovery of the The Smiths’ Meat is Murder: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I first heard it at about age 16 and became vegetarian (at age 17). I am 42 and still vegetarian. Thanks Morrissey. Some of the sounds on that album still make me really teary (the rain in Well I Wonder). The absolute simplicity and honesty of sadness and loss in this album is really profound for me. I know that others see this album as over done, over blown, full of terrible Morrissey angst, but I still see it as an incredible example of the beauty of sadness. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Helen Garner named Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I always expect it to have been worn out by my memory of it; but every time I listen to it, its freshness and daring astonish me.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ian King nominated Rush’s Moving Pictures: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Holding this vinyl LP in a dreary Thatcherite England was the same as holding hope, joy, fun and aspiration. Even the cover artwork was a mix of wit, rooted ideas and magic.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Vivienne Forde continued the love for Kate Bush in general, and A Woman’s Work in particular:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A hundred words, two thousand would not do, three million hmmmm, she is eternal, her sound is pure love. Could I choose an album, hardly, it would be some kind of sacrilege. I fell in love with sounds I heard over the airwaves on Cork radios in Ireland in March 1978, I had just turned 13. I saw her on The Late Late Show, I was mesmerized. She had touched me, I was hers forever.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Chris Panagiataros wrote of the power of Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>… an ode to hip hop, the perfect blend of controversy, advocacy, poetry and self-reflection. I and I’m sure many millennials across the world have fought the battle for hip hop, defending lyrics and the genre when we heard the remark, “hip hop isn’t music”. From the Bronx to the Australia hip hop scene, it has become our outlet for expression.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And Tammy Unkovich wrote of a life lived with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ No More Shall We Part: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>This album soothes and exhilarates. It’s always in my car. It’s my desert island disc. St Nick’s lyric mastery drips like honey through the speakers. These unassuming ballads are unleashed like wild animals in the live domain. “God is in the House” and “Oh My Lord” revel in Warren’s moaning violin; “Hallelujah” is riveting and “My Sorrowful Wife” lends itself to yesteryear yet rips your heart open in the outro. This is the year I met my husband to be; the year we bonded over this masterpiece; the year we saw the band live at Metro Perth in an earth-shattering experience. When an adjective is needed or precise phrasing is preferred, St Nick melts my heart and English language sensibilities. This album is flawless!!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There were so many others: The Triffids, Black Swan; The Weeping Willows, Before Darkness Comes A-Callin’; Green Day, American Idiot; Yani, Live at the Acropolis; Jeff Buckley, Grace; The Talking Heads, Remain in Light; Lou Reed, Transformer; The Clash, Sandanista!; PJ Harvey, Let England Shake; Bob Evans, Car Boot Sale; Deborah Conway, String of Pearls; and Missy Higgins, The Sound of White. </p>
<p>I asked around our office too. Guns and Roses’ Appetite for Destruction. The Thermals’ The Body, The Blood, The Machine. Carly Rae Jepsen’s E.mo.tion (I endorse this heartily). Taylor Swift’s 1989. Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (that’s our CEO). Radiohead’s Ok Computer. Smashing Pumpkin’s Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Ott’s Skylon. Calexico and Iron & Wine’s In the Rein. Yves Klein Blue’s Ragged and Ecstatic. The Best of Richard Clayderman. </p>
<p>Some of you rejected the whole notion of contemporary music:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Just about ALL of it should be trashed. Ghastly noise largely performed by people who cannot SING A NOTE!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For you I highly recommend our fabulous series on classical music, <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/decoding-the-music-masterpieces-37147">Decoding the Music Masterpieces</a>. </p>
<p>Finally my own favourite album. It is of course the greatest album from the greatest singer, Beyoncé’s Lemonade. </p>
<p><img width="100%" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/l3V0doGbp2EDaLHJC/giphy.gif"></p>
<p>Thank you for your wonderful submissions and passionate opinions. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Are you a music or culture academic who would like contribute to this series? Please contact <a href="mailto:james.whitmore@theconversation.edu.au">James Whitmore</a> or Suzy Freeman-Greene</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83786/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
From The Smiths to Kendrick Lamar, Conversation readers tell us their favourite albums.
James Whitmore, Deputy Editor: Arts + Culture, The Conversation
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/81178
2017-07-30T23:31:39Z
2017-07-30T23:31:39Z
Hip-hop’s vulnerable moment: Jay-Z sets his emotions free
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179904/original/file-20170726-7204-1eyl431.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Jay Z, Beyoncé and daughter Blue Ivy sit court side at a basketball game in New Orleans in Feb. 2017. Jay Z opened up about his relationship with Beyoncé on his new album, "4:44." </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://listen.tidal.com/artist/7804">Jay-Z</a> has cemented himself as a teacher and a leader in popular culture. He sparks conversations every time he releases a project, whether a <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8425806-decoded">book</a> or an album. His 13th album, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/4-44/id1256675529"><em>4:44</em></a> (Roc Nation), an intimate collection of 10 songs, is no different. The conversational album tells the story of love and survival in a racially charged society and provides a jumping-off point for thinking and talking about Black masculinity.</p>
<p>The structures of oppressive racism have led to many Black men and women to interpret vulnerability as a sign of emotional weakness and male bravado as a sign of strength. Therefore, invulnerability has become an emotion to practise. </p>
<p>This performed masculinity runs rampant through mainstream hip-hop culture. Jay-Z and executive producer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_I.D.">No I.D</a> challenge these traditional notions of invulnerability and egocentric masculinity and confront themes of racism and Black love through their lyrics and their selection of <a href="http://ca.complex.com/music/2017/06/jay-z-444-album-samples">R&B and reggae samples</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179910/original/file-20170726-30152-sl4v2i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179910/original/file-20170726-30152-sl4v2i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179910/original/file-20170726-30152-sl4v2i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179910/original/file-20170726-30152-sl4v2i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179910/original/file-20170726-30152-sl4v2i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179910/original/file-20170726-30152-sl4v2i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179910/original/file-20170726-30152-sl4v2i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The album 4:44, a collection of 10 songs and Jay-Z’s 13th studio album was released in June.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Jay-Z is having a conversation with other Black male rappers on this album as he asks: “Y'all out here still takin’ advances, huh?” Here, he’s implying rappers are attached to the industry of music. By doing this, he’s asserting his independence, and consequently his ability, to take artistic chances. He’s not beholden to anyone and can therefore construct his own image and discuss issues that aren’t necessarily popular. </p>
<p>In a followup video to his album, <a href="http://www.spin.com/2017/07/jay-z-444-footnotes-video-kendrick-lamar/"><em>4:44 Footnotes</em></a>, Jay-Z unpacks his lyrics by talking about their meaning. He does this with a group of Black artists and athletes. He is not obscuring his target audience. </p>
<p>Jay-Z draws and benefits from the groundwork laid by feminist writers like <a href="https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/author/bell-hooks/">bell hooks</a>, <a href="http://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/When-Chickenheads-Come-Home-to-Roost/Joan-Morgan/9780684868615">Joan Morgan</a> and <a href="http://www.triciarose.com/hip-hop-wars.html">Tricia Rose</a>. These scholars have worked to explain and uncover how corporate influences, deeply rooted racism and the long-term impact of economic, social and political disempowerment have affected Black hip-hop artists. </p>
<h2>Hip-hop: One-dimensional image of Black men</h2>
<p><em>“Like the men before me, I cut off my nose to spite my face” -4:44</em></p>
<p>Bar by bar throughout <em>4:44</em>, Jay-Z peels off his confident, invulnerable mask, revisiting Shawn (he was born Shawn Corey Carter) and revealing the moments that have defined his past in the hopes of changing his future. </p>
<p>Hip-hop is the most <a href="https://www.vibe.com/2017/07/hip-hop-popular-genre-nielsen-music/">popular genre of music in the United States</a>. At the same time, hip-hop is a microcosm of hegemonic ideals, promoting physical and financial supremacy. Within popular hip-hop imagination, the rapper has been the embodiment of Black masculinity, figured as the cis-heterosexual hero. As these images emanate throughout social discourse, they perpetuate ideas about gender, sexuality, race and identity. For this reason, Black men are not often afforded the privilege to make mistakes and rebuild or self-criticize without being scrutinized by society.</p>
<p>That means there are limited options for what the Black male can represent: “rapper,” “menacing gang member,” “hustler,” “master of (heterosexual) sex.” As these labels pervade and populate hip-hop culture, male rappers effectively get portrayed as <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02692077">machismo spectacle</a>,“ according to scholar Anthony Lamelle Jr.</p>
<p>Within the culture itself, this masculinity gets positioned in stark opposition to femininity, which is closely associated to vulnerability and emotion. But the inability to be vulnerable, according to feminist scholar <a href="https://twitter.com/bellhooks?lang=en">bell hooks</a>, means there is an inability to truly connect with other people. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179909/original/file-20170726-29425-x8301q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179909/original/file-20170726-29425-x8301q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179909/original/file-20170726-29425-x8301q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179909/original/file-20170726-29425-x8301q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179909/original/file-20170726-29425-x8301q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179909/original/file-20170726-29425-x8301q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179909/original/file-20170726-29425-x8301q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In this Feb. 2016 file photo, Beyonce and Jay Z attend a basketball game in Los Angeles. The couple were married on April 4, 2008, in a private ceremony at their Tribeca apartment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Progressively, through his lyrics, Jay-Z attempts to redefine his own masculinity. But he struggles with overcoming his own egomania. In his track <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXXxUNJ23uk"><em>Bam</em></a> he explains that ego, as a survival strategy, is hard to shed. He admits to lying and cheating. He also attempts to confront his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM7lw0Ovzq0">destructive consumption patterns</a>. </p>
<p>Though he is aware of the inherent racism and sexism woven into neoliberal capitalism, Jay-Z reveals in <em>The Story of O.J.</em> and <em>Legacy</em> that, like many, he is still attached to traditional notions of wealth and accumulation. He addresses the impact of <a href="http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2017/07/jay-z-444-footnotes-video/">toxic masculinity</a> that permeates people’s lives — especially those marginalized by their race, gender and class.</p>
<h2>Hip-hop’s cool guy pose leaves others behind</h2>
<p><em>"I promised, I cried, I couldn’t hold. I suck at love, I think I need a do-over” - 4:44</em></p>
<p>Bell hooks has been calling for the interrogation and redefinition of Black masculinity throughout her career. In her 2004 book, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52740.We_Real_Cool"><em>We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity</em></a>, she explains how Black masculinity is viewed: fearless, insensitive, egocentric and invulnerable: therefore any emotions that interfere with this “cool” pose get blocked out.</p>
<p>The cultural devaluation of vulnerability in hip-hop is damaging, because hip-hop’s common themes continue to reinforce things like dominance and sexual prowess over women instead of romantic love and relationships. Also, the “cool” pose leaves women and queer people behind.</p>
<p>Jay-Z’s surprising displays of vulnerability can be seen throughout the album. Jay-Z apologizes to his wife, Beyoncé, on the title track, <em>4:44</em>. He raps: “<a href="https://genius.com/Jay-z-4-44-lyrics">I apologize, often womanize/ Took for my child to be born/ See through a woman’s eyes …</a>.” He shows his acceptance of his mother Gloria’s sexuality on <em>Smile</em>: <a href="https://genius.com/Jay-z-smile-lyrics">“Cried tears of joy when you fell in love, don’t matter to me if it’s a him or her.”</a> Jay-Z is telling us, and especially young male consumers of his music, that the inability to be vulnerable means an inability to feel. In her book, bell hooks explains: “If we cannot feel, we cannot truly emotionally connect with one another.” Stuck in this mindset, love becomes an unknown. Jay-Z is also working to redefine himself as a rapper by imagining new spaces to exist whereby committed relationships and self-growth are also part of the “cool” pose.</p>
<p>At 47, Jay-Z has emerged as the leader in the progression of hip-hop, constantly opening up new possibilities for where rap can go.</p>
<p>As hip-hop grows into its mid-40s (its approximate birth date is 1973), hopefully there will be others who continue to re-imagine what “cool” looks like. In doing so, they might disrupt the limited notions of what Black men can represent in popular culture and society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81178/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tamar Faber does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
In 4:44, his 13th album, Jay-z gets confessional and socio-political, challenging traditional notions of Black male bravado and masculinity.
Tamar Faber, PhD Student, Communication and Culture, York University, Canada
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/81105
2017-07-17T11:43:00Z
2017-07-17T11:43:00Z
Black Madonna: Beyoncé projects positive image of ‘good’ motherhood
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178413/original/file-20170717-6084-pgjdnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Beyoncé: the Annunciation.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Courtesy of Beyoncé's Instagram</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As befitting pop “royalty”, the singer Beyoncé Knowles has publicly released the first official photo of her twins – one-month-old Rumi and Sir Carter. The image – which quickly became <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/jul/14/beyonce-and-the-instagram-that-gained-5m-likes-and-counting">one of the most liked on Instagram</a> – echoed <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-beyonce-pregnancy-pics-challenge-racist-religious-and-sexual-stereotypes-72429">her pregnancy announcement from February</a>, once again <a href="http://www.mtv.com/news/2983457/art-history-experts-explain-beyonce/">referencing religious and classical icons</a> - this time <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/7/14/15971588/beyonce-twins-birth-announcement-madonna-venus">Botticelli’s Venus</a>. And, in a step that’s becoming something of a <a href="http://www.refinery29.com/2017/02/140654/beyonce-grammys-inspiration-religious-symbols-meaning">signature move</a> for her, <a href="http://www.thisisinsider.com/beyonce-hidden-message-instagram-photo-twins-2017-7">the Virgin Mary</a>.</p>
<p>Throughout her pregnancy, Marian imagery has been central to Beyoncé’s self-representation. On the first day of <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/beyonc%25C3%25A9-spotlight-blackhistorymonth_us_58ab7136e4b029c1d1f88dcf">Black History Month</a>, she announced her pregnancy in an Instagram post that conflated goddess imagery and Virgin Mary symbolism and just a few days later delivered a show-stopping Grammy performance that <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/2/12/14594294/grammys-2017-beyonce-love-drought-sand-castles-goddess-references">drew from various religious iconographies</a>, including <a href="http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-africa/oshun-african-goddess-love-and-sweet-waters-002908">Oshun</a>, the Virgin Mary and <a href="http://www.goddess.ws/kali.html">Kali</a>. </p>
<p>Beyoncé’s birth announcement, then, is an extension on the divine feminine theme. By referencing religious iconography, and particularly Virgin Mary symbolism, Beyoncé simultaneously reinforces and subverts dominant cultural narratives of motherhood.</p>
<p>Her representations of pregnancy draw from the <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Black_Madonna_in_Latin_America_and_E.html?id=A09APwAACAAJ&redir_esc=y">Black Madonna tradition</a> in which Mary – and sometimes Jesus – are represented in paintings and statues with dark skin. This tradition is associated with power, miracles and ancient mother goddesses. But it has also been <a href="http://www.utsa.edu/ovations/vol8/story/black-madonna.html">subjected to whitewashing</a> and used <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=owIguCPwFwQC&pg=PA118&lpg=PA118&dq=black+madonna+racism&source=bl&ots=TW0NAUb0Uv&sig=XFyWSRzSkc6dU1jWS4Y0AcAl3Ls&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjrn8DO9I7VAhUsJ8AKHZnjAmcQ6AEIYjAO#v=onepage&q=black%2520madonna%2520racism&f=false">as a tool to perpetuate racism</a>. </p>
<p>Catholic authorities have attempted to downplay or even erase the racial element of the Black Madonna by insisting that the darkness of these statues is caused by oxidisation or discolouration from incense or candle smoke. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178419/original/file-20170717-6078-60azcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178419/original/file-20170717-6078-60azcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178419/original/file-20170717-6078-60azcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178419/original/file-20170717-6078-60azcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178419/original/file-20170717-6078-60azcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178419/original/file-20170717-6078-60azcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178419/original/file-20170717-6078-60azcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Black Madonna at Chartres Cathedral in France.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Elena Dijour via Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The famous Black Madonna at Chartres Cathedral, for example, was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/dec/19/us-architect-sparks-row-chartres-cathedral-restoration-paul-calvel">the subject of controversy</a> in 2014 after it was repainted as part of a refurbishment – turning the Black Madonna white in the process. In a <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2014/12/14/scandalous-makeover-chartres/">scalding article</a> for the New York Review of Books, American architecture critic Martin Filler lamented:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Whenever and however Chartres’s Black Madonna acquired its mysterious patina—through oxidation or smoke from candles and incense – it was familiar as such to centuries of the faithful until its recent multicoloured makeover, which has transformed the Mother of God into a simpering kewpie doll.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Black feminist writer bell hooks critiques the <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Outlaw_Culture.html?id=47gTeoOwJ7EC&redir_esc=y">European worship of Black Madonna</a> in her account of her post-college travels. She found Europe to be rampant with racism, despite Black Madonna veneration – and the worship of a black woman did nothing to “alter the politics of domination outside, in that space of the real”.</p>
<h2>A (Black) woman’s place</h2>
<p>Beyoncé, then, draws on a complex tradition of political resistance to disrupt white supremacist narratives of black motherhood. Her representations haven’t gone without criticism, however.</p>
<p>Beyoncé’s pregnancy and birth images have been critiqued for glorifying, glamorising and romanticising motherhood. Sharon Kellaway, an Irish woman who also just gave birth to twins, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4700392/Irish-mother-replicates-Beyonce-s-baby-reveal-photo.html">parodied Beyoncé’s Instagram birth announcement</a> to show ordinary women’s experience of motherhood, saying that the singer looked “so unrealistic”. </p>
<p>Certainly, Beyoncé’s perfectly honed post-pregancy body isn’t common to most new mothers. Celebrity pregnancies are <a href="http://www.sunypress.edu/p-6155-bikini-ready-moms.aspx">hyper-commodified</a> and the shot of the celebrity post-partum figure is a far more desirable than a photo of the baby. Beyoncé has controlled the representation of her body by managing and releasing her own image. But the capability of a celebrity with extreme wealth, a management team, personal trainers and stylists, chefs and round-the-clock childcare, to make a speedy return to socially accepted standards of beauty is used to control “ordinary” women. </p>
<p>Film and media academic, Rebecca Feasey, <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/From_Happy_Homemaker_to_Desperate_Housew.html?id=nIlJ7EJr1RcC&redir_esc=y">observes</a> that “irrespective of the reality of celebrity pregnancy, delivery or the ensuing maternal role, what is represented is an orchestrated and deliberately considered image of motherhood”. The <a href="http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/beyonce-wows-fans-in-her-new-photo-on-instagram-showing-off-her-postbaby-body/news-story/59cbfe5ceef7f0d31532a5113308b1f9">tabloids</a> and <a href="http://www.ok.co.uk/celebrity-news/1125473/beyonce-post-baby-body-twins-sir-rumi-jay-z-pregnant">gossip magazines</a> have been quick to congratulate Beyoncé on her almost immediate return to shape – thereby presenting her as an example of appropriate post-pregnancy body discipline to women readers and linking women’s maternal bodies to “good” or “bad” motherhood. As sociologist <a href="http://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9780230355439">Meredith Nash argues</a> “a fit, risk-free, flexible, and responsible body is the mark of a good mother”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178421/original/file-20170717-23045-u836u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178421/original/file-20170717-23045-u836u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178421/original/file-20170717-23045-u836u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178421/original/file-20170717-23045-u836u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178421/original/file-20170717-23045-u836u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=843&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178421/original/file-20170717-23045-u836u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=843&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178421/original/file-20170717-23045-u836u5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=843&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How the New York Post reported the story.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">New York Post</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Beyoncé’s images have also been criticised for reinforcing an pro-natalist narrative which insists that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/26797511/">women’s value lies in motherhood</a>. Beyoncé’s “endless Virgin Mary/Sun goddess routine” at the Grammys exercised <a href="http://nypost.com/2017/02/18/having-a-baby-isnt-a-miracle-and-doesnt-make-you-a-goddess/">New York Post journalist Naomi Schaeffer Riley</a>, who responded:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Why is it that in an era when women are constantly insisting that they should not be defined by their traditional, biological roles, we have fetishised motherhood to such an extent? … Our cultural imperative to elevate motherhood to both the most important thing in the world and the hardest thing in the world is getting out of control.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Disrupting stereotypes</h2>
<p>Schaeffer Riley was promptly rebutted by Australia-based Tongan writer <a href="http://affinitymagazine.us/2017/02/19/beyonces-babies-are-miracles-mothers-are-goddesses/">Meleika Gesa-Fatafehi</a>: “The article is written by a white woman who shames motherhood, especially black motherhood.”</p>
<p>Gesa-Fatafehi makes a powerful point. The criticisms of Beyoncé’s Virgin Mary imagery fail to address the racial politics of motherhood and the overtly political statement Beyoncé makes in her use of religious iconography. She draws from the most culturally influential imagery to <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/07/black-mothers-protect-living-kids-not-just-slain-ones-legacies-defy-racist-stereotypes">disrupt dominant stereotypes</a> of <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0361684315627459?journalCode=pwqa">black motherhood</a>.</p>
<p>As the American feminist writer <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Motherhood_and_Feminism.html?id=eI3irDuAQXEC">Amber E. Kinser</a> wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Women of colour … have historically been more concerned with having the children they choose, rather than being forced to produce children through slavery or rape or forced to stop producing children through sterilisation; keeping their children, rather than seeing them sent off to assimilation boarding schools, sold off as slaves, or taken from them because nonwhite mothering practices are distrusted; and raising their children in ways they’ve determined are best for their families, rather than having their cultural values, histories, and ways of speaking denigrated in schools, public policy, and other institutions such as healthcare and media.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In her pregnancy and birth images, Beyoncé effectively negotiates a terrain most closely <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1527-2001.2007.tb00978.x/full">associated with whiteness</a> – “good” motherhood. Good for her and good for all of us.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81105/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katie Edwards works for the University of Sheffield. </span></em></p>
The singer has been criticised for ‘fetishising’ motherhood. But by disrupting stereotypes she is striking a major blow for black women.
Katie Edwards, Director SIIBS, University of Sheffield
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/72419
2017-02-07T19:11:51Z
2017-02-07T19:11:51Z
‘Fat, bland, boring incubators’: ordinary pregnant women don’t feel like Beyoncé
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155773/original/image-20170206-27189-762pk1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The emotional and physical experiences of fatigue, stress, anxiety, and isolation are almost never seen in the popular images of pregnancy. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/reebob/3573331375/in/photolist-6rLfVD-7VXxGA-mvHn-7aYbrG-4biMuQ-obqtKZ-9sqb4G-3sFvf-7qpf1z-6ScpTk-kqTAMm-4mfGLf-brcXxc-4Kz2kK-9qHht7-uqN7V-8Mz58u-5z9JMR-uyWXU-adceNQ-vacti9-5nniNh-vrLLbF-bVpjeZ-bpg4ep-48Mmxp-8fWbCd-pripqq-6SguuN-eLi4E-6SguK5-6hmoWQ-7kKvVT-6Sgupf-7qtbXJ-6Scpsa-sW2T-6SguRG-7qtbCs-masi1-59ERwL-7ncMN5-7qpfc8-dA6o1n-L2vor-7Wfz2L-dAGcpM-gXAQDF-bJ3eAp-kMBxMt">reebob/flickr </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Stop the presses, Beyoncé is pregnant. </p>
<p>For a brief moment last week, the headlines shifted from Trump to the “Queen Bey”, who dropped the news of her twin pregnancy on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BP-rXUGBPJa/?hl=en">Instagram</a> in a post garnering nearly 10 million “likes”.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155798/original/image-20170207-27217-1wevz6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155798/original/image-20170207-27217-1wevz6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155798/original/image-20170207-27217-1wevz6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=745&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155798/original/image-20170207-27217-1wevz6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=745&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155798/original/image-20170207-27217-1wevz6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=745&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155798/original/image-20170207-27217-1wevz6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=937&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155798/original/image-20170207-27217-1wevz6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=937&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155798/original/image-20170207-27217-1wevz6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=937&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Beyoncé announced her twin pregnancy via Instagram.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.instagram.com/beylite/">via Beyoncé on Instagram</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Kneeling beside a wall of flowers and caressing her belly, Beyoncé stares straight at the camera wearing a maroon bra, pale blue panties, and a veil. Following her Instagram teaser, Beyoncé released a further 17 photographs featuring religious, royal, and maternal references on her <a href="http://www.beyonce.com/">website</a>.</p>
<p>These pictures are no accident – they make a powerful statement on black motherhood in 2017. </p>
<p>But they’re very different from a photo series of ordinary women I captured in my study: <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14461242.2014.11081977">The Tasmanian Pregnancy Pictures Project</a>. Two key findings from this study include: </p>
<p>1) women’s self-produced pictures reflect changing cultural and bodily norms in pregnancy, and </p>
<p>2) celebrity pregnancy photos form an important backdrop for these changing norms.</p>
<h2>The power of celebrity pregnancy photographs</h2>
<p>The iconic 1991 image of <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2011/08/demi-moore-201108">Demi Moore</a> in Vanity Fair was pivotal in making us believe that a mother’s body shouldn’t be hidden from view.</p>
<p>Moore’s pregnant pose has been replicated <a href="http://fashionista.com/2012/03/a-history-of-naked-pregnant-celebs-on-magazine-covers#1">many times</a> over the last 25 years, mainly by white celebrities.</p>
<p>Naked pregnant celebrity portraits embody the ethos of the sexy and slender “yummy mummy”, a woman who is empowered by her ability to look glamorous and skinny during pregnancy and then squeeze into size 8 jeans just a couple of weeks after giving birth.</p>
<p>I am a sociologist, and <a href="http://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9780230355439">specialise</a> in pregnant body image. These celebrity pregnancy photos had me wondering:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>What do everyday women feel about these images? Indifference? Anger? Sadness? </p></li>
<li><p>Where does feminism fit into “baby bump” culture?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>This led me to one of my recent studies in Tasmania.</p>
<h2>Photos from ordinary Australian pregnancies</h2>
<p>This study is based on the idea there is a gap between the ways pregnancy is represented in the media and the way everyday women experience pregnancy. </p>
<p>It was clear the emotional and physical experiences of fatigue, stress, anxiety, and isolation are almost never seen in the popular images of pregnancy. So how would women document their experiences of pregnancy if they were given a camera?</p>
<p>I gave 12 pregnant Tasmanian women digital cameras and asked them to photograph whatever they felt best captured their experiences, and I interviewed them about their photos over a one year period.</p>
<p>Some 2,000 photographs later, what did I learn? </p>
<p>The strongest message to come through women’s photos was their <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14461242.2014.11081977">fear of gaining weight</a>. </p>
<p>In the last 15 years, we have seen the emergence of a booming pregnancy weight loss industry. There are pregnancy fitness <a href="https://www.fitpregnancy.com/">magazines</a>, prenatal exercise <a href="https://preggibellies.com/">classes</a>, and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Womens-Not-Fat-Pregnant-T-Shirt/dp/B00JQL9P0A">t-shirts</a> made especially for women who are petrified about being mistaken as fat instead of pregnant in those early weeks.</p>
<p>Thus until about 16 weeks gestation, most women had great difficulty in coming to terms with how their bodies looked or their body image.</p>
<p>“Lisa”, below, represented her fear of looking like she’d let herself go because her jeans would no longer zip up.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155566/original/image-20170205-18271-1pjoc76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155566/original/image-20170205-18271-1pjoc76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155566/original/image-20170205-18271-1pjoc76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155566/original/image-20170205-18271-1pjoc76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155566/original/image-20170205-18271-1pjoc76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=615&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155566/original/image-20170205-18271-1pjoc76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=615&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155566/original/image-20170205-18271-1pjoc76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=615&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>“Christine” photographed a mushroom to show how unrecognisable she had become to herself – bland and boring.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155567/original/image-20170205-18741-1hjwmit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155567/original/image-20170205-18741-1hjwmit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155567/original/image-20170205-18741-1hjwmit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155567/original/image-20170205-18741-1hjwmit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155567/original/image-20170205-18741-1hjwmit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=616&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155567/original/image-20170205-18741-1hjwmit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=616&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155567/original/image-20170205-18741-1hjwmit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=616&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
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<p>And “Julie” weighed herself every day.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155568/original/image-20170205-18741-fljlw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155568/original/image-20170205-18741-fljlw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155568/original/image-20170205-18741-fljlw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155568/original/image-20170205-18741-fljlw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155568/original/image-20170205-18741-fljlw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155568/original/image-20170205-18741-fljlw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155568/original/image-20170205-18741-fljlw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>By mid-pregnancy, women became more comfortable with their bodies. </p>
<p>The photos are interesting because they show women as they saw themselves.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155569/original/image-20170205-18294-a6vesb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155569/original/image-20170205-18294-a6vesb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155569/original/image-20170205-18294-a6vesb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155569/original/image-20170205-18294-a6vesb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155569/original/image-20170205-18294-a6vesb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155569/original/image-20170205-18294-a6vesb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155569/original/image-20170205-18294-a6vesb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>These are the kinds of photos that we rarely see in the media.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155570/original/image-20170205-18772-1yxjqab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155570/original/image-20170205-18772-1yxjqab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155570/original/image-20170205-18772-1yxjqab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155570/original/image-20170205-18772-1yxjqab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155570/original/image-20170205-18772-1yxjqab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155570/original/image-20170205-18772-1yxjqab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155570/original/image-20170205-18772-1yxjqab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>I like these photos because they are unconventional; they show women’s bellies from unusual angles and are about self-discovery and fun. </p>
<p>As pregnancy progressed, some women struggled with feeling like a public spectacle. “Joan”, below, felt like people always talked about the size of her belly – no one looked at her face anymore. It was like she had become a walking incubator.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155571/original/image-20170205-18286-v5466g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155571/original/image-20170205-18286-v5466g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155571/original/image-20170205-18286-v5466g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155571/original/image-20170205-18286-v5466g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155571/original/image-20170205-18286-v5466g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=642&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155571/original/image-20170205-18286-v5466g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=642&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155571/original/image-20170205-18286-v5466g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=642&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>Women anxiously waited for birth while they contended with competing anxieties about losing their baby weight.</p>
<h2>Images of women after birth</h2>
<p>Ever since Heidi Klum famously strutted down the catwalk just <a href="http://celebritybabies.people.com/2009/11/20/heidi-klum-walks-runway-%E2%80%93-six-weeks-after-baby/">six weeks</a> after giving birth, losing baby weight has become a competitive sport.</p>
<p>Australian women’s photos grapple with this culture of postnatal weight loss: how did Beyoncé get so slender from her first pregnancy so quickly?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155572/original/image-20170205-18261-2ukwn9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155572/original/image-20170205-18261-2ukwn9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155572/original/image-20170205-18261-2ukwn9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155572/original/image-20170205-18261-2ukwn9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155572/original/image-20170205-18261-2ukwn9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155572/original/image-20170205-18261-2ukwn9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155572/original/image-20170205-18261-2ukwn9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>Just how long would it take for them to “bounce back”? Would they get stretch marks?</p>
<p>Post-birth, all of the women told me that their bodies felt unfamiliar or “not me” and they worried they would never return to a “normal” body.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155573/original/image-20170205-18245-jqo6on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155573/original/image-20170205-18245-jqo6on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155573/original/image-20170205-18245-jqo6on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155573/original/image-20170205-18245-jqo6on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155573/original/image-20170205-18245-jqo6on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1000&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155573/original/image-20170205-18245-jqo6on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1000&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155573/original/image-20170205-18245-jqo6on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1000&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>They hated not being able to wear their normal clothes – women talked about how much they hated wearing track pants and slippers day in and day out.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155574/original/image-20170205-18268-wze5lz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155574/original/image-20170205-18268-wze5lz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155574/original/image-20170205-18268-wze5lz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155574/original/image-20170205-18268-wze5lz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155574/original/image-20170205-18268-wze5lz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155574/original/image-20170205-18268-wze5lz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155574/original/image-20170205-18268-wze5lz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<h2>Why do pregnancy pictures from everyday women matter?</h2>
<p><a href="https://bitchmedia.org/article/black-venus-rising/symbolism-beyonc%C3%A9s-pregnancy-photos">Feminist writers</a> have observed that Beyoncé is the new “black Madonna”, a blessed figure of motherhood and a position that has been unavailable to women of colour <a href="https://www.brandeis.edu/projects/fse/slavery/united-states/roberts.html">historically</a>. Her recent pregnancy photographs present this image. </p>
<p>My research demonstrates the <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1472586X.2014.862992">power of photography</a> for revealing a world of experiences and issues in pregnancy normally concealed from view.</p>
<p>Photography can make a real connection to people and photographs are also essential in improving maternal health care.</p>
<p>For instance, photographs taken by pregnant women may be able to illuminate strategies that health professionals can employ to help women improve pregnant body image. They might also help in assessing women who are more at risk for developing postnatal depression. </p>
<p>When I started this project, I had no idea what kind of images I would get. I ended this project with not just with a collection of photographs but <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09589236.2013.797340">images that tell women’s stories of pregnancy</a>. </p>
<p>Beyoncé’s photographs are powerful in their own right, but let’s not forget what we can learn about pregnancy from those mundane images of track pants, barren wardrobes and self-portraits in a bathroom mirror.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72419/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Meredith Nash does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Unlike Beyoncé, a group of Australian women documenting their own pregnancies captured mundane images of track pants, barren wardrobes and self-portraits in a bathroom mirror.
Meredith Nash, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of Tasmania
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/72429
2017-02-05T15:33:17Z
2017-02-05T15:33:17Z
How Beyoncé pregnancy pics challenge racist, religious and sexual stereotypes
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155488/original/image-20170203-13978-1f8bv0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Divine.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">New York Post.</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On the first day of <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/black-history-month-2017-what-is-it-where-is-it-held-what-is-the-controversy-a7556191.html">US Black History Month</a>, Beyoncé revealed her second pregnancy in a series of striking and beautiful images re-appropriating classical and religious iconography. The central image, posted on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BP-rXUGBPJa/?taken-by=beyonce">her Instagram account</a>, depicted the artist and activist in the style of the Virgin Mary: wearing a veil, surrounded by a halo of flowers. The announcement and accompanying image quickly became the most liked post on Instagram and numerous press articles appeared, attempting to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38847355">decode the symbolism</a> in Beyoncé’s <a href="http://www.beyonce.com/">visual essay</a>. </p>
<p>While <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/feb/01/decoding-beyonces-pregnancy-pic-a-remix-of-rococo-and-flemish-influences">the Guardian</a> and <a href="http://www.vox.com/culture/2017/2/3/14484610/beyonce-social-media-pregnancy-art-venus-virgin-mary-mami-wata-awol-erizku">Vox</a> picked up on the Virgin Mary imagery and its associations with authority and virtue, The New York Post went the furthest, dedicating its front page to the <a href="http://nypost.com/cover/covers-for-february-2-2017/">“Beymaculate Conception”</a>. </p>
<p>The Virgin Mary is traditionally represented in art as a white woman. Often her complexion takes the palest possible hue, apparently connoting holiness and innocence. Cultural critic <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/White.html?id=ncIbd-Uch28C">Richard Dyer</a> showed that “in Western representation, whites are overwhelmingly and disproportionately predominant, have the central and elaborated roles, and above all are placed as the norm, the ordinary, the standard. Whites are everywhere in representation”. Whiteness, then, <a href="http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/491/668">occupies a position of cultural hegemony</a> as “normal” and neutral, and religious iconography that – quite literally – represents whiteness as divine, is a means of reproducing white power and superiority. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/BP-rXUGBPJa/?taken-by=beyonce","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Beyoncé’s beautiful re-appropriation of Virgin Mary iconography offers a biting critique of this supreme exemplar of feminine whiteness and the ideology that constructs and perpetuates it. At a moment when <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/27/opinions/trump-america-first-ugly-echoes-dunn/">white supremacy is echoed in the “America First” slogan</a> of the new US President, Donald Trump, Beyoncé simultaneously dislodges “white” from its central place in religious iconography and Trump from his recent monopoly of press headlines. </p>
<h2>Challenging cultural norms</h2>
<p>Beyoncé is no stranger to the appropriation of religious iconography <a>to challenge cultural norms</a>. Cultural critic and theorist bell hooks coined the term “oppositional gaze” in <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Black_Looks.html?id=xgHEBAAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y">1992</a> to “<a>see, name, question and ultimately transform</a>” oppressive racialised images. </p>
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<p>In 2013, the singer released the video for <a href="http://the-artifice.com/beyonce-visual-album-controversy/">Mine</a>, in which she’s also protrayed as the Virgin Mary, this time to recreate Michelangelo’s La Pietà, literally surrounded by whiteness, to subvert the racist and sexist ideas around ownership and black women. </p>
<p>Christian imagery offers prescriptive images of socially approved women. As <a href="https://feminismandreligion.com/author/kelbd/">Kelly Brown-Douglas</a> argues, “positive images define what female ‘goodness’ looks like and urges women to imitate the qualities of these images”. Images of the Virgin Mary are central to Western culture as a symbol of ideal femininity that equates whiteness with beauty, purity and virtue, and artistic representations of the Mother of Christ have helped to define how women are publicly represented. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155559/original/image-20170205-18245-121ra4t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155559/original/image-20170205-18245-121ra4t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155559/original/image-20170205-18245-121ra4t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155559/original/image-20170205-18245-121ra4t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155559/original/image-20170205-18245-121ra4t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155559/original/image-20170205-18245-121ra4t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/155559/original/image-20170205-18245-121ra4t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Michelangelo’s La Pietà.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/518770513?size=medium_jpg">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But Beyoncé doesn’t simply create a powerful and iconic image of black femininity in her pregnancy announcement images. Images of the Virgin Mary usually depict her fully clothed, including a head covering. The Virgin Mary’s attire must suggest chastity, purity and (sexual and spiritual) virtue. Beyoncé also subverts this ideal by posing in mismatched lingerie, cradling her pregnant belly, and in doing so fuses elements of the “Jezebel”, <a href="http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/jezebel.htm">one of the most prominent stereotypes of black women</a>, with Virgin Mary imagery. This boldly challenges concepts of “acceptable” female sexuality and racialised stereotypes. </p>
<p>Black women came to be associated with Jezebel, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Kings%209:30-32&version=NRSV">another stereotype based on a biblical character</a>, during slavery when “<a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nqpGDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA19&lpg=PA19&dq=the+Black+woman+as+Jezebel+was+a+perfect+foil+to+the+White,+middle-class+woman+who+was+pure,+chaste+and+innocent&source=bl&ots=4h1K5cnyn6&sig=M3gBb534PuTqhjZvJ5zHEXwVISc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi5ytiwufbRAhVKDsAKHVwfDnIQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=the%20Black%20woman%20as%20Jezebel%20was%20a%20perfect%20foil%20to%20the%20White%2C%20middle-class%20woman%20who%20was%20pure%2C%20chaste%20and%20innocent&f=false">the Black woman as Jezebel was a perfect foil</a> to the White, middle-class woman who was pure, chaste and innocent”. The Jezebel stereotype was used to rationalise sexual atrocities against black women and its insidious influence persists in contemporary culture. </p>
<p><a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=RfBHUXRCXfAC&pg=PR9&lpg=PR9&dq=anthony+cortese+provocateur+third+edition&source=bl&ots=OgQjhHdYmn&sig=GcEcaK-Fjl2FEXrNj0UcUDXbHRQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj12PnFr_bRAhUIAcAKHYWODi0Q6AEINzAF#v=onepage&q=anthony%20cortese%20provocateur%20third%20edition&f=false">Sociologist Anthony Cortese found that</a> in popular culture black women are often othered, <a href="http://jezebel.com/5337618/why-photograph-a-black-woman-in-a-cage">animalised</a> and exoticised, associating women of colour with primitivity or wild sexuality.</p>
<h2>Black, not white</h2>
<p>For example, where all women are objectified and hypersexualised in advertising, black women are far more often marked as hypersexual and subhuman, or to take novelist <a href="http://alicewalkersgarden.com/">Alice Walker’s</a> famous words:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Where white women are depicted as human bodies if not beings, black women are depicted as shit.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The cultural residue of the Jezebel stereotype means, therefore, that black women continue to be more vulnerable to sexual assault and, as psychologist <a href="https://works.bepress.com/DrCarolynWest/15/">Carolyn M West</a> explained: “Black women may receive a double-dose of cultural rape myths, those that target all survivors and those that claim black women especially for deserving the assault.”</p>
<p>In the images accompanying her pregnancy announcement, Beyoncé simultaneously confronts and undermines the historical racial and sexist stereotypes of the Virgin Mary and Jezebel, and responds to the <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/ete.2010.15.1.1">association between whiteness and purity</a> that remains alive and kicking in Western culture. Bow down.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72429/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katie Edwards works for the University of Sheffield.</span></em></p>
How to challenge centuries of bigotry with a single image – and bump Trump off the front pages.
Katie Edwards, Director SIIBS, University of Sheffield
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/69698
2016-12-05T10:03:31Z
2016-12-05T10:03:31Z
Are giant music festivals at the end of the road?
<p>Scotland’s best-known music festival, T in the Park, is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/nov/24/t-in-the-park-festival-to-take-a-year-off">taking time off</a> from its usual three-day summer event in the Perthshire countryside for the first time in two decades. Organiser DF Concerts is rumoured to be reinventing and rebranding the festival for next year, turning it into a more niche event, staged in the heart of Glasgow and aimed at a more mature audience. It has said <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-38130100">it will</a> return with a camping event in 2018, but no one knows what form this will take or how it might compare with the weekend events, attended by 250,000-plus, of T in the Park’s <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3057955.stm">heyday</a>. </p>
<p>Coming on the back of recent UK festival collapses such as <a href="http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/rockness-music-festival-cancelled-1-3347075">RockNess</a> and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-20987856">The Big Chill</a>, you might wonder whether something is changing. Are huge festivals going out of fashion in the face of the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/07/02/do-the-growing-number-of-music-festivals-actually-make-any-money/">explosion</a> of boutique events in recent years – or is something else at play? </p>
<p>T in the Park has become a mainstay of mainstream Scottish entertainment since its launch in 1994. <a href="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/its-20-years-park-left-8377817">Starting</a> with a 17,000-strong event at Strathclyde Country Park near Glasgow with headliners like Primal Scream, Oasis and Bjork, the festival moved to Balado airfield in Perthshire several years later to accommodate its rapid growth. </p>
<p>Always sponsored by Scottish lager brand Tennent’s, T in the Park saw armies of festival goers boarding buses year after year from all over Scotland and beyond. It has long been associated with extremely muddy camping, world-beating acts like Beyoncé and Red Hot Chilli Peppers, amazing crowds and lots and lots of booze. </p>
<h2>Festival wherefores</h2>
<p>Certainly no one disputes the <a href="http://www.sustainabletourismonline.com/24/festivals-and-events-plan/the-role-of-brand-equity-in-helping-to-evaluate-the-contribution-of-major-events">benefits</a> of big festivals. A <a href="http://www.dfconcertsandevents.com/Tlocal/pdfs/Volume_3_Appendices_v2.pdf">2014 study</a> of T in the Park showed that the economic benefit to the region of Perth and Kinross was £2.7m, up 91% on 2005, while for Scotland it was £15.4m. </p>
<p>Such events increase the profile of the destination and encourage people to come back as tourists. Attending T in the Park has also been a rite of passage that helps to cement friendships and allows engagement with the latest music, art or culture. And it gave emerging musicians and bands an opportunity to cut their teeth in front of an extremely passionate Scottish crowd. </p>
<p>So what started to go wrong? T in the Park was forced to leave Balado last year after the Health and Safety Executive decided an oil pipeline that ran under the site made it dangerous. It shifted a few miles west to Strathallan castle (see map), but <a href="http://www.strathallantactiongroup.org">stiff opposition</a> from environmentalists worried about things like the impact on roads and nesting ospreys will not have helped. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148416/original/image-20161202-25682-1f7vzpa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148416/original/image-20161202-25682-1f7vzpa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148416/original/image-20161202-25682-1f7vzpa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148416/original/image-20161202-25682-1f7vzpa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148416/original/image-20161202-25682-1f7vzpa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148416/original/image-20161202-25682-1f7vzpa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148416/original/image-20161202-25682-1f7vzpa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148416/original/image-20161202-25682-1f7vzpa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">T time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Google Maps</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tighter public finances mean that all festivals in Scotland now have to pay for their own policing, which in the case of T in the Park will be a formidable amount of money. Combined with <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/t-in-the-park-2017-cancelled-break-year-off-a7437166.html">increasing</a> planning constraints and regulations as UK councils become more and more risk averse, this has made life harder for organsiers. </p>
<p>Three <a href="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/park-under-growing-pressure-after-8543564">drug-related</a> deaths at the 2016 event brought <a href="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/park-under-growing-pressure-after-8543564">bad publicity</a>. Then there is heightened competition, from the broad range of UK festivals but particularly from overseas events such as <a href="http://www.exitfest.org/en">EXIT Festival</a> in Serbia and <a href="http://www.fiberfib.com/en/">Festival Internacional de Benicàssim</a> in Spain. These offer sunshine instead of rain, and cheaper ticket prices – EXIT, for example, is offering weekend tickets for 2017 at £97.90, compared to more than £200 for T in the Park last summer. </p>
<h2>Life cycles</h2>
<p>But T in the Park might also just be one more festival that has reached the end of its life cycle. When it comes to the life cycles of organisations, researchers have <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/0447-2778.00032/abstract">identified</a> five key stages – establishment, recognition, prominence, maturity/consolidation and rejuvenation/decline. These arguably mirror what happens to many contemporary events and festivals. </p>
<p>Some of the largest and best-known events – <a href="http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk">Glastonbury</a>, for example – seem to defy the usual life cycle trends and consolidate year after year. But most end up going into decline. In an extremely crowded marketplace – there are now <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/07/02/do-the-growing-number-of-music-festivals-actually-make-any-money/">more than 1,000</a> festivals in the UK, double that of a decade ago – many struggle to meet what are seen as the <a href="https://www.fest300.com/magazine/why-have-so-many-music-festivals-canceled-in-2016">key performance indicators</a>. These include having a unique and varied offering, a transparent purpose, robust governance, strong resident and community engagement, a loyal customer base and being a “must visit” event. </p>
<p>To avoid decline, you need to be agile and flexible enough to consistently reinvent and rejuvenate yourself. T in the Park has been in transition since it left Balado last year – and finding a way back over the next two years will arguably be the greatest challenge it has ever faced. </p>
<p>But the huge number of festivals in the UK and elsewhere suggests there is still high demand for a holiday from reality in a field in the summertime. The changing face of that demand has not made it easy for big festivals, but this is not necessarily something to mourn. If T in the Park ends up going out to pasture, like The Big Chill, RockNess, Oxegen, ATP, Cloud 9 and all the rest, promoters will always find other vehicles for live music.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69698/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Ali-Knight does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
T in the Park is on the rocks. So what else is new?
Jane Ali-Knight, Associate Professor in Festival and Event Management, Edinburgh Napier University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.