Is That You?
“Be yourself.” Two simple
words, a basic phrase, but so hard for many people to apply.
My best friend Jelisa and I
were on the phone last night discussing the current new school generation of
female rappers. Lately, I’ve been noticing a trend where a lot of newer femcees
are portraying themselves as “ratchet”. You know, the “trill”, “thug life” fad?
Jokingly, we both pointed out how several of the “bad bitch” video vixens that are
surrounded by the female rappers in music videos appear to be everything but
“ratchet”. Growing up on the west side and south sides of Chicago, the real
life ratchet girls looked and acted nothing like what we see on T.V.
The point we concluded to
was that many of the newer female rappers and fans are portraying themselves as
ratchet because that’s what’s hot in the hip-hop right now. Wearing grills and
being “trill”. Having an outlandish fashion style, aiming glitter painted AK-47s,
weird, new-age music videos, living the so called “thug life”, and the overall
doing and saying things for shock value. Observing female emcees from the
1990's, many had their own personal styles in both music and fashion: Da Brat,
Missy Elliot, Lauryn Hill, Lil' Kim, Queen Latifah, Foxy Brown, Left Eye, and
the list goes on. There was a variety of different flavors and music to be
brought to the table. There was no one "type" of mainstream female
rapper as there is now, which is seemingly "ratchet". Let’s not get
it twisted, there are real life “ratchet” rappers and the marketing strategy of
shock value, and fairy tale ratchetness is nothing new to popular music. From
my perspective, it appears that in this new era of music, pop culture and
media, the concept of being “unique” has been taken to another level in an
attempt for people to stand out primarily for shock value, and personal
egotism.
"I'm Not Like Everyone
Else"
“I’m not like people in my generation.”
“I’m just so weird.”
Just some of the
expressions I read and hear people say nowadays. Not to mention the irony of
the validity of those statements to folks' real lives. A few years back, I
began to be attentive on how so many of my peers all of a suddenly became
interested in the arts, fashion, and on ventures to become these
"freethinkers". I created a video about this topic last year, "Today's Artsy Phase" speaking
about how I felt many people were hopping on the “artist” bandwagon, not for
the love of the arts, but for the titles, for the attention, for the applause.
My standpoint is that many people are just on personal endeavors to give the
impression that they are "unique". Even popular artists have done
this where over-the-top fashion statements, bizarre images in music videos, and
lyrics are crafted in order to be labeled as unorthodox. And of course when
celebrities are doing it, the general public will follow.
The edginess in fashion,
the abrupt interest and involvement in the arts from watching Kanye music
videos, and the hipster "I'm so not mainstream" attitude. Many people
may think that this makes them look artistically unique, from the
"trill" style to the "thrift store" look, but I personally
feel it doesn’t. I feel it means you are trendy, which contrasts what many
genuine artists like hipsters originally desire. Right now, it's trendy because being an
Urban Outfitters shopping, socially aware artist who analyzes the work of
Basquiat to be "deep", and just became a vegan is what’s hot right
now. It means to say things to be relatable; whatever’s a popular opinion is
Tweeted or typed on Tumblr blogs in order for people to agree with you (Which
to me corresponds to capitalizing off the fact many people don’t have their own
thoughts, instead of just being yourself and saying what you feel because
that’s how YOU feel). It means to do whatever you think will make you “stand
out” from the crowd, even if deep down inside you’re not into the activity as
much as you claim, whereas it manifests on the outside.
What's The Big Deal?
In stating this, some may
think I’m being over dramatic, doing the most, hell even being pompous, but many
don’t understand what it feels like as an artist to witness this over saturation and damn near mockery
of something you've been doing since a child and something that is an important part of your life.
Being ridiculed for growing up and dressing in your own personal style, being
yourself, to see the essence of self-expression and individuality turns into a here today, gone tomorrow trend. Some people don’t know what it’s like to persistently be asked, “Why do you dress like that?” “What do you have
on?” “Are you gothic or something?” "You dress like a white girl." Or to be told how being an artist will make you “no money”
and that wont get you anywhere with it. A lot of folks are unable to comprehend the
stress, time, money, and frustration that artists experience whether it is
creating music, writing, acting, or visual arts.
Plenty of
persons are at
an attempt to be “artistic” based on doing what they think a typical artist does/looks like. This is done to the point
these “aspiring” artists are stereotypical prototypes, opposite of the
nonconformists they aimed to be in the first place. As mentioned in the latter
paragraph, people are doing and saying things what they think will make them
appear as individuals, but if that’s not who you truly are, if you and millions
of others are doing this, how does that make you stand out? How are you being
“different” if you have to force it? It’s come to a point of utter desperation and
competition based on who's the most outlandish. It's come
to the point, the trend makes many people the same, making it tougher for genuine
artists or people who genuinely wish to become artists.
The irony
is, that the over saturation, and overflow of the bandwagon, has made being “artistically
different” the norm now. What was once something special and originally
symbolic for self-expression and individuality has been spoiled by mainstream
pop culture. Being an
artist not just a mainstream trendy phase, and it shouldn't be treated like
one, because let's be honest some years ago a lot of folks were not checking
for art or for becoming artists the way they are now. The creation of art is
how many people put food on their tables and clothes on their back. Some,
struggling to make it already, only for their career fields to become a circus
welcoming clownish behavior that dilutes the essences of the crafts. It's
almost equivalent to a slap in the face to be serious about your craft,
perfecting it for years, to see people who are not as serious about it, using
it to only to be "different", receiving admiration and opportunities
that you could have benefited from. Think about something you take seriously.
How would you feel it if it became popular for the moment and an influx of
unserious people came over saturating the field, making it another trend?
What It Means to Be
Different
Being different is being YOU amidst a society
trying to change you and tell you who and how to be. Being different does not exclusively signify or
point to being an artist. Nor does being outlandish and out of the box doesn't
suggest that you are a substantial artist. Some people naturally have the artsy juice,
some don’t, and talent for damn sure does not equal creativity. Embrace
the gifts and talents God gave you and use them to your best advantage. Don't
waste time in trying to be someone you're not while you could be spending time
improving who you already are or who you could become because what works for some doesn't always work for you.
Don’t try to be
“different”, be yourself. Everyone is unique in his or her own way, but
everyone wasn’t meant to stand out in an "artistic" matter and that’s
just fine. We all have different talents and gifts to contribute to the world,
focus on yours and not anyone else’s. Your destiny and identity shouldn't be tied to what’s popular
for the moment. Your destiny and identity shouldn't be tied to the compliments and validation
of others, because caskets don’t come with bunk beds and a lot of the people
you're trying to impress wont even show up to your funeral. The same way this
“artsy phase” came, is the same way it will depart being replaced with another
"phase", and then what will you be doing? What will you be doing
after society decides that the “artsy phase” is over? Will you still want to be
an artist? If you’re not in it for the longevity and only for the praise and
accolades, for the titles, please step aside and let someone else’s light
shine. Someone who loves his or her craft and wants to expand with it.
Remember, a person can be his or herself in a society where you are constantly
suffocated with images, and messages (both subliminal and conscious) telling
you to be someone else, is one of the strongest.
Following trends is not
solely about clothes and the latest fashion. It has much to with having an unhealthily desire to be accepted, and being subservient to the media, popular culture and politics as well. It ties into
having the thought process of: "Hmmm, I'm not going to think on my own, I'm not going to do what I want to do. I'm going to agree
and do what everyone else is doing because it's the popular opinion." There's always a bigger picture that sometimes
we never see, such as the encouragement of social group think and how that
relates to politics and problematic societal affairs. No one is 100% different
to the point they don’t share common interests and common beliefs with others,
but let’s not pretend like social group think and feeling the pressure to
follow the latest fads to be “cool” aren’t discernible.
The Message
This message isn’t to be
anti-pop culture, or anti-media, both tools can be used successfully if used
wisely and not for brainwashing. There's absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying
the latest fashion, music, and other sources of pop culture. Nor is this
message an elitist restriction to bash and put down those who are not artists and want to buy
art, express themselves, explore new activities, or take up some form of art as a hobby. Art is used in many therapeutical, psychologically healthy ways. There is a difference between appreciating and participating in artistic activities to discover new things and claiming yourself as an "artist" because you believe it will make you appear "different". The message is
to remind people to be themselves and not feel like they have to be a
completely different person or "try hard" because there's a popular phase occurring at the
time. It means to stand firm in who you are regardless of what's popular at the
moment and regardless of what others think. Don't allow the standards of your worth to be based on whether or not you're following a momentary fad.
We live in a society where people want to be confident, established, and basically know who they are but many are not. A lot of folks put on masks to hide their unknowingness and confusion so it's understandable to an extent why some choose to be validated through popularity and trends. It even occurred to me that perhaps following a trend like this current "artist trend", could be of some benefits to some people. Maybe some could learn a new craft and find something they're good at and something they'll learn to love. It could show certain persons in certain situations who they aren't, and even who they aren't because a lot of us have our own personal stages we go through in life. Regardless of what it is, always remember to stay true to yourself, to your craft and to put your all into it if you're serious about it. Don't do things for show and tell, do it because it's something you love and a chance for you to express yourself. The courage you have in being yourself exhibits a multitude of strength that lasts longer than any popular trend.
We live in a society where people want to be confident, established, and basically know who they are but many are not. A lot of folks put on masks to hide their unknowingness and confusion so it's understandable to an extent why some choose to be validated through popularity and trends. It even occurred to me that perhaps following a trend like this current "artist trend", could be of some benefits to some people. Maybe some could learn a new craft and find something they're good at and something they'll learn to love. It could show certain persons in certain situations who they aren't, and even who they aren't because a lot of us have our own personal stages we go through in life. Regardless of what it is, always remember to stay true to yourself, to your craft and to put your all into it if you're serious about it. Don't do things for show and tell, do it because it's something you love and a chance for you to express yourself. The courage you have in being yourself exhibits a multitude of strength that lasts longer than any popular trend.
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