Jay Park under fire after his dreadlocks in 'DNA Remix' music video spark 'cultural appropriation' debate
Jay Park has landed in hot water once again after being accused of 'cultural appropriation' in his new release, “DNA Remix.” The rapper and singer has allegedly replicated African American culture in his music video.
In the video, Jay Park can be seen rapping while boasting dreadlocks and tattoos as part of his look. While the song reportedly aims to appreciate Korean culture, viewers were quick to notice the appropriation towards the culture of African Americans in the video.
In response to the claims, Jay Park posted a lengthy comment under the official video. The singer came to his own defense, stating that he did not intend to “steal culture.”
“We are not the majority picking on the minority and we are not trying to steal culture. If anything we are allies and probably have the most understanding over here and can set things straight with people who make assumptions about hip hop or black culture based on shallow headlines. You guys made the blue print which we are greatly appreciative of because hip hop gave me everything I have today. With the internet and hip hop being such a global mainstream genre each country has their own hip hop scene unique to their own culture now based on your blueprint.”
The 34-year-old musician also mentioned that he thinks highly of Hip-Hop culture and hence gets influenced by the creators.
“A lot of our heroes are Black rappers and not just the aesthetic but their mindset on overcoming the odds and being goal oriented without caring what other people think and who might doubt you. So its only natural that we want to be like them to a certain extent. Having a certain hairstyle or look gives us confidence and inspiration and makes us feel like rockstars and its because its what we see and hear it feels natural to us. Also its because we think so highly of Hip hop and the figures in hip hop that we are influenced so much by them.”
Park also said he is grateful to the “Black and Latino people" for creating Hip-Hop and sharing it with the world.
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Fans call out Jay Park for alleged 'cultural appropriation' in new video
In response to the latest 'cultural appropriation' allegation, Jay Park addressed Hip-Hop as a “universal language” in his comment.
“We don’t see color. We feel like we’re brothers and sisters in Hip hop which I feel like is a universal language which goes beyond race color and religion.”
The rapper argued that there will always be people to criticize other’s actions:
“Theres always gonna be people who nitpick but y’all gotta realize there’s more evil people then young Korean rappers with dread trying to make something of themselves through hip hop. We are not the ones trying to downplay black culture and the black agenda. We are out here to spread love and uplift the people around us with what black culture has created.”
Jay Park continued:
“If y’all can fangirl over young korean dudes with dyed hair I don’t see why we can’t fanboy over rappers with face tats and dreads. Everybody’s into what they into. Let’s just love one another and be kind whether on the internet or in person.”
Jay Park previously came under fire last year for his racially inappropriate lyrics on the song “Mukkbang.” After being heavily criticized for the controversial lyrics, the musician released a public apology on Twitter.
However, his apology was not well-received for being allegedly superficial and argumentative. He also received backlash from fans in return for the apology. In a similar way, Jay Park’s response to the latest controversy also backfired.
Fans took to Twitter to criticize the singer’s actions and immediately called out his response.
In his comment, Jay Park also mentioned that his PR team attempted to prevent him from posting the new music video. However, the musician went ahead to post the video and got embroiled in a controversy.
As Twitter stays abuzz with fan reactions, the future of the “DNA Remix” music video by Jay Park remains uncertain.
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Nikhil Vinod