An MSNBC guest claimed that white people had stolen every form of music except classical from black people.
The Daily Show correspondent Dulce Sloan argued in response to criticism of Beyoncé making a country album that if white people disliked cultural appropriation, they shouldn’t have created rock, jazz, blues, country or pop as they were all stolen from black people.
Sloan said, “If white people hated cultural appropriation, then they shouldn’t have created music.”
As dumb as this is, let’s just say she’s right.
Fine. We’ll give up performing rock & roll and she can give up
indoor plumbing, the printed word, cell phones, and wheeled transportation. https://t.co/9rqnNdxkth— Tandy (@dantypo) February 20, 2024
“Because every form of music in America was stolen from black people: rock’n’roll, jazz, blues, country, pop music. So if you have a problem with cultural appropriation — y’all created classical music, y’all could have stuck with that,” she continued.
“Roll the piano into this concert,” joked the comedian.
Critics argued that this ignores positive contributions of white people enjoying black music and how the music industry, not all white people, exploited black artists.
John McEuen of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band added, “Country music wasn’t called that yet, but it was music of the country. It was a combination of the Irish; the recently freed slaves, bringing the banjo into the world; the Spanish effects of the vaqueros down in Texas; the Germans bringing over the ‘oom-pah’ of polka music, all converging.”
Despite backlash, Beyoncé’s country single topped the Billboard country chart, making her the first black woman to do so.
Leave a Comment