Iggy Azalea...Rap Music and the New Minstrel Show. . . August 25 2014

When I first heard the song "Fancy" a friend had downloaded it on her IPod as her "workout" jam.  I loved it, the words made you want to work out harder for that elusive goal of a perfectly toned body and people falling at your feet as you stepped out into the club/office/world looking F-I-E-R-C-E!  I couldn't tell who the rapper was on the song, I imagined Missy Elliot or Nikki Minaj.

So, imagine my concern when I turned on a televised awards show to see this new rapper, Iggy Azalea, and could NOT find her on the stage.  I mean, I heard her rapping, but I could NOT find her!  I just didn't SEE Iggy!  Perhaps, she was off to the side, assuming a typical position for a "hype man" in a rap production.  Maybe she was by the DJ rapping as he was dropping the beat for her.

Then, I saw this blond woman rapping like a sister from the "dirty south" sounding every bit the part of someone who I would have thought was an African American urban rap artist.

I felt foolish.  I felt deceived.  But then I REALLY thought about it . . .

and I got PISSED!

I found out that Iggy Azalea was breaking all of the Billboard hit lists (only the second act - SINCE THE BEATLES).  She held BOTH the Number 1 AND the Number 2 positions on the chart!  

Serious stuff.

But I could never get past the fact that I somehow resented her success.  Did I resent the fact that her popularity was based upon her novelty as an artist?  How many women rappers, much less, white women rappers from Australia are there?  Was the hype about her due to the fact that she sounded so "black" when she rapped?  No, it wasn't because she was a white rapper taking on this genre, but more because she rapped in a different voice and tone than was her native Australian accent.  Why?  Why would she take on this accent when she rapped.  It reminded me of Amos and Andy from the radio.  Two white guys taking on an "affected" tone and speaking style when they spoke in the voices of their radio personas.  Clearly, there are white rappers who do not assume such a tone, Eminem comes to mind.  Tina Marie, the protege of Rick James, did not seem to take on an affectation when she sang, although many confused her as being a black singer when she first hit the scene. I don't resent Tina Marie.  I do not resent the success of either Eminem or Tina Marie (or Hall and Oates, Bobbi Caldwell and other "blue-eyed soul" singers) but the difference between them and Iggy Azalea is that Iggy Azalea seems very much to be a "manufactured" product of the rap industry.  Very much like the "boy bands" of the 90's which continue on to this day, she seemed to be the product of a "formula" for success orchestrated by her mentors.

Consider the actual rap verses that she "spits" out in her song "Fancy":

Why We Write . . . June 10 2014

We write because we are tired. . .

It seems a strange way to launch a publishing imprint which we hoped would have a lasting impact upon the lives of others, but in fact, JGA Press is the culmination of a series of events that were sparked because we were tired.

We have grown tired of the impact that our economy has had on the forward motion of the relationships among men and women and among various cultures who share this planet which we all call home.  During desperate economic times, we have observed that tolerance is short.  People lose the care that they have for human life and human suffering is simply disregarded.

We write because we are tired of being a lone voice flaying against the stereotypes which others seek to impose upon our sex, our race and our contributions to the forward motion of society.

History shows us that women and minority groups have made great contributions to our society.  Sadly, these contributions are not always recorded in the annals of history.  Many of our contributions and advancements are passed on and celebrated by word of mouth from one generation to the next, evolving and losing shape over time until they are mere wisps of the substantial contributions which they once were.  We found our sensibilities under constant assault while some members of our society berated our brothers and sisters and questioned our very existence and purpose.

We sought to change that.  We sought to claim a small corner of this world where we could make a stand.  Where we could make a difference.  Where we could tell our tales, based upon the recorded history available to us.

In doing this, we hope to serve as a marker for current generations and for future generations as evidence that "we were here" and that "we mattered"!  We hope that you will join us in this challenge!

In the meantime, to paraphrase that old Negro spiritual . . .

We write because we are happy. . .

We write because we are free. . .

His eye is on the sparrow. . .

And we know He watches us. . .

Peace and good wishes!