Operation Black Steel: Hip Hop's Appropriation
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ต.ค. 2024
- Hip-Hop's mainstream appeal in media has grown exponentially, whether that be due to the fascination with black youth culture or the profit driven corporations who use it to hit those markets.
But, at what point is the culture is taken and commodified solely for profit? At what point is it appropriation? Let's talk Samurai Champloo.
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I think you missed the part where the director Watanabe purposefully sought out actual hip hop artists like Fat Jon to make sure the music was actually authentic
Late to respond, but yeah I was aware. I don't doubt Watanabe for a second. In the video I'm more speaking on why Hip-Hop has been used and the absence of its originators, whether or not that's an issue. Watanabe could've sought out Fat Jon, Nujabes and so on and made a show about white women selling tea.
@@TheStorytellerAJ one piece is a terrible Series btw
@@Cj-hj6rm one piece is great stufu
@@TheStorytellerAJ I ain't gon lie to ya I'd kinda wanna see that
@@Cj-hj6rm shut the f up boy you dont know a good anime when you see it
Samurai Champloo is one of the few anime shows that uses hip hop with care. Devilman crybaby had freestyle scenes that were amazing. Kinda sad you didn't talk about those too.
You can really tell it was made with a great purpose n love
This is why Samurai champloo is the best 😍😍
literally waiting for someone to say this
MrGladBEASTftw Pfft. Nothing will ever top Nujabes work 🙅🏻♀️👋🏻
@@SiiNTi I'm sick of y'all
Glad someone’s finally made a good in-depth video on Samurai Champloo. It uses Hip-hop just as well as Cowboy Bebop uses Jazz and Blues
All appropriated, but properly.
@@br9760 music is a universal language so its kinda annoying to say ''appropriated'',
@@LeahBbyCksPrice I'm sure white people would tell indigineous peoples the same thing lol. "This land is UnIvErSaL!" The issue with appropriation today--not with these two anime--is that people don't give props to the source. Rock, Blues, Jazz, all came from the same place, though they don't get portrayed as such. That's one example. Music can spread, sure, but credit needs to get it's due when necessary.
@@LeahBbyCksPrice Shooot, said originators don't get credit for LOTS of stuff. Did you know a black women was able to produce cells that literally *never* stopped reproducing? Scientists, to this day, use her lab grown cells. Her cells have made HUGE leaps in the medical field. But as I said before, the actual family didn't/doesn't receive jack. I don't even think they asked *permission* to use her cells.
@@LeahBbyCksPrice I also have issue with your claim of music being a "universal language". That's assuming everybody speaks some form of English. Maybe instrumentals or something. Even THAT has specific cultural significance. A european isn't going to understand the meaning behind African drum beats unless they are told.
Samurai Champloo is one of my favorite anime and this is a great in depth analysis of the issues of appropriation. I think respectful appropriation as shown in champloo is the way to get people to learn about a new culture. I also love the fusion of Japanese culture and black culture but that is a discussion for another time.
Samurai Champloo is this hybird of cultures, which I find cool. And, it all really culminates with Mugen as this Ryukyuan styled, b-boying samurai. It's two ideas you'd never imagine would converge, let alone working, but it does and that's what I find kind of beautiful about it.
@@TheStorytellerAJ I agree, it works even better with the distinct pair of Mugen and Jin exemplifying in their fighting styles. Mugen being a dirty street fighter and Jin a traditional samurai.
From what I heard Champloo means to mix together. Like how this series mix together different cultures and Mugen"s fighting style is a mix of different things
Im so glad I knew this show as a teen wish it was a live action movie that would a good trilogy.
@@TheStorytellerAJ Mugen is kenshi. A swordsman. A samurai serves a master. Mugen serves no one and has no master.
Cowboy Bebop used Jazz , Champloo used Hip-Hop. The creator loved these genres and so he try to mold the genres together to narrate a story
Joe Becker I think we’d like to see blues before disco
@Joe Becker House is the next best thing.
@Joe Becker he already did disco lol search up space dandy
I see another Operation Black Steel, I click.
When you treat me like wild dog why are you surprised i act like one? sums up mugen.
Tyrone Chillifoot I think I just saw you in a few DFF videos
sums up niggas 2
Kakyoin the milf hunter is
the four pillars of hip hop:
-rapping
-graffiti
-DJ-ing
-sword fighting and looking cool while doing it like a fucking boss
You forgot about breakin', and there's FIVE pillars of hip hop, well now SIX with the Swordfighting😂
It's both funny and frustrating when I see dudes call rappers like Eminem and Logic "real hip-hop" and call everything else "mumble rap"
heebs boy Not gonna lie, I was one of those. I thought I knew everything about Hip-Hop, but it turned out I was just clueless. Like, at this point, I don’t even bother with all that. People can like what they like. There’s always music for everybody. You’re not gonna run out of the conscious music just because there’s more of the hype stuff. If you want “good rap”, care for it, then go look for it instead of complaining about the mumble rap.
@@Chenso2099 they're also more mainstream...that's why people say that, so I agree you gotta look for it, Run The Jewels is a group I wish was more popular tbh
Robbie C. I don’t know about them being overlooked lol
I hear their music often in trailers, which is good because I dig it. Maybe they’re not as appreciated as some other artists, but they definitely have a following. They have a pretty good reach when it comes to promotion, I feel.
Because mumble rap is garbage
@@Chenso2099 sorry mumble rap is garbage and is the reason hip hop has gone downhill
"...And when someone isn't treated with any semblance of humanity, they're bound to go crazy." 💯
Reminds me of Chappelle's interview on inside the actor's studio
>nujabeez
boy if you don't get right
Fight me.
I see a new Operation Black Steel, I click.
I see Samurai Champloo in the thumbnail, I accidentally break my screen in excitement.
Mugen seems to be taken from the Ainu ppl of Japan. Their skin was darker and their way of life was taken away from them. its similar to black ppl and the creators connected the two in a unique way & worked with some black ppl too. That's from what I know of it at least.
Mugen is actually from Ryukyu a bunch of Islands south of Japan,The most famous one being Okinawa. While the Ainu are from Northern Japan such as the island of Hokkaido. but they do share a lot of similarities with each other. Both were natives to their nations but were oppressed by the Japanese government for Centuries with their culture being repressed and facing harsh punishment for it and were forced to assimilate into Japanese society.
Episodes 16 & 17
Golden Kamui manga is explicit about the Ainu.
Musically, african americans and japanese people have moved in such tight order since the 40s that their jazz and hiphop sound authentic and distinct in he same ways as they were introduced and evolved together. I feel that needs to be explained. I never got an appropriative vibe from them like i do the kpop machine
I wholeheartedly agree. I feel that KPOP is the closest thing to appropriation of our culture that exists (I don't necessarily believe in cultural appropriation as an intended idea). They, definitely do all they can to optimize the appeal of pop and hip hop without any of the authenticity of character in it. I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing in itself, but in context that is dishonest. They are taking the experience & hard work of others and capitalizing from it
Nicki Noodles its the result of the hyper-capitalized nature of the South Korean music industry. There’s a video called “The Late Stage Capitalism of Kpop” I believe and it does a good job explaining the idea. Its hard to have soul in such a perfectionist environment.
@@WeDwellinaFiefdom I agree. I've heard about their inhumane working conditions before and how everything is standardized and structured. I'll have to check it out
Japanese and black Americans ain’t move in no tighter order than Japanese and white Americans, this some wild bs
D L china doesn’t even like black people
Black people invented hiphop. Hiphop is music. Music transcends ethnicity.
TM same with jazz.
Arguably one can assert that black people are precursors to modern music as we know it. Rock, jazz, country, metal, etc. can all trace their lineage to blues music. Obviously it's far more complicated than that, but I think most musicians would agree that almost all the tunes we love today are the result of slaves crooning their sorrows, thus giving birth to blues music.
@@BababooeyGooey Blues is king 100% agree.
Same with country music 😂😂
@Peruano ML @Peruano ML "Superficial" I mean, and, are we gonna say that nobody can hear something they like on the radio and just be like "yeah I wanna do that" without checking if they're the right race? regardless of whether its a white kid hearing rap or a black kid hearing classical music people are allowed to just have fun.
7:24 is the fucking truth. Anyone who loves hip hop definitely knows the vibes.
Great video, man. You smoked this, just like I knew you would when I saw this in my subscriptions.
Some lady I knew in college told me to shut-off my rap music cause it was too aggressive, self-aggrandizing materialistic etc etc. 8 years later she's all for the K/DA popstars, can get a high score on beat saber on the second to highest level too. Some of these people are okay with the style and meanings, they just have a problem with the people who make it, if ya catch what I'm emphatically yelling. That being said I think Watanabe and Takashi (Afro Samurai) are basically perfect in their use of the aesthetic, styles and themes. Anyone who gets power and energy from the style and uses it to make something genuine that illustrates a global solidarity which speaks to everyone's experiences is doing great work.
In fairness rap music is all those things. Honestly we need new subject matter
@@SomeRandomDude000000 You're not looking very hard then. Rap is nothing more than lyricism and rhythm, the material involved can be anything.
@@DevDreCW I'm aware, rap is my favorite genre and I know they'll always be underground rap that tackles a wide variety of subject matter. But in the mainstream(which Influences the direction rap will take) the subject matter has stagnated. It's been the same shit for almost 40 years. And if you think I'm wrong name some rappers who have never bragged in their raps. I can assure you the only answers you'll give me are super obscure artists only 3 people know about
@@SomeRandomDude000000 is your criteria really "name an an artist who has NEVER BRAGGED"? The origin of rap was literally bragging about how good you and your dj were at music and getting women. If you only want artists who have never bragged, you skip over literally all of the best rappers since the genre started. There will always be the mainstream of any genre that has sold out for ad money and is basic.
But the mainstream also includes artists like Kendrick, J Cole, Travis Scott (makes some of the most introspective and self conscious music of the last 20 years, listen to Coffee Bean for proof), Mac Miller, and a whole slew of newer guys like JID and Denzel Curry especially taking rap in an entirely different direction. Hell even XXXTentacion, as controversial as he is, did things with Rap that were damn near unheard of except in the most niche corners of the internet and made them popular.
The notion that rap has been stagnant for the last 40 years is just not true, and I question how much you actually listen to to it. I don't think you do very much at all if I'm honest
@@vitoratio2718 I'm aware about the origin of rap. And no it's not that I don't want rappers to brag, or that I only want rappers who never brag. I just don't want that to be the main thing rappers to talk about. You can only hear people talk about how cool they are so many different ways. I still love all those songs but I want to hear them talk about something different
And I know you're gonna say "but they do" and duh of course rappers sometimes tackle other subject matter I've seeked out many songs like that. These exceptions don't change the rule though. You know as well as I do most of the rhymes people, at any level of popularity, put out are brags.
Again it's not the bragging that's the problem, it's the fact that it's the most prevalent.
And I'm not one of those people who wants only serious, politically conscious rap(which I think is what you think I am since you mentioned guys like JCole). Im fine with songs like "Passin Me By", or "I'm Outta Here" or "ill Culinary behavior" , where it's just guys talking about their experiences in funny ways. It can be silly, serious whatever, I just wanna hear something different.
Never saw Samurai Champloo that way. Good Analogy.
WAIT...........................You need to WATCH IT soooooo GOOD😳
You should watch his video Misunderstanding Sensitivity it talks more in depth about the boondocks
@@moniquegreen9567 I've seen before. This video just gave me a broader perspective.
Samurai Champloo's soundtrack was amazing
samurai champloo was nothing but respectful and was the perfect way to pay homage
🤬
Well, Mugen always personified a Black guy to me. Its all there.
Same, tbh. A lot of black folk see it that way. I think Watanabe's character design once worded it as "he's a rapper, playing the bad guy" or something along those lines.
I have so much respect for Watanabe. He makes characters and shows that can appeal to people of different cultures, some who don’t get that much representation in media. It’s why I like Mugen; his character speaks to me.
In a medium such as anime, it’s refreshing to have a creative like him.
A "black guy" is a person with certain different physical features, it has fuckin nothing to do with personnality.
@@terrapvp calm down there Terence
@@TargetFinder72 i'm pretty calm
MF DOOM is one of the GOATS.
RandomerOnTheInternet MF DOOM is a LLAMA
rip
I dont think this makers of this show used hip hop to engage a western audience. The creators of the show already had a love and involvement in hip hop then made the show.
D L wutang clan didn’t come out till the 90s. Hiphop was an already established culture by then. I’m not saying asain culture didn’t have its hand in its future inspirations but if anyone’s to get credit for hiphops birth, it was the black/Latin comminuties of new York at the time. Everyone doesn’t get brownie points for hiphop chill.
Yea you way off
@@Aries_5916 You really think Nujabes is appropriation?
Don’t know if you know this but Japanese 80’s R&B sampled so much Black American R&B music from the 60’s and 70’s it’s crazy. It’s still good music but they’ve borrowed a lot when it comes to there modern popular culture. Hell the original composer for DBZ got fired from Dragonball Super for plagiarizing Earth Wind and Fire and among other groups.
DBZ? ARE YOU INSANE?
1 mistake. The composer you are talking about is Kenji Yamamoto who composed songs for Early 2000s Dragon Ball games and Dragon Ball Kai. The one who worked on OG Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z was Shinsuke Kikuchi. He's innocent.
When i was a kid i watched Dragon Ball religiously because i saw our struggle and perseverance in the Sayian's struggle and Goku's constant barrier breaks to become stronger. I saw some of that too in watching Samurai Camploo. I truly appreciate your work.
Sc is better then dragon Ball z
@@SiiNTi what does that have to do with syn's comment?
lostsurferjames5 just sayinn
@Hans Hanzo im pretty sure they know that... And they never said otherwise. There's no point to you comment.
What struggle did the Saiyans really have they we're not good people in the first place so what are you talkin about and why do you identify with them.
After watching that video I have no idea how to spell or pronounce the anime used as a case study but the perspective that hip hop is for the down trodden, regardless of ethnicity, reminds me of the Juice WRLD lyric "I was put here to lead the lost souls". It is cathartic to express aggression or in JW's case misery through music and that's probably why hip hop is the most popular genre around. Listeners don't feel less sad (or angry or confused etc) because of the music, but they gain confirmation an an aspect of their identity in joining the community and hearing something they relate to. Especially when it comes to emotions they can feel but can't speak.
I ain't even watched the video yet, but the way you got Huey talking over Crack Music got me geeked. Now I want to properly sync their little exchange to the beat.
I think there should’ve been an “it depends” option for the cultural mixing in the poll. I agree with you on the show. I’ve never seen the anime but from what you’ve said, it sounds fine. But there are times when it’s CLEARLY appropriation just to make money. Like selling Buddha statues. Yeah because owning a statue of a someone is what makes you spiritual.
I've been waiting for this video since you said you were going to make it, and I'm glad that I watched it because you killed it. I do think that you missed a bit of an opportunity to talk about Shinichiro Watanabe's position and several discussions on representation of non-Japanese people and how he incorporates other cultures into his works. The man has a deep, unfathomable love for black culture, and it really shows. From Bebop, to this, to his mentoring the woman who made Michiko, to Flying Lotus' More music video to Carole and Tuesday. Big props for the video and hopefully this makes more people experience his works.
There was originally a part of this video that included all that, interestingly enough, but I cut it all out lol. You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to Carol and Tuesday. And, yeah I'm a big fan of Bebop, Space Dandy and how he mentored Saul Yamamoto. They're basically my favourite Japanese directors. Watanabe's direction on that recent music video was dope as hell too.
I usually hate it when ppl cry cultural appropriation, but I understand the need of keeping one's culture in fear of it being stolen and redefined. It just comes down to intent, you wanna use hip hop to tell a message or to make some money. And as for the product of your environment question, I say it's a bit of both, starting with the system tho. Ppl get dealt a bad hand but it's up to them how they play that hand, ppl can overcome the system without turning to drugs and violence so the ppl submitting to that are responsible to some degree.
Nah it's not about intent. Whites need to free black people before they start trying to use our culture. Simple.
Sport1022 I found the Ignorant fool
I agree, Sport1022
@@jerrygraves6531 Yeah fuck that. I'm gonna use whatever culture I feel like as inspiration if it moves me.
I agreed with your comment until the last sentence. You don't think blacks tried to make it out of the ghetto the "honest" way at first? But when your oppressors are doing everything in their power to stop you, everything from planting drugs on you, to pulling you over for no reason, to charging you for crimes you didn't commit, to straight-up killing you... When you are denied loans, jobs, housing, education, when you can't even use certain toilets, all because of the color of your skin... when the "honest" way doesn't work, what other choice do you have?
I’m so excited to see this!!!
It sounds like you missed an important aspect of the show. Thematically it's about western influence over Japanese culture. You see it in the various episodes about Christianity, in the references to sunflowers, in the baseball episode, and in the art and the music.
And one of the main influences on modern Japanese culture is, apparently, hip hop.
I appreciate this message. Your videos are definitely interesting.
My favorite anime series! And I love the hip hop in it. It's so chill it's scary. I love that lo-fi sound. I feel the lyrics of the intro song, that trying to find a place in the world with no masters. And the outro song... Minmi singing Shiki no Uta, you don't have to know japanese to get the sheer passion out of her singing. Just plain beautiful.
It’s interesting that this and Nine-Oh’s video came out around the same time. Great work btw
TheAbridgedBros I was gonna say the same thing. Its weird how things work out. It's like they're expanding on each other's video.
Cool parallel here. Makes so much sense and it's so obvious, yet somehow I haven't seen drawn before. In talking about about stuff you like you've taught me a lot about the black experience, probably because like you said if something is good, it can transcend barriers.
Awesome video once again man. I understand now more about cultural appropriation and all what you talked about
Samurai Champloo is one of the best
2 of my favorite anime’s are Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop
To be honest I never understood cultural appropriation until recently on campus I met two separate groups of white people. One group would always say, "DAMN Ginaaa" because it sounded cool, but they had no clue it came from the TV show Martin. The second group would always say, "BYE! Felisha" because it sounded cool but they had no clue it came from the movie Friday. So I think cultural appropriation is not just stealing something from another culture, I think it's taking something from another culture without understanding the context of it
I think young cats don't know the difference between "Appropriation" and "Appreciation". The point is for the art to transcend it's origins, while not losing it's history.
I always liked Mugen. He seemed like the most free.
He's deffo a character that had to grow on me with time.
That's the issue we try to be so inclusive because we been excluded. But everyone takes from us and profit off us. We need to benefit the most then let ppl use our culture
Awesome. Another video! Let’s go. I am so hyped up right now.
As a white dude who is currently in the process of making my first hip hop project, I’m going to do my best to have respect for the culture and people who created this genre of music that I love. I am doing my best to understand the struggle that Africans faced and to understand where hip hop came from. I fell in love with it because it is a tool express struggle and help people escape that struggle even if it’s for just a minute.... growing up around meth cooks and being shunned by the people that were supposed to take care of me because I’m gay left a stain on my heart and I see hip hop as vehicle to express my feelings about it. I promise to respect the culture I’m stepping into because I know I’m a guest and not the head of the house. That’s all I gotta say.
Hip hop is more of a weapon nowadays, utilized against the originators and those who came after.
Indeed!!
I'm going to start off with simply stating you and I share different world views, but, in that, I find your perspective both interesting and useful because it provides clarity on areas that I can't see from my own.
This video feels like an attempt at making an incredibly subjective topic objective. One of the phrases you used with some repetition is "the way I see it" or "for me" just goes to emphasize that. However, I do agree with you that, if we're attempting to be intellectually honest, it's about handling the cultural aspects of something that isn't your own with respect and used in such a way that it remains authentic to its roots. That being said, everyone's determination of how something is handled is subjective, where the line is for what is and isn't appropriation is subjective, and the issue with appropriation is that attempting to prevent it can isolate and insulate a culture which ultimately leads to its regression. When it comes to the complex nature of the origins of everything from jazz and swing to lo-fi and hip-hop, there's so much exchange between European and African, in addition to Japanese sound when we're talking about lo-fi, music that it's almost impossible to parse out which components could be removed from both "groups" to avoid an appropriation narrative without undoing the genre. You don't have blues and rock'n'roll without Spanish guitar, you don't have gospel without choir hymnals, and so on.
The success of hip-hop is, in my opinion, due more to the fact that it's relevant to similar classes of people if you remove the racial component from it. I'm not saying that being black doesn't have anything to do with hip-hop, I'm saying that you don't have to be black to understand, empathize with, or enjoy it. Music is like that. It's like math, it's a language that everyone might not be universally fluent in, but can be universally understood.
Finally, the note I'd like to end this on, I believe that often time the origins are not respected, artists go uncredited, and the people whose shoulders something new is built on or whose work is utilized remain disregarded. The past has been fraught with wrong-doing and mistakes and there's no real way to undo them, but there are ways they can be rectified moving forward. Preventing appropriation may not be the answer, but authenticity, sincerity, and, most of all, acknowledgment may go a long way to start bridging some of these gaps. Especially when it comes to music.
There's a lot to unpack here. Alright, I agree with you that it's not a necessarily a black thing. That's the point I was trying to make when I spoke specifically on Hip-Hop being a vessel for the disenfranchised. I think, under the current system, the encompassing issue is class and Hip-Hop lends itself to those at the bottom. And by nature of our history, black folk are at the bottom, so it makes sense.
Next, this video is incredibly subjective. Regardless of how it may come off, I purposely use the words "to me" and such because I wanted to make that clear. Where I draw the line simply isn't where others may draw the line. And that's okay. This video is supposed to explore the subject and deliver my perspective on it. Nothing more. Dare I say, it's impossible for it to be anymore.
And lastly, I think the whole thing with crediting the original artists is incredibly difficult, but again, this is something I joked about in the video. I'm not expecting Samurai Champloo to end with "made by black people" lol. Black culture is not monolithic. Everything is grey. That's why subjects like this are difficult. Adapting can be seen as replacing the original meaning and replicating without credit can be seen as stealing, though it's difficult to define what is and isn't stolen.
I think a solution is to have someone well versed in the culture, preferably someone from that background, to help lead the direction or act as a creative consultant.
@@TheStorytellerAJ I wasn't expecting a response, lol.
Just to be clear, I was attempting to acknowledge your acknowledgement that this is all grey/subjective territory. I've been following your work since the second "Op: Black Steel" video and you've been consistent in your commentary surrounding subjective areas.
Overall, I agree with your points in both your video and your response.
The main one that I want to pick out is the idea of consulting with someone from that background/area of expertise or experience. It's something that the best creators tend to do, but for some reason or another hasn't become a widespread practice. Personally, I think it's something that needs to be done more often. Hell, I was working on a project as a writer where one of the protagonists gained its power from being possessed by a Loa. To better flesh out this character, I worked with somebody in a consulting capacity who knew significantly more about the subject of Voodoo/Hoodoo than I did. It genuinely meant a lot to the person I was working with that we wanted to present the character and his curse as authentically as possible.
How big of an impact do you think simply consulting more often on projects alone would actually be able to have on the relationship between disparate cultures?
I think it would show a level of communication and care. Like "we're doing this for more than profiting off your culture - we actually care and from an artistic perspective, want to do this right." That's the way I see it. It allows for the perspective to not feel like an approximation, and more hands on/honest. Plus, it allows for more diversity in workplaces, so I don't think there's anything to lose, assuming you actually care about the culture you're trying to integrate.
@@TheStorytellerAJ Just to go on a personal beat for a second, I care about the cultures being integrated into content I create (when I'm doing more serious work, mind you) in the dame way you'd care about the nuances of your friend's culture. It's my character's culture and I think you need to treat your creations with respect because, on the one hand, it makes them more authentic and real, but it also reinforces the idea that people viewing your content should have some respect for it, too, on the other hand. That's just how I see it.
On a less personal note, though, I agree with the idea of fostering a more diverse workspace given that more diversity generally means more perspectives and, thus, more opportunities to tell stories and present different angles.
TheStoryteller Nobody need to address your assumption that they using it simply to profit off. If you really feel like that then why didn’t you say that off top in your video??? Hip hop ain’t your culture but you’re getting paid makin content about its representation
I just think if they included more black PEOPLE in their animes and stuff then we blacks wouldn't even trip so much about them using our culture. It's like they're saying, "Your culture is good enough for our show, but you yourselves are not." They want to use black music, just not black people. And honestly, that's a little offensive. Seriously, how could we NOT be offended by that?
There is like 2 black people in the whole of Japan
@@videogamebomer The population of white people there is small too. Yet there's a bunch of anime based on Mediaeval European fantasy worlds. But instead of us complaining we should build our own stuff. I think that's what you are trying to say low-key.
Great video. Only discovered your content recently and been binging through the vids.
I certainly feel any theme, style, experience or cultural tone can be done well and done poorly by anybody. Simply being a part of said culture from a national, religious, sexuality or ethnic standpoint alone is not a gaurantee it will produce a quality product or piece of entertainment. Likewise not being a part of it won't gaurantee that no matter what you do it will never be good. It goes both ways. Of course if you are coming from an outsider/inexperience perspective on a subject then it will require more time and effort to produce something of a respectful and high quality compared to someone who may have first hand experience. Combining different styles and themes can also generate entirely new things that might not have been as interesting if it simply stuck to its own roots and didn't try to draw from exposure to other things.
There is a book called African Samurai by Thomas Lockley and Geoffrey Girard. It about a black slave that came to japan and ended up becoming a Samurai. It a true story. ( I havent read it yet, though)
I'm surprised I can't find videos about Afro Samurai made by you.
It is not cultural appropiation when the origin of something is very clear and it's meaning was not changed. If you see a black samurai you will still link the figure of the samurai to Japan or a china dress to china regardless of who is wearing it.
A clear example of cultural appropiation would be the swastika, stolen by the nazis, with most people not knowing of it's true origin or that it was a symbol of spiritually, not hate. Another example would be Ikea's meatballs, a dish that has it's origin in Turkey, not Sweeden. Or, cowboys, they actually originated in Mexico and other Spanish former territories but you think USA when you see one.
#notificationgang always excited for these videos
The Ryukyu islands used to be a kingdom that paid tribute to both China and Japan until 1879 when the Meiji government took the kingdom and incorporated into itself. Okinawa was an island there. During WW2, Japanese government forced the okinawans to commit suicide instead of surrender. When US occupied Ryukyu, they only returned islands to Japan in 1972. Mainland Japanese looked down Ryukyans and let US put troops and bases in Okinawa. Many Ryukyans Probably learned about hip hop from US black soldiers and hip hop culture in the 80s. The Wu tang clan didn't always credit Chinese kung fu culture and Jim the black martial artist from Enter the Dragon used kung fu for his defense. The Last Dragon was a black parody of Bruce Lee. It's okay we can respectfully learn from each other black and Asian and not denigrate each other for finding strength and comfort in each others' cultures. It's what makes American culture beautiful. It's why Chinese singers love soulful My Girl. It's why BTS recreate the Sounds of R n B.
For another perspective & further info on how hip hop influences came to (naturally) intersect within anime, go watch Nineouh's video on this as well
btw, im surprised you 2 havent collabed on anything at all considering how similar y'alls tastes are
Hip hop was originally something to bring people together to end racisim and prejudice with MC's, style and dance, it's why it's kind of sad that people feel that you only have to be black to love and appreciate the genre, it's a form of expression like poetry, it's the biggest factor of hip hop and it's sad that most people especially today don't see that, hip hop may have been made by black people but it was made to change the world
Well, I don't think Hip-Hop is anything that grand. I think it was more a voice for the voiceless and marginalised. Hip-Hop speaks more to the working class than any a specific race.
@@TheStorytellerAJ yeah I agree, I feel that there's alot to hip hop and what it stands for that alot of people don't know or understand
I agree that Samurai Champloo really captured the spirit of hip hop in the show. So while it didn’t credit black people for originating the art form, it proves how’s it can relate to other groups and introduced it to an audience that wasn’t aware of how amazing it could be.
You know I'm shocked you've never done a tier list for strongest SAMURAI CHAMPLOO characters. Anyways, look up LOST LULLABIES SAMURAI CHAMPLOO UNRELEASED TRACKS by 2mello if you haven't already.
"That's that crack music, that real black music nigga"
I like that you caught that. That's my fucking nigga.
I understand and appreciate the care that went into making this video. I think it’s a great question that is half slippery slope and your answer tells a lot about where you come from. But I do think there is a double standard. When hip hop artists borrow from other cultures and styles it’s sampling, when non-black artists do it it’s appropriation.
Not exactly what he was saying. The whole point is using the aestetic of using others stuff for profit without the respect given to where it's taken from. He wasn't saying it about this work it was a broad saying for a wider scope. Yes people use different samples and such but they respect what they are using. It's not ok to take without showing or giving respect. But he is going on from the perspective of how the person whom gave us this product. I think the fault he has for the appropriation part of this show was that the creator didn't show more love for the art he used and didn't pay homage to it the way he would have liked the creator to. Everything is fine in using another cultures artwork or artform just pay proper respects. Most black artists using anything Asian with their aestetic or anything often shows proper respect to whom inspired it. However the Japanese market and creators don't do that when they use rap or perform rap. That is a deeper issue than this show especially with what Japanese creators do with many things from different cultures they also borrow from yet do not pay respects to the groups and or cultures. but again as long as you pay proper respect its all good and it's not appropriation its appreciation.
Also sampling is something that you have to get permission to do with music and nobody does that without anyone's permission if they don't wanna loose their work. Maybe use the right word for the situation next time it will definitely fit better
Oh damn I've been waiting for this.
idk if you've seen Megalobox but it was an awesome show that came out last summer (?) and was compared to Samurai Champloo and Bebop a lot for it's hip hop inspired soundtrack and art style. You should definitely check it out! Its motifs about citizenship and classicism make it another show that I think really respectfully And sensibly uses hip hop and street culture, and it's hard to find anime that successfully do so.
MegaloBox is arguably one of my favourite anime of all time. So, yeah. I was considering adding it to this video, but it's possible I'll dedicate a video to it.
I love your videos so much, keep it up. I agree, three important things about using culture: context, care and appreciation/credit. Seriously, I think it's fine as long as those two are there as your video says. People say appropriation doesn't exist but it does when these three factors are ignored. People should always be able to fall back to the source and honor it no matter what culture it is. And even if not like Samurai Champloo's case (awesome anime, I need to rewatch this) it's apparent hip hop only works for the show in it's current stat. I bet the show was made around hip hop and not the other way around. But yeah, black people have lost a lot due to something that became mainstream to a point that the original source was faded out and someone else wrote their name in the blurred spot. We can all appreciate as long as we source. Sometimes sourcing is just showing the attention to detail and care as well too.
I wonder if you ever played the street fighter 3 series that uses hip hop in it, especially with New York Street culture
I've done some thinking and I realized that the whole subgenre of period inspired anime e.g. Kekkai Sensen, Baccano, Rakugo Shinju have soundtracks almost exclusively utilize hip hop, jazz, r&b and even some reggea and have a noticeable abscense of credit to the actual culture that created the music. And it's totally incongrous, many of those anime are actually set in the usa and focus exclusively on the life and times of white people and their snazzy suits. I think Watanabe is sort of politically conscious of the context his works are created in but there are plenty of other studios that plainly don't give a fuck about the history of the music they use.
And while I'm at it I came back from my first visit to Japan recently and was somewhat surprised by how large the population of african descent is there. I did actually talk to some of them and apparently there have been black communities of considerable size living in Japan for several generations. It's obvious that these people have trouble finding work in Japan outside of the night life and I also learned their incarceration rates are fucked up.
I've heard grim stuff about Japan's ethnostate policies and genocidal practices against native minorities but had literally never heard anything about what I described. The extent to which Japan has manipulated it's image is terrifying. And simultaneously I can also confirm that the hip hop aesthetic has extremely firm roots in japanese society.
Some of that stuff isn't news to me, but some of it is very eye-opening. I think because of the West's fascination with anime, a lot of people are deluded into believing it's this paradise land for nerdyness when that couldn't be further from the truth.
Very compelling commentary on the subject of Hip Hop and it’s transcendence into a world wide phenomenon...
Now this gets me to thinking.... imagine an Operation Black Steel vid talking about Kung Fu/Martial Arts (perhaps other elements of East Asian culture like Anime/Bushido/Buddhism/Ninjutsu) and how it seems to have had a big influence on the world as we know it... especially within the Black Culture.
Love and Respect to Jim Kelly, Ron van Clief, Micheal Jai White, Wesley Snipes, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Pamela Grier, Chiamaka, Samurider, and the Wu Tang Clan.
Q: Is the Boondocks cultural appropriation? Aaron McGruder uses multiple items from Japan and China, and he assumingly made money from his works. What about Wu-Tang Clan? The many, many martial arts-themed Blaxploitation movies? Samurai Champloo is far more respectful of Hip Hop culture than Kung Fu movies, be they white, black, or random segments of Wu-Tang Clan music videos, are of Chinese culture.
Fantastic video essay!
I honestly loved samurai champloo it was a masterpiece Great vid very indept. R.i.p Newjabee think he did a good job with the music. I do agree with you though.
Hip Hop is always innovated by Black youth. Besides that, everyone else follows the trend but puts their own twist on it. But it's a one way street. Black American culture are innovators. Logic and Eminem are great, but there is a level they will never reach in the bias of Black people. And that's ok. Bias is a cultural force. It just is what it is.
Isnt Logic half black?
@@KhayJayArt Oh We Know
@@KhayJayArt He don't count since he's mixed apparently
Yikes
I think the ryuku island was based literally off of Okinawa and Australia but metaphorical and anecdotally representative of black people and other minority groups, but the hip-hop aspect obviously leans it more so towards black people/culture.
Takeo Faison The Ryuku islands was just the original name for Okinawa. So yeah.
@@donovan5656 learn something new everyday
Ryukyu island, and Ethnic Ryukyuans were a real thing. And their Oppression too.
On the subject of borrowing or apropiating another cultures art forms, The Boondocks is obviously animated in a western version of the Japanese anime art style and I was wondering if you would consider that more faithful or whether that presents its own issues with appropriation. Love the videos by the way, really insightful.
I honestly don’t see any comments like that around the Samurai Champloo community, and a majority of the people I know who actually like the show are black lol
Black culture is a mix of many African cultures along with some European and native American cultures. Mixing cultures is a part of progression and innovation. The more things in this world that unites people the better.
i disagree. this is like saying avatar should credit anime for copying its style and way of animation because it profits from it. Doesn't make sense
Thank sooooo much for this.
The truest form of hip hop is a vehicle / art form that gives the voiceless a voice through creative self expression
I wish you would have talked more about nujabes and his serious impact upon that show. His whole style was combining japanese jazz with Hip-hop making something new. Nujabes hip-hop is different to normal hip-hop
Hip hop is hip hop. I'm not an elitist.
I was naturally drawn to Champloo as I trusted Watanabe like no other JP director due to how he viewed darker skinned people as defaults too. Just being seen as normal in a medium that often made me uncomfortable for being Black...was a relief and a realization.
Including hip hop was next tied with Mugen's heritage as I grew up listening to Ryukyuans preforming Reggae/Dancehall but as a kid I didn't get why they felt a connection to "my culture" as I didn't know the history of colonization. I didn't know Japan wasn't actually homogeneous nor the oppression faced to achieve the lie so that whitewashing of history was quite familiar so seeing some of it on mainstream US TV connecting back to me was...like whoa wow cool. The 2000s of anime was something else lol.
Contrasting this to say Tokyo Tribes 2 (Goosh Goosh meme) which is also 100% from a hip hop fan but feels more from the lens of commercialization I think both series appreciate but one connects to the roots of the culture, understands that and can internalize it better while the other more idolizes it as a product. And I say this as a big fan of JP hip hop fan who has listened to every artist on TT2 especially Muro (even had music from him on my channel) so I know it was made with love.
So you can fumble while appreciating, do okay while appreciating and do amazing while appropriating sadly so I think it's important to have these dissections of what media is doing and what an audience takes away when using seemingly "foreign" cultures. Especially when many don't want to for...certain reasons and think critique is condemnation.
*tl;dr*: I really liked this video and your thought process.
Japan has its own hip hop culture people live breath and die for it in Shibuya. It is Appropriation? Emulation? Hip hop is self expression or at least started that way, so it's really unsurprising that a culture where everyone is expected to work themselves to death developed thier own version, what I wonder is whether or not it was born from the west or developed naturally on its own
I would say hip hop culture appropriates poets and the English language by this dude's perspective lol. Imagine saying someone culture appropriated how to use a husk of steel and refine it to a blade or the bow and arrow. All I got from this dude is that he doesn't like to nujabes because casuals don't like what he likes.
@@eldirtyfaygo5395 well for one poetry doesn’t belong to single culture secondarily English was some forced onto people
I see most of your points but the only issue I take is that art (in this case hip hop) has so many different facets that simply saying "it's about struggle and rebellion" ignores the other parts of it., have you heard a Travis Scott song? If I make a fantasy world where a race of elves has Native American, African and Arab influences is it cultural appropriation? If I am inspired by culture is it my responsibility to research every last aspect of that culture to accurately depict it even if I'm not intending to? Fiction is a powerful way to spread messages but I think there needs to be a distinction when doing so. I am black as well so I understand your points I just don't believe an artist should be responsible for all these different aspects when they just want to create.
I hear you but the forefathers of Hip-hop (KRS-One, Afrikan Bambatta, etc.) described hip-hop as being about rebellion, revolution, and giving power to the people vs. the system.
In interviews, KRS-One would describe how the moment corporate interest and money got involved, the original message started to get lost. Record companies would only sign on rappers that didn’t rap about real problems and need for real change.
Mugen isn't the main character the main characters are Jin,Fu, and Mugen they're all the main characters
Is not the use of someone outside of your culture using elements of your culture not flattery enough? And can an art form become bigger than the culture in which it was originally created? I think hip hop has become too large for any group to claim ownership.
When is culture not sold and commodified? Many themed restaurant chains are selling culture. Take Panda Express for example, it commodifies a part of Chinese culture to sell to a western market. Anyone could tell you it is nothing like real Chinese food. But some people prefer that food over the authentic stuff. The same can be applied to hip hop, corporations (for example) may take hip hop and turn it into something that is not authentic to the culture (to make money). Some people will like it, others will prefer the "authentic" hip hop, and some purists will claim that you can't even call the modified stuff "hip hop".
Great thought provoking video essay 👍
What do you think about Cowboy Bebop and their use of Jazz? It kinda falls into the same category especially since the anime was done by the same person.
I love how earnest and passionate the Japanese are about hip hop culture. From DJ Krush to Nujabees (R.I.P).
I may recall incorrectly, but I think Mugen said that it was the specific island he was born (in the Ryukyu archipelago) that was a prison island.
Another hit. Great work.
I sense a reach...
Gomu Gomu no...
There's a difference between appropriation and adoration of a sub-culture.
Appropriation is the adoption of elements from a culture (particularly a disenfranchised or disadvantaged minority group) to incorporate into and make as one's own with little to no citing or acknowledging the place of origin where said elements were ciphoned as ) .
Example: Miley Cyrus, Any Kardashian to date, DJ Khaled.
Adoration is the respect, reverence, strong admiration or devotion in a certain person, place, or thing (i.e. paying homage and reverence).
My guy said "Gomu Gomu No" I respect the One Piece reference.
I think I make it clear in this video that I see Samurai Champloo as more of a celebration of the culture, as opposed to appropriating it solely for profit. I think Samurai Champloo is way more than a homage or reference. Hip-Hop is all over the show. But, I'm cool with that. Everybody draws the line from a different place.
@@TheStorytellerAJ I watched the video and got your perspective on it and how it's a synergistic and complimentary union of Feudal Japan and Underground Hip-Hop themed music as the undertone. It gives a parallel on social standpoint of how in that era when Samurai were cast aside and either become ronin - creating their own path outside the restricted and suffocating titles, virtues, duties to one's lord (regardless if said lord is righteous or not) to enter society as a vagabond - cast away when they served their purpose. While some samurai now turned ronin have accepted their circumstance and adapted accordingly in order to support themselves as their own man. However, others were afraid of the possibility of the secure , privileged and entitled lifestyles that their lords permitted them with the rank of Samurai; that they will go to arduous lengths to ensure comfort and won't be subjected to poverty Having to abide with undying loyalty and to be consciously subservient to the system to maintain structure and control of the government as a domesticated prize dog to the powers that be and carry the responsibilities of being under a
ruler (whether it would the shogunate, a daimyo, the emperor, etc) with fear of being lost and having the feeling of their life holds no meaning without servitude to their superiors. How this parallels the Black experience dates back during the slave. Slaves were conditioned by their owner to become utterly codependent of them. Some would become duplicitous amongst other slaves by relaying messages of attempts of escape from the plantation to the master to fasten his/her place in the compound out of fear. When their duty has been carried out whilst being oppressed themselves in the population to the public at large - to forfeit one's own freedom, integrity, morals, family community for compliance and complacency - generated and enforced by the act of expressing passionate ignorance, feigned hubris and repressed inferiority. From learning from the past and experiencing the ongoing battle against institutional racism, discrimination & inequality currently in the Black diaspora and the struggles of every day life to be able to stand with pride, dignity and appreciation for the contributions, accomplishments and opportunities that will be passed to the next generation of those that preceded them. Of course with anything comes with hardships to shoulder tirelessly from slavery to Emancipation , to integration during the Civil Rights Movement, to the current state as a modern black man/ woman living today amongst people who oppose and repress us (publicly, privately, socially, systematically, economically, professionally, culturally & spiritually) .
How I interpret Samurai Champloo as a cultural microcosm of Black culture, choice of expression when faced with social & political obstacles and obstructions forced on by authoritative figures to divvy the population and minimalize as well to discourage solidarity in fears of having their "power" become threatened, challenged and eventually usurped by the same oppressed people who have been disenfranchised for hundreds of years prior. How the appropriation topic comes in the discussion can be explained as the superficial extraction and deprivation from a group of people to socially sterilize any and all remains of the
embezzled place of origin for monetary, plagiarist gain with little to no consequence for accessibility and fundamental commercialist ideology whilst seeking acceptance from where the source of said cultural custom where it was derived from without the proper meaning, knowledge, context and history of how a particular that had been entrusted the task to cultivate and maintain te cultural chastity within said community in hopes to perpetually educate future generations of the traditions in its totality and will take pride of where it generated from. A paradox of hypocrisy if there ever was one.
Throughout the show you see certain characters (Jin, Mugen, Sara, Kariya, etc.) hit the proverbial fork in the road during decisive and dichotomous moments of their life that will drastically change their lives for better or worse and resolve their choice with no regret for the path not taken.
That's when you have decide on which option do you take. Do you choose to live as stray dog with no master or handler to conform you, or do you choose to lie from master to master and lay down your life for to only not live out your own??
Sorry for getting off topic. 😅 I was addressing the differences between the two in case someone happens confuse the them and wants to be devil's advocate to troll on - totally ignoring and disregarding the message that the video is trying to make.
So, me again, liked the last video so I'm digging into some more of your content.
Before I watch this, I just wanna say, it's kinda sad that Appropriation as a term exists, but it should be understood as an economic term first and foremost. It's an idea downstream of intellectual property, copyright, stuff like that. It's a matter of monopolizing or forcing the scarcity of entities that are "allowed" to distribute their "product" with the product being effectively consumer culture, especially in this day and age where zeitgeist is relegated to food and music and has no implicit ties to higher ideals or a sense of "chasing beauty" in its raw and unadulterated state.
Anyways, about to plug into your vid.
Just finished the video, and the only thing that comes to mind regarding the essence of art and (real) culture is that there are two 'drives' that push it to be made:
Art is the medium through which beauty can be actualized from a platonic form into a physical container (a memeplex) and its job is to propagate, to replicate itself, like an organism. This first drive is comparable to the libido which drives mankind to propagate genetically.
The other drive is more comparable to eugenics, like how our bodies have to stop cell division in order to avoid becoming a clump of cancer. Beauty must be replicated, and mutations are going to necessarily happen along the way, but any mutation that warps or destroys the beauty should be stopped from 'becoming.'
Good video. Keep up the good shit.
Reading your comments, and I just wanted to say you're coming in hot. Interesting stuff.
Love your channel
Good video
Shit man, I wish there was be an option to subscribe twice.
I need that video on Maoism dawg lol. Hope you're well
We might be getting to that point lol
No body better be shitting on my man Nujabes
I Like The Vid But HipHop Was Started By Both Black And Latino Kids In The South Bronx and Queens Talking About Crime Drugs And The All White Oppressive NYPD Not Just Black People Struggling When The Westcoast And The South Started To Rap That It Became A More Black Oriented Genre Of Music
I agree, but that's why I try to make the point that it's ultimately a class thing. I think the whole thing encompasses way more than just race.
It was started by African-Americans and evolved from earlier African-American music forms, namely funk, disco, soul, and some jazz.
Some West indians and then Ricans/Cubans were involved early on due to living in proximity to AAs in the South Bronx. AAs made early proto-Hip hop like music with the Watts Prophets in Los Angeles and Pigmeat Markel who was from North Carolina as well.
I mean Samurai Champloo was made before Hip Hop became as mainstream... but I wanna hear this
Look man hip hop is damn cool and everybody should be allowed to enjoy it and appreciate it freely
Did you even watch the video?
what¿
There was also an episode where Ainu (A northern people of the Japanese islands that we're mostly located in the island of Hokkaido, but have nearly "died out" due to genocide and assimilation [since the Ainu are too genetically similar to the Japanese, DNA can't tell whether your Ainu or Japanese, but it is widely believed that a large part of the Japanese population are significantly Ainu in some sort of way as many had to lose their culture in order to survive and because it would not be taught in schools, their children never learned who they are]) man was out for revenge for the government and interacted a lot, with, you guessed it, Mugen (the man who jumped after being on fire). The Government only recently recognized the Ainu and they still don't recognize the Ryukyu. I think the authors fit Hip-hop in Champloo because they related with it and used Samurai Champloo as a criticism of the "Great" Edo period and the even the Modern Government of how they treated their old culture and others (Are heroes are an unrecognized Ryukyu man, a Yamamoto Ronin who refused to assimilate, a daughter of Christen convert all hoping to be eliminated and forgotten for these reasons). Hell, our man villains in this anime are Japanese Government officials, their non-secret and secret hires in a Japanese anime.
4:10 - This reminds me of Sisko's speech from DS9, where he talks about how it is easy to be an angel in Paradise: th-cam.com/video/crpUHa9_pJ0/w-d-xo.html
You didnt bring up that Champloo means to mix up or stir up, taking inspiration from the sampling remix nature of hip hop. Taking existing things from the past and throwing other out of context aesthetics to create something new