One of the top pop songs of this year was "Royals" by New Zealand teenage girl who calls herself "Lorde"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlcIKh6sBtc
It was about the fantasy many young people get from music videos.
It has been very popular song with its appeal going across national, cultural and ethnic lines.
Wikipedia
Lorde
However, with any good thing, there are the party-poopers.
The party-poopers are those who overly analyze song lyrics, who give meanings that don't exist in the song.
An example is white Latina feminist who goes by the name of
Verónica Bayetti Flores.
Flores thinks that song mocks hip-hop culture, and that anything criticizing hip-hop culture is "racist"
http://feministing.com/members/vbayetti/
Veronica Bayetti Flores
aka "Lorde Hater"
aka "Race Card Abuser"
Flores articles at
http://feministing.com/2013/10/03/wow-that-lorde-song-royals-is-racist/
http://feministing.com/2013/10/10/a-little-more-on-lorde-royals-and-racism/
If you read the comments posted on those articles, they OVERWHELMINGLY DISAGREE with Flores pile of nonsense.
And here are some articles arguing against Ms Flores
Aziza Jackson, a real African-American (unlike white Latina Ms Flores) calls BS on Ms Flores abuse of the race card
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/chocolate-report-my-mis-adventures-tomorrowland/2013/oct/11/lordes-royals-not-racist/
There is no clear definition of racism, only one’s own interpretation of what it means. The word “racism” has become the hot potato of today’s society, zealously passed around over and over again a circle of misconception.
Things are not as black and white as they once were. Today’s culture is slowly chipping away at the archetypes originally defined by skin color. Instead, a new culture is being formed by today’s youth where it doesn’t matter what skin you’re wrapped in, just what labels and designer threads adorn it.
Both Lorde and I are the spawns of a culture rigged with consumerism and class, not race, a world where money is green and greed is good. Today’s hip-hop and pop lyrics are laced with the promotion of shiny yet empty lives and skin that is not black or white, but green.
and more
This amazing material is coming from a 16-year old girl from a small town in New Zealand. Although tigers on a gold leash would be pretty freakin’ cool, it’s quite amazing that a 16-year old was brave enough to go against the grain and call out the 40- and 50-year old rappers who have nothing better to rap about than rocking Tom Ford with a love for “badd bitches,” because bad is spelled with two Ds here. That’s just how badd she is.
Badd becomes the new good in the hip-hop and pop music industry. Yes, industry is singular here because they have become one in a union reeking of disillusion, vomit, and a father’s disappointment.
Sadly, perhaps Bayetti Flores’ notion that Maybachs, Cristal and gold teeth automatically equate to rappers and “black folks” is the real “deeply racist” thing here.
And Ms Flores gets mocked BIG TIME at this parody
http://www.thecivilian.co.nz/lordes-pure-heroine-riddled-with-bigotry-discovers-bored-psychology-graduate/
Writing for Feministing.com, a bored psychology graduate has made the shocking discovery that the debut album of international pop sensation Lorde is littered with deep-seated racism towards black people, as well as a series of other crude and distasteful references that disempower the already disenfranchised.
Blogger Veronica Bayetti Flores directed most of her anger at the album’s hit single Royals, which she says shamelessly ridicules the tens of millions of African Americans who own expensive cars, champagne and tigers, while denigrating the well-known black monarchy that is most commonly associated with notions of royalty.
Flores’ analysis has given rise to a series of other articles by white women informing black people of new ways in which they are being oppressed by Lorde’s music.
(Reminder: those above paragraphs are ALL SATIRE)
And even on the socialist, people aren't taking Ms Flores abuse of the race card
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/10/25/lord-o25.html
While “Royals” has attracted a large audience, the song has also come under attack in some quarters. Lorde has recently received accusations of racism from feminist blogger Veronica Bayetti Flores. Writing for the blogFeministing, Flores stated on October 3:
“While I love a good critique of wealth accumulation and inequity, this song is not one; in fact, it is deeply racist. Because we all know who she’s thinking when we’re talking gold teeth, Cristal and Maybachs. So why shit on black folks? Why shit on rappers? Why aren’t we critiquing wealth by taking hits at golf or polo or Central Park East? Why not take to task the bankers and old-money folks who actually have a hand in perpetuating and increasing wealth inequality? I’m gonna take a guess: racism. I don’t have to explain why wealth operates differently among folks who’ve grown up struggling because this shit has been explained already: If you grew up with holes in your zapatos you’d celebrate the minute you was having dough.”
This is nothing more than a justification for the worst kind of backwardness.
For Flores, the obscene glorification of wealth and the most ruthless means of attaining it are entirely acceptable so long as the right people are doing it. Her comments expose the true class basis of identity politics. It is entirely to Lorde’s credit that flunkies of Flores’ caliber attack her work.
Now my response: I have just an e-mail to Ms Flores about her lack of understanding of globalization, changes in everyday language, and other stuff!
To: vbayettiflores@hampshire.edu
I know I'm late to the controversy, but a few things need to be said
When we as people talk the English language, we are using words with origins in Latin, German, Hebrew, French, Greek and others. We do so without thinking.
In the era of globalization, we also added words with origins in the Americas, Asia, Middle East, Africa and the Pacific Islands to our daily vocabulary. We do so without thinking.
And in this era of globalization, the language of hip-hop, which started in the South Bronx, has become so worldwide, that people use the common hip-hop phrases as part of the everyday language, in the same manner we use words with origins in Latin, German, Hebrew, Greek, etc in our everyday language.
The phrases common in hip-hop are so used in everyday language of not only African-Americans, not only suburban Euro-Americans trying to be "cool" but also by Latinos, Asians, Arabs, Persians, Africans (meaning the ones living in Africa, who view hip-hop as "exotic" ....... because to them, it is exotic), and the Pacific Islands (ie. Aoteoroa aka New Zealand, also ie Hawaii -- the home to me, Barack Obama and Bruno Mars). We all use those phrases in our everyday language, so IT IS NOT "oh, let's pretend to be black people". It's more like "we hear it so often, it's just part of everyday language".
For example, here in Hawaii. People use Japanese words like "shibai" and "bachi" as part of everyday language. Kids of all races learn Filipino and Samoan profanities and use them as part of everyday language. And yes, we listen to hip-hop and reggae, and use their phrases as part of everyday language. Just like how the average European-American in your university uses words with Latin, German, Hebrew, etc as part of everyday language.
Also, if you think ukuleles and Aloha shirts are part of Hawaiian culture, let it be known that NONE of those things existed in Hawaii before the Europeans arrived. Those things are just Hawaiian adaptations of European imports.
(on a side note: most of Hawaii's Bloods and Crips are of Polynesian descent, another strange effect of globalization)
So when Lorde is using hip-hop phrases, IT IS NOT "hey look at me everyone, I'm using ebonics", IT'S MORE LIKE "this is everyday language for us and all kids worldwide".
And your comments :
Um, actually, if you really believe only African-Americans use those phrases in everyday language, you really need to spend more time outside of the ivory tower. Those things are talked about by Latinos, Asians, Pacific Islanders, Europeans and a whole bunch of other people. Those things are used as part of everyday language by people who are not stuck inside an ivory tower.
Also this
Why aren’t we critiquing wealth by taking hits at golf or polo or Central Park East? Why not take to task the bankers and old-money folks who actually have a hand in perpetuating and increasing wealth inequality?
Um, the song was targeted at teens/young adults who could care less about bankers, golfers or polo players. In youth culture, bankers, golfers and polo players aren't considered cool, instead they're considered "old folks", "dorks" and "geeks".
What is considered cool among the youth are pimps, dealers and players (who can be black, yellow, white, brown, red, whatevers depending on what school the kids are attending). So THAT is who Lorde is talking about!
The song wasn't mean to be a thesis on wealth inequality, it was just about youth culture.
One last thing, I do think racism is a serious issue, unfortunately, articles like yours fall into the categories of "girl who cried wolf" and "das racist" none of which is taken seriously by serious people.
Here in Hawaii, Micronesian immigrants have been discriminated in the job market and the housing market. They have been targeted by Samoan gangs upset that a new immigrant group has entered what once was "their turf". They have been ridiculed by other ethnic groups as well. They suffer this after some of their home islands have been used for nuclear testing by the US government.
I think something like that needs serious analysis. It may not get as many clicks as another needless analysis of a pop song, but its much more crucial and important.
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