Jay Park Addresses Fan Criticisms Of Cultural Appropriation In New Song “DNA Remix”
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Jay Park posted a statement in response to the backlash H1GHER MUSIC‘s latest song “DNA Remix” received in regards to cultural appropriation.
The “DNA Remix” music video was not received well by many international fans, who called it out for making use of Black hairstyles and who were concerned that it might perpetuate negative stereotypes about Black folk and Black culture.
In response to the outpour of fan concerns, Jay Park posted a response in the YouTube comments of the video addressing the criticisms. In it, he acknowledged the origin and impacts of Hip-Hop.
Hip-Hop makes us feel liberated and empowered. It gives us an outlet to have our voice be heard and to express ourselves in a way society might not deem fit. We didn’t get the best grades or go to college and we are not a doctor or a lawyer so it gives us a sense of belonging and value. Gives us hope and motivation that we can switch up our situation if we put our hearts and minds to it and can make something from nothing.
—Jay Park
He shared that they admire a lot of Black rappers, and “not just [for] 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 as a result, he said it was only natural that they aspire to be like them.
Having a certain hairstyle or look gives us confidence and inspiration and makes us feel like rockstars and it’s because its what we see and hear it feels natural to us. Also it’s because we think so highly of Hip-Hop and the figures in Hip-Hop that we are influenced so much by them and some of us grew up in a Black neighborhood or Black group of friends abroad so being inspired and influenced is a natural occurrence.
—Jay Park
Jay Park also made sure to emphasize that he and his artists support Hip-Hop and Black culture.
Do we support and appreciate Hip-Hop and Black culture? Yes a majority of the hip hop artists here have spoke up and made donations about BLM issues and have had the conversations with our parents. We are the ones who listen to the music and go to the concerts when people cross over and we are the ones who make sure the rappers who come from the states no matter how big or small feel at home and show them what hospitality really is. 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.
—Jay Park
As for the specific issue regarding Asian artists sporting dreads, he stated that he does not necessarily agree with it, but doesn’t believe he is in a place to comment or control it either. He reiterated that H1GHER MUSIC is not the enemy, as they are not “trying to downplay Black culture and the Black agenda,” but rather are “out here to spread love and uplift the people around us with what Black culture has created.”
If y’all can fangirl over young Korean dudes with dyed hair I don’t see why we cant fanboy over rappers with face tats and dreads. Everybody is into what they into. Let’s just love one another and be kind whether on the Internet or in person.
—Jay Park
He also revealed that their PR person told them not to post the video, but he and the other artists involved still posted it because they didn’t want to “hide the Korean Hip Hop culture.”
This is what Hip-Hop kids look like in Korea and I wanted to showcase it and address it to the best of my ability to let the world know where we coming from. I’ve been all over the world and hung out with everyone from criminals to billionaires and realized everyone has different perspectives and we can learn to disagree.
—Jay Park
His full statement is written below:
The Black and Latino people created Hip-Hop. We understand that and think it is amazing and are grateful that you’ve shared it with the world. Hip-Hop make us feel liberated and empowered. It gives us an out let to have our voice be heard and to express ourselves in a way society might not deem fit. We didn’t get the best grades or go to college and we are not a doctor or a lawyer so it gives us a sense of belonging and value. Gives us hope and motivation that we can switch up our situation if we put our hearts and minds to it and can make something from nothing. 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 ppl think and who might doubt you. So it’s 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 it’s 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 and some of us grew up in a black neighborhood or black group of friends abroad so being inspired and influenced is a natural occurrence. Hip-Hop is now a global genre it is now received with much love worldwide and spread everywhere so now each country has their own unique scene and sound whether it be Korea, Japan, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Russia, Brazil etc… Do we support and appreciate Hip-Hop and Black culture? Yes a majority of the Hip-Hop artists here have spoke up and made donations about BLM issues and have had the conversations with our parents. We are the ones who listen to the music and go to the concerts when ppl cross over and we are the one who make sure the rappers who come from the states no matter how big or small feel at home and show them what hospitality really is. 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. Do we want to be Black? No. Although we friends of color and are influenced by Black culture and love and support it heavily we are proud to be Korean and wouldn’t trade it for the world Can we relate to the Black struggle? No but there are certain elements that we can relate and identify with. Every country every culture every person has some type of pain or struggle in their life. There is no other genre that portrays that so honestly other than hip hop Do I think it’s Ok for Korean rappers to have dreads? I might not necessarily agree with it but who am I to say don’t do that. Just because I don’t agree with something their doing does not mean i cant appreciate them as ppl and artists. 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 ppl 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 guys blueprint. If you break it down we probably have more things in common than not and just because you know Korea from K-Pop And K-Dramas does not mean that everything is all just dandy and soft over here. I won’t get into detail but The Korean ppl have had to deal with A LOT of inhumane things in our history and have had to hustle our ASSES off to get this much recognition because not too long ago most ppl didn’t even know where Korea was. And when i was younger they didn’t even know what Korea was. No matter what i know there will be ppl fighting in the comments because that just internet culture now a days but i just look at it as we all live in this world and influence each other and as long as the intent was pure we shouldn’t bash each other even if we don’t see eye to eye on everything. If the Migos want to wear Chinese attire in a song called stirfry Kunfu themed and thats what made them feel good at the time, all good! If Nicki wanted to look oriental on a song called Chun-li and thats what made her feel sexy,…why not? If lil uzi vert wanted to be a anime character in p&qs , man more power to him. Theres always gonna be ppl who nit pick but y’all gotta realize theres more evil ppl than young Korean rappers with dreads 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 ppl around us with what Black culture has created. HIP-HOP and we are thankful. If y’all can fangirl Over young Korean dudes with dyed hair I don’t see why we cant fanboy over rappers with face tats and dreads. Everybody is into what they into. Let’s just love one another and be kind whether on the internet or in person. Also shout out to our PR Julie who told us not to post this video. She’s the best. But I didn’t wanna hide the Korean Hip-Hop culture. This is what Hip-Hop kids look like in Korea and I wanted to showcase it and address it to the best of my ability to let the world know where we coming from. I’ve been all over the world and hung out with everyone from criminals to billionaires and realized everyone has different perspectives and we can learn to disagree. The world would be so boring if we didn’t share each others foods cultures and experiences. Don’t have to support but hope y’all can at least let us live our lives and give us room to grow and progress before making assumptions and bashing. Peace and Love
—Jay Park
You can watch the full video for “DNA Remix” below:
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