I owe such a massive apology to Frank Ocean and to all of my friends who loved him before I did. When channel ORANGE came out, I was in the deep pretention of disliking anything that anything popular. I hated everything on the top 40 on principle. If I did like something, it was ironically. I have a pretty specific memory of one of my friends making me play “Forrest Gump” and me bemoaning how inane I thought the lyrics were. What a stupid take! Sure, some pop songs are vapid and boring, but Frank Ocean’s music is far from that. It’s layered, multifaceted, and SMART.
Before I turned like 19, I decided
to hate all country music, most rap, and at least half of whatever was on the
top 40[1].
But here’s the thing, writing off entire genres of music, especially rap and
country, is more often than not both racist and classist. I’m pretty sure the
reason I decided I didn’t like them was because I couldn’t relate to the
artists as well as all the sad, white, indie music I was used to. But honestly,
I cannot believe I thought the white, poverty porn music of Ramshackle Glory
was more my speed than Kendrick Lamar. I think I was just hyper conscious of the
optics of a white girl being really into something I saw as Black music. Which,
yeah, there’s a line between appreciation and appropriation[2],
but ultimately it seems more biased to write an entire genre off to avoid
racial tension than it would be to just listen to the music and the stories the
artists tell about their experiences and actually learn something. That’s
something it took a long time for me to figure out. Growing up in a town that
saw silence as liberalism, I didn’t understand until I moved away that you have
to engage with people who are different from you in order to grow from your
biases. You can’t just have a two-week unit on slavery and the civil rights
movement from a white social studies teacher and decide you’re good to go.
Anyway, the needed dragging of Massachusetts
politics and education aside, the song that got me to actually appreciate Frank
Ocean was “Slide” on the Funk Wav Bounces vol. 1 album. James put that song on
one of the mix CDs he made me when we first started dating, and when I couldn’t
get that song out of my head for over a month, I decided to give Frank Ocean
another chance. And lo and behold! Blond is one of my all-time favorite albums
now!
There’s a few artists I wrote off
in a similar vein to Frank Ocean, but none of the others were rooted in ignorance
and fear of being perceived as racist as this one. I’m honestly embarrassed about
that mindset, but I’m writing this in the wake of the terrorist insurrection on
the White House, and I think the ignorance I chose instead of taking the steps
to learn about racism is emblematic of white people in the U.S. right now. It’s
much easier to turn aside and decide there’s one solution to the systemic biases
Black people face every day in America, whether it’s by deciding not to listen
to rap or believing that a Biden/Harris presidency will solve everything. It’s
easier to believe there is a one-stop saving grace that requires nothing more
than voting once, than the reality of the massive amount of effort I (and all
white people) have to put in. It can be daunting, but it’s the reality that
Black people face every day. It is daunting, but it is cowardly to turn away
from the problem.
If you’re reading this, I hope none
of my waxing philosophic about racism is new to you. I hope sharing my own
shortcomings and failings regarding my views on racism in America can help
instead of hinder further discussion. I hope you’ll listen to Black people when
they tell you of their experiences. I hope you’ll step up, because it’s well
past time.
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