Earl Sweatshirt?
This isn't the part where I suggest that you feel bad for Taylor Swift. She has a lot going for her these days. She's the most successful recording artist in the world, has a rocking new haircut, and is friends with Ed Sheeran. Who doesn't want all of those things? Unfortunately, when you DO have all of those things, roughly 50% of the internet will hate you. And that's science. So Taylor Swift is surely not surprised that she received a healthy share of backlash after the release of her new song and accompanying video. I'm sure she was expecting it.
What she maybe wasn't expecting was one of the high-profile sources of criticism: Earl Sweatshirt. Mr. Sweatshirt, as I'll refer to him, took offense to the video and suggested that Swift is "perpetuating black stereotypes" and compared Swift's alleged appropriation of black culture to "being afraid of black people, but saying the n-word" through an erroneous "appreciation" of culture. Now--I don't think Mr. Sweatshirt is ENTIRELY off base. If I were on Swift's team, I wouldn't have OK'd this video, especially given the conversation recently sparked by Iggy Azalea and Katy Perry about what it means to appropriate a culture, as opposed to appreciate. It's a delicate zone, and I can see where offense could be taken to "Shake It Off," particularly where swift is dancing with the "twerkers." Her potential blame being noted, back to Mr. Sweatshirt.
One of his tweets says that the overall effect of the "Shake It Off" video is "harmful." While I appreciate his concern for the youth of America, perhaps he should exit the glass house first, or at least open up a window. Mr. Sweatshirt is a member of the rap collective known as OFWGKTA. For the uninitiated, that's "Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All" or simply "Odd Future." One would think that Mr. Sweatshirt (given his concern for the youth) would have a problem with his compatriot, Tyler, The Creator, and his known penchant for gay slurs and rape fantasies. The album, Goblin, plays like an hour long rape fantasy that would make Marshall Mathers blush. (Even pregnant women are not safe from Tyler, The Creator's mind.)
I would just like to call this to Mr. Sweatshirt's attention. While Swift's video is potentially harmful through the reinforcement of stereotypes, there is nothing potential about OFWGKTA's harm. It's in the open. After all...what's the difference between the excuse of "shock value" and that of "cultural appreciation"? I'll just wait over here for Mr. Sweatshirt's string of tweets denouncing his collective for their harmful influence on the youth.
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