Miley Cyrus's recent escapades into hip-hop culture have provoked outrage in circles that you might not expect to have been following the Hannah Montana star's pop career. It's not only the music, but how she has represented herself in her new video for We Can't Stop, which broke Vevo's record for most video views in 24 hours.
Critics have argued that her use of imagery and colloquialisms normally associated with African American culture – like the gold grills and extravagant chains – is a crass example of cultural appropriation. Her fans might say that Miley's artistic expression and the video bridges the proverbial gap between white artists and modern black music culture, which – whether you like it or not – has become ubiquitously mainstream.
For those in full support of this change in Miley's output, thumbs up to you. She's gone from Disney teenybopper to a twerking (shaking your ass in a vigorously sexual manner) tight-fitted-jean-wearing-half-naked-for-majority-of-her-video pop star singing on hip-hop induced instrumentals and it is garnering the desired attention. Also, Miley is no stranger to hip-hop culture – she rolls deep with rappers such as Snoop Dogg, Juicy J and Odd Future's Tyler, the Creator – and she's known to be quite partial to the old cannabis plant. So she surrounds herself in the culture and then produces music of the same ilk – a natural chain of events, no?
Or maybe it's a premeditated, well-executed marketing strategy? Could be, but if this is her version of the Good Girl Gone Bad image that Rihanna so famously pioneered, then it has started well. Ri-ri has shown us how successful this formula can be if executed well and I can bet my last Rolo that Miley's record label had no objections to her sudden reincarnation, especially as the song in question was originally meant for Rihanna. Even hip-hop mogul Jay-Z recently name-dropped the former teen idol on the track Somewhereinamerica, which features on his new album Magna Carta Holy Grail. He raps: When I was talking Instagram/ Last thing you wanted was your picture snapped/ Feds still lurking/ They see I'm still putting work in/ Cause somewhereinamerica/ Miley Cyrus is still twerkin'," before chuckling to himself. So if it's a marketing ploy, it's working – although it may point to how seriously hip-hop is taking Miley's newfound musical persona.
While parents whose daughters grew up on Hannah Montana might think that Miley no longer deserves role model status, a bit of provocative rump shaking in front of a video camera is a far cry from the antics of fellow ex-teen idols such as Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes.
I do understand the criticism – Miley has never been this sexually explicit in previous videos, so why does the hip-hop influenced track suddenly bring out the freak in her? That's easy, you only have to sit down and watch a music video playlist of Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne, or better yet dig out the video to iconic Sir Mix-a-Lot record Baby Got Back to see why. Miley is imitating what's popular in hip-hop, but there's a fine line between doing it, doing it well and overdoing it – and that's what people are getting their knickers in a twist about.
Music has no colour, real hip-hop artists do not make music for any specific type of person. It's a form of expression that anyone can relate to. There's no problem with channelling a culture – as long as you have respect for it. The likes of Eminem, Jessie J and Iggy Azalea all musically evoke hip-hop but are still quintessentially themselves. It's the impression that Miley may be trying to be or emulate something that she's totally not that, for some, creates an uncomfortable mood when watching the video. Love it or hate it, hip-hop music and culture are here to stay, and true hip-hop fans will know how far it has come and praise the fact it's now a worldwide platform for music artists of all denominations.
