While it may not always be a factor in one’s enjoyment of music, the manner in which songs come to be can greatly impact one’s appreciation of them. Whether this be the cultural influences on music, the life story of the artist, or something else impacting the song, the reasons for songs being as they are, are important. These influences can help to enhance the meaning behind songs, but lack of influences can also be a downfall for them. Without true influences, songs can be fake. They attempt to be something they’re not and it results in a lack of appreciation. With music, this can manifest itself as cultural influences defining a genre or cultural appropriation ending a career. For me, this is something I have found to greatly impact my opinions on different songs and artists that I have listened to throughout this class. From Outkast and Bluegrass to Iggy Azalea, their creation of songs and how they go about it is a point I have begun to take into consideration when listening to music. Regardless of how influence or life stories may manifest itself, whether positively or negatively, the creation of a song, and the causes for it, impact my appreciation and reception of it.
In the late 90s Outkast burst onto the hip hop scene with a new Southern Sound. They had accents, different intonations, and talked about “fish n’ grits”. While this originally caused them to be literal outcasts, it kept them authentic. They stayed true to their Atlanta roots and became representative of a whole city. Their sound wasn’t manufactured, it was natural and it was distinctly Atlantan. This kind of authentic sound is why I love their music. There are other reasons as well, such as their sheer lyrical ability and their unique beats, but it is their authenticity that sets them apart. As someone from Georgia, I can appreciate some of their references and influences more than most. They aren’t trying to talk about Hollywood or New York, but instead they have a song called “Spaghetti Junction”, an interchange in Atlanta I grew up driving though hundreds of times. This is precisely the type of reference I pointed out in my piece on them from earlier in the year, where I specifically point out how “Outkast [is] appealing to the South” due to its references and recognizable feel (Mullinax). This perfectly shows how authentic they are in their music and why is appeals to me. The authenticity of their music is a large factor in why I appreciate it so much.
In the same way that Outkast’s sound was a product of the area they came from, so too was the sound of Bluegrass. Early Bluegrass musicians weren’t trying to be some radical new sound that the country hadn’t seen before, but instead they were embracing their culture. The Irish immigrants that settled in the Blue Ridge Mountains brought with them fiddle tunes. Slaves brought over during the 17th and 18th centuries introduced banjos to the South. Over the next couple centuries, the locals simply picked these instruments up and started playing. The natural way that this style of music manifested itself helps to give it its authentic sound. Just like Outkast appealed to me because of my southern roots and my appreciation for authenticity, so too does Bluegrass. Perhaps I am biased, having grown up around it, but I also love that when songs tell stories they are real stories from the homes of the artists. Whether it be a old mountain tune or a modern fiddle melody, the tradition of Bluegrass that connects the old and new is almost unparalleled by any other genre. This is just about as authentic as it gets, and as I pointed out in my previous piece, “Just like Outkast, Bluegrass was finding national success without abandoning its roots” (Mullinax). This is a big reason why I appreciate it so much.
Although authenticity has been a reason for me loving certain music, the lack of it can have the opposite effect. Iggy Azalea’s music has always been under scrutiny due to her past. It’s not that she has a criminal record or that she was trying to run away from bad decisions. In fact, in a way it’s because she has none of that. While that’s not entirely true, the reason she is scrutinized is due to her not quite fitting the mold of rap despite desperately wanting to. She didn’t have the hard life growing up that so many rappers did. She didn’t face racism for her skin color. She didn’t have any of the negative experiences that so many rappers use as fuel for their songs. That being said, some of her music was well received. It wasn’t that she was a bad lyricist, though many people may disagree. It also wasn’t that her songs were bad. She managed to find plenty of commercial success early on with hits like “Fancy”, which managed to hit the number one spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 list. While the rapping and beats were there, a good performance doesn’t always mean a good song. I pointed this out in my previous writing when talking about how Taylor Swift “delivers a great vocal performance….but she still failed to do the song justice” in reference to her cover of Earth, Wind, and Fire’s “September” (Mullinax). Just like Taylor Swift, Iggy Azalea’s problem wasn’t just with her actual music, but the way it came to be. Iggy didn’t respect the genre or the culture surrounding it. On many occasions she was called out for this blatant disrespect and it let to her downfall. She wasn’t authentic in the realm of rap. She didn’t fit the bill and instead became accused of cultural appropriation, disrespect, and more. For me personally, her lack of authenticity is a large part in how I responded to her music. It didn’t sound real. It sounded fake, as though someone were doing a poor job pretending to be hardcore, which is exactly what happened. She wasn’t authentic, and that is why myself, and many others, couldn’t like her music.
Authenticity or the lack thereof became more apparent to me throughout my writing as the biggest factor in my appreciation of music.
Citations
Mullinax, Paul. “The Southern Sound of Then and Now.” Writing 101: Voice, Noise, Sound, Sense, March 24, 2019,
http://www.wri-101k-s19.andrewrippeon.com/blog/uncategorized/the-southern-sound-of-then-and-now/
Hope, Clover. “The Making and Unmaking of Iggy Azalea.” Jezebel, Jezebel, 2 Nov. 2018, jezebel.com/the-making-and-unmaking-of-iggy-azalea-1797030869.
