I went to see the latest rendition of 'Shaft' last night. (Judge your mama!) I don't remember the majority of the previews, but one, in particular, did stand out. Somehow, someone is failing at their caregiving duties and keeps allowing Sylvester Stallone to sneak out of the house to make ENTIRE 'Rambo' movies! I need to know who is responsible. What disturbed me even more, was that Lil Nax X's controversial “country/not country” 'Old Town Road' was chosen to score the official 'Rambo Last Blood' trailer. Outside of the absurdity of the trailer, another oddity was the fact that Lil Nas X was noticeably absent from his own song. Billy Ray Cyrus is the only voice on this re-remix of 'Old Town Road'. Why won't they let this kid be great? The song was great enough to top the Billboard charts, but not great enough to be welcomed into the country music genre. It was poignant enough to be featured in a 'Rambo' promo with 173-year-old Sly Stallone, but not monumental enough to feature the artist that created the damn song. I know he'll get paid for it’s usage, and it will probably be a pretty penny. I just want to talk to you all about the constant gentrification of us. Industry plant or not, this kid knows what he's doing in order to stay relevant. You can also keep your bullshit arguments about his appropriating country culture because it's not true. They very clearly told Lil Nas "you can't sit with us"; while congratulating Billy Ray Cyrus for the #1 status of not his song and purposely removing Lil Nas from the narrative. It's one thing for someone to appreciate a genre, and another for a culture to continue to steal from another culture and attempt to erase the origins with which something was born. Do you think the Hip Hop community is too welcoming of others, while "others" actively and successfully ostracize us for not fitting into their aesthetic? Sound off below.
T.Nicole