Cultural Appropriation vs. Appreciation
- Sophia Maryanski
- Feb 16, 2025
- 2 min read
Megan the Stallion has recently dropped an album entitled Megan, and the song "Mamushi" features a Japanese rapper, Yuki Chiba, who blew up on TikTok. The song received mixed reviews from both audiences, most being light-handed but still bringing up a valuable topic. Where is the line between appropriation and appreciation?
Megan's song "Mamushi" rose to popularity on the app TikTok, drawing more attention to the song and how Megan pronounced the Japanese lyrics. While most americans didn't even give it a second glance, Japanese netizens and other Japanese speakers started to post about her pronunciation of the lyrics. Some called it “cringy” and that she shouldn't have even attempted to say it. This argument made other netizens start to question the authenticity of Megan's song and whether it falls under cultural appropriation.
For all its worth, I strongly disagree that her song is culturally appropriating Japanese culture. The music video is based on the Japanese tale of the snake lady, who is a man-eating snake. This tale is not one most foreigners know about and shows her dedication and appreciation for Japanese culture. Megan also featured traditional Japanese structures and even a bathhouse, which is a giant staple in Japanese culture. In her video, her outfits are loosely based on traditional Japanese wear, wearing the color red, and the simplicity of the clothes and their overall design. She didn't directly use any obvious traditional clothing. Traditional Japanese clothes are usually only worn during special ceremonies and are kept sacred in the culture as many wear the garment to connect with their culture and express their pride and identity in their roots.
Overall, Megans' "Mamushi" music video and song are a great example of appreciation. The artist was able to showcase her appreciation for the culture while mindfully and carefully making sure she wasn't disrespecting the Japanese culture along the way.
Wanna know more about the topic?
Amazing comparison of appreciation vs. appropriation (Megans the Stallion vs. Gwen Stafani):
More about Mamushi:
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