Journal Entry: Filipinos Represent: DJing as a Filipino Thing

A01

Hip-hop has been historically derived from blacks but it has now grown to be a part of different cultures. There are questions whether hip-hop in the Filipino aspect is considered a music of their own. In other words, just because it has originated from something else, does taking that art and altering it into your own culture make it less authentic and lose value in the eyes of others? Do people see it as a “fake” or “wannabe” version of the original? You can even see this happening in other more relatable examples - like the whole iphone vs samsung. People constantly claim that these phones are trying to copy one another - with the iphone being one of the first smartphones to use a multi-touch interface.

Filipino Djs find a niche within hip-hop, and tries to establish cultural legitimacy that is outside the proximity of blackness. They are not trying to imitate them. I can see how hard it is because they are trying to create their own art with their own ideas - but since hip-hop is widely viewed as a “black” thing, cultures that attempt to recreate this concept don’t get the same recognition. In fact, many pop songs present today include rap in the song, and rarely would you hear the rapper being a race other than black.

Although they acknowledge that hip-hop has been originated from blacks, they don’t look at their DJing as African American expressive form. Although the style of genre of music is very similar, the purpose and meaning is different. They grew up with it, and it is part of their culture. The article stated that anyone can establish cultural legitimacy and become part of a broader community that transcends history, geography, culture, and race. I strongly agree to this because in this case, hip-hop can be used to express Filipino culture and create a stronger identity which can appeal to the youth.

In the article, One Tyme refers to hip-hop as a “worldwide thing” that brings together people of “different ethnicities.” I find this relevant to asian pop culture, especially in Korean Pop. Most songs currently contain members that rap in the songs in both English and Korean language. In a way, they are trying to appeal to American culture, and make hip-hop a part of their culture as well to try to bring communities that find Kpop appealing together. The ultimate message is that Hip-hop should not “belong” to one race.