What's your view on this?
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What's your view on this?
Would UB40 be a thing now, given that most of them were white.
It's nonsense
There are posters of colour/black posters on here so perhaps they should be given the space to speak first.
My initial impression is that there's going to be a range of responses to this and some I find myself agreeing with (Sheryl Nwosu's) and some which I definitely don't (London Hughes).
Flip this around and say there was a disagreement that a black man or woman couldn't present a show on say classical music. Would that be wrong?
I think positions like this should be filled by those most qualified and talented to do so, regardless of skin colour or background.
Not sure Cheryl Cole meets the qualified and talented label but still...
It's a nonsense.
Get the feeling some would also be unhappy if they said only a black person can host this rnb show.
Exactly this.
You can't please everybody.
This example with Cheryl Cole you have most people who want equality while others want to be able to celebrate our differences so there is a cross over there for starters. I'm not sure how the two can coexist without some friction.
You then get all of the other arguments thrown into the mix.
People seem to want to be offended in this day and age and seek out reasons to feel that way. Cheryl Cole got the gig, so what.
Argue that she's crap, fair enough.
But that is a separate argument in my eyes.
I know the BBC have not brought up the race issue here (many that have commented on it within the article have) but if this was simply a 'Cheryl Cole is not the right person because she isn't talented enough' article does it get as many clicks?
It seems we have to shoehorn race into almost every argument that we can these days. Should the position be exclusively for black people? No. It should have been given to the most deserving though definitely.
I've got no doubt that there are many instances of cultural appropriation and it has a damaging effect on the livelihoods and culture of minority groups.
I think part of the issue is with the internet these days people's culture is changing faster than ever.
I am vaguely aware of numbers of young people in the UK and USA with a genuine interests in Korean pop groups. Not my cup of tea, but each to their own.
If they grow up listening to k-pop, then some of them start to make their own music - if they do it in the style of a korean artist - or even with some Korean lyrics - is that cultural appropriation ? or is that what their culture now IS? should they instead make a different style of music they have no knowledge of or interest in?
I think if everyone was forced to "stay in their own lane" so to speak it would be even more damaging than the alternative.
As for Cheryl Cole - it does seem as though she's perhaps not the ideal choice for this podcast. I can definitely understand the frustration black artists must have when this sort of thing goes on.
On the other hand she is REALLY famous - she's not got the gig because she knows the most about R&B out of any potential presenter, but because she's a huge name, and more people will probably listen to it with her name on it. If that ends up getting people interested in R&B who wouldn't otherwise have listened then it might not be all bad.
As a middle aged white guy in the UK it is pretty hard to think of an example that is anything like the same though.
I'm not sure she has got the gig based purely on that though. I think she has it because it will get the most numbers.
Talent seems to get trumped by 'popular' people in modern culture sadly. Look at reality TV for example. Talent isn't what you'd associate with most of them.
I can see how it's an issue sometimes. You wouldnt want a history of Wales to be narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch or something, so I can understand the need to be sensitive.
That said, I think generally the issue is well overblown, and is pretty divisive. If we want to live in a successful multicultural society, then we accept that these different cultural traditions will (And should!) merge.
Its absurd, stereotypical and borderline racist to say only black people should comment on certain things, or should like certain music, or should stay away from certain topics. It's ridiculous. It also says it's "denying work to people of colour etc" but every survey i have seen in recent years shows that non white British faces and voices are overrepresented. Thats no bad thing at all, but we cant keep chipping away at things on the basis of skin colour.
Another issue is the inconsistencies. The very same people saying that Cheryl Cole SHOULDNT voice a programme on RnB music will be the same people saying a black actress SHOULD play Anne Boleyn, as happened recently. Whats the rules here?!
There is a good organisation called 'dont divide us' which pushes against both this kind of division (broadly from the left) and the more traditional kind of division (broadly from the right).
Identity politics is pretty poisonous for society in my opinion and we should focus less on it. If we want a cohesive society, we need to focus more on what unites us rather than implying that the very thing we had zero control over should be our defining characteristic
Well put.
She ain't my cup of tea and I would personally prefer to listen to a podcast about R&B by someone who knows more about it and lived it, which would typically be a black person, but I haven't got particularly strong opinions on it. I do think she was chosen for her fame which is bad on one hand but on the other she can maybe reach an audience that others couldn't.
There are much bigger issues as far as I am concerned.
https://youtu.be/t_KdbASIkB8
here's a Malaysian guy commenting on Jamie Oliver making egg fried rice
https://youtu.be/53me-ICi_f8
and another lady on the BBC making egg fried rice.
This seems really more akin to a Desert Island Discs podcast, with a famous person sharing their favourite tunes, which apparently is mostly R&B in Cheryl's case. And should probably be positioned that way.
I believe Jamz Supernova et al at Radio1Extra is the place to go for those seeking a more authentic R&B experience.
Are folk saying that only black people should represent / comment on R & B or Soul as I would have though there has been many white folk who have been defined as a great soul or R&B voice or sound .
I remember in he early years Zeppelin were referred too as a white man blues sound .
Steve Marriott had a wonderful voice and guitar for the blues and R&B .
I saw a mad one the other day where an Italian woman commented on a recipe page saying it was cultural appropriation to put chilli on spaghetti (ignoring the fact Italians stole it from Asians in the first place I suppose!)
I think like anything these days the genuine cases where it’s happening are getting drowned out by too many people saying anything is cultural appropriation.