some of u following me prolly listen to VBS but not like actual rap by black people and i think about it a lot
"I don't think VBS does rap"
have you been listening without your ears? be honest.
I was gonna make a list of VBS songs with rap but I'm so flabbergasted id even have to think about doing that that I can't even comprehend doing so since its at minimum half of their discography: so take some obvious examples from the top of my head:
RAD DOGS, READY STEADY, Beyond the way, Ultra C, Fire Dance, CRAZY, Wah Wah World, Crash The Party, Accelerate, Realize, YY, Alter Ego, Egoist, Shanti, Hana Obore, Bring it on, Doctor Funky Beat, Imperial Girl, Ifuudoudou, Tabi ni Kaeru
AND THERES EVEN MORE THAN JUST THOSE.
just tell me you dont wanna associate yourself with rap, black people and their art.
the anti-blackness in the Vocaloid community will never cease to piss me off, your fav producers are influenced by black genres of all sorts. If you can handle Ifuudoudou, PaIII sensation, Shanti etc you CAN handle hip hop made by black people.
no literally it's so fucking bleak out here. Have you heard about the slayr x birdbrain situation. They treat us and our culture like a different species sometimes but when it comes to non black people using and at times (not saying the vocaloid producers do this) literally STEALING our music and movements and culture it's suddenly the best and hottest new thing on the market. People love black culture until it's a black person behind it.
I have its actually why I made my post in the first place. I'm not black myself but I love so much of what comes from black culture and I fucking hate how the Vocaloid community treats it. Everyone supports slayr, sawtowne and other black creators in our space.
We need to do our best to get rid of the racism in this community. Nobody should feel like they should not be included in the Vocaloid scene because of their race.
im black / afrolatina myself and i think one of the things about prsk (specifically vbs) i dislike the most even as i enjoy it is the total lack of acknowledgement about black people and the MASSIVE influence on all the different genres of music vbs sings and is influenced by (mainly hiphop) in fashion and style, as well as the unit as a whole. even as theyre literally in NYC right now, where black americans cultivated hiphop, theres just 0 reference or room for discussion or any sort of acknowledgement on the culture there and how it formed… not even one npc. seeing vbs fans who disrespect hiphop and rap and the culture itself has always been baffling to me because its like… you do realize without their creations vbs would genuinely be nothing right. LMFAO. and even then VBS is a kind of mishmashed idea of hiphop aesthetics and fashion in itself. i loooove this unit dont get me wrong, i was drawn to them for a reason, but some things especially in the music or english sentencing (i think crash the party is sorta a reference for what i mean by this) is a bit funny! i understand there is influences in EDM and jpop though so im not going too hard on them.. but lets not deny there isnt clear influence from aesthetics and music made by black people as well. thats the point
i hope no one takes what tom is trying to express here as an attack on you for not listening to rap a lot or not being huge on hiphop itself— thats just fine, everyone has their own tastes. i personally love and listen to rap artists but as a genre its not one i do not as much as other genres, or styles of hiphop music. and thats just fine, its my preference too.
but if your attitude towards hiphop, rap and black culture as a whole no matter the genre being shown somewhere is one of stereotyping, judgement and racism (even unintentionally— if youre seeing a black man dress or dance cutely and your first thought is some bs like “thugs can be cute too!” or vice versa— if a character or person thats paler skinned is wearing hiphop inspired fashion (nth wrong with it if it’s respectful) and your first thought is “why is __ a thug now lol” you should look at yourself for a moment. a lot of people love the things the people make, but not the people, and theres a huge disconnect there because so much OF the ‘people’ in question is IN that thing. like any other form of art, it is something so personal and tied to the individual and their experiences.. to enjoy a mockery or stolen version of it and hate the actual piece of work itself or the people who make it just because they made it and not any other race is, frankly, ridiculous and you need to do some serious introspection. no one can control how they are born and what race they are. ive had people not even know i was black / afrolatina because of the way i draw or whatever and its like… what is your depiction of a black artist like?? what does a black artist draw like to you?? you do realize whether you intend for it or not, you have a stereotype or prejudice right? am i supposed to draw a certain way as a race to you, and not as a human with different lived experiences and tastes?
kinda long sorry but thats all i wanted to say.. it bugs me a lot how normalized racism has become online and it makes me wary of talking about my own experience very often. i really dont like talking about my race and ethnicity very much because it opens a door to a lot of hostility and racism ive seen happen to other black creatives simply for cosplaying, drawing or just expressing exhaustion. its okay not to be a fan of something according to your own personal tastes, but please learn to be aware of your attitudes and reasonings towards certain things especially ones ingrained in race, stereotypes and culture.
