Stormzy AIBU

[MissChananderlerbong]

Prepared to be told I'm being old and boring.
I enjoyed Stormzy's set, he's obviously a progressive liberal guy, and he seems like a good human.
So why the sexist lyrics?
"Finish on her face to top it off (ay)"
"If her friend is a dead ting, take one for the bredren"
"2 peng tings at the entrance" (just feels wrong calling women 'things')
If he was just another artist then fine, but he seems so principled in so many other ways. So I find this odd.

purplesky

Probably not, poster seems to have made their mind up anyway.

I think women should object to things that harm women, whether it affects them personally or not. Stormzy is getting mentioned because he's headlining Glastonbury and his lyrics are in your face, so to speak
Sheeran flies under the radar not because he's white but because he is so bland that most of us don't actually listen to his songs and change the radio station as soon as he starts up.
Maybe there's also an element of Sheeran type messages being ingrained in our culture such that we almost don't hear how damaging and misogynistic they are - we are fooled by the catchy tune and more gentle sounding words. Unless we pay proper attention.
With rap it's very blunt and no way to miss what women are being called.
I don't agree with censorship - people should sing what they like but I feel no shame in being a white middle aged feminist who thinks it's gross. I don't expect Stormzy to give a shit but it would be nice if someone with all that influence did something to help improve male attitudes towards women.

I’m not sure you can take three threads about Stormzy in as many months as evidence of a MN racial bias though.

It’s three threads in one month. And no corresponding threads about white artists.

Do you think racism will ever get better if we contort ourselves to pretend it doesn’t exist?

Sheeran could advocate for rape and assault of women yet he'd still be grand because we'd just write him off as boring and bland. Change the radio station. He's worth something to the tune of £160 million. Must be great to be flying under the radar advocating for the abuse of women but still not being seen to be too offensive over it. Ed Sheeran could also do something to change the discourse over women. But he can get a pass but black men can't. Hmm..

I knew when I opened this thread the sort of comments that would be posted and I was right. I’m too old & sick to go to Glastonbury but I watched Stormzy on TV & thought his performance was amazing. The ballet, the Kids on Bikes, the tower block - all of it - I actually found it very moving.
I remember the hoo- ha when Jay-Z had the audacity to headline Glastonbury- 2 middle aged white men I work with told me they were “boycotting the event “ because Jay-Z wasn’t in the spirit of it- that’ll teach that uppity billionaire rapper.
Black artists (male & female) are held up much higher level of scrutiny and to not acknowledge this is damaging. Recognising privilege & challenging it can only be a good thing.

But JayZ and Stormzy are far removed from the core demographic of Glastonbury which is why people start talking about boycotts etc. It's like if Chrvches got a guest slot playing at the Nottinghill Carnival - I would imagine that most Carnival goes would think why the fuck is an three piece white electronic band playing no?

No. We'd embrace it. Structural white privilege is even why billionaires like Jay Z are still considered not in keeping with the theme of Glastonbury. If people can ridicule a black billionaire rapper then we are all fucked.

What’s he’s trying to do is highlight the social issues concerning exploitation of women in music- it gets your attention, you listen to the rest he’s pretty switched on. Better grime artists are available just not famous. Check out Word Life real wordsmiths on there x

But JayZ and Stormzy are far removed from the core demographic of Glastonbury which is why people start talking about boycotts etc. It's like if Chrvches got a guest slot playing at the Nottinghill Carnival - I would imagine that most Carnival goes would think why the fuck is an three piece white electronic band playing no?

Not really the same - the Nottinghill Carnival is specifically a celebration of British West Indian culture. Glastonbury is mostly attended by middle class people but it’s not actually intended to be a celebration of white middle class culture.

Regardless, boycotting an event because it doesn’t cater to your specific preferences is just a bit daft. It’s not a boycott to not to to an event that doesn’t interest you. It’s just normal human behaviour.

I thought Glastonbury was about guitar bands rather than rap, which is why some people think it isn't the place for Jay Z, rather than it being a racist thing.

@stooriehouse
But you’re not comparing like with like- Jay-Z is arguably one of the worlds most famous rappers & Stormzy is a massive star.
Glastonbury Is a music festival- they are musicians whatever their colour. Notting Hill is a festival celebrating black culture & music.

The hypocrisy of mn doesn’t half make me laugh.
I’m sure if he substituted the word slut for chav or council house trash, you wouldn’t care at all. (I’ve seen both those labels used in threads in the past couple of days)

Some of the terminology used by posters on here to refer to groups of people is horrendous, but hey as long as the middle class white women aren’t offended, it’s clearly ok.

Just for clarity purposes, I don’t know much about Stormzy’s political or private life. I don’t know his music or where he comes from. But I watched last night and it’s very clear to me how important and influential he is. He is quite obviously a very intelligent, talented man.

Wait a minute. I'm only on page 8 but Eminem has been ripped to shreds for the past 20 years about his misogynistic lyrics. How is it only because Stormzy is black.

Also can we leave the lyrical genius that is `Bruce Springsteen out of this. I'm on fire is not creepy and misogynistic at all....it's about his longing for a woman he can't have.

I thought Glastonbury was about guitar bands rather than rap, which is why some people think it isn't the place for Jay Z, rather than it being a racist thing.

Read back your comment slowly and try to understand it. Seriously, I'm not being facetious but read it back very slowly. Emphasis on this bit: "which is why some people think it isn't the place for Jay Z, rather than it being a racist thing."

It's a music festival which is well know for catering for fans of rock indie guitar bands. Which is why Jay Z even though he's a billionaire drew some criticism when he was headlining. Although I don't see how rich he is has anything to do with it

I take the point about Notting Hill being a bad example apologies for that

Glastonbury hasn’t been about guitar bands in years. People will accept any variety of white performers. Bit there is a clear bias against black rap artists.

People pointing out that Eminem has been called our for misogyny aren’t making the point they think they are. The fact that Eminem is one of the few white artists who does get called out is because he engages in a form of music which is primarily associated with black artists. Rap as a genre is judged more harshly than pop / rock etc.

Glastonbury hasn’t been about guitar bands in years

Really? The Cure and the Killers are the other two headliners for goodness sake

Thank god Glastonbury has changed with the times, rock and guitar music isn’t the only popular genre anymore.

I'd listen to him, even with suspect lyrics, a billion times over this anodyne Janet Jackson shite that's on tonight.

Although I don't see how rich he is has anything to do with it

Don't think about it in a literal sense. The fact is he is a successful black artist. A black man who came from no-where and headlined a glasto fest. That is enough.

Really? The Cure and the Killers are the other two headliners for goodness sake

FFS stop being deliberately simple. Having some guitar bands doesn’t mean they’re just about guitar bands. The point I was obviously making is that Glastonbury has massively diversified and has hosted a broad range of artists - Adele, Kanye, Chvrches, Tom Odell, Fatboy Slim, Beyoncé, Janelle Monae, Dizzee Rascal etc.

To claim that the backlash against rap artists is just because Glastonbury is a white middle class festival of exclusively guitar bands is just to ignore the very obvious reality.

Just back from dinner and this is still going....

Can I ask... what if the word “slut” was replaced with a comparable homophobic term? Wouid people still be justifying Stormzy on the grounds that there is homophobia in other music after all? Would a gay person embody took offence be told that they hold racial bias because they’re not tripping over themselves to name other artists who may be osrceived as homophobic? Would it be enough to say he’s done other positive work elsewhere? Or would you just say, fair enough, he’s way out of order? No pointing the finger elsewhere.

As for this whole argument that Stormzy is not setting out to appeal to the women of MN, well this is probably true. But Vladimir and Vivienne - you are MN! As much as anyone else, in fact, two of the more prolific posters, if you don’t mind me saying. Yet you’re his fans. do is there such a thing as the typical MN poster, beyond the face that most of us are female and have kids? Maybe, maybe not?

“who took offence” - not “embody” sorry.,

@Pa1oma What did you have for dinner? I didn't know I was considered a prolific MN poster