Cloud USA

— Written by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^

Hi there, everyone.

I’ve been pondering the controversy that sprang up concerning the boobs/butt depiction of a Black woman in Rain’s newly released “LA Song” music video for a few days. I wanted to see how far any discord went, and how deeply, before possibly adding any fuel to the fire.

I knew how I felt about it personally from the second I saw it. But like my mama always told me, “Don’t forget, loose lips sink ships. Never hurts to give it a minute.”

Setting the stage a little… My parents are Georgia natives who grew up during the time before Civil Rights, and I was born in the Northwest, descended of African slaves and Native Americans. I’m also of ample proportions (and I do mean ample. I’m a Big Girl). Honestly, my very first reaction when the 1-second expanding boobs/butt depiction flashed on the screen was, LOL! Big Girls represented, not just the skinny-minis, haha! (And I wished my waist was a lot smaller.)

After all, what was the context of the situation there? What were they saying? Rain’s character, a mischievous young vagabond type well known in his neighborhood, arrives and cranks up a party, sees a beautiful girl who immediately attracts his attention and does what men do, quickly sidles up to her and playfully askes, “One, two, three, four… tell me what you got?” And the expanding boobs/butt silhouette was either what “he” wanted OR what “she” told him. A voluptuous lady.

Whether they knew each other or not was left up to our imagination. The way he touched her, how quickly he touched her, and the way she didn’t seem to mind it led me to believe the characters knew each other pretty well already. Haha.

(Caps courtesy of Cloud USA)

But by the time I got to the end of the video, I thought, Uhhhhh, no bueno. My sistas aren’t going to take that kindly. We’ve been through way too much of being stereotyped. That part should have been left out. *sigh*

To my sistas of color who were offended, you have the right and I feel you. That did hit a little too close to home when it comes to how our body parts have been used to hurt us over the years. To sistas who weren’t offended (they are out there because they’ve been emailing, messaging, and calling to chew the fat—no pun intended), thanks for sharing your thoughts with me. I’ve been offended by a lot out there over the years, but I wasn’t offended by this. But I can’t speak for everyone else, and so for those women who were, I get where you’re coming from.

Do I think Rain is racist or a misogynist? (Someone has actually called him that!) Unequivocally NO. Hell no. There is nothing in his entire 11-year career as an artist and actor or in any of his statements, interviews, or actions to even suggest such a thing, but plenty to indicate the opposite—that he respects women, and embraces and finds great beauty in other cultures. Being a longtime fan is not coloring my opinion in the least. Folks who’ve read this blog for a long time can tell you I have no problem whatsoever with speaking out when something ain’t cool. I’ve been attacked for doing it, in fact, but that doesn’t mean a hill of beans to me because Rain has always said he expects and appreciates fans letting him know how he’s doing and what they think. He doesn’t shy away from criticism that is constructive and meant to help him, and I’m going to do that. Period.

The talk I’ve seen out there about Rain using 5-seconds of video to say it’s okay to attack Black women and force them to sexually bend to an Asian man’s will, and a blogger using rape and misogyny tags, is ludicrous. C’mon, people. Were we even watching the same video? Matter of fact, if Rain was a Black artist, would there have been a reaction at all? Many—not all—of my brothas in several genres have been showing for years in entire videos that I’m a trick, a ho, a b!tch, and that the only thing my big body parts are good for is getting them sprung. And unfortunately that shows no signs of slowing. Ever. So, what’s really bothering the people with flaming pitchforks aimed at Rain, huh?

A character who’s not Black wanting his coffee without cream, perhaps? Yeah, I said it.

(Here’s an interesting blast from the past. Check out minute marker 1:59… Whether there should have been a controversy or not is a matter of personal opinion, but I don’t recall one. Does anybody? *crickets*)

Why is there talk of ulterior motives and the like? Can’t someone simply like a slice of a culture or find beauty in it and try to bring it to life for others to see? Because they like it? You’re damned if you do, and you’re damned if you don’t. Who can win at this game? No one, apparently.

(Cap courtesy of sizuku219)

What’s the problem with the dancer in the face paint? Why is it assumed that she is “replicating” what she’s doing, or that she’s a stereotype? There are traditional dancers just like her in real cultures. What’s to say she’s not authentic? Why is she—and other dancers of color in the video—immediately being regarded by people as “props”? Again, I ask, is it because Rain is Asian? Give me a break.

I’m feeling more of a racist tone from viewers rather than from the video, frankly.

1) Is Rain’s “LA Song” video racially insensitive? NO. 2) Was the expanding boobs/butt depiction a misstep? Yes. An unintentional one, in my opinion.

It’s my hope that people who have only recently been introduced to Rain—and veteran fans as well—not let this paint a negative picture of him in their minds without considering their source and thinking for themselves.

Commenters who have already shared their feelings on this subject in other threads on this blog: Thank you. Your comments were very much appreciated, no matter what side of the fence you’re on. Commenters in this thread: No one has to agree, but everyone should treat each other with respect and be constructive, please. There is also a language barrier and online translators to contend with, so please keep that in mind (lost in translation does happen). No trolling, no hate speech, and no demonizing of Rain or any other commenter. We do conversations. We don’t do flame wars. Violators will be plonked before anyone even knows you were here. Trust.

KpopStarz.com posted a thoughtful article last week about “LA Song” that is supportive of Rain incorporating cultural diversity in his projects, but also asks some of the questions that have come to the fore because of the controversy.

— Stephe @cloudusa.wordpress.com / CloudUSA.org

Postscript: It makes total sense that Rain says that Latin Pop was his inspiration. The music video immediately reminded me of some parts of his Road for Rain project that was filmed on location in Cuba some years ago. (Sure enough, Rain has said on his TV reality show’s third episode last week that the setting is in Brazil or Cuba.) The tone of his voice (especially during the chorus) and the video also reminded me of Ricky Martin’s “The Cup of Life”, which became the official song of the 1998 FIFA World Cup soccer championships in France, and sure enough, in one of his promotional interviews for “LA Song”, Rain said, “I made this song which football fans can sing along to cheer their favorite teams during the [upcoming] (Brazil) World Cup.” And in another write-up, he actually mentioned Ricky Martin. Thank goodness. I didn’t think I was crazy… 🙂

I really like this song. And I was thankful when Lumpens released the behind-the-scenes freestyle dance clips from the “LA Song” set, because these clips represent the positive spirit in which the music video was shot in the first place—human beings, no matter how diverse, drawn together by a mutual love of music and dance and just letting go. We sure could use more of that out here in the real world, rather than the steaming piles of negative drivel folks keep shoveling out their real and virtual front doors.

°

KpopStarz 1/2/2014 — by Adrienne Stanley

Is The Music Video For Rain’s ‘LA Song’ Racially Insensitive?

[Excerpt]

Upon the release of the music video for Rain’s LA Song, international K-Pop fans expressed mixed reactions in regard to the diversity portrayed in the video. While some praised Rain for representing Black and Hispanic populations in the video, others criticized the artist for pervasive stereotypes. As Korean pop expands to greater worldwide audiences, attempts to connect with those audiences often backfire. In the case of LA Song, the issues addressed by audiences are valid, but are widely represented in Hip-Hop, Latin music, and American pop…

» You can see Adrienne’s article in its entirety on KpopStarz.com HERE.

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