Listening To Metal: As A Black Person

While my first post was based off my perspective for heavier music, this one is more personal and honestly hilarious in retrospect. Let's talk about it.

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•| :person_with_pouting_face: 🏾‍♂Racial Identity Shackled To Music :notes:

- So to be blunt, if you're black, the idea is that you're going to inherently be a Rap/Hip Hop/R&B enthusiast. It's going to show in your speech, your clothing and your mannerisms. While I enjoy those genres too, I'm not defined by that music just because I'm black.

- When some people view culture in a hyper focused collectivist way, they often ignore the individuals in the group. There's only part of the picture being represented and that's where the expectations come from.

- Those expectations can come with pretty disrespectful and blatantly ignorant reactions. You tell somebody you like Metal and people say; "You listen to white people music?" Or, "Black people don't listen to that". As if you're going to slowly but surely lose your pigmentation for listening to it. It's a racial panic that's an imaginary bogeyman.

•| What About Black People Who Are In The Genre :question:

- I think the stigma still exists even with the existence of black musicians who are in Metal. The idea of someone's "blackness" is certainly questioned if they're actually performing in a band. Especially in heavier music that involves screaming or growling which is usually seen from white artists particularly.

- Even though more black people are getting into rock and even heavier music; The expectations of "blackness" isn't going away. Though, I think the metal community has been more accepting throughout the years than people can be in your own community.

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Thanks for reading. What do you think?