True, she’s not covering R&B songs in a racially-segregated pop culture landscape, but the “ratchet culture” appropriation that Jezebel alleges certainly reminds us of olden times. Is Cyrus courageously exposing her maturing audience to something new or is she shamelessly exploiting current clichés in an effort to look edgy?
The new pseudo-thugged out Miley has been percolating for a while; from her twerking unicorn suit video to her appearance on stage at a Juicy J show, the former Disney darling seems drawn to specific elements of a specific form of hip-hop. Not socially-conscious hip-hop. Dirty South/crunk hip-hop associated with strip clubs, pimps and drug dealers. Juicy J is formerly of Three 6 Mafia, a group who rose to fame with hits like “Slob On My Knob” and “It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp.” The track Miley popped her ass to at his show, “Bandz a Make Her Dance,” is specifically about hanging out in the company of strippers.
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