Text by Helena Meireles, from the Black Metal Collective
First of all : it is likely that, throughout this text, a discussion about cultural appropriation will arise. In no way does the author of this text aim to define what so-and-so X or Y uses or does. In fact, that is not even relevant within this discussion. What the author does is point out issues and events that occurred throughout the 2000s.
For those who have followed the metal scene from the beginning, it's well known how popular nu metal was for a long time in the late 90s (perhaps even earlier, depending on the point of view), and how it lasted for several years afterward. Some consider nu metal to be alternative metal , so the terminology can vary from person to person. It's a subgenre of metal that mixes elements from other musical genres, mainly (and almost predominantly) hip hop. And this is where the controversy surrounding much of what constitutes the infamous nu metal begins.
Metal, since its emergence as heavy metal, has blended with other genres and elements. By itself, it is not "pure." Since Black Sabbath , a high-quality mix of heavy metal and jazz, for example, we can't say there's a "purity of sound" in metal. Does that sound eugenicist? Yes. If we stop to think about it, many people turn their noses up at nu metal precisely because of this eugenicist view. After all, it's seen as "impure metal that mixed with black music." Interesting fact: what you know as heavy metal has black roots.
Along the same lines of thought about nu metal using various elements of hip hop, it was one of the genres that most brought non-white people to explore other possibilities within metal. It's possible to cite both the personal experience of the author of this text and various forums, videos, and the like on the subject. I will recommend the text " How Linkin Park Helped Me, And Other Black Rock Fans, Through Abuse & Depression " by Aude Konan , which perfectly illustrates the identification of (mainly) Black fans who came into contact with nu metal. It's a rather interesting paradox to perceive the identification of Black people in a musical genre where most of the well-known musicians are white, but which used a lot of aesthetics that, in turn, are associated with (and often considered repugnant to) Black people.
Jonathan Davis ( Korn ), for example, sporting dreadlocks, the clothes and flat-brimmed cap of Fred Durst ( Limp Bizkit ), the baggy pants of Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda ( Linkin Park )... Except for Mike Shinoda, all are white and used elements that allude to blackness, both in the visual aesthetics of nu metal and musically speaking. It is also interesting to note how many black musicians also felt comfortable within nu metal, such as Willow Smith , Skin ( Skunk Anansie) and Fallon Bowman ( Kittie ), which in turn opened the way for other non-white people to also follow this subgenre.
Whether you like it or not, nu metal can be strongly considered a way of including marginalized people in the scene (you know that saying about it being a "gateway to harder drugs"? It's almost that). Besides, many younger people who have discovered heavy music have started with nu metal bands, mainly because of the diversity that the genre encompasses.
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