-[ Rapping ] [Bleep] ♪ Takin' over your block ♪
♪ One salon at a time ♪
♪ If a ___ can cock a Glock ♪
♪ Better ____ can spit a rhyme ♪
♪ Objectify the hottie with the body ♪
♪ And the face ♪
-Do you think that you culturally appropriate?
-Um, I don't think that I appropriate culture,
I would consider it culture swapping.
♪♪
-This is Hollei Day, she's a rapper and dancer based in L.A.
-I can relate so much more to a black girl
who grew up in Detroit
than like a Korean girl who grew up, up town.
-Hollei's an Asian-American artist
who traces her roots from the Chinese Hmong tribe.
She grew up in Detroit's notorious
8 Mile neighborhood and counts
Eminem and Nicki Minaj as her top influences in music.
-And I love that kind of music.
I felt like it was such a good outlet for me to express myself.
I mean, everyone wanted to be a rapper in the hood know.
-In this episode of "Style And Error,"
we are trying to find the line
between homage and appropriation.
-Do you think that it's beneficial to be controversial?
-I do think so. I don't feel at all
like I use it as like a marketing thing
to to be able to get, like, people's attention.
But at the end of the day I want to I have a message
that I want to share.
-My mouth look dry, or I'm good?
-You look great. -Cool.
-I'm Salem Mitchell, I'm a model
and I've experienced my own forms of cultural appropriation.
I've been criticized from my big lips, freckles and braids,
even if many things about my look
are considered trendy at the moment.
My experiences made me think
a lot about cultural appropriation.
It's often assumed that cultural appropriation
is exclusive to white people.
But black and Asian communities borrow from each other
all the time, too.
Is it still appropriation when it's done by minority groups?
There are a lot of gray areas
and we're here to unpack some of them.
[ Knock ]
-Hi! -Hi, I'm Salem.
Hollie Day, nice to meet you. -Nice to meet you, too.
-Please, come in. I'm going to take you upstairs to my room.
-Okay.
Amazing you have your little studio set up.
-Yes. I cleaned it just for you.
I want to show you some of my clothes,
if I can get it out. [ Laughs ]
But this is one of my favorite ones.
The hood is so big, so I can kind of just, like,
perform in it. -Who are your inspirations
when it comes to clothing? -I do, like, a lot of, like,
hip hop, hip hop artists like Asian Streetwear.
-Yeah, Asian Streetwear they are on another level.
-Right. I do have a lot of things
that have a lot of my culture in it for sure. Like this.
You know, this print is from the Hmong tribe as well, too.
And this is stuff I'll find at festivals all the time.
-Oh, really?
So you're seeing things that come from your culture?
-Oh, yeah, all the time.
But the difference I feel when it comes to like culture
appropriation and music festivals,
a lot of the the vendors and people
who go to music festivals, they take the time
to learn about culture and really appreciate it.
-Music festivals are infamous for cultural appropriation,
but that didn't seem to be Hollei's perspective.
So I wanted to know more about her background.
-I grew up in Detroit.
I was born in Portland, Oregon, and my parents are from Laos.
I'm first-generation Hmong American.
So I battled a lot with how do I balance my culture
with my surroundings, you know,
because I was very much like in the hood.
I loved, like break dancing
and rapping and all these things.
And then, like, my parents had their own standards for me.
So one of my lyrics is...
♪ [Bleep] born a ____, cooking, cleaning, seven days ♪
♪ Mama had a lot to teach, never wanna hear me speak ♪
-So what does that mean? -My my mom is super traditional.
And those are the things that were always expected of me.
I really, like, conflicted with my mom a lot
just because I had, like, a lot to say, I had an opinion,
you know, about things like
she didn't want me to play basketball
and her reason was "Because you're a girl."
And that was it. It wasn't anything else.
And that's part of one of my lyrics, too
"My brother's ballin' watch them play"
Daddy said, 'Know your place.'
Mind your grades and all these things [Bleep] way."
Yeah, I felt like I was always a rebel.
Hollei Day was very firm about establishing her identity
as an Asian who grew up in a black community.
I wanted to see how that identity
manifested itself in her art.
So I paid her a visit at a dance studio
where she was rehearsing for one of her songs called "Ling Ling."
♪ Little arms, big swing ♪
♪ Told you I was insane ♪ [ Echoes ]
♪ Who you callin' "Ling Ling"? ♪
♪ Bada-boom bada-bing, bing ♪
♪ Everybody wants her ready ♪
-So "Ling Ling" is a racial term for an Asian girl,
Which is funny 'cause I don't even really know many girls
named Ling Ling. -Mm-hmm.
-I feel like it would be the equivalent of saying,
like the N-word for me, that is, you know.
♪ Ling Ling ♪ [ Echoes ]
-Can you tell me about your decision to carry
over things that are understood as slurs in your culture,
why do you include that in your music?
-Well, like. Such as [Bleep] Or like, [Bleep]?
I just feel like if I can take these words
and then take the negative power out of it and utilize it,
I won't feel so offended by it, you know.
Ling-a, Ling-a, Ling Ling.
Doo, doo, doo, doo.
Ling-a, Ling-a, Ling Ling.
Seven, eight, and.
♪ Ling-a, Ling-a, Ling Ling ♪ -Right.
♪ Ling-a, Ling-a, Ling Ling ♪
-Okay. -♪ Ling Ling ♪
♪ Ling-a Ling, Ling-a Ling ♪
-Hollei Day says she was reclaiming terms like
yellow [Bleep]
to take the negative power away from them.
But can people of other backgrounds use
the same loaded terms?
What's the line between appropriation and appreciation?
To understand more about her process, I sat with her
as she had her hair braided in preparation for a music video.
This is Aino. -Hi.
-She's going to be braiding my hair today.
-Okay. Are all your clients usually Asian
or do you do black hair, too?
-I have all the races. Yeah, I guess I can say Asian,
like, I think white people and Asian people.
I think it's easier for them to come to me and say I
have black people's clients is.
-What is the significance of having a Japanese braider?
-For me, it was just more of like an empowerment thing
and encouragement because it's almost like
what I do in music that she does that in hair.
My hair has always been done by black females, though, so.
-And they're always, like, super excited about it.
-Yes, for sure. Always all the time, you know.
I never had anyone do my hair
and maybe felt like off about it.
I don't want to use where I'm from as like like.
Oh, well I'm from Detroit though.
-Yeah. -But but then it actually it
helps them kind of understand more of like
"Okay, I could see why she would be into rap."
-Because I can particularly say in my life like having braids,
I've been called ghetto multiple times
because of the hairstyle or the way that it's perceived.
Do you feel like you experienced some of the same things
where people are calling you names
or they're categorizing you because you choose
to partake in these hairstyles
and the way that you dress and stuff?
-Well, I mean, even with my hair being blonde.
For that, I get "Oh, you know, are you trying to look more
like more white and then getting my hair braided?
It's like, "Okay, she thinks she's like, you know,
ghetto or from the hood."
If I were to walk down the street now with this hair
and a black woman is like, "You shouldn't wear braids,"
I probably would not like get defensive,
but I would probably ask her why she felt that way.
-Does it still serve you as a protective style?
Do you feel like it's still benefiting your hair
or do you think that it's more damaging than helpful?
I think it's probably more damaging to my hair.
Because my hair is, like, really fine.
-Mm-hmm.
So I definitely just, um, do it for, for, like, the look.
-So as a black woman with braids,
I can give you from my standpoint,
this is something that helps my hair grow
and this is something that's going to hurt your hair.
You're going to be perceived in a way
that's considered innovative or trendy
while I'm going to be perceived as like ghetto
or this hairstyle needs to be tamed.
-Yeah, I mean, I could completely understand that
for me to, like, be like, "No, that's not true."
Or I would be like lying to myself.
"I'm, I'm going to do it for me.
But I don't care what you think about it."
♪♪
-Of course I'm gonna be off-beat, right?
[ Laughing ] So there.
-Can you tell me a little bit about the song?
What's it called and what is it about?
-So this song is called "Nail Salon."
Of course, there's a stereotype of Asian women
working at nail salons.
It's not like a very direct like, like preachy
lecture-y type of song. It's very fun.
And it's just kind of making light of all of the situations
that I've been through in my life.
One, two, three. Hello. Hello. Hollei Day.
[Rapping ] ♪ That crystal gel, bet it'll change your life ♪
♪ Lucy Liu in the sky with diamonds sets paid full price ♪
If we speak a foreign tongue
Don't mean we talkin' [Bleep]
You can pay me all in ones [Bleep]
Don't forget to tip.
-I like that take. -I like that.
I felt that one, too. -Oh, yeah.
-I was like, "Damn, bitch, I felt that."
Say it like you're sayin' it to your kids.
-Yeah. -You feel me?
Like your kid's doing some fucked up shit.
-Okay, I hope I don't talk to -- -[ Laughs ]
-This is not how to talk to child-- [Laughs]
-No, okay. I know, know what you mean.
-Do you ever consider any of Hollei's art esthetic
or persona to be cultural appropriation?
-Not at all. I can understand why people would think that,
but I incorporate a lot of like Asian culture in my music.
For a black person,
that could be looked at as appropriation in a way.
-[ Rapping ] ♪ Let me put you in your place ♪
Who dat? Who dat? -[ Chuckles ]
-Cultural appropriation in hip hop
is a longstanding debate.
Who's allowed to express themselves
through rap music and fashion.
Asian rappers have been a part of the scene for decades,
while popular black artists also integrate Asian elements
into their work.
At this point, is it appropriation
or a cultural exchange?
Dr. Ninochka McTaggart,
a sociologist who studied Asian-American hip hop
for the last 20 years,
thinks the question is pretty complicated.
-Does cultural appropriation go the other way?
Do you feel like hip hop artists,
appropriate Asian culture at any time?
-It goes both ways.
So I think hip hop has taken pieces
from Asian-American culture or I shouldn't say take,
but like embraced and vice versa.
So I think that's just the nature of culture.
-You think that Nicki Minaj has appropriated Asian culture
by using Chun Lee or I know in other music videos
she's brought elements of Asian culture?
-Well, I think with that, I mean, I usually look at it
as like a case by case basis.
But I think, again, it's all about giving the credit
to Asian-Americans and not making,
I guess, a mimicry or mockery of the culture.
And as long as that happens,
I don't think there is cultural appropriation.
-Are there any ways that Asians have contributed to hip hop
that we are overlooking?
-Asian-Americans have been participating in hip hop culture
since the late '70s,
but people usually don't even know that.
-What are they connected to about it?
And why do they black community and Asians,
why do they have this in common?
-This idea of struggle or hustle is very important.
So the idea that maybe you're a first generation Asian-American,
you don't feel like you belong, you feel like an outsider.
I think of that theme is very prevalent in hip hop.
And I think Asian-Americans can relate to that.
Asian-Americans are invested in hip hop culture.
It's not something that it's like I want
to dip my feet into one day and then I'm out the next.
-There's a lot to consider in the debate
about cultural appropriation.
Does your skin color or ethnicity decide
what you're allowed to sing or wear?
For people like Hollei Day, who grew up immersed
in hip hop culture and come from immigrant families,
there's no single identity to go by.
-Why do you feel like you
are able to express yourself in whatever way,
with whatever hairstyle and in any ways that you'd like?
-I mean, because I feel like as an artist,
I shouldn't limit myself.
And I can't create like walking on eggshells,
afraid to offend this person or that person,
it's just like I have to just think about,
you know, creating for myself
and sharing my stories as authentic as possible.
-It's hard to tell if someone is really inappropriate
or with one look,
but is there a limit to artistic freedom?
And when is it used as an excuse
to justify potentially offensive actions?
♪♪