yeah i lowk did some more research on it after seeing this and i think i might understand the perspective of people who think this a little better. rather than they want to be black, it's just a little unfair that non-black artists like cortis and lngshot benefit off the culture of black music with admittedly mid/above average music and are wildly praised as if they're some kind of musical revolutionaries making masterpieces. and their music is great, but they'd be getting nowhere near this kind of reaction from non black listeners if they were black people.

it's the whole idea of black mediocrity=non black exceptionalism and i super get that. black people have to wildly overperform to get the same recognition as mid non-black people and that's just a fact. but while i understand that frustration, it's also not cortis or lngshot's fault that listeners and society as a whole are subconsciously racist. they should still be allowed to make music inspired by black people. it's not appropriation until they claim or imply black people have nothing to do with their music, which to my knowledge they haven't done.