Upset that Lisa was made to apologize for alleged cultural appropriation when they said she did nothing wrong, some Black YouTube creators have been posting their opinions on Lisa’s braids.
Lisa’s braids, which were extensions that she wore for the teaser poster and exclusive performance video of her hip-hop track “Money”, were criticized for allegedly being an example of cultural appropriation. Her critics have claimed that these were box braids — a hairstyle that they said belongs to Black culture.
“There is nothing wrong with Lisa’s braids. I am Black, I’m from Atlanta, Georgia, and some people may disagree with me. There is nothing wrong with wearing box braids even if they were box braids. They’re not goddamn box braids,” Black YouTube creator Cydnee With a C said in her video.
Inspired by other cultures
Cydnee With a C said that she was not offended by Lisa’s braids, and that she sees nothing wrong with people being “inspired by a culture that is outside their own”.
“I just don’t see why Asian people can’t be inspired by hip-hop. I’ve learned Korean. Every day I learn Korean for five to eight hours a day and I’ll be trying to sound Korean… However, I love my skin, my culture, where I came from. Shout out to Atlanta, Georgia. I’m just inspired and Korean culture and K-pop expands my creativity. I don’t think it’s right for people to be coming at Lisa like that because she’s just inspired. She’s from Thailand. She’s from Bangkok, y’all. Yet she’s in Korea living out her dream. She’s inspired,” she said.
Another Black YouTube creator, A Pretty1 react, also posted a video to defend Lisa.
“You shouldn’t bring her down for stuff like that. I don’t see why all the culture being inspired by all, I don’t see why they can’t do that,” A Pretty1 react said.
“If you find that culture interesting, like you just want to try, you know, that’s it. Well, I like the braid. She killed that. Period,” she said.
Be kind to one another
Meanwhile, in a reaction video to “Money” that she posted on Sept. 24, SNE. ME also addressed the issue in a pinned comment.
“Also, in regards to Lisa and the cultural appropriation claims, I grew up and am currently living in South Africa and we are known as the ‘Rainbow Nation’ because we have so many beautiful cultures and languages and I can’t speak for everyone but most of the time, we are open to sharing and teaching people and other races about our cultures as long as everyone is respectful, learning with admiration and so on, of course there are people who are mean and disrespectful because no place is perfect but there are times where the other races participating in other cultures are done with appreciation and them finding the culture beautiful and if they are doing something incorrectly then we would tell them about it and teach the right thing.
“I only heard of cultural appropriation when I was exposed more to the views of the world via social media, I had never heard of it growing up so I don’t think I can speak in detail on something that I never knew about. In Lisa’s case, no one fight me please, it’s just my own personal views, I was honestly not offended by her hair since I’ve seen other races have braids in my country. The different people with braids sometimes look weird and other times, they look good. I just hope everyone can be kind to one another, know that people are going to have different opinions and not spread hate,” she said.
Not affected by braids
In her reaction video to “Money”, KarenReacts also addressed the issue.
“I know the whole controversy behind her braids and everything… I literally, I’ve never found, like I get the whole cultural appropriation thing but it’s never affected me because where I grew up that wasn’t a thing,” she said.
“Money”, the unpromoted B-side track of the BLACKPINK main dancer and lead rapper’s solo debut album “LALISA”, unexpectedly became the No. 1 best-selling rap song in the US, with Lisa beating Drake.
The song is now going viral in the US and other countries, thanks to popularity of the Korean series “Squid Game” and TikTok users who have been using “Money” as the background music for their “Squid Game” clips.
“If you’ve been on TikTok over the last week, you’ve likely been served videos about Squid Game. And considering the TikTok #SquidGame hashtag has already racked up 16 BILLION views, it is very likely you’ve seen a couple.
“Beyond the expected fancams made to iconic K-Pop tracks like ‘Money’ by Blackpink’s Lisa, one of the biggest TikTok memes about the series has focused on the games that contestants play in the show.”
Lisa has posted a video on her Lilifilm Official YouTube channel with behind the scenes footage from the making of her solo debut TV performance of “Lalisa” on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and the “Money” exclusive performance video.
