'An erasure of Black voices and whitewashing:' Unpacking the ethics around white producers sampling Black music

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  • Some white producers are sampling Black artists without permission and, in the worst cases, sampling the N-word. Cornelius Harris, Sarah Farina and more explain why this trend has to stop.
  • 'An erasure of Black voices and whitewashing:' Unpacking the ethics around white producers sampling Black music image
  • Some white dance music producers are sampling Black music in racist and unfair ways, placing another spotlight on the historic exploitation of Black artists. Sampling is a pillar of electronic music. But where is the line between appreciation and appropriation? Some white producers making techno, ghettotech and other Black genres don't see a line. The worst examples are the tracks sampling the N-word. US producer Textasy, who is white, sampled the N-word in his 2019 track "Draped Up," which remains on Bandcamp. In April 2022, he also put out a fundraiser compilation for Ukraine via his label FTP. The first track, by white producer DJ Sacred, features a sample of the N-word. Another track by DJ SICKFUCK, who is also white, samples US rapper Megan Thee Stallion. (Textasy didn't respond to Resident Advisor's request for comment.) Re:drum is a producer based in Ukraine, according to his RA and social media pages. On Bandcamp, his track "Payne" is described as "pure ethnic madness" and comes with artwork depicting a burqa, an item of clothing worn by Muslim women. Another track, "FXCKING TRXSH," samples the N-word. (Re:drum didn't respond to RA's request for comment.) Re:drum originally sent "Payne" to International Chrome, the label cofounded by Berlin-based DJ and producer Mikey Melas, AKA Jensen Interceptor. Melas told RA that he receives up to 20 demos a week, some of which contain "inauthentic samples" by white producers. "In our feedback, we explain they're not just borrowing from another culture," said Melas, "but putting productions out as their own original creations and failing to credit the artist while using language that's not reflective of their experiences." He added: "We've had conversations with artists who sent problematic demos and used this as an opportunity to call in unhealthy behaviours." Belarussian artist Viikatory originally sampled African American voices on her Maiden Voyage EP. But after receiving feedback from International Chrome, she removed them. "They explained to me that this shouldn't be done," Viikatory told RA. "After that I redid my work and discovered new possibilities for myself. Over time, I began to delve even more into the music industry and develop my sampling skills. Now I do all the production myself, including the vocal samples." When speaking to Viikatory and other producers, Melas explained that he's been guilty of the same mistakes in the past and reflecting on them moved him to change. "If we don't change, we perpetuate unhealthy habits for others to follow," he said. The first demo Berlin-based producer Nasty King Kurl sent Melas sampled the N-word. But when RA contacted Nasty King Kurl—who is part-German, part-Puerto Rican—to ask about the sample, he took immediate steps to replace the original with a new version. "It's problematic when white people sample the N-word," Nasty King Kurl told RA. "I've realised it's not OK for me to use those kinds of samples and I can easily avoid that by sampling a different verse." Ghettotech was born in Detroit in the '80s, pioneered by DJs like Jeff Mills on radio stations such as WDRQ and WJLB. The style fused hip-hop, ghetto house, electro, Miami bass and techno. But genres weren't a thing for the people of Detroit—they simply referred to the sound as "Detroit music." Cornelius Harris, label manager at Underground Resistance, told RA how the dance music coming from Detroit, Chicago and New York in the '80s was a response to a world defined by recession, crime, crack cocaine and AIDS. Harris said he's "never been okay" with white people using the term "ghettotech" because "it comes from a certain level of exploitation." It's the reason why producers like Partiboi69—whose productions sample Black artists and draw heavily on ghettotech and other Black genres—have come under fire in recent years. (Partiboi69 didn't respond to RA's request for comment.) "Ghettotech is a reference to the environment of the people who create it," said academic Dr. Alia Benabdellah, whose PhD studied the Black roots of house and techno in Detroit and Chicago. "Yes, you can live in the ghetto and be white, but does Partiboi69 come from that environment?" Underground Resistance has a history of responding fiercely to the exploitation of Black music. When a subsidiary of Sony Music Germany called Dance Division made a trance cover of DJ Rolando's "Knights Of The Jaguar" in 1999, a direct-action campaign propelled Underground Resistance's fans to swarm the label's offices with complaints and trash the bootleg in record shops. This ultimately led to Sony withdrawing all copies after the sale of only 2,000 vinyl. According to Harris, this incident is symbolic of the problem, and contemporary white producers sampling the N-word represents a continuation of this pattern. He said the idea that white people think it's "cool" to use the N-word in their productions is "crazy," and it's critical that they think about the "origins and brutality" of the word. "It was one of the last things [Black people] would hear before being murdered," he added. "So you've got this word that was created out of dehumanisation and hate." The onus to sample responsibly not only lies with producers, but with the DJs and labels who play and release these offensive tracks. "I have an expectation for institutions around these producers to know," said Harris. "When we talk about systems that perpetuate these things, it becomes important for those systems, labels and DJs to change—and to be accountable for promoting racism and whatever other bullshit, more than any single artist." One example of an "institution" taking accountability is German label and collective Raiders, who changed their name from Ghettoraid in 2020 after fans began withdrawing support. "We had to realise this was deeper than just a regular name change and a whole learning process," cofounder and artist Tamila told RA. "The word 'ghetto' has a huge history, which none of us were part of, even if we are a diverse group." Despite the name change, Raiders still receives demos with inappropriate samples from white producers, including samples with sexist and misogynistic language. "In most cases, vocals of femmes from the Black community weren't even credited," Tamila said. "It's an erasure of Black voices and whitewashing." There's no shortage of resources for producers wanting to make authentic music. Splice provides a database of copyright-free samples and has paid over $50 million in royalties to artists on its platform. Black Artist Database, which director Kay Ferdinand said was set up to promote Black artists and to challenge the "whitewashing and Eurocentrism of the [music] industry," features an expansive library of Black artists. For Berlin-based DJ and producer Sarah Farina, platforms like these have the "potential to cultivate fairer forms of music production and collaboration," while promoting "greater accountability and more streamlined tracing of samples." At one point in her career, Farina wanted to incorporate Brazil's baile funk sound into one of her tracks. But instead of sampling, she chose to collaborate with an artist from that scene. "If I sampled a Black woman's voice without permission, it may be more accepted than a white man doing this because I'm not a man and my identity is part of the Afro-diasporic community," she told RA. "Still, that doesn't make it less unfair. I don't want to use my identity or proximity to a culture as an escape from accountability for such behaviour." She added: "My intention in that situation doesn't matter either—most people have good intentions but it still means I've taken something from someone without permission." Ferdinand has a piece of advice for white producers riding on the success of Black music. "Study the contemporaries of the pioneers you're attempting to emulate," she said. "Listen to how they add their own voices—sometimes literally, mostly figuratively. Figure out how to do the same. And if you want to work with Black artists, ask them, pay them, then use your resources to elevate them—and in the process, you may even elevate yourself." Photo: Duncan Kidd Correction, July 12th: A previous version of this article described Kay Ferdinand as the cofounder of Black Artist Database. This has been changed to director. Correction, July 12th: This article was updated to include Nasty King Kurl's identity as part-German and part-Puerto Rican.
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