Beyonce (APPRECIATION not APPROPRIATION ) of the Indian Culture

The musical group “ColdPlay” recently released a new video for their songs “Hymn of the Weekend”. Upon hearing the title of the song I thought the song would be some sort of weekend anthem, but my assumption was nowhere near what the song really focused on. The song focuses on love and takes place in India during Holi ( festival of colours or the festival of love). Additionally ColdPlay has Beyonce contributing her amazing vocals throughout the song and that is ultimately why I watched the video in the first place. ColdPlay has previous music videos that highlights other cultures around the world and I think choosing to bring awareness to the Indian culture in “Hymn of the Weekend” was a great idea.

BUT with anything, there’s always drama and hateful comments being spewed into the atmosphere. In the music video Beyonce can be seen wearing attire that many would consider to be that of Indian culture. Once this was discovered comments of “Culture Appropriation” immediately began to take over the internet. Upon hearing the comments this was the face I made.

Seriously, folks really want to come for Beyonce like the #BeyHive wont SHUT IT DOWN.

Any comments that speak negatively towards Beyonce does not sit well with me, especially when it’s obvious that people are coming for her simply because of who she is and the status that she holds.

Let’s take a look at this SO CALL APPROPRIATION

First let’s talk about Beyonce who just so happens to be African American, Native American, and French/Creole. I am only going to focus on her African roots because AFRICA aka the motherland is the central/starting point for human life according to history and the discovery of human remains.

Henna is very popular in the Indian community. It is worn throughout many areas of the body to include the face, hands, arms, and feet. The henna plant is not only found in Southeast Asia, but is also native to northern Africa and Australasia( a region of Oceania, which comprises of Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean). The dye from the Henna plant has been used in Africa throughout time to include during ancient Egypt as a way to dye skin and hair.

Being that Beyonce is of African Descent and Henna is apart of African culture, I say Beyonce has every right to wear Henna if she wants to. If you don’t believe me see the photos below for proof.

Looks like HENNA to me

Boom there it goes again more HENNA

Now what was that being said about CULTURAL APPROPRIATION and Beyonce being in the wrong.

Okay next up is the facial/head jewelry she wore in the music video.

As I stated previously facial/head jewelry can also be seen being worn by many women within African cultures.

she has on head jewelry and she’s rocking HENNA

The director of the music video is Indian (Ben Mor) and saw nothing wrong with Beyonce’s attire. He new working with Beyonce meant that great things would come of his project. The person who played one of the most important roles in the creation of the music video was actual amazed when he saw Beyonce in the attire.

Majority of the time when black people wear items outside of their culture it is not done to ridicule that culture, it is done to show APPRECIATION. I think it is tough to say a black woman is appropriating another culture when much of every culture stems from Africa. The things that cracks me up the most is that this is not Beyonce’s song yet she’s taking the most heat. The video title does not even say featuring Beyonce, yet she’s the center of attention, but hey when you are the Queen, that is expected. I am guessing the HATERS were caught off guard by her SLAYAGE.

I’ll conclude with the fact that besides getting to see Beyonce give me life, I enjoyed the video and the opportunity to see Bollywood, Indian children embracing their culture, and the real streets of India. There are great attributes that stem from exploring and highlighting other cultures and I applaud ColdPlay for stepping outside the box and doing just that.

When it is all said and done, I say we take a moment to dive into the BEAUTY THAT IS BEYONCE….. just look at these gorgeous shot taken from the music video.

Personally I think that anytime anyone has the opportunity to come for Beyonce they will, and as a STAN I can not just sit by and allow that to happen.

After the discussions I have seen take place over this music video I have concluded that basically no one outside a culture can embrace or participate in it because if they choose to do so it will be consider CULTURAL APPROPRIATION and folks will be all butt hurt and in their feelings.