Orientalism in Music

Orientalism is far more present in current media then I would have ever thought. After reading Said's article about Orientalism I had not really thought much of it. After being exposed and really learning more about what the concept is, I have noticed this occurs very much in films, but also in music.

In Nicki Minaj's 2010 song "Your Love" she is seen dressing as a Geisha. This passes over the line of cultural appreciation and she has stepped foot onto cultural appropriation. Especially when this outfit and Oriental "attitude" is paired with the lyrics to the song.

When I was a Geisha he was a Samurai
Somehow I understood him when he spoke Thai "

This is not really relevant at all to what the songs message is. It keeps up with her rhyme scheme but has nothing to do with her. This is also interesting because (and she does use the word somehow in the line after) geisha's are traditionally in Japan, and in Japan they do not speak Thai. Not totally sure what language Samurai's speak but it still stands to show how she added these lines to her song moreso to keep up with her rhyme scheme.

This song is a solid example of how much Orientalism is in our present day media and life. While there is a fine line between cultural appreciation and appropriation, this song definitely falls into the appropriating side of things. Not only does she take a formal attire and change it to reveal more skin (make it more Western?) but she also generally references a culture to keep up her rhyme scheme.

 (at about 35 seconds is the shift into the Orientalist perspective)