At present, EDM is becoming synonymous with corporate synergy and Generation Z finding their disruptive "punk rock" sounds in twerk, club, or any one of 100 other globally-expanding dance sounds. Recently, instead of telling these stories, media gadfly blog Buzzfeed instead decided to focus a long-form article on, of all things, Israeli producer Borgore's obsession with loutish behavior and his songs' content almost perpetually presenting women as hyper-sexualized penis fodder. Yes, as a super-aware EDM community, we've all been quite aware of Asaf Borger's behavior for five years now. In fact, we've supported it, and him, to massive levels of financial success. However, when a blog at ground zero of the mainstream (as in non-musical) media cycle focuses on this, instead of hundreds of other stories, it certainly raises a red flag, and when compared to a rising undercurrent in EDM in general, it's time for a deep, heavy, and potentially angering conversation to officially begin.
In the same six-week period prior to this story's release, Diplo has engaged in Twitter beef dis wars with fellow producers (to which DJ Sega recently responded to), MiMOSA is pouring Grey Goose vodka on Downlink's head after an issue over set times, and Flosstradamus and Waka Flocka are getting "too turnt up." Unquestionably, dance music in 2014 feels like gangster rap in 1997, and we should all be glad that goons in the club have water guns and glowsticks, because if those were glocks and nightsticks, somebody could get hurt for real. In all of this bad behavior coming off like so many silly attempts at EDM failing at acting like rap used to, is there a need for things to calm down? Or does something more serious have to occur for everyone to take a serious look at themselves and leave rap's negative jiggy era stereotyping out of EDM's development?
As a dance community, we should be waiting for the day that the Chicago-based trap producer puts the gun at the head of the EDM label boss, then hangs him out of the window like it's rumored that Suge Knight did to Vanilla Ice to muscle "Ice Ice Baby" publishing rights. Or, what if a young, independent rhythm and bass label producer stabs an LA-based label exec with the jagged edge of a bottle like Jay Z did to Lance "Un" Rivera in 1999. Yes, these examples seem extreme, but as EDM gets comfortable in the ratchet end of the rap pool and continues to behave in such ridiculous ways, it's entirely possible to extrapolate such madness.
No less of an EDM authority than PR/promotions giant Biz3 Publicity owner Kathryn Frazier refers to Borgore as the "Eazy-E of EDM" in Buzzfeed's feature. Of course, de facto NWA front man Eazy-E is the same man responsible for the infamous single "Automobile," a song in which Eazy-E says the following:
You don't have to front on me dear, [don't front on me..]
So why don't you just give that pussy here, [hehehe ahah]
If you'd be good to me, [yeah yeah]
ohh I'll be good to you, [ahahha]
and we'll both ride home in my automobile... [fuckin' head in this car]
Of course, when compared to the chorus of Borgore's star-making Miley Cyrus duet "Decisions," there's an intriguing corollary:
Decisions, but I want it all, so I get it all.
I wanna eat the whole cake.
I'm not sharing, I'm not sharing.
You should have learned how to bake.
Yes I want it all, so I get it all.
I wanna eat the whole cake.
I'm not sharing, I'm not sharing.
You should have learned bitches love cake!
Just as with rappers in the '90s, there's a subsection of EDM DJs (Bassnectar is named in the Buzzfeed article) who find Borgore's behavior deplorable, and would likely say the same thing about Diplo (possibly absentmindedly) dissing DJ Sega (who's currently the homeless caretaker of his disabled family), MiMOSA reenacting the "Nothing But a G Thang" video, and Flosstradamus (and others) taking trap music out of the Southwest Atlanta streets and putting it behind the velvet rope. These are all indeed terrible things to consider on many levels, but there's something even more worrisome to contemplate.
There's a not-so-hidden racial and cultural issue here that's part of this entire "glorifying rap's worst behavior-as-pop EDM" trend. Borgore is Israeli, and though rap is now global, the notion that a cultural interloper to the American-borne genre's rap-influenced behavior can be called "caricatured extremism" is telling when placed up against Public Enemy's Chuck D famous statement that rap is "Black America's CNN." When "CNN" puts out a socially and culturally-insensitive message that a man from Israel can adapt into his goofy and debased EDM act and become fabulously wealthy, there's a "blackfacing"-type issue developing that's out of control. Of course, go even deeper and realize that the Eazy-E that Kathryn Frazier compared Borgore to was the lead rapper of NWA, which forever stands for "Niggaz With Attitude." Thus, Borgore has been compared to a "nigga." And, with that, let's just leave that point right there to resonate with everyone, and continue.
Maybe that's the larger issue here, too. If there were an equal representation of racial and cultural minorities and majorities in dance music, this would be less damning. For every Borgore, MiMOSA, Diplo, and nearly every trap producer you can name, there are literally hundreds more chomping at the mainstream bit. By comparison, there's only one Soulection camp, Nadus, DJ Sliink, Sidney Samson, or 12th Planet in the conversation.
Borgore's behavior is bad, but no worse than any other EDM producer at-present mimicking the negative stereotypes of jiggy-era rap style. Of course, when you consider that so much of this actually can be boiled down to innocuous white guys acting like insensitive or socially-troubled black men, the potential for either a) something terrible to eventually occur or b) a black eye on "post-racialism" is certainly more than possible. But I'm crazy and we don't care about that, right? Apologies for abusing your time, then. Let's turn up to death!
