Miley Cyrus has apparently changed her tune about hip-hop.
With her 2013 album Bangerz (and its public twerk-fest promo) former Hannah Montana star Cyrus embraced hip-hop culture as a way of shedding her teen star past and being seen as more mature. It worked — Bangerz had some major radio hits, and Cyrus became one of the most famous artists in pop.
But post-Bangerz, Cyrus changed her opinion on the merits of rap. Her 2017 album Younger Now was a return to the country-pop sound that defined her early career. In her press promoting the album, Cyrus insulted the hip-hop culture she made so much money borrowing from several years earlier. She told Billboard that she liked Kendrick Lamar because he wasn’t rapping about money and women the way everybody else seemed to be doing. “I love [‘Humble’] because it’s not ‘Come sit on my d*ck, suck on my c*ck.’ I can’t listen to that anymore. That’s what pushed me out of the hip-hop scene a little. It was too much ‘Lamborghini, got my Rolex, got a girl on my c*ck’ — I am so not that.”
Cyrus’ comments understandably upset the hip-hop community, who accused her of cultural appropriation. Debates about Cyrus’ culture vulture tendencies reignited with the release of her 2019 EP, She Is Coming, where she’s back to rapping like she never went country in the first place.
But, in a comment on a fan’s YouTube explainer, Cyrus offered an explainer of her own. She apologized for her insensitive comments, and offered a pledge to do better.
“Being silent is not like me at all. I am aware of my platform and have always used it the best way I know how and to shine a light on injustice. I want to start with saying I am sorry. I own the fact that saying … ‘this pushed me out of the hip-hop scene a little’ was insensitive as it is a privilege to have the ability to dip in and out of “the scene.” There are decades of inequality that I am aware of, but still have [a lot to] learn about. Silence is [a part] of the problem and I refuse to be quiet anymore. My words became a divider in a time where togetherness and unity is crucial . I can not change what I said at that time, but I can say I am deeply sorry for the disconnect my words caused. Simply said; I f*cked up and I sincerely apologize. I’m committed to using my voice for healing, change, and standing up for what’s right.”
Cyrus plans on releasing several other EPs this year, so I guess we’ll see if she lives up to her promise.
