Editing Japanese hip-hop (section)

=== Blackface ===
People who tan in order to get a darker skin complexion (especially the females, mainly those who are part of the [[ganguro]] subculture) are considered blackfacers. These Japanese men and women tend to embrace their assumed skin color and party with black people, especially African soldiers and Africans who have moved to Japan.{{sfn|Wood|1997}} The use of blackface is seen by some as a way to rebel against the culture of surface images in Japan.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Neate |first1=Patrick |title=Where You're at: Notes from the Frontline of a Hip-hop Planet |date=2004 |publisher=Riverhead Books |isbn=978-1-59448-012-6 }}{{pn|date=October 2023}}</ref> Blackface is used as a way to connect with African-Americans and the hegemonic racial structure that exists in the United States. Japan is seen as a homogenous and insular group, and the use of blackface shows that the youth of Japan are not only concerned with Japanese issues, but issues on a global level.{{sfn|Wood|1997}}

Those partaking in blackface are "ordinary high school and college kids" and they pursue African American "blackness" with great passion.{{sfn|Wood|1997}} Their dedication to this cultural transformation is evident through their interest in even more underground American hip hop acts such as the [[Boot Camp Clik]]. As they appear almost obsessed with all things that are "black".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxK1Ld4LORc |title=Boot Camp Clik Invades Japan |publisher=YouTube.com |date=2007-11-19 |access-date=2015-06-17 |archive-date=2015-10-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016200733/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxK1Ld4LORc |url-status=live }}</ref>
It is said that the Buraoan style is on the downswing. Mikako, a fashion analyzer, says that "the 'cool' that my friend at the nightclub aspired to wouldn't be 'cool' for very long".{{sfn|Wood|1997}}<ref name=Condry2007/>

Noted in Joe Wood's article, "''The Yellow Negro''", "Japan in the eighties seemed a lot like America in the fifties."{{sfn|Wood|1997}} In other words, the socio-economic conditions for white American middle-class children (white negroes) in the 1950s and their Japanese counterpart (Japanese blackfacers) in the 1980s allowed unprecedented cultural deviance to occur. It is the wealth and prosperity characteristic of these demographic groups at these specific points in time that can lend us understanding to when, why, and how one culture can most fluidly assimilate into another. Ironically, both cultures adopted black cultural practices in the midst of a post-war boom. In the case of Japan, the 'Japanese Miracle' gave many middle-class families the financial padding necessary for such diverse consumerism.

Rebelling against the conformity and homogeneity of Japanese society, Japanese blackfacers took it a step further by uniquely adapting the physical look of black culture by literally tanning their faces to seem more 'black.' To Japanese hip-hop fans and to Japanese culture, the hip-hop phenomena severely influenced Japanese youth. Japanese hip hop is just an animation. It mimics only the style of American hip hop, not the meaning.<ref name="autogenerated15" />

Some critics of Japanese hip hop believe that it simply follows a long line of black music that ultimately gained popularity through a different ethnic group mimicking the music. The "Elvis Effect" occurs "when white participation in traditionally black avenues of cultural production produces feelings of unease." It occurs whenever a white person attempts a historically black art-form, is discovered to critical acclaim, and this is what leads to that art-form receiving widespread commercial acceptance. Aside from [[Elvis Presley]], notable examples throughout music history include [[Dave Brubeck]], [[Eric Clapton]], and [[Eminem]]. Many critics believe that this concept is relevant to Japanese and other forms of global hip hop. If listeners first discover Hip Hop through a Japanese artist, there is the fear that they will never bother learning about hip hop's origins and simply continue to listen to strictly Japanese versions of the genre.{{sfn|Condry|2006|p=33}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Neal |first1=Mark Anthony |title=White chocolate soul: Teena Marie and Lewis Taylor |journal=Popular Music |date=October 2005 |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=369–380 |doi=10.1017/S0261143005000577 |s2cid=194953237 }}</ref>