#cortis james

so... cortis. some hate, some love. I feel like people accuse them of appropriating black culture are usually not fans of cortis. So, I'm going to keep my perspective least biased as possible. I'm sharing my views not only as a fan but also as a poc. If you've heard there music, you can obviously hear the influence in their songs ( esp. go! & fashion ) if you don't know cortis, they've explicitly stated in many situations that they are influenced by many artists including artist's like asap rocky, brent faiyaz, tyler the creator, etc. ( in the hot seat interview, the amoeba music store interview, their vlogs ) and if you check their documentary, you can see that theyve worked with countless of black producers and artists ( they still are ) from when they went to song camp in LA. they have never denied the influence of black artists on their music and they have always credited them.

BUT WAITTTTT!!! there's a tiny little catch. If you weren't aware their song FaSHioN, directly interpolates "Praise the Lord ( Da Shine )" by Asap rocky ft. Skepta !! which is obviously iffy... because there is no reason for them to do so? but in this song, skepta pays homage to DMX and interpolates his song "Who We Be" because dmx was a huge influence of skepta's early music style so it makes sense for him to interpolate if you are aware of their discographies. BUT WAIT... again there's a teeny tiny catch... as I mentioned, many black producers have worked/work with cortis on their songs. We know Martin does contribute to majority of the producing but we have to remember, cortis does NOT have full creative freedom over their discography. Why? Because they are a kpop group under a label. Bighit obviously wants to sell and make alot of money and we tend to forget kpop is an industry and like any other entertainment industry, it has many people working on a song. So obviously, we are going to hear things like this.

I would say cortis are doing the bare minimum by appreciating black artists and giving them credit. Do I think they've watered it a bit down? well kinda ... but I think the songs theyve produced by themselves and the songs they've actually released have a MAJOR difference. Their self produced stuff feels more authentic and has more substance compared to their released songs ( my humble opinion btw )

so in conclusion, the hate is so forced. I feel like people tear down their music because idk for clout? I've seen a few people who have rightfully criticised their music in a very respectful way. They are NOT culture appropriating. People never bother to do a little research and are so quick to call out others. I've seen many thoughtfully researched videos about cortis and their music and also videos that are just basless accusations and hate. Thank you for tuning in !!