by Goitsimang Moshikaro
It's a "water in hot oil" situation where it has been socially established in every cultural, religious, and tribal society that men vitally embody the very thing hierarchy and patriarchy represent: power.
Since hunter-gatherer societies, men continue to enforce and carry out the role of being the materialistic provider, being essential for survival. The maternal figure tends towards immaterial provision like emotional nurturing, but why do strength and power continue to be crucial for societal survival, especially for Black men? A segment from Kiersten Alexis's article answers this well: "What this means is some Black fathers, mine included, raised their sons to disregard that vulnerability due to their presence in white America and allowed the toxins of unhealthy qualities within toxic and hyper-masculinity to seep in as a means of protecting them."
Femininity is constructed to be the polar opposite of everything masculine, where masculinity is developed, maintained, and expressed, in every way femininity is not. Black mens’ dilemma is expressing vulnerability without emasculating themselves. Black men do delve into their vulnerability, but it is more of a "behind closed doors" occurrence; no shovel is ever strong enough to dig deeper into the matter. "Soft" male expression is associated with and presented by boybands within the genres of R&B, pop, or ballads where they appeal to female audiences with the image of the "dream guy."
Desirability and acceptance of vulnerability go hand-in-hand. Racist and colorist ideas can be found where eurocentric features and lighter skin are more appealing and feminized in a sense, whereas African features and darker skin are masculinized and made to indicate aggressive character. Mainstream boybands like One Direction, BTS, and other male K-pop groups embody the traits of being conventionally attractive where even members of color are ethnically diluted and white-washed to fit into the desired Western image.
Open “BOOGIE” and we have Kevin Abstract boast "Best boyband since One Direction!" as he hops in front of the beverages section in a convenience store. He is the founder and one of the vocalists from the highly acclaimed boyband BROCKHAMPTON. BROCKHAMPTON is a 13-member group, with around seven main vocalists, that boasts diversity with each members' racial, cultural, and identity being different. The band produces a mix of rap, pop, rock, and ballads as they sing about politics, childhood, mental health, self-reflection, and more. BROCKHAMPTON is distinctively unconventional with their rawness. They lack the filter, target audience appeal, and polished public image, which ticks no boxes of the typical boyband criteria. BROCKHAMPTON makes music about social violence onto the Black male experience and impacts of truama. Kevin Abstract and Lil Nas X fight the stigma and shame of Black queerness. One of their biggest influences is Kanye West, as this boyband was formed through a Kanye fan website.
Kanye West is a very well-known rapper, producer, songwriter and overall musician. He is a striking character and person in the political and societal environment. I consider Kanye West to be one of the most vulnerable dark skin Black male artists with his unrestrained self-expression, which he incorporates in music. Throughout his discography, he has shared moments of love, loss, and heartbreak. He opposes the image of Icarus society tries to paint over, though acknowledging he digs his own hole at times, there's an extent of racially motivated defamation that digs it deeper. As Kanye is vulnerable while maintaining his masculinity, he is portrayed as threatening which demonstrates how and why Black male emotions fail to be taken seriously where he, "the Black masculine," is demonized, ridiculed, or belittled for expressing anything other than stoicism. Kanye always believes himself to embody the core of masculinity, and to power through no matter what chips him down, and this rakes in a Black male collective struggling with introspection and esteem.
Aba & Preach highlight the point of male vulnerability being taken advantage of, where men would be weary of wearing their hearts on their sleeves, and how that complicates the nature of romantic relationships. Callback to the "water in hot oil" metaphor where societal gender norms and expectations preserved through generations continue to harm potential in all sorts of relationships. From David Hatfeild's TedTalk, he highlights vulnerability being significant in fatherhood and brotherhood; this is important as newer generations of sons continue to be raised by fathers with traditional, though harmful, mindsets of masculinity that are outdated in a progressive social environment. Black male vulnerability in music is impactful and important as it is on open platform and an open door into an artist's life and emotions, which will influence their listeners.