Miley Cyrus Suddenly Turns Her Back On Hip-Hop But Not Before She Capitalized Off of It

Miley Cyrus went for a hip-hop sound on 2013’s “Bangerz.” (Ethan Miller/WireImage/Getty Images)

Miley Cyrus’ shunning of hip-hop has led many to swiftly remind her about how she once profited from the genre.

The singer, whose pop-rock love song, “Malibu,” is due Thursday, May 11, said she enjoys Kendrick Lamar’s single “Humble,” which won praise for his shout out to women with natural hair and imperfections.

“Show me somethin’ natural like ass with some stretch marks,” she told Billboard magazine, quoting the lyrics to the song that’s No. 3 on the publisher’s Hot 100 chart. “I love that because it’s not ‘Come sit on my d—, suck on my c—.’ 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—‘ — I am so not that.”

Cyrus later said she didn’t understand why so many people were upset about the Black women dancers featured in her 2012 video “We Can’t Stop,” which was produced by Mike Will Made It, who is known for his trap beats. Cyrus also had Black women dancers, one of whom’s rear end the singer slapped, onstage as she twerked at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.

“It’s mind-boggling to me that there was even a controversy around me having Black dancers. That became a thing, where people said I was taking advantage of Black culture, and with Mike — what the f—? That wasn’t true. Those were the dancers I liked!”

Twitter users zeroed in on how Cyrus used the genre she seemed to diss to her advantage.

https://twitter.com/Bowtobee/status/860195635668111361

https://twitter.com/HumbleTeej/status/860180806865526784

https://twitter.com/RealJohnLove/status/859979840472195072

https://twitter.com/iamdevinxo/status/860215451892273153

https://twitter.com/BadOpportunity/status/860174146118057985

Some mocked Cyrus’ new outlook.

https://twitter.com/twiterlessTre/status/860219387030196225

Subscribe To The ABS Newsletter — Get our stories in your inbox.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Latest from Atlanta Black Star

Back to top