Cultural Authenticity— Real s#*t

I am well aware of how the world tells me things should work, yet also still close enough to the streets to recognize that most of that rhetoric is just big time bullshit. Or I guess the more mature way to characterize said rhetoric, is to call it a lie or false narrative. 

One of the biggest piles of bullshit that I think about often, is the concept of authenticity and what that means for myself, my culture and the cultures I engage with. I feel like professionally, authenticity is socialized in the context of “if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it’s a duck”. But in reality, walking and talking like a duck could actually just make you you a great actor. Shout out to the academy awards, for rewarding such behavior.

I came to know and understand authenticity through my love, socialization and relative obsession of Hip Hop culture. As I grew to know this culture, It was understood that the first rule of communication is that “real recognizes real”, and in order to genuinely connect (with this community)— you have to look very familiar. This isn’t as tangible a concept, as the duck example. In fact, It’s completely nuanced. A Je ne sais quoi if you will. It’s only through lessons both nuanced and direct, that my peers and I were able to learn to communicate in the cultural realness of Hip Hop. It also happened that I did so without realizing it. It was only through complete emersion in the experience, that I was able to catch the vibe of authenticity, so naturally. This experience consisted of a 24/7 stream of content in the forms of magazines, movies, music, concerts, and literature; mixed in with engaging workshops in the forms of school yard cyphers, talent shows, lunchroom debates, myspace rabbit holes. All of this which impacted what i understood about speech, fashion, the culinary industry, even the way I understood politics, finances and education.

So how does an individual or an enterprise communicate in an authentic way, or more specifically “keep it real”, so that the audience or person you wish to engage with recognizes and accepts you? I’ve learned the key to connecting with other people is counterintuitive to how we’ve been taught. Your marketing 101 teacher was wrong folks (at least mine was). Your tone alone won’t cut it. Your research won’t cut it either. And if you pull up on Black twitter with your Audience insights and Drake quotes, trust me, that won’t work either— #canceled. The secret is that it’s not at all about what the communicator wants to say or do for their audience. It’s 100% about how successfully the communicator can share intentions and messages in the precise timing and way that the audience best receives it. Cultural authenticity is more soul, than it is heart. It’s more empathetic, than it is strategic. It’s about taking the time to immerse yourself in the existence and full being of your audience, to the point of pure fluency in their culture— in who they are.

Long story short— give the people what they want. Not what you need. 

Real shit

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash