‘Motomami’: One of the Most Confusing Cases of Cultural Appropriation

Spanish artist Rosalía is one of the biggest names in the experimental pop scene. But the ways in which she takes inspiration from other cultures’ musical traditions has garnered criticism from said cultures. With her recent album, Motomami, Rosalía seems to dive head-first into these allegations again.

Written by Adam Cherian

The conversation around cultural appropriation vs. cultural appreciation is tense and hotly-debated. No artist seems to embody this as much as Spain-born singer Rosalía. Coming onto the scene with projects like Los Angelés and the critically acclaimed El Mal Querer, she has amassed criticism over the ways in which she uses Latin culture over the years as a white Spaniard. Her success in the Latin music market adds air to the flames, with her 2019 smash hit “Con Altura” cementing her place as a reggaetón regular. But her recent album, Motomami, has the internet accusing her of being an appropriator again, with a host of different cultures to add.

Before discussing the extent and history of Rosalía’s appropriation, one thing must be noted: Rosalía is appropriating. There is no arguing that because she is a white Spaniard, she does not have roots in the musical traditions of music she makes. Rosalía began her music career as a flamenco artist, often fusing the genre with elements of pop. The appropriation goes deeper than that when considering that Rosalía is Catalonian, and flamenco music is traditionally from Andalusia in the southern part of the country. Andalusia has a community of Roma people that are historically oppressed for their ethnicities and regional accents. At this point, even the Spanish side of her music is appropriative. Whether she is appreciating the music versus just using the music because she is successful can be debated, but she is appropriating a marginalized culture nonetheless.

Rosalía’s beautiful — yet appropriative — fusion of experimental pop and flamenco dazzled critics with second studio album, El Mal Querer. In songs like “Malamente,” Rosalía uses classic flamenco instruments like castanets to produce a sweet but simple sound, all while using her incredible vibrato techniques to make a song that is modern yet classic. Though the album did not gain a lot of mainstream American attention at the time of its release, the popularization of Latinx music in 2018 helped put Rosalía on listeners’ radars.

The following year, she released “Con Altura,” a reggaeton banger that was a switch up from her previously Spanish influenced music. The song featured prominent Colombian artist J Balvin, and it put her in the minds of the English-speaking world. But what many English speakers did not realize is that just because the music is sung in Spanish, it doesn’t mean that all Spanish-language music is the same and comes from the same cultural influences.

Many Latinx people gave Rosalía the side-eye, as she is a white Spaniard making music associated with Latin American culture. This may seem trivial to the average English speaker who does not know the difference between cumbia and reggaeton, but considering the brutal history of colonization in Latin America, Rosalía’s appropriation feels even worse. Spain was the main colonizing force in the region, so much so that to this day a huge percentage of the population is mixed with ethnically Spanish ancestry. The tensions between Spain and Latin America remain. And from 2019 onwards, Rosalía has not been able to live down the appropriator allegations. But the arguments got even more explosive with her third studio album, Motomami.

Motomami is an experimental effort, including aspects of champeta (originally from Colombia, a mix of Carribean sounds with a Latin flare), reggaeton, bachata, among other Latin music styles. But this time, she seems to also take from nonLatin American genres like hip-hop, jazz, and even cyberpunk. Take the second single from the album, ”SAOKO,” which is a reimagining of the song “Saoco” by Wisin and Daddy Yankee. Most of the song is clear reggaeton, but the bridge of the song is a perfectly timed jazz break that adds a layer of personality that would not be there without it. However, this mix of genres tows the line between genre fusing and appropriation, due to the heavy African-American influence with jazz and the reggaeton influence from Latin traditions.

Another bundle of different cultural influences is “CUUUUuuuuuute,” a confusing journey of a song that goes from neuromantic glitch sounds, to a belting piano ballad, and then back to glitch with added snares drums. It’s clearly a reference to Arca and her impact on Rosalía’s music. They have worked together previously on Arca’s song “KLK,” which is a Latin banger of a track that was eventually featured on GTA. Arca is a Venezuelan experimental artist, known for her deconstructed-club sound that bends everything one knows about Latin music. Her influence on Motomami can be heard throughout a few more tracks, but this adds to Rosalía’s list of Latin production elements.

Every track on Motomami is a mix of different cultures' sounds. But it goes even deeper, with some of the songs having references to Japanese culture to add to the album’s overall aesthetic. “HENTAI,” “SAKURA,” and even “CHICKEN TERIYAKI” to a lesser extent have Japanese influences that stem from the “kawaii” or cute style that is associated with Anime.. Even the album cover can be seen as a reference to anime, as it is reminiscent of the character Celty from the action fiction show “Durarara!!,” who can be seen riding a motorcycle with a cat-ear helmet. Anime doesn’t just seem to be an influence on Motomami aesthetically: for example, the mention of hentai, a form of pornographic animation that is produced in Japan.

Motomami is a melting pot that ranges from Latin music to other genres. But is Rosalía using these cultures' music for a chance to break into more music markets? Or does her use of these sounds come from a genuine artistic vigor?

Rosalía did something with this album cycle that most artists often do not do: She shared a playlist of all the inspirations of Motomami. There is an amalgamation of different artists ranging from Daddy Yankee, to Kendrick Lamar, to even Kate Bush. Throughout the playlist, however, was a plethora of different Latinx artists that many listeners probably would not have heard of. An artist clearly listing out their inspirations is one thing. But an artist like Rosalía, who has been the subject of appropriation controversies, has something to prove when she publicly states her inspirations. But to many this does not solve much. Rosalía has immense privilege as a white woman and artist. She could be using her platform to advocate for the human rights abuses of Latin America, and yet she does not and still uses its cultural music.

Rosalía’s use of Latin music as a white artist is confusing at best, and morally gray at worst. Yes, she is taking up space that a Latinx artist that comes from those music traditions should occupy. But she also brings a lot of attention to various Latinx artists in Motomami, including rising artists like Dominican rapper Tokischa on the track “La Combi Versace.” It is obvious that she finds immense inspiration in those genres, and makes amazing music with them. But Rosalía’s success will always come at the expense of taking up space from Latinx artists that could use her worldwide platform.