Why flagrantly sexist music conspiracy theories need to stop
We all love a conspiracy theory but we should all be aware that they often form a nettlesome narrative. In recent times, troublesome conspiracies have emerged in the world of music, and they are fictions with a flagrantly sexist backbone. This needs to stop.
In the last few months, two notable names in modern music have been caught up in unfounded fairy tales. The first was a few months ago when Wet Leg were accused of being an ‘industry plant’. For starters, the terminology surrounding this claim is essentially baseless. There have been many definitions coined in recent years, but essentially an industry plant is a band with a large backing from a big music label. That, to my eyes, is the job of a label. To pick the winners, help mould them, and then fund them and arrange press and promotion.
Wet Leg have received all of that. However, to imply that this is part of some sort of manufactured conspiracy suggests that everyone who has gone along for the ride is in on it and not actually a fan of their music. They have been in the music industry for years fine-tuning their craft in different guises. Finally, at 28 and 27 respectively, the duo found a niche that created an artistic purple patch, a label saw the commercial viability of the project, and now they are reaping the rewards.
The same thing happened with David Bowie, and a slew of other artists who found themselves failing to succeed, so to speak. It seems to me the only reason Wet Leg’s rapid rise has brought conspiratorial scrutiny is because they are female. Their journey has been comparable to fellow 28-year-old exploded indie star Sam Fender, but he has been lauded without any internet asterisk.
I don’t particularly like Wet Leg’s music myself, but I can see the subjective appeal and I would by no means purport that the reason they secured a fanbase and plenty of promotion is the product of something other than their music and the industry operating as it should in order to support it.
The same can be said for Nicki Minaj who has also recently found herself the subject of a conspiracy. This time, the obscene theory is that she is simply a sort of living pseudonym for Jay-Z. According to ludicrous reports, if you shift her pitch down a bit then you’ll clearly hear the voice of Jay-Z, proving that she is merely a miming actor. It’s pointless dissecting this untruth any further, that fact it’s bullshit should be patently obvious.
However, the unfounded absurdity doesn’t make it any less troublesome. You see, there is a comic appeal to the Minaj theory. As such, it’s the sort of thing you might lean into and joke about. But beneath the laughable surface is the pointed reality that the theory, no matter how comical, is borne from the fact that certain people clearly believe that behind the biggest rapper of the moment, there must surely be a man.
Even Damon Albarn recently said that Taylor Swift is helped inordinately by co-writers and producers which was also unfounded and rubbished by everyone she has worked with. While this may have been more akin to pop-aversion rather than sexism, it still undermines the notion that success combined with artistic integrity should look and sound a certain way.
There is no doubting that conspiracies can be a bit of fun, sometimes they can be vital probes into the cogs of society, but we should always look at the angle beneath them. The flagrant sexism behind these recent musical conspiracy theories is something that needs to be nipped in the bud, because even if they are spread for the titillating intrigue that they serve up, they are perpetuating a covert misogyny that often goes uncalled.
