Ruffin

Amber Ruffin is the gem of “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” She gives poignant biting comedy segments about issues that need discussing. All of her commentary has two ideas in mind, female empowerment and black empowerment. I really do like her segments because she goes over so much in so little time. It’s obvious her segments were inspired by “Weekend Update,” that Seth Meyers once hosted. He also hosted the SNL segment with Tina Fey.
One of Ruffin’s strongest segments is when she speaks about the song “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X. The main idea is that Lil Nas X’s song should be labeled a “country song.” Ruffin then uses the thread of the joke to tell the story about how the song is denied this label by the country music charts. She then says “its because he’s black” without explicitly saying it. She does this by having her window of image(to her right but audience’s left) show the words “its because he’s black when asking why this song can’t be considered a “country song.” 
Ruffin implies this is racist but she actively “takes sides”(whether this a political or social stance is up to the reader) against country songs by stating, “What? Nobody wants to hear a country song.” By saying this Ruffin takes up rhetorical arms against country music and its community or at least the labelers at the Billboard Chart company by putting her subjectivity over an entire culture of identity. Billy Ray Cyrus(country musician) then remixes the song and Billboard still says that “Old Town Road” still isn’t a country song. Ruffin then says “Dang, that blank runs deep.” “Running deep” as a reference to southern racism, and its history of the confederacy during the American civil war.
In this segment Ruffin both wants the acceptance of something that isn’t accepted into a place that she can’t even the give the benefit of the doubt. Ruffin doesn’t respect the country music industry or at least the Billboard labelers of music and advocates for her ideals on this one song to deserve a label she doesn’t actually care about/respect the culture of. I reference “Nobody wants to hear a country song.” It’s as if Ruffin is advocating for the forceful imposing of her opinion into a place it doesn’t belong because it isn’t capable of respecting it. Ruffin believes something she likes belongs in a place she largely doesn’t care for. And its not as if Lil Nas X is breaking any new ground! Anybody remember Charley Pride or Darius Rucker?
Having said all that I do understand the meaning and significance of what Ruffin is getting at. That racism is an ever-present theme in the arbitrary labels that our society deems worthy and not worthy, right and wrong, or black or white. This song contains both elements of country and hip-hop music. Why can’t it be both? If a person has mixed race parents then aren’t they two races? They aren’t one race or one label. Old town road is a “mixed race” song in the sense it has elements of two different genres on purpose to make something beautiful.
The song is better than most songs that stand with both feet in one genre. The “Rock” genre overlaps into pop but not enough to include the Beegees. Rock has limits but those limits are a very vague grey area. Is Fleetwood Mac or R.E.M. rock? Maybe Billboard should allow the blurring of what it means to deserve their precious label of a ”country song.”

But Ruffin isn’t quite fair in her late-nigh-show segment and is obviously biased and uncaring of the other side of this debate for which she has no respect. In my opinion, she goes after this idea of imposing her values and opinion in a place she doesn’t respect, is over-stepping her opinion’s boundaries because of the lack of respect for the boundary she wants the subject of her interest positioned/ labeled. She goes about talking about something she is at least half objectively right about in the wrong way. Her need to entertain her audience supercedes her fairness in the perspectives she represents in her segment. Love and respect is the best way to have an important discussion. Not hate and put-downs. I agree the song is a “country song” but part of that image is largely due to what the rap lyrics are about and the cover of the album. The song is about country life. You be the judge. Is the song “county” or “hip-hop?”  
Is the dress white and gold or blue and black?
Maybe there is no answer. Maybe there are just two opinions that can never settle into one.