We Been the Algorithm: Y’all Just Got WiFi

Part I of III — Cultural Theft in the Digital Age

Let’s get one thing clear:

Black American culture isn’t just trending. It’s the source code.
From Vine to TikTok, from SoundCloud to the Billboard charts—we been the algorithm.
And y’all just now showing up to the WiFi, acting like you discovered something.

It’s wild how many people benefit off what we create, while we’re still getting banned, blocked, or brushed aside for doing it first.
We built the internet's entire vibe—from the slang that’s now “mainstream,” to the dances y’all rename, to the stories y’all romanticize but don’t understand.

This ain’t just culture.
It’s lineage.
It’s survival.
It’s brilliance born from being pushed to the margins and saying, nah, I’m still gon’ shine.

And yet… every time we ask for credit, suddenly it’s “we’re all one people” or “it’s just the internet.” Nah.
What you call aesthetic got us bullied in high school. What you call influence got us labeled ghetto, unprofessional, too loud, too much.
Now you’re eating off it—and got the nerve to act like we’re divisive when we clock the theft.

We’re not the trend. We’re the timeline.

Let’s talk receipts:

• You get viral off lip-syncing a sound a Black girl made crying in her car.

• You make six figures “teaching” hip-hop choreography she freestyled in her bedroom.

• You get praise for “spiritual expression” using rituals her granny whispered in the kitchen.

And when we say “this ain’t yours,” suddenly we’re bitter?
No baby. That’s boundaries.

To the girls who are tired of watching the culture get watered down and sold back to us:

Gatekeep.
Reclaim.
Correct them.
Loudly.

You don’t owe softness to people who think your culture is up for grabs.
Let them call you angry. You ain’t here to make them comfortable—you’re here to protect the legacy.

TO BE CONTINUED…
Part II: “Respect the Lineage: Diaspora Politics & Black American Erasure”
Coming soon.