We’ve been trend spotting and headline watching for the last few months and it seems like the latest style cult is, well… cults. Satantic cults to be precise.
This isn’t a new phenomenon though, as long as we’ve had Rock, Metal and Pop we’ve had references the devil to varying degrees. Iron Maiden has included the devil in their merch for decades and even the pop girlies have been acused of making deals with the devil - see Madonna dressed as Jesus for the ‘Like a Prayer’ video or wearing her crown of thorns on the ‘Confessions’ tour. To quote a Reuters article from all the way back 16 years ago she dedicated the song to the pope on her ‘Stick & Sweet’ tour (iconic) saying "I dedicate this song to the pope, because I'm a child of God. All of you are also children of God” which made front page news in Italy’s top newspaper, Corriere Della Sera. The Vatican of course condemned the song and her various tours calling them the most "satanic shows in the history of humanity.”
If we pause on Madonna for a moment - undeniably one of the largest names in the history of pop music, even her name cites the bible (with the Madonna being the virgin Mary) and she used religious (or devilish, depending how you see her use of it) imagery in multiple instances. Generating huge amount of press for herself because of how much it pissed people off.
Looking at it from an unbiased perspective, you see the issues, if a non-muslim artist was dressing up and using muslim religious symbolism for press the shouts of offensive cultural appropriation would quite rightly ring out across the internet. But when you see progressive artists like Madonna or Lady Gaga being called satanists by alt-right figures like Alex Jones you start to see the nuances. Perhaps this isn’t intended as an attach on religion (whether or not it accidentally catches religious people in its cross hairs is another story) but an intentional provocation of the extremist religious powers who have managed to align themselves with political powers, pretty much abolish any separation of the church & state, and assert control over certain groups of people that by no means aligns with the kind and genuine morals of the majority of said religions followers.
As with horror movies, this new horrific style of fashion pokes and prods at what we fear, and why we fear it. With undertones relating to the oppressive othering and that push some individuals to become feared, and push others to become fearful opressors themselves. James Baldwin’s 1976 The Devil Finds Work puts it neatly "He who has been treated as the devil, recognizes the devil when they meet."
And with that context set - why are todays biggest rappers, actresses and media outlets aligning themselves with the devil? Who are they really trying to challenge?
Let me set the stage for the current landscape of satanic style in todays celebrity culture.
We’re seeing subversive singers turn to the style (which we’re coining Devilcore) in swathes, se Doja Cat’s evolution to a darker style through her later albums. With the internet lighting up with conversations about her new hair cuts, her new tattoos and her new lyrics. We’ve gone from ‘Bitch I’m a cow’ to ‘I’m a demon’. Her style itself is darker and much more experimental, she quite literally turns into a body painted, horned devil for her must videos, and we can’t help but notice this trend popping up across the landscape, with artists turning to a devilish aesthetic as their art clashes with public expectations. Take Doja Cat for example, women have historically held long and deep links with the occult, and to many reclamation of it can be seen as a huge reclamation of female power. Whilst even the simple act of styling yourself in this dark, bloody, confident way is a challenge to public expectation of femininity. In film theory body horror has long been a genre associate with the bodily autonomy of women, and their objectification too. So in Doja’s Scarlet era we find the feminist interpretation of this style using shocking horror less to reveal the singers own ‘evil’ qualities, and more to reveal our own as we come face to face with what we are uncomfortable with.
And the internet proved her right
"Internet "reply guys" and misogynists of all genders who didn't hesitate to share their unsolicited disdain with her look. Fans and haters alike have armchair diagnosed Doja Cat as having mental health issues and an eating disorder; they've diminished her rap skills, branding her as a sellout on account of her mainstream pop success; and they've called her everything from an Illuminati member to a devil worshiper.” (https://www.kalw.org/npr-news/2023-09-29/on-scarlet-doja-cat-finds-power-harnessing-the-darkness-of-online-vitriol)
Seeing her savvily take on internet trolls and literally reply “your fear is not my problem’ to some of them, feels pretty empowering. Whether you personally like the aesthetic or not. She finds joy in being everything a woman is not meant to be, labelling her own records as cash grabs, herself as mean, and her verses as ‘mid’, even committing the intimate celebrity sin saying ‘I’d rather be famous instead’ and admitting she just loves the fame. We rate it honestly.
But before her descent into hellish realms of style rapper Lil Las X was leading us there with what can only be described as an iconic media circus around his new albums. With trainers launched with MSCHF that were labelled ‘satan shoes’ and supposedly included human blood in their sole, with a video that literally showed him dropping into hell and lap dancing on the devil, and a tiktok joke that saw him claiming he was going to church and the music industry had forced him to behave this way. As a queer person it spoke to me, and I can only imagine how this reclamation and total piss taking of the demonisation faced by Black gay men resonated. He really said “you’re telling me I’m going to hell because of who I am? Ok, let’s go to hell!”
The Face actually published a whole article on the relevance of this aesthetic in a country that continues to demonise Black people.
“it’s hardly the first time Black music has been associated with the devil. In fact, ever since colonisation brought enslaved Africans to the Americas, African Americans have been read as demonic. Drums were banned amongst slaves because of their ability to communicate and conjure rhythmic movements into the body. Blues and jazz, genres derived from the singing traditions of African Americans in the fields, were classified as devil’s music. Those who found success in the industry were even accused of having sold their souls to the devil in exchange for fame and fortune – just look at the legends around blues musician Robert Johnson, Ferdinand ‘Jelly Roll’ Morton and Jimi Hendrix.”
With this long and painful history in mind, many Black musicians have used symbols like the devil, inverted crucifixes and there lyrics (see Lil Uzi Vert and Tyler The Creators 2010s music for reference.)
“Rapping with the devil has always been used as a tool to critique the horror of being Black in America” And the same can be applied to the horrors of being a woman or equally being a queer person in this reality.
And other queer creators have risen to this political shove. As religious (specifically christian) tensions rise to the top of the agenda in US politics it only makes sense that this is where those who are being oppressed, are pushing back.
Queer non binary musician Sam Smith and iconic trans artist Kim Petras’s hit 2023 song (literally named Unholy) was performed on The Grammy’s stage with horned costumes and floods of red lighting. As you can expect, it got a lot of backlash. But like I’ve stated before if your leaders are quite literally taking away your rights and saying you are evil for who you are, what a cunty little response to dress up like the devil and take yourself up on a stage like so.
This integration of the devil in fashion combines shock value with artistic expression, and at it’s core is a challenge to societal norms, particularly around gender, sexuality, and power.
This is the power of fashion, the aesthetic of resistance moments has always been communicated through provocative clothing - pussy hats at omens marches, bras at slut walks, black leather for the Black Panthers, and extremely unstructured hippie clothing as part of the anti-war movement and 3rd wave feminism. This particular thematic rebellion situates devilcore as part of a broader cultural response to challenges posed by growing intersections between religion and the state, offering an alternative vision of freedom and individuality.
Further Reading:
Comments