Tyga’s New Video Shows Everything That’s Wrong With Latino Stereotyping

Rapper Tyga’s new video is a Latino’s worst nightmare come true. 

In just under three minutes, charro hats, bullfighters, wrestlers, objectified and hypersexualized women, and the mockery of obesity show everything that is wrong with the stereotyping of Latinos.

Since the 32-year-old rapper went viral with the 2019 single “Go Loko,” Tyga has attempted to continue appropriating cultural elements through mockery to position himself as anything close to an artist.

“Ayy Macarena,” “Mamacita,” and “Ay Caramba” are his latest efforts at making a name for himself in an industry monopolized by reggaeton.

Now, his video for “Ay Caramba” is the straw that broke the camel’s back.

It begins with the rapper in an obese suit, eating a bag of nachos in front of a huge bowl of guacamole while watching a dance show hosted by the rapper dressed in a wide-brimmed hat and exaggerated mustaches.

From the salsa casino to the exaggerated Chicano accent, those first few seconds of “Ay Caramba” are enough to know it’s a load of insults.

Nachos flying out, women who look like overtly objectified Latinas, and a pastiche of platitudes make Tyga’s new video the worst thing we’ve seen since the First Lady compared us to tacos.

And it’s exactly the same kind of appropriation: as long as they can consume our cultural products, artists and public figures feel entitled to mock our identity.

As Rolling Stone explained, Tyga is no stranger to featuring Latin-inspired sounds in his tracks. He has done so in the past with “Ayy Macarena,” which sampled the iconic 1990s song and featured a verse from Ozuna. He also got Santana to participate in “Mamacita” with YG, all after the success of “Go Loko.”  He has also participated in tracks by Latin artists such as J Balvin’s “Loco Contigo” and Reykon’s “Latina” with Maluma and Becky G.

“But the difference this time is that when YG released ‘Go Loko’ with Jon Z, the video didn’t poke fun at Latinos,” Tomás Mier writes for Rolling Stone. “Instead, the visual paid homage to Los Angeles’ Mexican and cholo culture, highlighting backyard kickbacks, lowriders, piñatas, and Chicano street style. YG even threw on a red mariachi suit in a way that was tasteful.”

“Tyga is simply just another example of a creative willing to bite off a different culture when it seems profitable for them.”