That Cuphead article is headache-inducing as a fan of that era of animation. Dude doesn't understand the role of a trickster. Doesn't understand that the trickster is very American, not just black. Doesn't understand that those old cartoons celebrated black music. He doesn't even understand what it means to be animated, to defy physics and bend possibility, and that every object in that world has life on demand.
Gambling, drinking and smoking were a part of that scene. Listen to some Lucille Bogan. Cab had so many reefer songs that Snoop Dogg prays to him.
The article is so dumb it seriously pisses me off.