11 replies to this topic

[Earwolf Admin]

Fellow Earwolf podcaster Andrew Ti joins MC Nocando & Jeff Weiss this week to talk about racial issues in Hip-Hop. The guys discuss rappers of other races using the n-word, who can rap about what, and the idea of a post-racial America. They also look at Ice Cube’s “Black Korea,” Blood of Abraham’s “Niggaz & Jewz,” Professor Griff’s departure from Public Enemy after making anti-Semitic remarks, Action Bronson’s “Growin Up,” and ScHoolboy Q’s performance of “Blessed” at the Pitchfork Music Festival. L’Chaim!

[Jengaman]

There's something hilarious about Nocando reading the adverts...

[Bruce Reid Robinson II]

as though he has never heard of anything he's reading copy for? I noticed that too. He must be affecting that tone cause every time I heard about square space I get super jazzed.

[Mr. T]

I agree that white people shouldn't say the n word, and shouldn't whine about how they can't say the n word. However, given that most african-american rappers say that word constantly, it seems a little disingenuous for them to be surprised and upset that their white fans use it. Maybe the best way to get people to not use that word would be to not use it yourself. Just saying.

[tuesday]

female fan !

[Shariq Torres]

Mr. T, on 18 January 2013 - 12:27 PM, said:

I agree that white people shouldn't say the n word, and shouldn't whine about how they can't say the n word. However, given that most african-american rappers say that word constantly, it seems a little disingenuous for them to be surprised and upset that their white fans use it. Maybe the best way to get people to not use that word would be to not use it yourself. Just saying.

There is absolutely nothing that black people do that affects the behavior of white people. If that were the case, we would not see white people donning blackface and then getting into tortured arguments with each other over whether or not it is racist.

[LemonDropKid]

Shariq Torres, on 20 January 2013 - 04:20 AM, said:

There is absolutely nothing that black people do that affects the behavior of white people. If that were the case, we would not see white people donning blackface and then getting into tortured arguments with each other over whether or not it is racist.

I dunno, I'd say the emergence of white rappers was definitely influenced by how cool the black rappers made it look and sound. I don't agree that one should just "expect" white people to start using terrible ethnic slurs because they heard the actual affected people using it.

[Shariq Torres]

LemondropKid, on 20 January 2013 - 12:40 PM, said:

I dunno, I'd say the emergence of white rappers was definitely influenced by how cool the black rappers made it look and sound. I don't agree that one should just "expect" white people to start using terrible ethnic slurs because they heard the actual affected people using it.

It's good that you don't agree with the OP. That guy was talking crazy.


On your other point though, it is generally not seen as a "cool" thing by white society to adopt black music, culture, etc unless said culture and music have been depopulated of black people, i.e. the the comment about blues music someone made in the podcast.

There are plenty of examples where white people who go against the grain by liking Wu-Tang instead of Arcade Fire are dismissed as "bros", "wiggers", and "wannabees." I mean, there is a whole show on Earwolf dedicated to mocking such a person (Owen and TJ read the News). Nick Kroll made up a character on Comedy Bang Bang (Chance, ex-boyfriend of Chelsea Peretti) that revolved around the same topic. So, I would check the assumption that A) white people think black culture is cool and that said white people got into the culture because of an admiration of black artist in the genre and not a few token white artists.

But also, if black people really dictated on any level what white people do, there would not be any blackface,

[sarcasm] Maybe black people haven't made not being racist "cool enough" for white people to adopt it. [/sarcasm]

[LemonDropKid]

Shariq Torres, on 20 January 2013 - 02:53 PM, said:

It's good that you don't agree with the OP. That guy was talking crazy.


On your other point though, it is generally not seen as a "cool" thing by white society to adopt black music, culture, etc unless said culture and music have been depopulated of black people, i.e. the the comment about blues music someone made in the podcast.

There are plenty of examples where white people who go against the grain by liking Wu-Tang instead of Arcade Fire are dismissed as "bros", "wiggers", and "wannabees." I mean, there is a whole show on Earwolf dedicated to mocking such a person (Owen and TJ read the News). Nick Kroll made up a character on Comedy Bang Bang (Chance, ex-boyfriend of Chelsea Peretti) that revolved around the same topic. So, I would check the assumption that A) white people think black culture is cool and that said white people got into the culture because of an admiration of black artist in the genre and not a few token white artists.

But also, if black people really dictated on any level what white people do, there would not be any blackface,

[sarcasm] Maybe black people haven't made not being racist "cool enough" for white people to adopt it. [/sarcasm]

Well, I can only speak for myself personally... I don't rap (publicly) and I don't dress like a prototypical rapper, but I fell in love with rap music at five years old, before I even understood the racial split, and that was just because I thought it was the coolest-sounding music I had ever heard (in my long life). While initially seen as cute, my parents got kind of tired of it around middle school, and some of my schoolmates also picked on me for it (although it worked out because I bonded with other schoolmates, both black and white over it).

And "cool" doesn't always mean "socially acceptable." At some point all those "bros"/"wiggers"/"wannabes" just got into the music and the style because they saw and heard and said, "Damn, that shit is cool. I want in on it." They were probably just guys who didn't care about "white society." I don't particularly care about it. I just enjoy the things I like, a la carte, whether that be Nirvana or EPMD.

And few things are less cool than a blues festival of all white dudes. At least, based on most of the white bluesmen I've heard. Maybe there are some guys who fit that description doing good shit, but my mind goes to Delbert McClinton and Eric Clapton, who are both unlistenable to me.

Basically, though, all my previous post was asserting was that if black rappers didn't create something awesome, white rappers wouldn't have fallen in love with it and become white rappers. Does it not stand to reason that white rappers were fans of rap before they became rappers?

As to the "blackface wouldn't exist" part of your post, that only proves that black people's actions don't affect *every* white person. Of course there are going to be racist-ass white people who mock black people and think their culture is silly/stupid/horrible. But an individual member of any race can be inspired or influenced by the actions of an individual member of any other race, if what the latter person does simply strikes the former person as being inspiring/remarkable/"cool."

[Mr. T]

I'm not arguing that white people should have the right to use the word, or that black people need to alter their behavior for white people. I'm just saying that when the term is constantly used to refer to african-americans in mainstream rap songs, it sends a conflicting message about the propriety of the word. In all the outrage and disgust they were expressing in the podcast about white people using the word in clearly non-racist contexts, i think it would have been worth discussing if its ever problematic for african-americans to use it.


And I'd disagree that nothing black people have ever done ever influenced the behavior of white people. White people constantly take their cues from black people in terms of style, fashion and language.

[klem_johansen]

I guess I'd heard of the Black Peter thing before but I never connected the dots - this means Santa Claus is a slave master. I think what's really going on is that it's supposed to be an intense moral test for these kids- a bit like the recent "cookie tests" psychologists have been running. They're supposed to refuse the toys on the grounds that Santa is a racist pig.

Some kid from Iceland returns his presents in person (he lives so damn near the arctic circle, he can basically walk there) and Santa pretends to be too busy to listen but then he grabs the box and quietly mutters "So shines a good deed in a weary wold."

It's been a test all along set up by wealthy abolitionists. Your mind = blown.

[pins360]

I think you guys should have Andrew Ti on the show again. I really enjoyed to energy between you guys.