Comments on: Is Hip Hop Black Privilege?

By: Charles E. Singletary

Charles E. Singletary — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 14:53:00 +0000

In reply to richardbailey. The Koalition will serve as a tool to do so. Thanks for reading man.

By: richardbailey

richardbailey — Mon, 29 Dec 2014 21:27:00 +0000

I finally had a chance to read this from start to finish and I personally want to give you props for diving into this topic headfirst and putting together an insightful piece in the process. I have never been an Iggy fan and even I can see how she needs to be properly educated on what she is representing. At the same time, there are plenty of other talented rappers out there that deserve more shine and recognition for their talents. Hopefully we can start to see more of these rappers get their due in 2015 and beyond.

By: Charles E. Singletary

Charles E. Singletary — Sun, 28 Dec 2014 01:39:00 +0000

In reply to TK. Um. Thanks for sharing...

By: TK

TK — Sat, 27 Dec 2014 22:00:00 +0000

Blacks are privileged to be living in America rather than Africa. They live far longer and have a much higher income here. I know it’s humiliating to consider, but it’s true. Blacks keep coming here from Africa but they rarely move from America to Africa. There is no majority-black country on Earth where blacks have it better than they do in America. That’s a huge privilege.

By: Daryl m.

Daryl m. — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 02:32:00 +0000

I believe that there is Black Privilege, and as a matter of fact it’s real and it affects everyone

By: ghostdini85

ghostdini85 — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 18:33:00 +0000

In reply to torrencedavis. I'm 100% in agreement with you Tor.

By: Tamesha

Tamesha — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 16:38:00 +0000

I don’t think there’s a such thing as “black privilege” in the American context, not even within hip hop, because the term privilege implies power. Privilege is an advantage you have just by virtue of being part of the dominant group (group in power). “Access to privilege doesn’t determine one’s outcomes, but it is definitely an asset that makes it more likely that whatever talent, ability, and aspirations a person with privilege has will result in something positive for them. (Peggy McIntosh)” There’s no black privilege even in the arena of black cultural production because we don’t yet own and control our own images and artforms. Think of the relatively low percentages of mass-media outlets targeted toward blacks that are black-owned, think of who produces the ratchet black reality TV shows, who owns major record labels, even who owns the black hair stores, etc. And even in cases where the message/artform is wholly owned and curated by blacks, there’s the issue of audience. Since America is majority white, anyone wanting to “make it big” eventually has to produce for a white audience (at least in part), which often changes the artform itself (think Tyler Perry or Nicki Minaj). For me, these obstacles are the very opposite of privilege, and are the irony that blacks have to overcome white privilege even within supposedly black artforms and arenas.

So when people want white hip hop artists to check their privilege, they just want an acknowledgement that there is a greater likelihood that “whatever talent, ability, and aspirations” they have will produce success – over an equally talented black person. Hence Macklemore over Kendrick Lamar. And I think that’s the crux of what Q-Tip was trying to tell Iggy. Hip hop is essentially a reaction against power and privilege, so when you come in all ignorant, making racist tweets and putting on faux-accents and such, it will rub some people the wrong way. Yes, hip hop is music for everyone and anyone can make it, but when you disrespect the origins, you may sell a bajillion records (because of your privilege) but you won’t have the respect of people who care about hip hop as art and culture.

By: Roaming Ronin

Roaming Ronin — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 16:27:00 +0000

In reply to Charles E. Singletary.

Torrence and Charles,

The entire video, to me, is comedy gold cuz these two just feed off of each other in every video I’ve seen them im…But the part where they specifically address the Beastie Boys start right around the 3:30 point in this DJVlad video >> http://youtu.be/qnYf8zQXddQ

By: Roaming Ronin

Roaming Ronin — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 16:13:00 +0000

In reply to Ben Baxter. Really enjoyed your words about "acting white" and the term "sellout". I remember watching MTV Cribs and the rapper giving the tour (My gut and memory keep telling me it was Scarface) was showing off his album collection. It was very eclectic, and I was surprised but happy he took the moment to highlight Coldplay in his stockpile. Good music just hits you the right way, and people need to remember music used to be regarded strictly for the sound quality, not the package through which it's presented.

By: Ben Baxter

Ben Baxter — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 14:44:00 +0000

Yes, I believe there is black privilege within black culture as it relates to hip-hop and R&B (since the two genres are so intertwined now a days). I remember back in the day when you would get made fun of for listening to any music that wasn’t played on a black radio station. You would get labeled as “acting white” or a “sellout.” It was only ever acceptable to listen to white people if they had gained an honorary black card somehow (i.e. Eminem, Kenny G, Jon B, Justin Timberlake, etc). But even then, you were considered somewhat suspect by your friends if you didn’t have enough black artists in your CD-changer. Which is a shame too because there is so much great hip-hop and R&B (and other music) out there if blacks were not so closed-minded when it comes to recognizing talent. However, this all seems to be cyclical. Apparently in 1989, Ebony Magazine published an article exploring whether white people were “taking over” R&B. Yes, in 1989!

By: Charles E. Singletary

Charles E. Singletary — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 04:35:00 +0000

In reply to torrencedavis. That Beastie Boys thought was immediately what came to mind with me as well.

By: torrencedavis

torrencedavis — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 22:04:00 +0000

People forget that Hiphop is a music for the world. While it was created by black folks, it’s been embraced by white, latino, asian and everything else in between. It’s MUSIC! We have no right to be the gatekeepers of this art form. It’s made by the people for the people. I was VERY pissed off at Lord Jamar’s comments. I understood and agreed with some of the things he said in that interview but you can’t move forward if you won’t accept other races into the art form. I immediately thought to myself, “What does Lord Jamar think about the Beastie Boys?”

I think Iggy is whack as fuck and don’t give a shit but there’s one thing we should all remember…white people buy more hiphop than any ‘race’ on the planet. It’s a no brainer that when someone white like Macklemore comes out with an album, it’s gonna blow up. The difference here is that Macklemore has skills and earned his spot just like Eminem did. I get sick and tired of people hating on him just cuz he’s ‘white’ or made a song that’s pro ‘gay’. Black folks are far from perfect and can be just as bad, if not worse, than the next racist white folk.

By: Prefex

Prefex — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 19:43:00 +0000

In reply to Charles E. Singletary. Let's try and look at this in its simplest form, if it's good, it's good. If not ...

By: Charles E. Singletary

Charles E. Singletary — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 18:42:00 +0000

In reply to Jilisa Renee. Thanks for reading and commenting Jilisa. That statement was merely what someone may use to counter taking responsibility as a white artist, not my actual belief. The point I was making in that last portion is, there are many artists around who are the better part of Hip Hop. We should support them and put the quality we want at the forefront of popularity.

By: Jilisa Renee

Jilisa Renee — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 18:29:00 +0000

I’ll respond to this: ““While white artists are expected to understand their own privilege to be a part of Hip Hop, black artists and fans should take better care of this ‘Black privilege’”. The thing about this is that it isn’t an implied “or” it’s an “and”. They shouldn’t be mutual exclusive. The problem with Iggy is I think that if you see a group that has people who are internalizing their own oppression, it is not an excuse to continue to exploit it. Making money can be everyone else’s excuse, but its not mine. This coming for a former Nicki fan. I look for a way to support her, but she doesn’t always deliver, and it’s disappointing as a person who used to swear by her talent. So I agree we should take better care of the art form, but when we try to do that, it involves working on the internalized oppression (which goes beyond music) and not allowing people like Iggy Azalea to do what she does. She is a mockery to what it stands for, not someone like Em, MIA, Macklemore, etc. I agreed that it should be shared.