The Divine Miss K
A Column by J. Kim

What's the Sound of White Men Rapping?

Rap music was created originally, as a freedom of expression among inner city African Americans and Latinos. Then many African American artists used it to express their disenfranchisement (one in four African American males will face either prison or probation in their lifetime) in U.S. society. It also painted a picture of the lives of some African Americans on the streets in gangs. The genre was protest. Public Enemy is not Public Enemy without the message. The message was intrinsic to the medium, as are similar genres, such as folk, reggae.

If the government had copied Bob Dylan's style during the Vietnam War to write pro-war songs, folk artists would have rightfully been indignant that their genre and their existence was being stolen and mocked. If punk music were used to spread capitalist propaganda, Sid Vicious would return from the grave to protest and may even bring Nancy. Many critics accused Paul Simon of manipulation when he capitalized on the work of South African musicians in the name of "world music." Consider Riverdance, and set aside Michael Flatley for a moment, the whole reason their arms stay planted during the dance is because the Irish could only dance with their feet so that the British soldiers would not notice them dancing. If a British troop were to start Riverdance 2, the Irish would have cause to be offended. The oppression of the British created that style of dance as the oppression of white America helped create rap. Many people in the African American and Latino communities have accused rock and roll of basically stealing from R&B. Elvis is the classic example of this. So now, another genre created by African Americans is now capitalized on by white Americans simply because whites are still in the majority and own the lion's share of wealth. Eminem is a manifestation of this.

So, a white artist who chooses this medium had better damn well have respect for the people who came before them and what the music represents. Eminem and Kid Rock make a mockery of the genre. The Beastie Boys and Consolidated can empathize because Jewish people faced an unthinkable oppression during World War II. In other countries such as France, the rap stars are black, such as MC Solar (who also is far far far better than Eminem). Italians have started making rap, but it comes across very disco-like. Koreans have also jumped into the rap game; people in that country have suffered tremendously in the 20th century, so it makes perfect sense.

Though you can sympathize with some of the issues of race, you can never be another race. A white person can never be black, no matter how hip and fly and dope they think they are, they will never know what it's like. So for the messages of rap to reach a white audience is always a stretch; a white audience can agree with the messages and therefore support them, but the sentiments will never be organic nor will they be internal. Just as a male artist could never write about being a woman and undergoing the physical and mental experiences that it entails.

Back to the artists in question. What is also extremely objectionable is their popularity. African American rap artists with 10 times the talent of these people (EPMD, Boogie Down Productions, Eric B and Rakim, Public Enemy, Dr. Dre) have not received the monetary rewards and publicity as has Kid Rock, who cannot hold a candle to KRS One. This is disgusting frankly. Suddenly, if a white person is doing it, it's okay for America to like it. Not to start another conspiracy theory, but a African American rapper who showed the potential to achieve mass record sales and wealth, Tupac, was gunned down.

Everyone is judged on their race, gender, appearance. That's human nature. And if you are in the dominant group, white, which is suppressing other groups, then you should be judged far more harshly. Truth be told, I would despise both artists regardless of their race because they are irritating and talentless. Kid Rock is particularly disgusting and threatening. Rap at one point in time was trying to bring balance into power structures, making the country more egalitarian. Kid Rock in particular uses it to further put down a gender that in many ways is completely disenfranchised also (women are not incarcerated, but rather are the victims of violent crimes - on in six women will be raped in her lifetime). Rappers such as Easy E did the same thing. He was disgusting and was shaming the genre of rap as well with that bitches and hos crap.  Eminem similarly took the worst rap had to offer by using the gang-banger bravado. KRS One said, "Stop the Violence" whereas Eminem seems to say violence is good. Easy for him to say, as a white man he is far less likely than an African American male to be arrested for a crime, if arrested he is far less likely to be convicted, and if convicted he will receive a less severe sentence. So for a white man to use a traditionally African American medium to brag about violence is a slap in the face to all the men and women pulled over for things like "Driving while black" or mothers who lost their sons into gang. While racism disgusts me, the history of whites and men in the United States also disgusts me; if someone belongs to that privileged group, they should be judged more critically when they exploit the inventions of others. But I suppose that is the American Way, Bill Gates made millions doing it, and he's also a white man (though he could be an alien, there is that distinct possibility).

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