I’ve been trying to avoid writing this for a long, long time, but something keeps happening that makes me revisit the idea. Let me set the scene:

Scrolling through TikTok, I run into 1001 videos of right wing, Trump supporters using hip-hop as their sound to express something racist then using it as a weapon towards a group it was created by. Or, hearing White rappers do original rap joints in support of Trump while other Trump supporters stitch it and dance along to it. This is our world, now. The same people that called it “jungle music” or “nigger music” are the same ones using it for views or to express a viewpoint that directly conflicts with that of the Black community….the creators of the culture.

Lord Jamal, a founding member of Brand Nubian, made headlines a couple years ago saying that “Whites were guests in hip-hop”. A lot of the White rappers agreed. Rappers like R.A. The Rugged Man, and the rapper that that comment was directed towards – Eminem, agreed with the sentiment. I personally know a couple White rappers who would also agree with that sentiment, and that’s exactly why I don’t. At least, not in the indefinite sense. Let me explain: both Eminem and R.A. fell in love with hip-hop like I did, and any and every other student of the culture has. Because of that, they had to endure hardships in the beginning because of their love for the culture. The mockery from their White friends and families, the hate from Black people always telling them this “wasn’t for them”, but at the same time, maintaining that respect for the culture and its rules.

See, the rules aren’t the same anymore. As a matter of fact, there really isn’t any, because there are no gate keepers in place any more. They started in the 80s. Hip-Hop was a much different animal in the 80s and 90s. You had to know the history, you had to respect those that came before you, you had to write your own rhymes. Hell, you had to earn your stripes battling. It was the age of the the warriors; and they survived those barriers, along with the ones we didn’t even have to  confront.

Eminem drew a line in the sand at the BET Awards basically telling Trump supports he doesn’t want their support, and he used his platform and his complexion for the sake of us. He knelt at the Superbowl. The many times he could’ve folded and said “fuck y’all” to us, he didn’t. He still managed to pay homage and get star struck around the likes of LL, Treach, Redman, and even recited an Ice T classic to Ice T’s face while being interviewed by him because he admired him so much. He even used his power to elevate Black artists. Did he say something out of pocket as a 17 year old? Yes. And I believe his apology was sincere. Actions mean a little more than words to me, and because of that, I don’t think people like them are “guests”. They are hip-hop because they understand and respect the culture. They also understand why we are the way we are. They “get” the laws of society. They know where the hatred comes from, and they don’t try to make us share blame, like rappers like Tom McDonald, who raps:

“I cannot feel guilty for shit that I didn’t do
But I can understand the reasons why you think that I should
Yeah I’m white but I never put your neck in no noose
And I never burnt a cross or hid my face with a hood
You can’t just label me racist ’cause I’m related to people
Who did some terrible shit way back before I was alive
My parents brought me up to treat everyone as an equal
I refuse to feel ashamed ’cause of my pretty blue eyes
Fuck a Nazi, fuck a white supremacist
Fuck anyone who labels me as that because of my family genetics
The hatred for Caucasians is so fucking pathetic
Go be proud that you’re black, but don’t hate me for some credit
I’m not the white devil, neo-Nazi, cop tryna pull the trigger
You can call me what you want but I’d still never say
The white race as a whole ain’t the enemy
There’s racist white people but we’re far from that collectively”

This is an example of not understanding not only the culture but the people inside the culture. I find it offensive and had a long conversation with him about it. He doesn’t understand the concept of “White privilege”. He doesn’t even understand the word “racist”, and what it means. He doesn’t understand that people who stand by and do nothing about it are actively enabling the ones they claim they are not.

People like him believe “anyone could be racist”. No. That’s not true. The ones who believe that are quick to tell you to “look it up”, but when you tell them the definition is different in a law dictionary, they don’t want to hear it.  It’s been watered down to spare more White feelings. In case you were wondering, in Black’s Law Dictionary (which is the supreme law dictionary – I know, because I had to get it in law school), it says, “A set of policies that is exhibited bt a person or persons toward a group of people of a different race. Often antagonistic and confronting. The assumption of lower intelligence and importance given to a person because of their racial characteristics“.

Now let’s also break down the very first time the word was used and how it was used. The Oxford English Dictionary’s first recorded utterance of the word “racism” was by a man named Richard Henry Pratt in 1902. Pratt was railing against the evils of racial segregation. In his speech, he said:

The notion that Black people are upset about things we “didn’t personally experience”, and everything in the world is “right” now because  “slavery is over”, is foolish and naive. There is no place in hip-hop for someone who believes this. It’s amazing how many views he has on YouTube, but apparently hasn’t seen one article about what goes on today. But….ignorant White people sing his praises every chance they get.

I think the “guests” aren’t limited and reserved by color. I believe some Black people are “guests in hip-hop”, as well, and I truly believe conservative Republicans have absolutely zero place in the culture. It’s not for them.

To me, seeing those people do stuff like that, feels like mockery. No different then when they talk with an over exaggerated “Black” tone with outlandish body language and gestures. Hip-Hop was created in the streets, during the worst of time for minorities; as blues and spirituals were. The White people in that vein created punk music. That was their “rebellious youth” music. Our culture derived as a way to alter violence and killing one another. It was a way to settle disputes. Then it morphed into also being the voice of the street expressing what we saw, how we lived, and our experiences. Be it ours or someone close to us. All these situations were situations because of systematic racism, which a bulk of, comes from the conservative right side. They don’t understand its roots, it’s causes or anything. It was those causes that created gangsta rap. It was those causes that inspired, Hard Times by Run DMC, and The Message by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. “Fuck The Police”, birthed by racism, as well as “Fight The Power”. If you can’t understand that, or even agree with it, there is no place in this culture for you. Period.

“Democrats are racists, too”. Fair enough. But it is the policies passed by the right that sets the stage, while the left either ignores them, or reverses them a little at a time. So who should I hate more? The ones who refuses to feed me in my cage, or the one who sneaks in periodical water every now and again? We lean towards the ones that makes life a little easier. The ones who don’t make it difficult for us to vote, for instance. Or the ones who aren’t actively removing us from even more history. Or the ones willing to pass a bill to protect the feelings of a White people, but refuse to pass anti lynching bills. It’s really not a hard decision.

And for those of you who want to respond with a “but“….no, you don’t belong in hip-hop. You would be lucky to be a “guest”!!! I said what I meant and meant what I said.