This isn’t going to be as long as the other write ups, because this is addressing a very specific problem with a specific individual. I was going to make it a regular post, but this needs to be available for access over and over and over again. Let’s get it.

The up and down (mostly down) rapper Tyga has released a song/video called “Ay Caramba“, which has to be the most insensitive thing I’ve seen in a long time; and I’m on TikTok!

From the very first downbeat to the fade out, I sat in amazement that EVERYONE in his circle was “good” with this. The mockery in the “accent”, the mariachi outfit, the stuffing of his face with every stereotypical Mexican food item in the local grocery store, and the fact that (what appeared to be) a Mexican girl as the leading lady, shined a light on the tokenism she allowed herself to be apart of.

Both he and I were born in Compton. He was raised in Gardena, while I spent a majority of my time in Wilmington. Maybe that’s the disconnect, but I doubt it. Tupac said it best, “it wouldn’t be LA without Mexicans“. There is no inner city in Southern California where we don’t live among one another. So there is no excuse for this idiocy.

In his “fat, Mexican character”, he dropped the n-bomb on a couple occasions. Although I do realize that that word has become increasingly popular among my brown brothers and sisters, it could possibly be that “familiarity” that drove him to think it wouldn’t be a “bad idea” and Mexicans “would embrace it”. Maybe he thought “since so many of us don’t mind that, then (y’all) wouldn’t mind this”. I can only speculate at this point, but considering I loath both instances equally, I could vaguely see how one spawned the other.

There is no question that Black & Brown could stand to respect each other more, and while this instance shows there isn’t enough communication between us as neighbors, it is also apparent that there should be.

The people closest to me are Mexican. In fact, every DJ I’ve had was Mexican. I went to school with them my entire life. I really feel apart of their community. If you know me, you know I fight for them just as hard as I fight for my own. So the back and fourth really affects me. The way I was treated by them in jail….affected me. The vendors that got attacked….affected me. And now this; this affects me.

I get Tyga wants to make a song that is embraced by the Mexican community, and even if his “heart was in the right place”, the fact he didn’t know that this “wasn’t it”, screams he had no place to even attempt it. You can’t praise, or try to attract a community you know nothing about. To even think it is a “good idea” screams he only did it to tap into the market. Add in the fact he didn’t see the blowback YG got, makes it even more tone deaf.

Hip-Hop has a buying power of $500 billion. With only 36% of White dollars included in that number, the majority of it is Blacks, with Hispanics close behind. The appeal to broaden one’s audience is undeniable. I get it. However, you can’t expect a community to embrace you when you know nothing about them and think a whole group of people are two dimensional, stereotypical caricatures for nothing more than amusement. That is no different than “Amos & Andy”, or any of those other Black face acts of the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s….You get the idea. We got to do better.  These assumptions we hold for each other will continue to divide when there is no need for it. Just talk. Ask sincere questions and respect the answers. There is so much ground that is common among us. Our roots in this country are closely parallel. We LITERALLY borrowed from one other throughout history to make our cultures stronger and deeper. That’s where the overlap comes from.

We have to respect one another. To do that, we have to be able to empathize. Some things are just for us, just like some things are specifically for them. We are quick to buck up when one of our lines is crossed, we should recognize that same line with them….and vice versa. And when one of us fucks up, it is up to us to check our own and let it be known we don’t get down like that. That’s what I’m doing with Tyga right now. We have to respect each other. We have to respect our cultures, our images, and our linguistic reappropriations (look it up). We get to much disrespect from other places – we shouldn’t have to watch our neighbor’s yard as well.

So my suggestion: blow him, his label, and distribution company up until it is removed. That’s what we would do. There is a reason why no Mexican rapper had or will ever blow up dropping the n-word on the west coast. 6ixx 9ine can do that in New York, because they are different. Hell, they let a snitch wonder the streets there; it wouldn’t happen here! Bottom line, you want things to change? Act. Don’t just say, “if it were the other way around, there would be a problem”. There are literally more of you!! BE THAT PROBLEM!! Because if you don’t, you are going to make the next rapper feel like they can do it, too. This in particular, is a result of not going harder at YG. How many rappers will it take? Inaction is only going to make you resentful of Black people, period, and the ones who ride with you, like myself, are going to be the ones mostly affected by it.  Act. Need help? Here is all the contact information you need.

Am I going to be the only one hitting them up like a regretful ex boyfriend who wants to get back with the good woman I got cheated on by, or are you too going to make your voices heard? I guess we’ll see.

Tyga
Instagram – @tyga
Twitter – @tugs

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