Hip hop brings people together. Stop being a Cheney

Original comment found at Dan’s blog:

There’s some controversy brewing around Eminem right now. A freestyle he made over ten years ago has surfaced at the hands of the co-founders of The Source magazine, David Mays and Benzino Scott.

An excerpt from the song is:

Black girls and white girls just don’t mix
Because black girls are dumb and white girls are good chicks
White girls are good, I like white girls
I like white girls all over the world
White girls are fine and they blow my mind
And that’s why I’m here now, telling you this rhyme
‘Cause black girls, I really don’t like.

So, of course the song is racist. Which is bad. And although it’s no excuse, Eminem said he made the song right after breaking up with his African American girlfriend. I mean, when I break up with a girlfriend, I pretty much don’t like girls in particular. I’m not a sexist, though. Far from.

So, Eminem said this and, rightfully so, released an apology explaining the song and said he didn’t mean any harm. What pisses me off is that the co-founders of The Source are using this as an example to illustrate how Hip Hop should only be performed, appreciated, and lived by “black people”. And I love hip hop, and at the shows I’ve gone to, I’ve realized and been moved by how much Hip Hop brings people together – from all walks of life – race, creed, economic status, sex – everyone is unified together listening to the flow of amazing poetry to the backdrop of melodies that will move you, and beats you will move to. It’s one of the main reasons I think what we’re doing can and will work.

For instance, back in March, The New York Times reports “The March issue (of the Source) kept up the attack, calling Eminem an “infiltrator” who has continued the sad legacy of the much-derided white rapper Vanilla Ice.” What the hell? An infiltrator? Because he’s white?

So, for those who don’t know. David Mays is a white dude who went to Harvard. A white dude who started out with more than Eminem or Vanilla Ice. And shit, I saw a video with him about safety when I was at school. He rapped on it. And he sucked. He was completely, wanna be Beastie Boys, awful. So, this is he. And David, the goatee makes you look really tough, too.

Last February, Mays, racial luminary that he is, said “Hip-hop made me respect black people”. Cause, you know, there’s no other reason in the world to respect black people aside from hip hop. And black people and hip hop are, of course, synonymous. He finished off his interview outraged that because of Eminem, “White kids are growing up claiming hip-hop as their own.”

I don’t want to harp on this too much, and I don’t mean to bore everyone out there who is smarter than David Mays, which is pretty much everyone, but, DAVID MAYS is a white kid, who claimed hip-hop as his own, way before Eminem was on the radar. I’m actually flabbergasted enough at this to use the word flabbergasted in order to describe how flabbergasted I am that this white dude, who owes his whole career to hip hop, is trying to say white people shouldn’t be a part of hip hop.

It’s this type of close minded mentality that’s getting my friends shot at in Iraq. The unintelligent, divisive behavior that feels the need to group people into an ‘us’ and a ‘them’.

Eminem talks about hip hop the way it should be framed – in terms of the music and the love for it – not in terms of racial terms. He shouts “I don’t make black music. I don’t make white music. I make fight music, for high school kids.” Which, comment all you want on the fight music part, but it’s pretty inclusive. You know. That whole ‘one love’ thing.

Jam to whatever music you want to. Understand its history, and even use the music to gain a better understanding of the world. Maybe people will stop hating on each other. There’s a lot that can be learned about life and issues from music. Don’t listen to ignorant people like David Mays.

Once again, flabbergasted.