Did you ever think that any controversy could come out of a song with a majority of it’s lyrics being “Yo, Aye, Yo, Aye, Yo”? Well as 2017 proves to be one of the most shocking years in American History, of course its music had to follow suit. So you’re probably wondering, what lyrical genius came up with that line of wisdom? His name is Jahseh Dwyane Onfroy, or better known as XXXTentaction.
Jahseh, or “X”, is a 19-year old American singer/rapper from Lauderhill, Florida. It’s very likely that you haven’t heard of him before because he’s one of the younger/newer faces in rap. From my own observations, I’ve realized that the people who do know his music either love or hate it, I haven’t heard much of the in between. From listening to the slightest bit of his work, you’ll realize that X is not someone that holds anything back. He’s as explicit as they come. Recently, X released his newest music video for one of his most popular songs Look At Me!, and by doing so he shocked viewers all around the globe by giving them something no one thought they’d see (not in 2017 at least). If you aren’t someone who keeps up with the latest of what’s happening in pop culture, let alone the rap side of it, you might not have seen the headlines surrounding the video already, so here’s the gist of it: X hung a white kid.
I mean it how I said it, noose and all. As an attempt at what he calls a “socio-political” commentary on white supremacy in America, X lynched a 6-year old white boy. He follows that by saying “Are you willing to risk your child’s future due to your own bigotry? The choice is yours, but your child will not stand for the hate. This generation will be loved, nurtured, heard and understood.” I personally don’t see where the love comes in when murdering someone, but that’s just me. We can’t overlook the fact that in the beginning of his “woke” message, he along with two other young black males, were hung too (although he was still alive and singing while in that noose) because that was all apart of his plan. He expected people to forget about the beginning of the video and only talk about the young boy. Not because the loss of a child hits us harder than that of an adult might, but according to X, it all has to do with race. He believes that we naturally care for the well-being of a white person more so than a person of color. Giving X the benefit of the doubt, I wouldn’t say that’s a far off assumption. I’m sure that there are actually some people who care more for one race than the other, and they probably found this video more appalling than most. But despite race, we can’t ignore the fact that lynching anyone is a pretty radical thing to do.
Let’s also recognize that X is not known for promoting peace and prosperity in the world. He’s actually facing criminal charges for assault and battery against his pregnant girlfriend. It also doesn’t take much to realize that X is a pretty aggressive and seemingly aggravated individual. Just look at some of his lyrics:
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“I’m coming for your daughter and your life p**** n****” RUN UP ON ME, 2017
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“Yo mama was birthin’, but she she suckin’ and f****** for free” White Girl, 2017
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“And I do fight d****” YuNg BratZ, 2017
So why should we be taking lessons on loving each other from a guy that shamelessly uses racist, sexist, and homophobic terminology every chance he gets? Who is he to tell the rest of the world that we’ve been discriminatory and hateful? I believe that credibility goes a long way, and in order to thoroughly get a message across, whatever it may be, a person should act accordingly to the words they speak. I myself am still lost as to how I feel about everything this video is trying to do. So I’m really writing this as a means to hear what other people are thinking.
Lastly, I’m not trying to say that what he talks about doesn’t exist. Like I briefly brought up earlier, racism in America is alive and well and it has been made very clear in recent events. In recognizing that, I can appreciate some of the statements that X makes. So to end this on a thought provoking note, I’ll leave you with one of them:
“You cannot, as black or white, call yourself the supreme race when moved out of your comfort by the opposition’s color, their skin color. That is no form of being or demonstrating being a supreme being. If you are a supremacist, be unmoved by the opposition. Remain unscathed in the comfort of your own home, in your own realm.”