When I was in high school, I started listening to the music of prolific artists such as Nas, The Notorious BIG, Jay Z and Tupac. Their music fundamentally changed how I saw the world around me, making me gain a deeper appreciation for a worldview completely different from mine. The best rappers are storytellers, spitting their rags-to-riches tales to any that would listen. The reason these artists gained notoriety in their communities was because they could relate to what was coming out of the speakers. The story of Biggie’s crack-slinging days could have been the story of any young black male in the early nineties that was forced into selling drugs as a means of survival by the very same system that would punish him for it.
It’s important to respect the rapper as an artist, not just someone who talks on top of a beat. Rap music has struggled since its inception to gain respect as an art form amongst its peers in the music industry. Rappers, though revered by their fans, are often frowned upon by (mostly white) people who are of the ‘I like music with real instruments’ crowd.
If one were to really see the amount of work that goes into making a commercially successful rap song, perhaps their view would change. And even if the opposite is true, isn’t art that is spontaneously created in the wee hours of the morning in a bedroom just as legitimate? Doesn’t the rapper who blew up online with only a laptop and a microphone deserve just as much praise as the platinum-selling superstar?
To really appreciate rap as a white person, I’m of the opinion that you must do several things to start out:
1. Cut it with the Macklemore/Iggy/Eminem/etc. You’ll never gain the perspective you seek (if you’re seeking it, which I assume you are because you’re reading this) by listening to white rap.
2. Listen to and support black artists outside of rap. Rap lends itself to many genres, and many genres lend themselves to rap. Funk, jazz, soul, gospel, neo-soul…the list goes on. Get acquainted with the music that influenced rap in its very beginnings. Understand what music producers sample and why. Support these musicians through streaming or buying their music. There are countless things you can do to maintain the grassroots movement that hip-hop continues to be.
3. Learn about rappers and their stories. Hip-hop itself is a story of struggle, perseverance and success. It’s rich and it’s riveting and it’s beautiful. There are protagonists, antagonists and plot twists abound. Get to know the characters. At the end of the day, they’re just like you: people trying to figure it out and make it in this world.
4. It is never, ever, ever ever ever ever ever ever okay to use the N-word when rapping along to a song. EVER.
As I think of hip-hop and its trajectory over time, I’m constantly reminded that people, even fans of the genre, try to delegitamize different sub-genres of hip-hop as it evolves. It isn’t ‘real’ if it doesn’t sound like music from the boom-bap era, the gangsta rap era, or whatever.
This is silly. Stop it.
As different types of music die and are reborn with a new sound, there will always be people who miss the way things used to sound. That’s normal and completely rational. But, I find it hard to understand the argument that Future isn’t ‘real’ rap because he uses autotune, or raps over trap-style beats. How artists choose to express themselves is their choice; who are we to criticize that?
As a white person who is a fan of hip-hop, I try to refrain from de-legitamzing artists in a genre that was forged from black struggle, one which I never experienced and could never possibly fully understand. Just because a rapper’s music doesn’t fit within your definition of what hip-hop ‘is’, that doesn’t mean you have the obligation, or even the right, to bring them down for it.
Hip-hop is everything to me. Being a superfan has opened my eyes to a completely different perspective from what I was raised on, and I’m of the opinion that every white person should have a little bit of hip-hop in their regular music listening for this reason. If you chose to become a fan, as I have, I just ask that you consider all of these recommendations from someone who has neglected his own advice in the past but has learned from his mistakes.
Hip-hop hooray!
Image Credit: shortlist.com