“Dear White People” Hip-Hop: A Sub-Genre to Humble and Remind

Words by Matthew Spence:

Wu-Tang Financial tip: cheap shit is tight…and cheap. We all want to get taken to a visually third-eye-opening world like Dorothy and learn more about ourselves. So stall out the hassle of collecting “if you get caught, you didn’t get it from me” science parts, like their San Andreas easter eggs, so you can build your own personal Inception Dream Machine. Give your inner Dr. Doofenshmirtz some rest, G. Nor do you have to prepare an Aaron Sorkin monologue trying to convince your plug to sell you shrooms for $10 cheaper. All you need are your headphones (even though you can go raw with your speakers) and a decked-out hip-hop playlist.

Sorry, not sorry, Post Malone, but expanding for 50 years straight now, to where my nail-bitten fingers can barely scratch the surface (let alone myself) of its’ impact and history. So let’s start here in Stereo: Hip-hop has given Black (and brown) people a voice, hope, and distraction from the harsh reality of their environment, while also giving individuals another piece of their character-building puzzle. To become the person they deserve to be while getting a glimpse at someone else’s reality, whether fluffy or grimy. Whichever way we’re getting down the yellow brick road, whether we’re skipping and whistling or head-down and kicking rocks, in the land of Hip-Hop Oz (Hip-Hoz?), we’ll pass colorful characters and residents; at the end of the journey, we can walk away with new food for thought in some shape and form. However, not every main character for the evening gets the reality check they may have expected.

The Cowardly Lion has had courage all along from being a Kanye West fan (and lord knows they have the courage at this point); Scarecrow’s brain was with him this whole time cause he had Some Rap Songs on vinyl, and Tin Man’s heart was his Mac Miller lyric painted on him. But for some Dorothys out there, the Wizard asks them questions instead: Should I really be your messenger? Will you actually use my advice? If I help you, what are you gonna do? Am I wasting my breath trying to help you when I want to/could help the next person? How the fuck did you even get here? I thought this was a gated community. Then BAM, they’re hit with the secret exit door.

Now, plenty of fanbases have that tension between the artist and fans; however, there’s an unsung sub-genre that needs to supply a nickel of funk for the artists (and honestly some of the fans) due to the stress of going in circles. A sub-genre I like to call “Dear White People” hip-hop.

Peep game. Here’s my customary guide to “Dear White People”

• A sub-genre I made up while eating Lifesaver Gummies and trying to find my Le Fleur Afro Pick that I’d be damned if lose it (It’s a Pick Nigga!)
• A sector of hip-hop music that heavily revolves and centers in Black thought and the black experience in some/many facets that white people seem to flock to it
• All coming from an artist that gives the impression that they “low-key hate their white fans”

But… that’s only coloring outside the lines of their and the point.

Don’t get me wrong, the idea of rappers hating their white fans (or white people) is pretty fucking funny to me; however, it’s a blanket statement that I’ve seen cover the main sentiment of artists who fall under that umbrella to me. Meet the Dear White People Big 3:

1. The woman with the name named, Noname

2. The Defintion of “They think I’m Joking When I’m Serious”, Vince Staples

3. Peggy Sue Hates Morrissey Too, JPEGMAFIA

All talented emcees repping the East Coast (Peggy), Midwest (Noname), and West (Vince), digging out their own lane for almost a decade now, whether you love the music or not you have to respect it. While their styles are on different sides of the festival, their sentiments are not too far from each other or at least can reach some mutual agreement in parts. But, let’s just say <clears throat> they’ve made their opinions on white hip-hop fans and the consumption of hip-hop by white people, pretty well-known.

So, they kinda earned their reputation so to speak.

With the Music:

Without the Music.

But oh, how the irony tipped over the cow as the surface-level label kind of goes to their point of contention. Now hip-hop and white people have a long Charlie Kaufman-esque complex history that makes trigonometry look like 2+2=4. Since the dawn of the first breakbeat and DJ Scratch. Peeling it back, Black and White people have an even LONNNNGGGGGER history that’s complex regarding all of the intricacies of the history, yet at the same time, not so complex to where we can simply say and see how fucked it all is (To whoever is reading this, IF I HAVE TO EXPLAIN WHY AND HOW IT’S FUCKED……I don’t even have a smart remark to even match the level of disappointment I have in you). Life outside of hip-hop and as well before: there was the good, the bad, the shitty, the disturbing, the unfair, and the fucking ugly. So when you go through the books and understand the outside factors of systematic racism, white supremacy, classism, drugs, poverty, violence, and so much more, that directly and indirectly caused the birth of the genre to begin with. You can understand why certain rappers would feel a type of way when their experiences, trauma, words of encouragement, and most vulnerable moments are meant for those who look like them and feel like them, becoming entertainment for the total opposite of you. Who isn’t truly listening, appreciative, and removed from the culture you’re trying to speak to in some way. It’s not hatred, it’s frustration.

It must be stomach-turning to be in that position wanting to create art for the people and for a certain purpose, but you can’t escape the reality that whether you like it or not, it’s gonna reach the demo you didn’t really aspire to. Kurt Cobain was not trying to write songs for meathead jocks all of a sudden at his peak success. Nirvana’s shows were full of them, even though he was calling them out in the music. The biggest audience in Hip-Hop in the US is white people. The majority of the country is made up of white people, so the moment an artist grows in popularity…white people will get to them.

Enter the void in their shoes. Noname has a catalog of music that’s worthy to be dissected in college courses. Music discussing white supremacy, colonialism, and songs about stress and trials of being a Black woman, yet words of empowerment towards Black women. You make a song like “beauty supply” or “Prayer Song,” but after finishing your backstage ritual and preparation, you go on stage, ready to rip, and the crowd looks like the total fucking opposite of the Million Man March.

So could you really blame her for not wanting to perform for white audiences? Well…many have and probably still do, cause shade, dirt, and criticism were thrown her way once she announced that she will “not perform for White Audiences again”, all while again not acknowledging her point. Predominantly white people though, cause most black people saw, understood her tweets, and said “Respect it yo”.

The same can go for Vince Staples, performing lyrics like “Wonder if they know, I know they won’t go where we kick it at,” knowing the audience is the peak example of “People wanna be a nigga but don’t wanna be a nigga”.

The same goes for other artists that may fit that shoe. You make art that centers on Blackness, the Black experience, your Black experience, and your Black thoughts; however, the majority of your audience standing before you is instead a different group of people who you’re not necessarily trying to speak to. One half is either missing the point of what you’re trying to convey and can’t get past the first-grade level listening level of “this shit sounds good.” While the other half is only looking at your thoughts on the surface and not registering the idea that “maybe I could do better in some sense” and applying the artists’ societal critiques to themselves but instead putting it to the side because “Hey, I listen to Noname and Smino; I’m down for the cause, microaggressions. What? Not I?”

Sure, you can all point like Nelson at the “Death of the Artist” concept. Once you put it out into the world, it’s no longer yours and yeah this is not necessarily a wrong sentiment. However, the layers should be discussed, no matter how worldwide an artist’s reach is or no matter how all smiles and hallmark cards people may think Hip-Hop is because everyone is a rapper now and everyone has the chance to talk about it. One Word and no it’s not gatekeep, that’s for another article.

Learn.

White hip-hop fans. Learn to learn that you don’t understand.  Knowledge 101: All I know is that I don’t know. While it correlates more to this “sub-genre”, but honestly you can apply it to every hip-hop artist breathing,

While you’re at it, use your spider-man web-slinger to connect to all art created by marginalized groups. For instance, damn near every other artist I like is either bi, gay, or in some way a member of the LGBTQ+, women, or artists of different races, I can’t relate to their experience to a full 100% nor am I gonna try to fake the relate. I’m not a black woman, I’m not a gay Black Man, I’m not a bisexual white woman, there’s so much human relatable I can have with artists like Noname, Kevin Abstract, or Clairo before that umbilical cord is cut. However, that cut-off doesn’t stop me from taking their life story piece by piece and learning from their experience, if able, to see if I can make a mental note.

Now, of course, I’m not saying every damn artist you binge on Spotify during your spring cleaning; that may be a minority. You need to turn your listening session into a self-improvement YouTube video. I’m a fucking English major, and even I know not to read in between the lines that much. Have fun with Lil Yachty, Aminé, or even some Kendrick songs; sometimes it’s not that deep, but at some point, when you’re an outsider by definition, you’re surrounded by Blackness and the Black aesthetic. You have to remember to know the ledge; never get too comfortable. Be respectful to someone else in a way they would appreciate. Because when white people get too comfortable is when shit goes absolutely wrong.

Your growth in fandom shouldn’t just stop at a dead end with just that. Simply learn to learn more. Now everyone’s standards for white hip-hop heads are different, so I can’t speak for these artists and many artists, so generally speaking for me, you don’t need to drop everything and jump into being a committed, storming the streets, ready to mosh through the mush and spit on cop cars (now if you’re about that life…cool). Burn all of your white clothes and trade them in for Ecko and FUBU and whatever else Billie Eilish has in her closet. You don’t need to go Team Extreme in activism, yo; the bare minimum is just as helpful and important to help push society to a slightly less shitty place. Listen to the music, heed their words, reflect on your privilege, acknowledge microaggressions you’re scared to admit that they are, learn from the artists, and do your part in helping push forward. Be an ally in the best way you can. We don’t need to spread more ignorance. We have enough assholes in the world; we don’t need more. All while staying in your place. Get in where you fit in, as Too $hort once said.

Music is universal; we all love music, and everyone can and should listen. But when the sun goes down, Hip-Hop is still F.U.B.U.