The Other Corener
by Kevin Fentress In the late 90s and early 2000s, the white rapper archetype could be summed up with a single name. Eminem was an artist who achieved fame and fortune not because of his whiteness, but despite it. Though his race was (and still is) a frequent topic of conversation, even the most casual hip-hop listener could tell that Marshall Mathers’s success was based on sheer talent. Which brings us to the white rappers of today. Let me preface the following by saying that I realize talented white voices do exist within modern hip-hop. However, this essay is about the genre’s most prominent white representatives: the “artists” immediately brought to mind with the phrase “white rapper,” those who have enjoyed the most mainstream success. Let’s start with Macklemore. He and Ryan Lewis have enjoyed immense popularity since the release of The Heist in 2012, and it’s easy to see why; the duo makes radio-friendly pop songs with upbeat rap verses. I won’t deny that Macklemore has some raw ability, but his music completely lacks edge. In order for his jaunty tunes about thrifting and shiny cars to offend anyone, they’d have to make an impression first. But despite all this, I do think Macklemore comes from a place of sincerity. How else can one explain his “Same Love” comparison of the gay community’s collective struggle to his brief questioning of his own sexuality in the third grade, or the time he cluelessly dressed as a Jewish caricature? Such tone-deafness leads me to believe that Macklemore is genuine in his approach, no matter how dull and tiresome it may be. While Macklemore’s star has faded slightly since The Heist’s release, Iggy Azalea’s is as bright as they come. With two hits dominating the radio waves this summer and a constant presence in the public eye, she has quickly become a household name in the music world. It only takes a brief listen to any of her songs to see why this is a bad thing. Azalea, a white Australian woman, ambles through her rap verses in a syrupy, exaggerated accent with all the tact of a minstrel show. Her attempts at sounding “urban” during her songs are hamstrung by the way she talks in interviews – in which she unsurprisingly sounds like a white Australian woman. Her trademark drawl is an affectation at best, and a racist gimmick at worst. This begs the question: is Azalea self-aware? Is her oral blackface a cynical and calculated choice? Or is she merely oblivious, like a down-under version of Jamie Kennedy’s character in Malibu’s Most Wanted? In either case, the end result remains the same: a blow to white credibility in the hip-hop world. The fact that these two have come to represent the Caucasian in rap is nothing if not depressing. On one hand is a smug, self-congratulatory milquetoast; a symbol of everything wrong with the millennial generation. On the other is a white girl with delusions of color spouting the most degrading form of Ebonics this side of Norbit. They may be different in their respective approaches, but both are equally committed to building up racial barriers through music.
I’ll conclude with a simple request, directed to no one in particular: please stop giving these people money. In today's absurdly PC culture, white people are blamed for enough as is. Let’s not add terrible music to that list. P.S. It's a great honor to have the first post on the Corener. Hopefully it won't be the last.
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