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-unsourced claims (WP:OR) -- as if cultural appropriation is always a bad thing...
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{{Multiple issues|cleanup =March 2009|refimprove =March 2009|globalize =July 2010|original research =July 2010|inappropriate tone =July 2010}}
{{Multiple issues|cleanup =March 2009|refimprove =March 2009|globalize =July 2010|original research =July 2010|inappropriate tone =July 2010}}


Race issues often intersect with class issues.
Although '''[[hip hop]]''' is a primarily music oriented culture, the political significance of '''[[Race (classification of human beings)|race]]''' sometimes comes into play, with accusations of [[cultural appropriation]] against non-[[African American]]—typically white performers, and charges of racism and self-stereotyping against black performers.

==Overview==
By the [[United States 2000 Census]], three quarters of the United States' population is white, while one eighth is black. However, most mainstream rappers in the United States are black.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Rap, Black Rage, and Racial Difference|last=Best|first=Steven|coauthors=Kellner, Douglas|journal=Enculturation|volume=2|issue=2|year=1999|url=http://enculturation.gmu.edu/2_2/best-kellner.html|accessdate=2006-06-12}}</ref> Some believe this discrepancy is a good thing; popular rapper [[Kanye West]] has said: "I hate music where white people are trying to sound black. The white music I like is white", but apparently West likes [[Eminem]] because "he's talented and skilled".<ref>{{cite web | date = September 27, 2005 | url = http://au.launch.yahoo.com/050926/10/a0h5.html | title = Kanye West: 'White People Should Make White Music' | publisher = Soundbuzz/Yahoo! Music | accessdate = May 12, 2006 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20060105204318/http://au.launch.yahoo.com/050926/10/a0h5.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = January 5, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article569510.ece |title=If anyone can, Kanye can |work=[[Times Online]] |author=Pete Paphides |date=September 23, 2005 |accessdate=2009-05-19 | location=London}}</ref>
Other artists reject such distinctions and argue that it's absurd to racially segregate music four decades after the civil rights movement.

Mainstream: [[Eminem]], [[Yelawolf]], [[Asher Roth]], [[Machine Gun Kelly (rapper)]], [[Lil Wyte]], [[Paul Wall]], [[Bubba Sparxxx]], [[Beastie Boys]], [[Mac Miller]]

==Discussion==
Successful artists such as the [[Beastie Boys]], a rap group that consists of three Caucasian [[Judaism|Jewish]] emcees,<ref>{{cite web|title=A brief history of the Beastie Boys|url=http://leadel.net/articles/brief-history-beastie-boys|work=Blog article|publisher=leadel|accessdate=2011-10-26}}</ref> were sometimes labeled under sub-categories of hip hop music, such as alternative. White hip hop artists have advanced the genre of rap by bringing in a larger and more diverse audience and recognition for rap as a musical genre; however, they have had much less of an effect on the overall musical trajectory of the rap scene than their counterparts, with the notable exception of Eminem.<ref>Rebensdorf, Alicia. "Representing the Real': Exploring Appropriations of Hip Hop Culture in the Internet and Nairobi", Senior Thesis, Louis & Clark</ref> The Beastie Boys managed to sell millions of records while maintaining the respect of the hip hop community.<ref>[http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/beastie_boys/bio.jhtml Beastie Boys: Biography] - VH1.com</ref>

There are many Asian rappers. Some of the first include [[Mountain Brothers]] and [[Jin The Emcee]]. They also include [[Far East Movement]]. More recently many Asian rappers have become known through [[YouTube]], these include [[Traphik]] and [[Dumbfoundead]].

Another notable mention is the classic Hip-Hop group from the late 1980s and early 1990s [[3rd Bass]], composed of two white Jewish MCs, [[MC Serch]] and [[Pete Nice]] and their DJ, African-American [[DJ Richie Rich]].
The group had two critically acclaimed albums, 1989's ''[[The Cactus Album]]'' and 1991's ''[[Derelicts of Dialect]]'', both on the [[Def Jam]] label and both reaching [[Music recording sales certification|gold]] in record sales.

White Canadian rapper [[MC Shadow]] ([[Get Loose Crew]] and as a solo artist [[JUST Me]] and not to be confused with [[DJ Shadow]], a separate white artist) is regarded as a hip hop music pioneer.

Wealth and class have always been significant issues in hip hop, a culture which was developed mainly among the lower and lower-middle class blacks and latinos of inner-city New York. Any view of money that can be seen in real life can also be seen in the lyrics of rap — just as there are rappers who often brag about their extravagant wealth or more specifically their "rags to riches" stories, there are political militants who decry materialism. Although most of hip hop's famous and influential rappers have come from inner-city ghettos,<ref>[http://www.youthspecialties.com/articles/topics/urban/hip-hop.php Hip-Hop as Culture] - by Efrem Smith (2007)</ref> hip hop has always represented a variety of economic backgrounds. For example, [[Run-D.M.C.]], [[Beastie Boys]], [[Rakim]], [[Black Sheep (hip hop group)|Black Sheep]], and [[Kanye West]]<ref name="Kanye">{{cite news| last = Tyrangiel | first = Josh | url = http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1096499,00.html | title = Why You Can't Ignore Kanye | work = [[Time Magazine]] | publisher = |accessdate = May 21, 2006 | date=August 21, 2005}}</ref> were middle-class when they began rapping. However, the issue of [[white privilege]] pervades white rappers and white audiences of hip-hop.

Race issues often intersect with class issues. Rapper [[Vanilla Ice]] was born in [[Dallas, Texas]], but raised in [[South Florida]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2007/nov/03/popandrock.exhibition |title=''Is this it?'' |accessdate=2009-02-13 |last=Rayner |first=Alex |date=November 3, 2007 |publisher=''[[The Guardian]]'' | location=London}}</ref> After gaining success on the underground scene, the rapper signed to major label [[SBK Records]], who manufactured a false background in promotional materials, including a biography written by his manager, Tommy Quon, and attributed to Vanilla Ice, claiming that the rapper was born in the inner-city of [[Miami, Florida]]. Van Winkle has since regretted the book's publication, stating "I went overseas, I came back and people were asking me these weird questions and I couldn't understand them and then they said, 'well, your story is not matching with your bio,' and I said 'What bio?' and they pulled one out and I read it and I said, 'Who wrote this? Where'd you get this from?' And I had to hire these investigators to find out where the f*** this came from and nobody would really fess up to it [..] but the damage was already done. I was already labeled like a liar [...] I grew up in Dallas, I never denied that, I've never lied".<ref>{{cite web| last = Austen | first = Jake | url = http://www.roctober.com/roctober/greatness/vanilla.html | title = Vanilla Ice: The Ice Is Right |year=1999| publisher =''Roctober'' #24 | accessdate = May 21, 2006}}</ref>

[[House of Pain]], an [[Irish-American]] crew from [[Los Angeles]], were assertive about their ethnicity, including footage of a St. Patrick's Day parade in the music video for their first hit single [[Jump Around]] and [[name-dropping]] prominent Irish Americans in their lyrics. They also incorporated time signatures associated with traditional [[Music of Ireland|Irish folk music]] such as [[jig]]s and [[Reel (dance)|reel]]s into their songs—a major deviation from mainstream hip hop where virtually every song is done in [[4/4 time]].


The most recent mainstream exception to the skin color trend in mainstream rap is the white rapper [[Eminem]] who grew up in the city of [[Warren, MI]] near [[Detroit]].<ref>[http://music.yahoo.com/ar-289114-bio--Eminem Eminem Biography on Yahoo! Music<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In his song "[[The_Eminem_Show#Subject_matter|White America]]", Eminem attributes his selling success to his being more easily digestible by a white audience, because he "looks like them."
The most recent mainstream exception to the skin color trend in mainstream rap is the white rapper [[Eminem]] who grew up in the city of [[Warren, MI]] near [[Detroit]].<ref>[http://music.yahoo.com/ar-289114-bio--Eminem Eminem Biography on Yahoo! Music<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In his song "[[The_Eminem_Show#Subject_matter|White America]]", Eminem attributes his selling success to his being more easily digestible by a white audience, because he "looks like them."
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[[Boots Riley]] has criticized these figures, pointing out that they only count [[Nielsen SoundScan|SoundScan]] sales, which exclude the [[mom-and-pop]] record stores located in majority black and Latino neighborhoods that major music chains tend to avoid, and thus dramatically underrepresents the number of sales made in such communities.
[[Boots Riley]] has criticized these figures, pointing out that they only count [[Nielsen SoundScan|SoundScan]] sales, which exclude the [[mom-and-pop]] record stores located in majority black and Latino neighborhoods that major music chains tend to avoid, and thus dramatically underrepresents the number of sales made in such communities.
According to political rapper Zion of [[Zion I]], socially conscious hip hop in particular has a majority white audience: "...so many black people don't want to hear it. They want that thug shit." In addition to Zion, several other underground rappers such as Boots Riley of [[The Coup]], report nearly all white audiences.<ref name="Village">{{cite web|last= Kitwana |first= Bakari|date= June 24, 2005 |url= http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0526,kitwana,65332,22.html |title= The Cotton Club |publisher= The Village Voice |accessdate= February 2, 2006 }}</ref> Zion was denounced for his racially-oriented thinking{{citation needed|date=August 2011}}.
According to political rapper Zion of [[Zion I]], socially conscious hip hop in particular has a majority white audience: "...so many black people don't want to hear it. They want that thug shit." In addition to Zion, several other underground rappers such as Boots Riley of [[The Coup]], report nearly all white audiences.<ref name="Village">{{cite web|last= Kitwana |first= Bakari|date= June 24, 2005 |url= http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0526,kitwana,65332,22.html |title= The Cotton Club |publisher= The Village Voice |accessdate= February 2, 2006 }}</ref> Zion was denounced for his racially-oriented thinking{{citation needed|date=August 2011}}.

Rapper [[Pitbull rapper|Pitbull]] described hardships breaking into the Rap industry because he is a [[White American|white]] [[Cuban American|Cuban]].<ref name="cbsnews.com">{{cite news| url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/26/entertainment/main2042098.shtml | work=CBS News | title=Pitbull Sinks His Teeth Into New Album | date=September 26, 2006}}</ref>

In the [[United Kingdom|UK]], there has been a rise in white or asian rappers such as some members of [[N-Dubz]] and [[Roll Deep]]. As well as soloists such as [[Devlin (rapper)|Devlin]], [[M.I.A. (artist)|M.I.A.]], [[Example (musician)|Example]], [[Plan B (musician)|Plan B]], [[Professor Green]], [[Cher Lloyd]] and [[The Streets]].


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 01:35, 17 January 2012

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Race issues often intersect with class issues.

The most recent mainstream exception to the skin color trend in mainstream rap is the white rapper Eminem who grew up in the city of Warren, MI near Detroit.[1] In his song "White America", Eminem attributes his selling success to his being more easily digestible by a white audience, because he "looks like them."

According to musicologist Arthur Kempton, "Today 70 percent of hip-hop is bought by white listeners".[2][dead link]. There are no demographic studies with consistent results to support these claims and some, such as author Bakari Kitwana, believe that these numbers are used politically in order to, for example, play down the buying power of young African-Americans.[3]

Boots Riley has criticized these figures, pointing out that they only count SoundScan sales, which exclude the mom-and-pop record stores located in majority black and Latino neighborhoods that major music chains tend to avoid, and thus dramatically underrepresents the number of sales made in such communities. According to political rapper Zion of Zion I, socially conscious hip hop in particular has a majority white audience: "...so many black people don't want to hear it. They want that thug shit." In addition to Zion, several other underground rappers such as Boots Riley of The Coup, report nearly all white audiences.[4] Zion was denounced for his racially-oriented thinking[citation needed].

References

  1. ^ Eminem Biography on Yahoo! Music
  2. ^ Anderman, Joan (2003-10-04). "HIP-HOP Setting the beat in first, black artists hold billboard's top 10". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2006-06-12.
  3. ^ "Examining Hip-Hop Culture". The Tavis Smiley Show. July 14, 2005. WGBH. {{cite episode}}: External link in |transcripturl= (help); Unknown parameter |transcripturl= ignored (|transcript-url= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Kitwana, Bakari (June 24, 2005). "The Cotton Club". The Village Voice. Retrieved February 2, 2006.
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