I'm not quite sure when this offensive, moronic trend started but I know idiots like Necro and a slew of other "wanna prove how down they are" whiteboys started using the infamous "N" word in rhyme. I'm amazed that at some point white rappers felt comfortable enough to use the "N" word in their raps. I do know that the day is at hand when the physical beatdown is coming as a result of their stupid actions. Understand I'm not advocating that people assault these white rappers but at the same time haven't they assaulted our very culture by venturing out and using the word? No white person should utter the word ever. Period. The fact that white people practicing a Black artform somehow convince themselves that using the "N" word is mind-boggling. I always assumed white rappers would be the last Caucasians to act so insensitively and spit right in the face of Hip Hop culture and its African-American genesis.

In the early 80's when white rappers were seen less than the Loch Ness Monster, the thought of one of us uttering that word was unthinkable. There was Funk Wizard Snow and BMOC (who went on to found The Source) in Philly, Serch, Pete Nice and the Beastie Boys in New York and Tony D in Trenton. That was about the extent of whiteboys on the mic. What did they all have in common besides skin color? Number one they all had skills. They had to to survive. Number two and more importantly, they all understood, embraced and RESPECTED the Black core of the Hip Hop. They would never even fathom uttering that word. They were products of the same environment that Black and Latin rappers came from. They had to be because in the beginning few outside of the inner city even knew what Hip Hop culture was.

Somewhere between the appearances of those few respected white rappers came Vanilla Ice. He was the worst thing that ever happened and attached a stigma to white rappers literally overnight. It took several years and Eminem to undo the damage. After digging out from the Ice Age white rappers began to appear again and in greater numbers than ever before. Credit MTV for the proliferation of white rappers. They bought the culture from the inner city and beamed it into the homes of the white suburbs. The result was a generation of white rappers who came up outside of the culture and were able to write rhymes in the comfort of their posh bedrooms without ever interacting with Hip Hop culture. They were in effect the first creation of the rise of the Rap Music Industry. Along comes the internet and now white kids can put their music out there on the web, get it pressed up and sell it online without ever leaving their cul de sac. Now I'm obviously not dissing all white rappers en masse or suggesting that all white rappers are spoiled suburban brats pretending to be Bloods and Crips. I can only assume that these events led to 2003 and the bizarre climate where whites feel that they've somehow become acceptable to utter the word in their rhymes. The second a white rapper does this he or she not only discredits themselves but disgraces the legacy of Kool Herc, Flash and Bam. It has even gotten to the point where I've witnessed white rappers using the word in rhyme in front of Black people. Sooner or later I'm going to witness one of these white rappers beatdown by the very people they try to impress. I'm not going to intervene.

I've had numerous conversations with young white rappers who use the word in their material and ask them what possessed them to do it? They always come with the same answer that I'm an oldhead and things are different now. They tell me I don't understand cause I'm not "gangsta" like they are. They run out that tired excuse that they're using the "a" version of the word instead of the bad "er" version. In a country where white people enslaved Africans it doesn't matter which way it comes out, it comes out wrong.

You don't know how bad I want to rip those bandannas off the buffoon FUBU wearin' whiteboys strutting though suburban malls trying to be something they aren't and use them to choke the ish out of them. They make me angry, sad and embarrassed. I remind them that nothing is "different" now. Not after four hundred years of white racist colonialism and not eight hundred years from now. Why can't white people excuse themselves from the controversy of the use of the word? Black people are capable of hashing it out all by themselves without annoying intervention from white folks. Why do white people always feel the need to say "well I think..." SHUT UP! No one cares what you think. The responsibility to put an end to this is for white consumers to stop buying the music of other whites who use the word in their music. No matter how many white rappers come along, regardless of the fact that whites account for seventy percent of the sales of Hip Hop music it will never change the fact that Hip Hop at its core is a deep rooted Black experience. We have an obligation to make sure that white people do not do to Hip Hop what they did to Rock N' Roll. At least the white people back in the 1950's were ignorant. White kids in the new millennium are not. Along with knowledge comes responsibility.

Another frequent defense from the sorry white rappers is often something along the lines of Hip Hop being "universal" now and all inclusive. While this is true it doesn't change the nature and history of Hip Hop. Pizza is universal too and all races of people enjoy a good slice every now and then but that doesn't mean that it's not Italian anymore just because everyone consumes it.

In the words of the greatest rapper of all time, "rap is something you do, Hip Hop is something you live." Recognize. Respect. React.

Discuss the use of the "N" word by white rappers right here

Article by Funk Wizard Snow
Editor- PhillyHipHop.com
May, 2003