Act white wit da mic: the language of white rappers in mainstream rap
By By Eric Dinsmore Eric Dinsmore
5/7/135/7/13ENGL 604ENGL 604DR. FIELDDR. FIELD
“All these white kids wanna be black now. All these white boys – baseball caps, fuckin’ pants saggin’. The scary part is, they’re really in tune now, really holdin’ 40s. They’re playin’ a game they don’t understand.”
-Erick Sermon, EpMd
So what is the rap So what is the rap game and how did game and how did
that game change to that game change to allow more whites allow more whites
to play?to play?
Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks. This “form of expression” is part of the white rapper ethos.
The Rise…
…and fall of Vanilla Ice.
By the end of the 90s, something happened…
This guy
Not the first white rapper, but the most prominent . . .
The Hip Hop Ethos• Black Epistemology (Olson and Shobe)• What we talk about when we talk about
“keepin’ it real.”• Rhythmic AAVE
The White Hip Hop Ethos• Black Social Class Epistemology• What we talk about when we talk
about whites “keepin’ it real.”• Dropping AAVE
The Case of Eyedea
Gained fame after winning the
“Blaze Battle” 2000
Articulates the /r/ at the end of words*
*Cecelia Cutler, “You Shouldn’t Be Rappin’, You Should Be Skateboardin’ the X-Games”
While a typical lyric may look (and sound) like this…
“You'll neva, eva, brave the weatha, I'm too cleva”
-Afu Ra, “Big Acts, Little Acts” (2000)
…Eyedea and other white rappers typically articulate /r/ sounds.
Always spittin’ my lines, thinkin’ that he’s freshe[rr], Spittin’ Eyedea lines the only way you’ll ever sell a reco[rr]d.
Use of Code Words: “Black” replaces “Nigga”
Black, that’s how it goes. Pull up a stool, I’m the teache[rr],I’m about to wea[r] your bitch ass like sneake[rr]s.
The Obsession of marking race, black or white.
IMPLICATIONS• The post-Eminem era as a
rite of passage• Cutler: White as “other” and the
notion of double consciousness• Whiteness less an impediment,
arguably a benefit...?
Top White Rappers for 2012
Macklemore Yelawolf Eminem Kreayshawn
MGK
Mac Miller
Lady SoverignAsher RothBeastie BoysRiff Raff
And the beat goes on…