#they not like us

[thechanelmuse]

Kendrick, Drake, and Ethnic/Cultural Identity

One of the most discussed topics during this exchange between the two is if Drake is a culture vulture. In short, yes. He's always been. It boils down to inherited cultural identity and respected history, not the upholding of a social construct of “race.” 

Race is a goofy non-biological caste system that operates in various countries and it’s a dumbass global push to get people to embrace a superior to inferior hierarchy in classifying the globe into 5 broad groups solely based on perceived skull sizes, hues of skin color, and perceived traits and phenotypic features via the teachings of François Bernier, Johann Blumenbach, Carl Linnaeus, and them other hoes. Get race tf outta here.

I’m gonna make this concise as possible, but fleshed out a bit for full understanding.

Kendrick Lamar is Black American on both sides with his roots most likely coming out of Mississippi and/or Alabama to Chicago to Cali by way of the Great Migration. (He may even descend from Duckworths from Louisiana). I haven’t done his genealogy, but now I may out of curiosity.

Black American is a double ethnicity. We’re citizens of America (nationality = US Citizen), and our ethnic group (Black) was created & descends from this land (ethnicity = American) through ethnogensis. It has nothing to do with one’s brown skin color or how the cops see us 🙃, but everything to do with the lineage of one’s parents and their parents, etc. (For info on lineage tracing, refer to my post here.) 

Black Americans are an ethnic group (the largest from this land and largest in this country after Germans), while “white Americans” are a self-identification race to remove ethnic identity and conflate numbers. I can break this down further in another post if y’all want since American history is complex and will explain why Black Americans have been reclassified seven times by the US government 🙃. 

Now.

Culture is largely passed down through your mother, and her mother, and her mother, and so forth for Black Americans (and I’m sure other ethnic groups). No matter if it’s a two-parent or single-parent household, she’s your ultimate teacher in setting the foundation of your cultural upbringing. It’s the same if one is raised by their grandparents. It largely stems from the grandmother. If one’s father is their main parent, that’s a different case of course. 

Drake falls in line with this as someone from a single-parent household. He is half Ashkenazi of Latvian and Russian descent (ethnicity) through his mother and of half Black American descent (ethnicity) through his father. He is a dual citizen of Canada and America (nationality), who was raised in Canada with his Ashkenazi Jewish mother and Ashkenazi relatives with an Ashkenazi upbringing. He went to a Jewish day school and was engulfed in all aspects at home. 

Kendrick is ethnically and culturally Black American. Drake is ethnically and culturally Ashkenazi. He is also ethnically Black American (through lineage), but not culturally Black American. Does that make Drake a culture vulture? No. He just didn’t have the cultural upbringing but could always immerse himself in learning, appreciating, and respecting the other half of his history and culture.

What makes him one is how he operates as an outsider. He participates in an aspect of Black American culture (Hip-Hop) for his monetary gain, adopts a manufactured image for his perception of believability, and disrespects the people of this culture. “…run to America to imitate culture.” It’s like a jacket to him. He takes it off to try on another (like a Jamaican accent) and swaps for another, etc. 

A few examples that’s been touched on: He blackened his face to depict blackface while wearing a Jim Crow t-shirt… That’s specific disrespect towards Black Americans, mocking our history and our ancestors. “Whipped and chained you like American slaves.” That’s specific disrespect towards Black Americans, mocking our history and our ancestors. “[You] always rappin' like you 'bout to get the slaves freed.” Do I even need to explain this? Hopefully it’s understood.

The muthafucka is not like us.

[magentas-dystopia]

I don't think I've ever seen a good take on Tumblr about music and this recent fiasco of the majority white userbase floundering to justify not listening to rap/ hip-hop is proof of it. So far You guys literally have pulled:

"rap is too violent for me" (stereotype that's painfully untrue and rooted in anti blackness)

"I'm autistic and rap hurts my brain" (I'm autistic and I know other autistic people who like rap)

"I listen to rap!! (And lists something that isn't rap in the slightest)"

"insert something racist here" (self explanatory)

"does Hamilton count" (I will stab you in a dark alleyway)

Please I beg on my hands and knees for you to listen to expand your musical horizons, go outside your comfort zone. To get a complex and rich understanding of the world, one must view art from people outside Their own fixed walks of life. I've put this gently but also, you don't need to fucking reiterate that "you dont like rap" or "you don't listen to ( insert black artist)" every time you speak on a subculture that you're not a part of. The conversation isn't about you! Move on! I will say that if there are people who WANT to listen to rap/hip-hop there is a plethora of artists to choose from from many different backgrounds that aren't what white media has illustrated it to be.

Some albums I can reccomend off the top of my head:

Saba - Few Good Things

McKinley Dixon - Beloved! Paradise! Jazz?!

Kendrick Lamar - to pimp a butterfly + Good Kid Maad City (2 classics)

Noname - room 25 + Telefone (both great albums)

Little simz - sometimes I might be introvert

A tribe called quest - low end theory

Denzel Curry - Melt my Eyez See your future

Outkast - Aquemini + Stankonia (again, both great albums)

JPEGMAFIA - LP! + All My Heros Are Cornballs (2 fantastic albums also I think he's rlly hot and he's probably my favourite artist ever)

Grouptherapy - I was mature for my age but I was still a child!

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (probably one of my favourite albums ever, To Zion still makes me cry a lot ;;)

I will say this over and over again until the cows come home but please for the love of all that is holy, you can't just keep fucking repeating dumb shit on the internet about something you know nothing about.

If you want to engage in new music it's never been more accessible and artists like Denzel Curry and McKinley Dixon even have bandcamps for you to support their music on if you don't like streaming services.

I hope this recent beef of the year has managed to actually make people listen to more black and brown artists. Music is something I'm very passionate about and all of these albums in some way have affected me on a personal level and changed my perspective on life and molded me as a person (and also some just sound really fucking good).

[ink-on-my-skin-and-music-within]

[itsexclusive]

Another diss?!?!

(Ah, fuck it, keep going.)

[euryvices]

random but kinda weird how drake said he wanted to keep it pg,,,isnt that all you've been doing mister drizzy diddler

[soldierofmisfortune13b]

Some of you sambo ass neegas wanted this man to lose the culture to a dude who grew up in the suburbs of Toronto. Y’all got the game fuked up.

[taweetie]

[liluglydudefromdetroit]

Just in case y'all thought Drake was up somehow...this mf song still banging a week later! I think it's time for Drake to go away quietly

[coolgritz]

hip hop culture goes deeper than just the music. it's communication, art, protest, and it's american.

i'm saying this cuz i was on twitter with some nigga speaking with his chest talking bout "if you not with drake, you do NOT like hip hop" and bro, that had to be bait.

six god nigga, that nigga canadian ffs. using an ai of tupac in a track against a COMPTON nigga wasn't right. everything going on now was asked for, kdot cooking him like he deserves, in truth. kdot truly had ENOUGH.

[nike2times]

[ink-on-my-skin-and-music-within]

[secureattachmentbarbie]

You got a little girl body, ain't nothing about says 26 🤔

That's how dudes end up as pedophiles 🙄

I don't have a little girl's body. Some of y'all like children and that has nothing to do with me everything to do with you. Please don't blame your pdfphilia on me, FREAKY ASS NIGGA

[theskelosbadlands]

they not like us

[stargiirl27]

beat your ass and hide the bible if god watchin

[inkyray]

TRYNA STRIKE A CHORD AND ITS PROBABLY......???????????

A MINNNOOOORRRRRRRR 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯