Today I found out that food I see as quintessentially American is actually German such as the pretzel and hamburger which upon retrospect should have been obvious. I apologize to the German delegation I wasn't aware of your game

Eminem says it himself, plain as day: “Though I’m not the first king of controversy, I am the worst thing since Elvis Presley, to do black music so selfishly, and use it to get myself wealthy. (Hey!) There's a concept that works, twenty million other white rappers emerge.”

Eminem’s White America was a discourse on it. “Let’s do the math if I was black I woulda sold half/I didn’t have to graduate from Lincoln High School to know that…”

“They’re favorite rappers growing up we’re Eminem or maybe Drake and it shows”😭😭

When I returned to the US in the year 2000 after years overseas, the question was, "How do you know that it's not the 20th Century anymore?" "The biggest basketball player is the Chinese guy, the biggest golfer is the Black guy, and the biggest rapper is the White guy."

The Beastie Boys actually started out as a hardcore punk band. Punk and hip hop were tight friends in NYC into at least the mid 80s, and still are in certain circles. And they weren't a frat boy band, but that album was full of songs parodying frat boy culture. They rarely played those songs live because so many people misunderstood them. It wasn't until meeting Rubin that they kind of abandoned their hardcore background and focused purely on hip hop, by which point they were entirely different people than those who put the parody album together in their bedrooms. I'm just listening along, but everyone in my part of the country knew who they were from day one. It'll probably be the only thing I'll be able to contribute in these comments, so there it is.

Sounds weird as hell but it just makes sense you're a dad- there's such a paternal energy from you. I really feel like I'm in the car with my dad listening to him talking about the good old days with this wise aura to it while I'm just in the passenger seat nodding along trying to soak it all in even when I don't understand it all the way

Thank you so much for putting the lyrics of the songs on screen! I always struggle understanding english lyrics but having text on screen makes it much more understandable what its about

As a "white white", I have to ask- Who the hell is putting raisins in potato salad? I know the joke, but have luckily never seen it in the wild

The Vanilla Ice section made me think about Iggy Azalea’s career. She seemed poised to be this big thing and her career never really went anywhere after her initial success. I also remember there was a lot of discourse at the time about her whiteness and the level of attention she received.

I'm so glad you often shoutout Noname, her album Telefone is one of the most thoughtful, heartfelt works of art I have ever heard

Kendall Roy rapping on Succession feels like the writers understood a lot of what you are talking about

"What's German food?" Me (a German): Beer?

Funny thing about german food, because germans were some of the first immigrants to arrive in the US, a lot what is considered american food often has it's lineage in german food. Hamburgers tie back to Hamburg, Wieners go back to Vienna etc. So the reason german food isn't really a thing in the US, is because it's just american food now.

No idea how this was recommended to me because I’m a white middle aged lady who is not really that into hip hop. But DAMN, did I enjoy this!! What a phenomenally nuanced conversation. Thank you for this. I feel smarter and better having seen this today ❤

hey i really feel compelled to say that this is genuinely one of the most interesting and well composed video essays i’ve seen in a long time. i similarly don’t really listen to new music so i don’t know much if anything about jack harlow or lil dicky but i was like, enthralled by this. definitely subscribed dude

I totally had to pause this with Vanilla Ice being interviewed by Arsenio Hall. As a makeup person, Ice had some of the best contoured makeup I've seen.

I'm thinking about Em’s acceptance speech at the 2003 Grammys where he named people like Masta Ace and KRS One as his influences which is probably the first and only time those artists have been so much as mentioned at the Grammys.

To be fair! Macklemore has stated that he is very aware that he is a guest in this genre, that it is not his. and Macklemore has probably helped hiphop culture accepting a little more queer culture. Has he done anything that isnt too mid? Def no! But he did have some okay impact on another part of culture. It doesnt make the vulturarism okay tho.

By the way, I can't help but respect this guy for not deleting it getting upset about my comments. Despite the fact that I disagree with pretty much everything about this, he has tolerated my admittedly not as respectful as it always could be rants without resorting to name calling or personal abuse or bitching. That's a man there one with integrity that values free speech. I apologize for every thing I said that may be disrespectful, I didn't mean it it was out of frustration and even though I don't agree I do appreciate you so thank you.

I think that jazz had a similar problem in the 1950s and '60s. People like Stan Getz, Bill Evans, Paul Desmond, Dave Brubeck, Chet Baker, and more, although great musicians with respect for the culture, were massive commercial successes not because of their musicianship, but because they were white and appealed to a white audience.

Mac was mentioned in the Control verse for a reason. He’s respected in hip hop cuz he kept true to it and put out quality music when the bullshit started taking over.

This channel really explains how superiority can stem from self victimization. Its quite literally the worst part of any culture.

When I was younger I didn’t like Eminem bc he was white and also bc I didn’t like how he had these fans who knew nothing about rap but claimed he was the best ever. It drove me nuts. But deep down, even though I wouldn’t admit it, songs like lose yourself, without me and mockingbird were my favorite songs when they came out. But I refused to put any of his music on my playlist. When I got older I stopped caring about skin color when listening to music, I just wanted to listen to good music. And now I can admit he’s one of the greatest rappers ever. To deny that is crazy to me and always a red flag to whoever says that, that they feel the same way I felt when I was younger. They just don’t like him bc of his skin color. And he respected the culture more than most black rappers. He was the one who signed Slaughterhouse, 4 of the most lyrical rappers at the time, who other artists ignored bc they rather focus on money signing some average artist who had a marketable image instead of the artists they knew were the most talented and deserved to be in the spotlight.

His critique of Mac Miller is spot on; the only point I think is missing is how well Mac describes and discusses his battle with depression and suicidal ideation. IMO that is the main reason so many people find him unique and exceptional.

As a Caribbean person who grew up in the 90s in Toronto I have to disagree with your assessment of Snow. He had personal and very close ties to the Jamaican community in Scarborough. Snow grew up with many Jamaican friends in his apartment building and learned to speak patois authentically. I know people who grew up with him and can confirm this.

as a white person i resent the potato salad and raisins comment 😂😂

So glad to see Backxwash in your montage of new innovative black artists. She's one of my absolute favorites and I can't wait to see where she goes and who she inspires

"Most beloved white rapper of all time, Paul Wall." I felt that.

I come from the Hardcore (punk) and Metal scene. It's really interesting to me that you're saying rap is starting to die and everything is becoming rock, because we been saying the exact opposite and say rap is where it's at while rock is dying and stuck in the early 2000s and before.

It's difficult to be more wrong on your analysis of European culture in the US. Literally the most popular American foods are German foods: Hamburgers and Hotdogs. Bagels are Polish. Apple Pie is Dutch. French fries are... Belgian. I'm just talking about food here, because it's so easy to refute, but "white" culture is so common and dominant, that you (and the people you use as sources) don't even see it as culture. The same thing goes for: fashion, music, obviously movies etc.

The thing with white rappers who have great lyrical skills is that they are limited to what they can say in their music. They can't talk about real black issues without looking like they're trying to fit in. On top of that their music doesn't carry the same soul that great black artists bring to the table.

I was so scared you were gonna go the whole video and not talk about Mac Miller. He was such a gem. He (like em) never had to try to push his way into black spaces/ rap cause he was genuinely authentic. Genuinely appreciated old school rap, and was always himself. Always. I miss him so much

I think ending the video with the message of showing love to the artists we respect rather then giving artists we dislike more negative attention is a great way to finish the topic. Btw, to anybody who wants another great rapper to listen to, Black Thought has a probably one of the most amazing discographies I’ve ever heard. If you like rappers with meaningful bars and a smooth sound then you’ll love Black Thought’s music.

Other than MMLP, his catalog is mid at best? Eminem show? SSLP?

i was very happy when you mentioned Aseop Rock, I'm a sucker for unique voices in hip hop and Aseop is up there with Chali 2na, ODB, and Biggie as far a just his vocal style and unique delivery imo

I got to see rap metal Vanilla Ice in 1998 and it was interesting seeing someone with absolutely no self awareness doing something that felt like trend chasing, yet was still too early to the party to actually be that. It's like he was somehow aware of how big Limp Bizkit would be just one year later and tried to cash in on that but had negative credibility. Also for the live show he just had a DJ and a fog machine and was just up there strutting around talking about how he doesn't get any respect, and then he'd break into a rap for a little bit. It was one of the oddest, saddest and most unique musical performances I've seen

Something you might not know: Big L was a huge influence on Mac, he talked about him all the time while he was alive and how much he loved him. Back in 2009 he would regularly mention that j coles the warmup was an album he went to regularly for emotional support. He also gave a lot of people a push they really needed to break into the industry ( Vince staples, chance the rapper being the biggest names I can think of, but there’s many others)

My favorite rapper is Aesop Rock and when I learned he was white, I was SHOCKED. Yall can make fun of me if it was obvious but I started listening to him in 2016 and didn't see his face for a long time tbh. Just sorta put his songs on, all casual. I dunno. Maybe I shoulda kept this to myself, but for some reason it felt relevant.

This was a thought provoking video that made me think a lot about my consumption of hiphop and why I even started loving it in the first place. Keep it up!

I think the argument about Mac being overrated is a little skewed because his death definitely propelled that in combination with his whiteness, which tends to happen to artist regardless of any other factor. People really compared Mac more to his internet rap cohorts over bigger mainstream artist like J Cole when he was still alive. Most of the GOAT conversation around him didn't exist until after he died and the divide between mainstream and internet rap got more blurred like it is today. Also so glad you mentioned Kenny Mason, if you like them check out Paris Texas

Came for El-P, stayed for the Jack Harlow slander

Calling Em mid is wild 😂

Bro called EM mid. I can't

I think the reason Mac Miller is so beloved by people (white especially) is because of the reflection of his growth and evolution in his music. Through high school hangouts, wild partying days, burnout, and rediscovering life a lot of us grew up with his music growing up at the perfect time but also we never would've had that if he wasn't white

It’s amazing how Beastie Boys’ cultural impact in the 90’s for a huge sector is so slept on. They had 4 albums hit #1 on the Billboard 200.

the ignorance is stunning here

Wow. This is my new favourite KZfaq channel. Now I have like 10 of your videos in my queue.

You were 100% right on the battlerap stuff. NEVER let Mook go first, and never let him battle you in new york. Bro literally controls the crowd and can just take rounds from you out of nowhere.

This clarified literally everything for me. I grew up in a small town in the Balkans. In the USA I'd be definitely considered white. Allow me to share my perspective. Hip Hop for me was the gate to the rebellious phase of young adolescence. I was probably the only kid in the town that tried to pass completely as a devoted rap fan. I wore my pants down for 4 years before I reluctantly started to listen to other music genres. I tried to present and make myself perceived as rap geek. In all honesty, I became obsessed with Eminem and in the beginning I was listening to him but soon I moved to local artists (in my country everybody was underground in the early '00's). It was through these local artists who mentioned artists like Wu Tang Clan and Public Enemy in their tracks that I found out about them. Then, I had this realization that these artists were the real thing, so I decided to listen only to black rappers. I clearly remember my enthusiasm when I listened to Brother Ali for the first time and then the borderline disappointment that I had when I found out they were white. For me blackness proved the authenticity both of the music and the message in it. At the same time, my lived experience had nothing to do with the story-telling of my favorite artists. When eventually grew out of my self-imposed limits in music, I felt more relaxed and I decided to just enjoy the music based on its merit. This eventually led me to an overwhelmingly black playlist, but that's probably because their music is just better. What sealed the issue was a road trip I took with a friend in the Southern States ten years ago, my only visit in the USA. It was eye-opening. Within three days on the road I had realized that hip hop wasn't just an aesthetic product among others that I could pick up from a shelf. It was a genuine popular music, meaning a people's music. It was the equivalent of my country's popular music, that is the music that emerged out of the self-expression of the workers and the most oppressed people of the society. I realized that it's an actual living thing that speaks to the needs and desires of millions of a specific people that find in it something that I as a white-skinned, non-american, european, non-poor person would never feel it in that way. Beside my own psychological issues, I treated hip hop as a predominantly aesthetic product. I consumed the music and performed the culture as music collector. I didn't wait for my local rapper to drop his new EP; I scanned the 90's catalogue for the best tracks based on music reviews. I hadn't (and I couldn't have) any clue about the social and political context that produced this art, let alone the perspective of a black person that lived through that decade. Now I am 34 and every year my spotify wrapped is dominated by Hip Hop. I still discover some new artists but since I am old my interest in music has decreased enormously compared to my teenage years. But this is the just result of being obsessed a genre in your teen's. This genre will always be your favorite one. For me this is Rap. Incidentally, I turned out leftist and fully in support of BLM when it comes to US politics. But I know that this would have happened regardless of my fascination with a specific part of american black culture. After this video I can confidently say that understand a good part of how the consumption of Black culture served my own needs in the search of identity. This was done away and without my participation in any actual black social setting. So, if this post serves a purpose is maybe to give another way a non-black person can benefit from black culture in a self-centered way.

Eminem has one truly great album? And everything after MMLP was mid? You can say you don't like his music, it's a question of preference. I don't like Kendrick either and don't see how people call his albums classic, but i regress, Eminem has multiple classics, even Relapse is considered a cult classic. So just stfu.

The Eminem Show is not mid

I think you hit on a really big thing when it comes to music culture and music making. Speaking as a musician, I believe there needs to be a level of authenticity in the performance that is informed by lived experience. Hip hop fans seem very sensitive to this and can smell an inauthentic artist from a mile away. It’s really cool to see that more clearly explained and fleshed out in this video.

I'm from Detroit and was ready to get salty about this post. It's a very slippery slope and you handled it well. I do a Jazz blog and have long ago become "colorblind" and use the quality of the music as the only cover charge. Thank you for an interesting, well-crafted video.

It's so frustrating reading these comments almost noone actually watched the video 😭

This guy playing the race card so hard.

I'm a middle income black man from Jamaica. I grew up listening to Nirvana, Rage, Nails and Pearl Jam on one side, Wu Tang, The Firm, Outcast, Dirty South (No Limit, Trick Daddy, Cash Money, etc) Bad Boy and Death Row. As a third generation Cuban, I also vibed to a ton of Latin Music. I say all this to add that many people tell me that I am not "black" because of my middle income, multi-cultural upbringing. I liked "The Heist", I loved "I love College", I like Eminem.

It's crazy to me that, being a spanish person, I was taught in school about picasso, and not ONCE did anyone ever mention him being influenced by african art. This video is literally the place I learned that.

Damn man, you got into it. This was sick. I didn't come expecting the dive into historic context and what not, new here... I'm definitely here for this type of content ♡

Us Irish-Americans are trying to reclaim our identity with a passion so much so that non Irish people are trying to be more Irish

I think that much of this would have happened regardless of eminem. I grew up in a white rural community and many kids were not into eminem at all but were into Lil Wayne. I think the acceptance of black music came with the beginning of increasing normalization of some aspects of black culture among even entirely white communities with no other black or urban influence aside from media.

As a 35+yo white man from the US Midwest, I can tell you that I've never heard of raisins in potato salad.

This was great man! Thanks for not cutting corners!

I never really ventured into rap music but I like watching videos about topics I'm not familiar with and this video was really interesting and informational.

What I loved about Mac was that he carved out his own space but never TOOK up space. He was always cognizant of his place in the culture & wanted to give back to it instead of eat off it. Most real hip hip lovers appreciate him most for that.

Finally someone who addressed Em and Mac with the nuance they deserve. You articulated the argument with the precision and tact I’ve come to know and love you for👌🏿

Thank you so much for making videos, I really learn a lot every time I listen to them!

JIMI HENDRIX is probably widely recognized as the greatest guitar player ever, no one would argue, did the fact that hes black, make any problem about that? MICHAEL JACKSON had actually sold his most records when he was black, not when he was white. The most sold album is from a black men. The biggest popstar to probably ever live was black in his prime. So i dont really get the argument about eminem. Its not him beeing white, its the whole product that made him sell so much. Beeing white is a part of it, but not the whole thing. And as underground hip hop fan you would have to admit there are black folks doing same shit to hip hop. So i dont really get this whole separative language of whiteness and blackness. No reason for it, since there are probably better languages to describe this whole thing.

I almost went to bed, and left the last 30 minutes for the morning… but that last 20 minutes with the unraveling of Mac Millers legacy really hit me hard. I appreciate you and your work

As a white guy with family that grew up in poorer neighborhoods in the midwest and they were huge fans of eminem, dr Dre, snoop, tlc, spice girls, that kind of music. I was born in a homeless shelter for pregnant women and we got a house in 3rd grade but my family has very racist tendencies and your opinion on this is very eye opening and i have learned alot from your vids

I'm a 50 year old Black man. I believe another White rapper, Harry Mack, is the best freestyle off the top MC of all time. I do understand that is an inflammatory statement for some, but i stand on it. Something to ponder: Rap music would not exist without White people. Some of the first break beats came from White artists like Kraftwerk and Malcolm McLaren. JD: You and others should check Harry Mack out. I just found your page yesterday, and i can't stop watching your videos. Keep this up. You are destined for great things on a national scale... I'm speaking this into existence.

There are white rappers who are culture vultures. There are black rappers and media people who are culture vultures. People think just bc someone is black they can’t be a culture vulture. But it is in the name. No matter your color if you vulture off the culture then you are a culture vulture. Akademiks is black but he uses the street culture he is not a part of and points out the negative bc it gets more views. Vlad does the same thing, but of course is white. People are obsessed with color instead of looking at integrity. Eminem is far from a culture vulture bc he speaks on the good of the culture and raises up the culture. Not to mention he is from the gutter and that is really where hip hop comes from, not the color of someone’s skin.

I never forget being locked in.. and I was in a cell that housed like 15 people and one night we was dicussing the best rappers of all time and I was literally the only one in the room defending Eminem. They said he not even allowed on the list😭

Damn, that was good. As a white dude who went to a majority black high school and rapped in cyphers, I definitely got a benefit from being the only white guy there. I was never that good and yet really good rappers would include me and not trash me half as hard as black people that were better than me when I would flop. Never really knew how to articulate what it was but that basketball analogy was spot on. This video was wildly cathartic for me lol

As a very white man from canada, my take on white rappers is that as long as your pushing the culture forward and staying in your own lane, i’m here for it. I don’t (and can’t) understand the impact these figures may have on the greater cultural, but i see artists such as yung lean as being so drastically different from the rest of the rap scene that it’s hard to even quantify.

I kept an open mind and for the most part agree or at least I understand where you're coming from. That being said, saying 4YEO is a similar album both sonically and thematically to The Divine Feminine and Swimming is just totally missing the mark. It is not a black vs white issue that dark, gritty, extrospective, socially conscious music is not as popular as more uplifting and hopeful music. Swimming and The Divine Feminine have their dark and extrospective moments but it's a fundamentally different thing than what Cole did. Cole made an album that sounded underground and talked about a lot of heavy shit. Systemic racism, police brutality, gang violence... Etc. topics that J. Cole's admittedly large white fanbase don't identify with as much. On the other hand Mac's works feel more introspective and talk more about maturing, coming into your own as a man, deciding how you want to live your life and becoming the person you want to be. Uplifting and hopeful works are just more accessible to a wider audience than these thought provoking think pieces. The albums are just fundamentally different and so are the audiences. I imagine Cole's fanbase, although pretty white, still isn't as white as Mac's. They're going to be interested in different stuff, and a white guy rapping about his white experiences without prolific and sometimes excessive use of the "n-word" like Cole does is just going to be set up better for success whether or not the albums are sonically and thematically different. This one section proves to me how much you conflate and narrarivise your arguments. Much like right wing conservatives, facts and opinions cannot exist separately from the narrative you are trying to push. I get it, it's a video essay about the negative effects mainstream white culture has had on rap, but you can make that point without saying things that are just not true and anyone who has really listened to and enjoyed these 3 albums knows intuitively that they are fundamentally different in terms of sonics, tone, theme, history, and audience.

There’s a great quote used frequently in the podcast Binchtopia. “Bitches hate nuance” Basically it means that people don’t like the discomfort of nuanced topics. They want it cut and dry and it never is. You should feel comfortable making everyone a little uncomfortable by challenging their assumptions.

i'm glad you touched on eminem getting played on rock radio because that drove me nuts. i was keeping tabs on alt radio's top 40 playlist at the time (when Radio & Records magazine and Mediabase 24/7 had that info up online for free) and Eminem cracked the top 20 on that chart at about the same time The Roots' Seed 2.0 was tragically languishing around #39. i was pretty sheltered but even i had a moment of "that is some bullshit right there".

Wow, the amount of work and knowledge in this video is stunning. Thank you for sharing this quality content with us!❤

Eminem got so big & I think he knew why and didn’t want the Elvis label.

Working at a record shop, I heard "I don't like rap, but Eminem is good" a billion times!

The only thing I found a little lacking was no mention of MTV and its influence on white suburban music tastes. You mentioned radio, and that was truth when alternative music stations in my area absolutely bumped Eminem right from the word "Hi", but music videos played so much more of a role than radio, IMO. I have loving memories of Yo! MTV Raps!, the Fat Boys, Run DMC (literally "Run DET" shirts are still everywhere here in Detroit to this day), and watching Vanilla Ice dance didn't come from seeing him live, nor did watching Third Bass beat him down in effigy using pimp canes. Eminem's early videos showcased an irreverence that enhanced his lyrics, and the look of NWA's "Straight Outta Compton" was so instantly iconic Chris Rock could go "Straight Outta Locash" with instant recognition of the parody. Also, in the middle of the rap-rock era, the popularity of soundtracks like "Judgment Night" and "Last Action Hero" exposed a lot of kids that just wanted to see a movie with Denis Leary or Arnold to groups like Onyx and Fishbone and Cyprus Hill. Also, not one mention of Kid Rock in his earliest incarnation as a fake street rapper? He was vile from Day One and the only people pumping his music were cruising Gratiot looking for hookups, but he parlayed that and his whiteness into the only reason anyone even talks about him today. I rarely wish video essays were longer but I kinda do with this one, unless maybe a sequel talking specifically about video and its influence on that scene? Loved the essay, just want your take on those couple things. Kudos.

As someone who is Latino it’s so weird to me how obsessed this country is with race

Incredible video. You are very talented at articulating your point of view and making it digestible and convincing to people who might not totally agree with you. Don’t understand why you don’t have more subscribers tho

God Macklemore winning that award over Kendrick still boils my blood

As a black Eminem appreciater, I appreciate your take on this. I think he legit loved the art but I can definitely understand the type of doors his success opened for people didnt deserve it.

people really out here acting like the beastie boys didn't pave the way for em.

this is my first video watching of you, it's clear that you have deep thoughts about this and i respect that. it seems to me you are more talking about the effects of capitalism than about white rappers. i agree with some of your thoughts and disagree with some others. i was going to write a lot more about the things i agree and disagree with you on, but if you actually read it and responded it probably wouldn't result in anything as most people aren't really open to changing their mind, especially on the internet. instead i'll just tell you how your video made me feel. it made me feel sad at times (and at other times it raised my eyebrows at how knowledgeable you are). it reminded me of the memories of some of my old friends who are black and now i am a lot less close to. we spent our early 20s together as we were all dancers. hip hop, bboy, popping, house etc. btw i am asian for context. then around the time trayvon martin got murdered, there started a growing change. from that time to after george floyd, some of my black friends felt more distant to me. some of them started publicly stating that black people cannot be racist, that it wasn't possible. some started posting social media posts like "if you dont speak out against this, your silence is speaking for you". i watched my white friends respond in two ways. some would become very apologetic, others would become more defiant. everyone was becoming more radical, being pushed more to the left or the right. the US as a whole is also reflecting this, and the end result is that everyone will lose. thats why i felt sad from watching your video

Preface: I'm latino. I think Eminem's popularity also comes from him rapping about things relatable to everyone. Poverty, broken home, addiction, clawing your way to the top, etc.

As a big Mac fan imma weigh in on why I believe he deserves his legacy. Mac's instrumentals are fantastic and his bars are underrated (Ex. Faces) but I agree that he didn't reinvent the wheel. There are other artists with less notoriety who surpass him on one or both fronts. But what Mac did better than almost any other MUSICIAN is packaging his whole self into his music. It's a seamless blend of humor, fun, love, depression, passion, apathy, guilt, and shame that unmistakably humanizes his catalog. Listening to his mountain of unreleased songs on youtube literally feels like hanging out with a friend. And yes, it's not really targeted towards older people, but as a younger consumer the honesty in his music validated some of my feelings, guilty pleasures, and fears literally for the first time in my life. I believe it's his honesty that caused the impact we still see today. Undoubtedly, his whiteness helped him immensely in the acquisition of an audience, but his humanity retained it. He cannot be swapped out interchangeably with any other artist because his shit's too potently distinct once you get to know it. It's not a lotta other artists who accurately encapsulate the intricacies of day-to-day life. His music's rarely on a big scale. that being said, I am white and this undoubtedly factors immensely in the way I relate to his art. So, if anyone else has other artists they feel the same way about, please share below! I'd love to befriend other artists the way I befriended Mac Miller.

I'm deciding to watch this before I write the lyrics for a rap I'm working on for a video about TMNT and Ya Kid K.

Hip-hop consists of more than just MCing and rap. It's a culture of many elements even if it started with 4 (5). It has nothing to do with the color of one's skin. I started writing graffiti and trying out other elements in the mid 90's and continued writing graffiti. Whatever ethnicity you are, whatever gender you are, whatever class you come from, you are welcome on the hip-hop scene. However, the fight still continues to make the hip-hop scene, within all elements, more progressive and including, especially for LGBTQI+ community. Because homophonic, transphobia etc have been a problem within the culture.

I'm glad you called out that 'missed opportunity' - i experienced that as a teenager, and as everything broke apart as I got older, I thought the same thing. Funk, Hip-Hop, Ska, punk, metal...there was a point there where everything was in a pot and stirring and then...it just...spilled. Sad when you think about it.

Seems more likely that Mack Miller had a young audience that he developed that liked him, and that propelled him forward, leading to his fame and wide reception. Music commentators tend to compare everything to the past, but are woefully unaware that most of the fans of new music are new people without even awareness of the past.

Macklemore winning that grammy was an insult to music and more importantly hip hop

That conclusion (and the whole video) was very well-said

8:32 I wanna see a whole video on this so badly. I think there used to be some writing about how colonialism created a “cultural dialogue” that has fallen out of favor now for obvious reasons, but like, I think there’s some truth to it. Peoples can’t be locked in the in the intense struggle of oppression and resistance to oppression without being influenced by each other. There’s been a whole lot of important done illuminating the way oppressors steal and appropriate the culture of the oppressed (interesting but not widely know example: the banjo is descended from African instruments). But I really think there is more going on in the relationship than just appropriation, and it can be difficult to know how to explore cultural interaction between oppressor and oppressed, and dynamics beyond just appropriation, without giving ammunition to colonialist apologia.

Hey man, I really like the way you articulate your thoughts. I want to tell you my story. I’m a white dude, adopted by a black family when I was 4, it was in 1997, and as far as I know, I never, ever, heard of a case similar to mine. We grew up in Ruston, Louisiana. Two of my brothers graduated from Louisiana Tech University. I never went to university, but I’ve traveled a lot. So anyway, growing up, I was surrounded by a warm and welcoming black community. Whoever, some black dudes from my neighborhood disliked the simple fact that I was white -a bit Latino-looking white, but still - some of them really hated my guts for being white. To the point that, when I started dating a girl from the community, I was hunted by some of those dudes; luckily, I learned from my older brothers and my old man, who was a veteran, to stand my ground. I had a crew that loved me like a brother too, so it wasn’t that bad. Fast-forward to my adult life, and I’m married to a black woman that I met in France, and sometimes I wonder, Are there any justifications for some black people to hate white people just based on historical events and a system that they’re not always responsible for ? My mother used to tell me that I would never be a real white man, and that I have a black soul and black culture. As much as I love her and see where she’s coming from, I didn’t have the same experience that my brothers had, especially with the law. Anyway, that’s my experience. Best regards !

Macklemore at least admits that he's a guest in the black culture and the rap scene