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…