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Originally Posted by babylon

You literally cannot speak on something like this in terms of a majority rule, because it's too dynamic in 2017. Sure. A white emcee has probably made it big or signed a really good deal with a significant portion of the reasoning being his skin color, but to act like that's bad or that black emcees haven't/aren't doing this very thing is incredibly short sighted & naive.

So yeah, legitimately every human is either privileged or at a disadvantage in any given situation due to their surface level attributes, be it how strong you are when a car is laying on top of you or if you're a white guy standing in front of an executive who REALLY likes white guys.

Beyond that, though. The idea that a black-centric artform that retains the self-awareness of their own previous majority oppression holds a trap card that if you're pasty then you've got these bolstered attributes is as hilarious as it is ridiculous to me.

I agree with you that every human being is privileged in one situation or another, although I would separate a natural privilege such as the strength to extricate one's self from under a car--from privilege derived from artificial and social constructs such as race. What do you mean by "black-centric?" I think I have an idea but don't want to assume anything. However "black-centric" the art form may be, I'm not so sure the notion that the industry could exhibit white privilege is so ridiculous. Consider this: the vast majority of consumers of Rap music are white. Go to any major Rap concert and look at the crowd. The majority of people who have been buying Rap albums, taking the art form to the level of popularity and viability...are white. This is before even considering who owns most of the major A&R's. If that is the case, is it so far-fetched that there could be consumer demand which favors what the majority of Rap fans identify with? How do you explain Iggy Azalia winning "Best Rap Artist" a couple years ago?

[NOBLE]

Originally Posted by babylon

You literally cannot speak on something like this in terms of a majority rule, because it's too dynamic in 2017. Sure. A white emcee has probably made it big or signed a really good deal with a significant portion of the reasoning being his skin color, but to act like that's bad or that black emcees haven't/aren't doing this very thing is incredibly short sighted & naive.

So yeah, legitimately every human is either privileged or at a disadvantage in any given situation due to their surface level attributes, be it how strong you are when a car is laying on top of you or if you're a white guy standing in front of an executive who REALLY likes white guys.

Beyond that, though. The idea that a black-centric artform that retains the self-awareness of their own previous majority oppression holds a trap card that if you're pasty then you've got these bolstered attributes is as hilarious as it is ridiculous to me.

I agree with you that every human being is privileged in one situation or another, although I would separate a natural privilege such as the strength to extricate one's self from under a car--from privilege derived from artificial and social constructs such as race. What do you mean by "black-centric?" I think I have an idea but don't want to assume anything. However "black-centric" the art form may be, I'm not so sure the notion that the industry could exhibit white privilege is so ridiculous. Consider this: the vast majority of consumers of Rap music are white. Go to any major Rap concert and look at the crowd. The majority of people who have been buying Rap albums, taking the art form to the level of popularity and viability...are white. This is before even considering who owns most of the major A&R's. If that is the case, is it so far-fetched that there could be consumer demand which favors what the majority of Rap fans identify with? How do you explain Iggy Azalia winning "Best Rap Artist" a couple years ago?