Now I'm sure we've all seen an article or two about the whole "beef" between Iggy Azalea and independent rapper Azealia Banks. And if you haven't you're probably not a big pop or rap fan, or don't really care much for the media. If you are one of those people, then I'll fill you in.
It all started when Azealia Banks threw "shade" at both Iggy Azalea and Nicki Minaj, saying that she claimed to be a Barbie before Nicki Minaj, and she'd made a song called "Pussy" that was better than Azalea's song with the same title. THEN during Azalea's rise to fame , she was listed on XXL Magazine's 2012 top Freshman list. Azalea being the first female on this list upset Banks, so Banks tweeted on it. And most recently, Banks was upset with the Eric Gartner death and Mike Brown verdict, so she took it upon herself to call out all of the white rappers, but mainly Iggy Azalea.
She accuses Azalea of wanting to be black, but being silent when race issues come up. She then proceeds to say that she wants to "fill a jar with piss and eggs and mayo and just dump that shit on that bitch's head". She then insults T.I., Azalea's mentor , calling him a "shoe-shining coon". Azalea replies saying that SOMEONE who is upset with the government should be contacting their governer and doing what they can to get involved with protesting, instead of "trolling" on the internet. Azalea then gives a list and a link on ways to express any feelings of unjust, and says that it is unfair to insult someone's support system and unrighteous.
And since then the media has been blowing the entire thing up, and fans of whoever or whatnot has been choosing sides and getting mad over something that has nothing to do with them.
Here's my thing: When the hell did Hip-hop culture become so exclusive? Personally I just think it's a publicity act for Banks. I don't really care about it because the whole thing is just a mess. If it is (was) a real problem then its just common sense that Azealia Banks was 100% wrong no matter if you dislike Iggy's music or not. But I keep seeing things like "Iggy azalea and other white rappers are destroying hip-hop and OUR black culture, blah blah blah." So I'll ask again. When the hell did hip-hop culture become so exclusive? First of all for those of you arguing this black culture thing, go do some research. Hip-hop started as a movement for African-Americans AND Puerto Ricans in New York who felt like their voices were not being heard. NOT just black folk. And what I mean by "not being heard" is: a fully educated and talented African American or Puerto Rican ballerina would be in audition against a Caucasian ballerina, but the judges would pick the Caucasian solely because she was white. That is what I mean . Their talents were being ignored, and everybody was struggling, so a small community found hip hop. We then had our own culture where ANYONE could come and express their pains and trials and tribulation. I honestly thought this "white people can't rap" mess was thrown out of the window , when Eminem came into the game. There has been so many Caucasian rappers, what is so different now? Why are people being so exclusive, just like white people were being towards us in the arts before we had hip-hop? Getting hip-hop accepted as it is, was such a struggle, and now people want to be involved with it, we're scared somebody is going to take it. It's music. Nobody is entitled to a genre of music. I'm still waiting for Indian rappers to become a hot thing.
I swear you guys, I was not even going to touch this topic. Like I was having a huge battle with myself. I was not going to blog about it. Then I was, then I wasn't. Then something made me mad:
This illiterate has no idea of all the female MCs that are and have been in the rap game, to be trying to entitle anybody. While I love all the artists listed, this person clearly needs to go open a book.
"Godness" ... in the words of Azealia Banks: "tuh!"
But that's just MY personal opinion, what do YOU think?
