Kendrick Lamar Interrupts White Fan Who Rapped The N-Word Onstage • Page 3

this. he's done this several times, and whenever it's been a white person they've known better.

 

White People still can't accept they can't use the n-word? I thought the future would be different.

 

I'll be honest, I don't know how to feel about it. As an older straight white male, I would venture to say that about 75%+ of the new music I have gotten SUPER into the last year or two has been strongly feminist, and very often fronted by and composed of LBGTQ+ band members.

When I dig into the social media of all these new bands that I love, I almost feel like I would not be welcome at some of their shows based on how they talk about "the straight white male" , so I tend to not go see them. I don't really have a point here, but I guess I just wish I knew if I was actually welcome there or not. I don't want to feel like an intruder...does anyone have any insight? I have been going to shows for 17 years regularly and this is a very current question.


Edit - I should specify that I don't consider myself particularly "woke" and I didn't seek out bands along this line of thought. It has just naturally happened over the course of a few years. So I am by no means an activist, so I truly don't know if I am welcome at these shows.

 

If you're seriously interested in learning more about this topic, I've found this video helpful.

 

Not that everything should be a quid pro quo but women and minorities have felt unwelcome at punk/DIY shows for a very long time, so welcome to the feeling. I think it's important to remember that it's not your space. You aren't unwelcome, by any means! It's just that the energy is directed towards a different group of people. You don't need to feel personally attacked or left out because of that- it's a group of people getting to experience the unabashed sense of "belonging" that you've felt many times in your life.

If you feel you're doing something that would upset the band or audience members, then I would take that as an opportunity to self-reflect. If their message makes you feel like you aren't welcome, is that their problem or yours? You identify with their message, so I'm inclined to think it's just a bit of feeling like the odd man out for the first time. Going to the shows doesn't make you an intruder, but behaving like the misogynistic/racist/homophobic/whatever men these bands are talking about would. You don't have to be an activist to like certain music, but so much of the identity of minority artists ends up being wrapped up in it. If you like the music, maybe it's time to consider using your privilege to help where you can!

 

This is all you needed to say.

Feminist bands talking about problems with straight white men shouldn't bother you if you've done nothing wrong. They're stating that they've consistently had problems with SWM and are making it clear to their audience that if that's a fear of their fans at concerts, etc., they're coming to a safe space to connect with their music. I don't know why you would feel threatened by that.

 

had a response typed up but this is way better. this^^

 

I don’t think anyone is equating it to blatant, hateful racism. People are pointing out that it’s not a word for white people to use, no matter the context. If you listened to a song that said the n word with a hard “r” would you still sing along? It’s not really a hard concept to grasp.

 

It is mercy that this video isn't loading for me. My heart would undoubtedly rupture from pure cringe.

 

yeah, no, absolutely not fucking having people in this thread defending a white person being called out for dropping the N-word on stage. it is a racially charged term; white people used it to put down black people for centuries and some still do. hip-hop artists deserve to reclaim it. a white person rapping along and including that word isn't OK in 2018 and it's really not our place to ask why. we should know why. white people have had centuries to unlearn this behaviour. come on, for fuck's sake. do better.

 

I'm really trying to see the line between describing someone in an abstract way and offending them.

For example, calling someone "fat" would be offensive since it's usually a derogatory term, and most of the time it's a thing that could be changed by the person so it's not like it's a skin color or anything like that.

I am Caucasian. I don't see any reason i should be feeling ashamed for that.

Also, if someone in a band says you are not welcomed at their show just because you don't follow the same religion / belief / way of life that they do then fuck them. I went to shows by vegan bands, political bands ("Enter Shikari") and christian bands ("Emery". I'm jewish) and whenever i spoke to them none of those things came up. They were just happy to have people come to their shows and support them.

Seems like people are too much on the edge these days, walking on thin ice trying not to offend anyone instead of trying to build a bridge between the 2 sides.

 

Please name these bands that are saying "Don't come to our shows."

 

No, no, and no.

 

Alright, I love you guys, I really do. But I feel like this conversation is a legitimate one that needs to happen and hasn't happened enough. There are millions of hiphop fans who aren't black out there, and I seriously doubt every single one of them is aware of what's proper when it comes to this. Maybe it's smarter to "just don't" by default (I'm of that persuasion) if you don't know the answer, but I still think it's something that needs to be talked about rather than just grow a pair of demon eyes and say HOW DARE YOU, YOU BIGOTED FUCK.

Singing along to your favorite song that you love, word for word, is a whole lot different than being racially prejudiced. If you can't differentiate between those two things, I don't know what to say. Again, I'm not saying what this fan did was okay, but good lord this is something we as a society should have a productive conversation about. Educate people, not attack them. Thanks.

 

lol.

Actually I take responsibility for your shitty posts and have decided you don’t get to post them on my site anymore.

Oh, and it’s Jason. My name is Jason.

 

mmmm i feel like this conversation has been beaten to death and yet white people still say it. if you're a hiphop fan then you should at least know the weight of the word. how could you look at our current state of america and be white and say the n word. it just blows my mind

 

Agreed. The conversation is out there and has been out there and people are still white apologists. I don’t feel like having to do homework for ignorant people anymore.

 

Exactally it is commonsense to never use the word! come the fuck on.

 

That guy is dumb. I think you're very much like Kendrick Lamar.

 

also it's like so easy to sing along with these songs at shows/alone in your car/wherever and just omit 1 single word. Like the easiest thing ever.

 

I saw Sofi Tukker acoustic yesterday and they had to censor one song that says a curse word 37 times and they didn’t slip once. People acting like it’s so hard are ridiculous.

 

It's literally the joke in the first episode of Scrubs! It's not like this is new ground. A google search of "comedian jokes about saying n-word" will give you millions of results.

 

I sincerely appreciate the well thought out response and this honestly has made me feel more comfortable with the idea of attending shows in this vein. I definitely get that women and minorities have felt unwelcome at the shows I attended for the majority of my life so it feels embarrassing to even admit that I feel that way. Nobody is perfect, but I can say with certainty that I have treated women and minorities with nothing but the utmost respect and equality for my entire life, and I certainly align with the messages in their music.

I think it must just be the whole newness of feeling like the odd man out. Shows are where I have always been my most comfortable and alive, so I guess this whole experience is an opportunity to see what it has likely felt like for many people for years that I never considered.

I will say that I don't have AS much of a hard-line, black or white stance on some issues that many of these bands do. Maybe that's just me being older and ignorant but I find myself having to bite my tongue when I see some of the things that these bands say on Twitter. I guess I just feel attacked for something that I have never done (although I know that A SHITLOAD of people who are straight white males have and do commit heinous acts constantly). I get it...welcome to the club, and all that. I just don't want to make people uncomfortable with my presence at a show that sort of vilifies my demographic (therein also making me uncomfortable). I can assure you that I am supportive of the bands and what their messages are though.

Sorry for the rambling post, this is just something that has been a real struggle for me the past few years and I have never voiced it before out of fear of how ignorant it may have (or does) appeared. Anyway, I have several opportunities to go to some of these shows in the next 2 months and I think the replies have made me comfortable enough with the idea to give it a shot. Thanks for taking the time.

 

I'm in a weird spot where I grew up in a country that didn't "have" that word so the first time I actually heard it, outside of movies and music, was in casual context in America. So, in my early 20s, I was hearing it used very casually towards me. And from what I understand, it was used in the friendly way. Until 2 years ago, I wasn't aware that it was used as a derogatory term and had always assumed it was similar to slang like "dude" and "bro". It's all pretty new to me that it's not used casually by different races.

 

I can guarantee a whole bunch of the audience prob did in the crowd all night (And in their cars, and at house parties), they just didn’t have the camera on them and a mic in their hand.
And probably a lot of people on this thread right now have done in the past to dr dre , Kanye or snoop songs. I guess I hope we all learn now you can’t sing it.
I don’t listen to music with that word it in on the reg. But I may try sing along at home tonight to some songs I know and leave the FK word out (I’ve never tried so I’ll see how I go with the muscle memory or always having it in)
(Also like above I’d only heard the word in American pop culture not in the streets, although I always knew its past use and history)