ATT: white rappers

almax · Post by **almax** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 3:45 pm

http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/rea ... 00500.html

Their very names strike fear in the hearts of white rappers everywhere: Vanilla Ice. Snow. Kevin Federline.

Though there are notable success stories - Eminem and the Beastie Boys, most obviously - pale emcees often travel a hard road to respect.

The White Rapper Show, a new reality program on US pay TV, is both a parody and commentary on race in hip-hop.

The setup is simple and instantly amusing: Ten white amateurs are picked to live in an apartment in New York's South Bronx - the birthplace of hip-hop - where they must prove their rhyming skills and gain respect. The winner gets $US100,000 ($A128,000).

White Rapper is produced by the "ego trip" collective, which started as a magazine co-founded by Sacha Jenkins and Elliot Wilson. The magazine is now defunct, but ego trip has grown into a media company that produces books and provocative television shows (Race-O-Rama!) often dealing with race and hip-hop.

"The power of the show is that when you hear the title, you already have images of what it's going to be, whether good or bad," says Wilson. "Most of them are thinking, 'Oh, it's going to be some dumb nonsense.' But it's not that - it's smart."

The host is Michael "MC Serch" Berrin, known for the early '90s hit The Gas Face with the group 3rd Bass, who schools the 20-something contestants on the history of hip-hop and the art of the rhyme.

"This generation can't answer basic hip-hop trivia," says Berrin, 39. "Early on, there was a history that you had to know. I had to know who the Funky 4+1 was, who Sha Rock was. I had to know this because when I was coming up, guys would test me."

Like rock, blues and jazz, hip-hop began as a distinctly African-American expression. Unlike other genres, though, rap has remained a predominantly black art form.

The guys of ego trip (none of whom are white) are well aware that rap is now mainstream popular music, and that its record-buying audience is mostly white. They joke that the show presents a vision of the future.

"There are more white kids who are captivated by the music and the culture than ever," says ego tripper Jefferson "Chairman" Mao. "I think it's a terrific thing because music should be shared. It's for everybody - you just don't want the origins of it to be lost."

Of course, white rappers have forever been easy targets, and the show is not lacking in Vanilla Ice-style punch lines.

A female rapper from upstate New York claims during her audition, "Cows are great to rap about. It's that whole black and white thing."

Another auditioning rapper speaking about her hometown of Waterford, Connecticut, prompts Serch to exclaim, "I didn't know it was that hard in Connecticut."

Hailing from Davis, California, 26-year-old John Brown immediately rubs many contestants the wrong way. In his audition, he asks, "What's really hood, man? Suburbia." Once picked as a contestant, Brown proves himself well enough as a rapper.

But he infuriates castmates by repeatedly referring to a "Ghetto Revival", a personal social movement scant on details other than Brown's claim that it's a "lifestyle brand" that will support "the revival of ghettoes and all types of different struggles throughout the world".

Brown's nemesis emerges as Persia, a confrontational 25-year-old woman from Far Rockaway, Queens who describes herself as the show's "hood connection".

"You'll see on the show why a lot of white rappers are made fun of," she said in an interview. "Some of them are just lost. There's very few that can make it, very few that are real. ... I think if you concentrate on the fact that you're white, then so will the world."

"It's very funny how true to form they were," says Serch. "The one thing white rappers can't stand is other white rappers."

In the first episode, Persia repeatedly uses the N-word, to the dismay of several castmates but the glee of producers in the control room. Soon Berrin informs the cast, "That word don't play here, regardless" - and bestows a giant silver chain with an enormous "N-word" medallion upon Persia, who must wear it for 24 hours.

Persia tearfully promises to change her ways, although she backtracked in her AP interview. "The pain in the back of my neck kind of caused me to have a nervous breakdown," she claimed. "Afterward, I came to realise I'm from New York - it's kind of different for us. It's how I speak with my friends; it's how I'm always going to speak with my friends."

Mao insists the show isn't just trying to "shoot fish in a barrel".

"We don't have disdain for our cast," he says. "We're trying to show that there is some complexity to them."

Executive producer Ken Mok, who has helmed reality contest shows like America's Next Top Model, says White Rapper is "really about race and the context of white culture verses hip-hop culture".

"Why leave it to the scholars?" says Mao. "We feel we're hip-hop scholars." A cackling Wilson quickly rhymes, "And we want to make dollars!"

mixtress · Post by **mixtress** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 3:49 pm

OMG

Blaxter · Post by **Blaxter** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 3:51 pm

I knew there was a reason I'm not a famous MC.

Post by **system** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 3:54 pm

Wigger me this, wigger me that.

ghetto kitty · Post by **ghetto kitty** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 3:55 pm

BWAHHAHAHAHAHHA!!!!!

feckin hell reality TV just gets worse and worse, when you think it cant.

shepherd · Post by **shepherd** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 3:58 pm

reminds me of this

http://andysamberg.blogspot.com/2006/12 ... d-man.html

andy samberg is 'blizzard man' on SNL - funny shit!

saintberry · Post by **saintberry** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 4:21 pm

sounds gold. is it out yet? im going to hunt the dl.

reminds me, i need to see kenny vs. spenny season 2!

FoundationStepper · Post by **FoundationStepper** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 4:21 pm

i think its a better idea than most reality tv

would much prefer than the batchelor

taylem · Post by **taylem** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 4:33 pm

ghetto kitty wrote:BWAHHAHAHAHAHHA!!!!!

feckin hell reality TV just gets worse and worse, when you think it cant.

The Egotrip dudes have serious, serious hip-hop credibility

http://www.amazon.com/Ego-Trips-Book-Ra ... 0312242980

http://www.amazon.com/ego-trips-Big-Boo ... 0060988967

I'd assume that if they are behind this show then it will be on point and freakin hilarious

ghetto kitty · Post by **ghetto kitty** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 4:38 pm

okay okay sorry.

i just hate reality TV with a passion.

and i love hip hop, so good.

lets see what they can dish out.

mixtress · Post by **mixtress** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 4:45 pm

FoundationStepper wrote:i think its a better idea than most reality tv

would much prefer than the batchelor

You haven't seen Beauty and the Geek then??

FoundationStepper · Post by **FoundationStepper** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 4:47 pm

ive got reality of that nature at home already, dont need it on telle

Blaxter · Post by **Blaxter** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 4:50 pm

reality TV is a lot better than some scripted stuff eg The OC or Homo and Away

shepherd · Post by **shepherd** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 4:54 pm

a gazillion dollars this never makes it to AU free to air.

ghetto kitty · Post by **ghetto kitty** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 5:09 pm

black star wrote:reality TV is a lot better than some scripted stuff eg The OC or Homo and Away

um yeah.

i despise both of those shows too so maybe im not the best to comment...

Blaxter · Post by **Blaxter** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 5:12 pm

ghetto kitty wrote:
black star wrote:reality TV is a lot better than some scripted stuff eg The OC or Homo and Away
um yeah.

i despise both of those shows too so maybe im not the best to comment...

My old house mate reckoned The Simpsons was the only good scripted TV show.

Motive · Post by **Motive** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 5:14 pm

Jeff Mao from egotrip was here in melbourne for the Red Bull Academy. he's a walking encyclopedia on hip-hop. could be a good show

saintberry · Post by **saintberry** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 6:27 pm

shepherd wrote:a gazillion dollars this never makes it to AU free to air.

http://torrentpond.com/

ill get if fo yo when its out.

kronz · Post by **kronz** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 6:43 pm

what up wiggers!

mecka · Post by **mecka** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:51 pm

Somebody tell me why almax isn't already auditioning?

on tour · Post by **on tour** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 11:42 pm

mecka wrote:Somebody tell me why almax isn't already auditioning?

he's busy with the game show i suppose...

sneaky hands · Post by **sneaky hands** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 8:52 am

yeh as stated above the ego trip guys are very well respected.

also the host MC serch executive produced Nas' first album (Illmatic) which is considered by many to be the greatest hip hop album of all time.

almax · Post by **almax** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 10:47 am

mecka wrote:Somebody tell me why almax isn't already auditioning?

um its an MC show, when have you ever heard me try and spit lyrics?
In fact i have a healthy disliking of most MCs, when people "freestyle" in front of me, i generally get uncomfortable and don't know where to look

mixtress · Post by **mixtress** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:53 am

almax wrote:
mecka wrote:Somebody tell me why almax isn't already auditioning?
um its an MC show, when have you ever heard me try and spit lyrics?
In fact i have a healthy disliking of most MCs, when people "freestyle" in front of me, i generally get uncomfortable and don't know where to look

...coz it's like they're singing a love song to you???

on tour · Post by **on tour** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 2:06 am

almax wrote:
mecka wrote:Somebody tell me why almax isn't already auditioning?
um its an MC show, when have you ever heard me try and spit lyrics?
In fact i have a healthy disliking of most MCs, when people "freestyle" in front of me, i generally get uncomfortable and don't know where to look

I hear you man. One of the things i dont miss about being a promoter that was known to book mc's....

Hatsudai · Post by **Hatsudai** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 9:25 pm

Does anyone else see the irony of one of the white rappers names being "John Brown"!!

sternumbreaks · Post by **sternumbreaks** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 6:31 pm

haha, gold.