Azealia Banks’ recent Hot 97 interview, in which she accused Iggy Azalea and other white artists of appropriating Black culture but not respecting or being knowledgeable of it, has set off a firestorm of chatter around the industry.
Since her catapult to the forefront of mainstream Hip-Hop, Azalea has been accused of various infractions including not writing her own lyrics, purposely using a false southern accent in her flow, and most recently, making light of the protests in New York City on behalf of Eric Garner.
Legendary A Tribe Called Quest front man and active member of the Zulu Nation, Q-Tip, chimed in Saturday (Dec. 20) with a loving, yet lengthy history lesson of the origins and cultural importance of hip-hop directed to Azalea.
“You are a hip-hop artist who has the right to express herself however she wishes,” Q-Tip said to Azalea. “This is not a chastisement. This is not admonishment at all. This is just one artist reaching to another hoping to spark insight into the field you are in. I say this in the spirit of a hopeful healthy dialogue that maybe one day we can continue.”
Check out the transcript of Q-Tip’s tweets to Azalea below:
“Hip-Hop is a creative artistic and socio-political movement/culture that sprang from the disparate ghettos of NY in the early 1970s. Coming off the heels of the CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT and approaching the end of the Vietnam war it was a crossroads 4 America. Specially for blacks in the US our neighborhoods were PROLIFERATED w/a rush of HEROIN. Our school systems here in NY dungeon traps with light for learning. Blk men some of whom didn’t return from tours of duty n the ones who did came w/war baggage (Agent Orange, addiction etc…) These men had families but due to these events and throw into the mix the public emasculation…they proved to be handicapped parents. The surrogate parents? THE STREETS.
The streets of gangs, crimes, and the hustlers coddled us and swept us up. But! Being a spirited, rhythmic and expressive people, music art dance outlined our existence. It proved a way for us to exalt to scream to dance to laugh and find OUR VOICE. We weren’t at the time skilled musicians as kids. We had records, turntables, ideas and INGENUITY. Being natural chemists we took from whatever was availed to us and we created something mighty and special. We cut breakbeats back n forth, we took a hybrid of Jamaican toasting along w/ radio jock rap (Hank Spann, Gary Byrd etc.) and we put our rap down…It was a neighborhood thing really. Black and Latino kids were carving out their space and it became infectious. Eventually Keith Cowboy coined the phrase hip-hop. Years later the first rap record was recorded and now we r moving.
But during these strides this country still had the monster of racism and racial insensitivity breathing and ruling. Believe it or not young black n Latino lives specifically weren’t acknowledged in mainstream American culture unless of course the convo was about gangs, being criminal or uneducated. And hey! Like I stated early our families were rushed our schools sucked and we were left to put devices to survive. But HIPHOP showed that we had DEPTH, fire, and BRILLIANCE. The music was undeniable! It moved from NY n became national and even GLOBAL. Hip-hop now was FOR EVERYBODY!! All of those who cld relate to the roots, the spirit, the history, the energy…it reached YOU.
It touched your spirit n took u up. We magnetized you! That’s what BRILLIANCE does! Now u are fulfilling your dreams…BUT! You have to take into account the HISTORY as you move underneath the banner of hip-hop. As I said before, hip-hop is fun it’s vile it’s dance it’s traditional it’s light hearted but 1 thing it can never detach itself from is being a SOCIO-Political movement. U may ask why…well, once you are born black your existence I believe is joined with socio-political epitaph and philos based on the tangled and treacherous history SLAVERY alone. This is the case. It never leaves our conversation…ever. Whether in our universities our dinner tables our studios or jail cells, the effect still resonates with us. It hurts…we get emotional and angry and melancholy. Did you know President Clinton was the ONLY PRESIDENT to apologize for it? Did u know that remnants of slavery exist today thru white privilege? When certain ‘niceties’ r extended your way because of how u look? Isn’t that crazy? I say this 2 say u are a hip-hop artist who has the right 2 express herself however she wishes. This is not a chastisement this is not admonishment at ALL this is just one artist reaching to another hoping to spark insight into the field you r in. I say this in the spirit of a hopeful healthy dialogue that maybe one day we can continue. I’ve been on Twitter a long time and this will probably be my last series of tweets pretty much but I’m kool with it as long as I got to share this w u. Zzzzzzz’s up! Peace!”
