The preservation of hip-hop culture has once again become a widespread topic of discussion.
Kids Take Over, an online hip-hop media outlet, is hosting a panel discussion about starting a hip-hop media outlet in New York with Joey Bada$$. The panel lineup went viral once X user, @LovedByBraylon, pointed out there were no Black media personalities featured on the flyer.
The panelists were: Arshan, the founder of Kids Take Over, Gabe P, the founder of On The Radar, Annabelle Kline, founder of That Good S— and Jack & Trent, the founders of Sidetalk.
“[A] hip-hop media panel with no Black people,” @LovedByBraylon posted. “Make it make sense.”
Hip-Hop media panel with no black people make it make sense pic.twitter.com/TzR81G1EKy
— Bray 🇵🇸 (@LovedByBraylon) August 16, 2024
The user eventually claimed to have had a conversation with Arshan, who said he was looking to exclusively feature personalities based in New York.
“I talked to Arshan, and he clearly didn’t understand the issue with this,” @LovedByBraylon posted. “He just kept saying he couldn’t find anyone, and [he kept] addressing nonexistent points I didn’t make. He clearly doesn’t understand he’s a guest in the culture, which I thought he did.”
When Joe Budden and Akademiks were mentioned, the user claims Ashan said he didn’t want to associate himself with platforms affiliated with so much drama.
One journalist who wasn’t mentioned was Nyla Symone. The dynamic journalist is the youngest personality at New York’s Power 105.1 radio station and a DJ who has her own platform with “We Need To Talk.”
The latest online discussion surrounding non-Black people’s involvement in hip-hop comes days, if not, hours, after Tyler, The Creator’s comments on Maverick Carter’s talk show. In the interview, he called out a White rapper who’s cosplaying as Gucci Mane or Future.
“This White kid, a regular Caucasian man, is, like, mocking Future and Gucci Mane’s rap music,” Creator said. “People are, like, ‘This s— hard. It’s not satire.’ [The man is]’ like, ‘I’m just joking, I’m just mocking it.’ But I hold rap music so close to my heart because this s— changed my life and everyone’s life around me. I’m a nerd about this s—.”
“This is, like, weird. I’m looking at it, and something about it doesn’t sit well with me,” the hip-hop artist continued. “It’s different than someone like a Mac Miller or an Eminem who didn’t seem like they were mocking it. They had a genuine love for it, and they were still just being themselves.”
Many viewers interpreted Creator’s comments as a reference to ian, the 19-year-old White rapper known for his album cover featuring a preppy pink button-down shirt tucked into matching pink shorts. The imagery highlights the contrast of a White artist producing trap-inspired music influenced by artists like Future and Yeat, addressing the unspoken tension around his place in the genre.
The callout of the hip-hop media panel also came the same week as Michael Rubin was called out for going on “The Breakfast Club” and voicing his concern for people within the Black community tearing each other down. Rubin spoke from his experience of watching his friend Meek Mill deal with bouts in the legal system.
“NO SUCH THING AS BLACK ON BLACK ANYTHING,” ScHoolboy Q posted on X, reacting to the clip of Rubin’s answer.
The criticism also coincides with fans calling out Post Malone for being a culture vulture, specifically for becoming famous as a rapper who recorded at Key!’s house in East Atlanta to only ignore hip-hop after going into the rock genre.
This is crazy pic.twitter.com/Nt9nIzOceZ
— Dro 💿 Vinyl Collection (@99Vinyl_) August 15, 2024
Vince Staples, known for calling out White fans in hip-hop, joked on X about being prepared for the next battle between White and Black people in rap music.
FULL VIDEO: Vince Staples invites a fan on stage to perform “Big Fish” pic.twitter.com/ysRekRr5l6
— Real Ones🍉 (@realonesshow) August 5, 2024
