It's great seeing you outside of your channel, too. It's been neat to witness such impressive creators in dialogue...even if the dialogue concerns how very outta pocket that white kid was.
Professoor needs a light styling mouse it will hold and train your hair to stay in or lay in the desired direction "Out of your face"🤭, with love from an old hairstylist🤗 @@cheriann6461
@@sandradee8093-c4g what??? if you're making fun of someone hair you shouldn't because you don't have your face on that pfp. let's see what you look like.
AVAA… “You shouldn’t want to be ‘The Definitive Voice’ when describing other people’s lived experiences.” Easily one of the best statements I’ve ever heard on TH-cam (or probably anywhere).
Falling crazy in love with something from another culture as a white European to me feels a lot like falling head over heels in love with a person. The feeling can be so pure and exciting! You feel overwhelming transcendental attraction and an urge to subsume yourself in that other completely but you fucking don't obviously, that'd be insane, you don't act on it, you don't put your hands on that person, you don't hold up a boombox under their window, you don't get weird with it. You act respectful, you take a genuine interest in them, you respect boundaries, you learn about them and come to appreciate them on more than a surface level, and then *maybe* you can try and cozy up a little closer on movie night. Maybe. Be cool about it though. WTD I think fell in love with hip hop, purely and honestly and deeply, and immediately decided to put a thumb up in it.
For me, it's that 1) he believed that he could know it (hip hop culture but really Black culture, in terms off his missteps) as well as the Black people who were correcting him 2) he seems to think of hip hop as equivalent to Black culture which it isn't (it's part of it,like anime is part of Japanese culture 3) he revealed that he had a lot of stereotypes/surface takes of Black culture/Black people based on his understandings of hip hop 4) he just misunderstood many nuanced things like the contextual use of nigga, the slavery verse, etc. Maybe bigger than that for me, Black people told him what was wrong with his analysis before and after he posted it and he doubled down on his positions plus he disrespected an OG/veteran, hip hop journalist, Justin Hunte, talking about him first as if he were on his level and then beneath him - in an effort to humiliate him. That comes from privilege and white supremacy and it is foul.
@@haniyyahn It was so foul the way he went off on TCM on Twitter and not TH-cam, saying he "didn't want to give him a platform" and "these guys don't have much wind." Then it's time for the apology to try and save his channel and suddenly he respects TCM so much, has been watching him for years, respects his opinions, he's such an important voice... Bro which is it? Is TCM some random nobody you don't even want to platform or is he a pillar of the community? He didn't even use the word "racist" in his apology. How are you going to grow if you can't even name the thing you did? Say it with your chest, man. You said racist shit. If you're going to apologize for it, name it. If you're shocked you had that in you, GOOD. Never seen someone get this level of clout poisoning from one viral video, I swear to god.
Thumbing aside, you know what all this reminds me of? So I'm a trans and queer person, have been for a good three decades now, and while that's clearly not the same thing in general, I'll never forget the time I took my friend to an underground queer bar. That's my culture, that's where I'm safe amongst my own people, and I took this friend because I trusted her. She said all the right things, always listened, spoke up when needed, just a really good ally, and she *still* didn't understand why we almost got thrown out on our asses when she just got out her phone and started taking pics and making reels. Did not for the life of her understand why I damn near slapped that phone out of her hand. Sis, half these people aren't out! They could get into life-altering trouble if the wrong person sees them in your damn reels! She just hadn't thought about that. Didn't know *rule number one* of underground queer spaces despite genuinely caring and trying. I hold no grudge, I didn't even think to tell her that because the rules are so obvious to me so how could she know, she's a great person and she keeps trying, but it did teach me to think a little harder about who's invited. Because me inviting her didn't just put my safety on the line. I made that decision for everyone in that bar that night. It's not the same at all, but I do think even purely well-intentioned and educated people can do so much harm if they don't have that innate sense of what a space means and what it's for. You can't get that pure intuition, that Fingerspitzengefühl (sorry) of what can and can't be said and done. You can learn the rules but you can't feel the boundaries.
I also didn't see the N word counting as the worst part of the video, and I'm black. I also didn't think Justin Hunts "save the children" angle was THAT great either. n-word counting was corny but not disrespectful Whats the Dirt's video is actually WAY worse than that. He called Kendrick, an Uncle Ruckus, Milk man, other damn near derogatory black slurs. And then he made comments about whether whitney has postpartum depression after stalking her social media. It was actually insane that the n-word counting was the loudest critique in the community. If anything, Whats the Dirt said way worse later in the video but people who watched must not have made it that far
I agree with you, I think the counting of the N word was just the headline and easy to communicate how bad the whole video was. I also think many people fell asleep during that long ting.
Yeaa, it doesn't seem like many people made it that far. I was getting heated by n word counting and didn't even want to waste a second more of my time. When i saw other people mention the milk man and Whitney bits, i was relieved i never got that far. 😅
I agree I watched the entire video however, by the time I got to the counting n"s I was no longer invested. I was definitely more appalled by the repulsive comments about Whitney than anything. I'm glad WTD got a well deserved reality check.
The Whitney bit is disgusting because it doesn't seem that he even found any of how she DID actually have post partum and runs a foundation to help women with it because of that, but just because she "seemed depressed" in some social media captions. Like I thought you were supposed to be doing research
There it is! But to be fair perhaps a part of that is because Justin was guaranteed to respond and is a more "accessible and immediate" piece in this bigger system of gears. Like Kendrick and Whitney are never going to address WTD let's be fr lol
I am a 41 year old black woman and I just experienced someone acknowledging Edouard Glissant on the internet for the first time from a white American man. I’ve loved his work for decades and I thought I was the only one. Wow
My grandmother used to tell a story from her childhood that I think encapsulated this dynamic perfectly. She was picking crops for a white farmer with her siblings back in the 50s. During a lunchbreak, this farmer saw them eating and say "boy i wish I could eat like that, yall sure can eat a lot" to which her brother replied "yall white folks got all the land and the money and the power; and all I got is my appetite, and damned if you don't want that to"
I can believe it. My mom was born in 1950 and Her grandmother was a big part of her life. The stories and experiences, passed down generation by generation, are quite telling and profound. And it hasn't shifted in any direction.
@@HollisKingIt’s simple: White folks want everything. Every effing thing. We can’t have anything. And they still want what you have simply because they don’t have it. I bet that man wasn’t even hungry or was even thinking about eating till he saw them. Didn’t think about why they would be eating in that manner. Didn’t even see the problem, like now. Didn’t even notice there was struggle, only his own avarice. When you are communal, when you have been othered in some manner, you recognize these things because they affect you. And this is just part of it. This statement says so much. Those in power continue to oppress when they don’t have to. But they refuse to let anyone else really thrive. Prime example: today a Black man was executed after DNA cleared him of a murder. The prosecutor of the case, the jurors, and even the victims’ family disagreed and begged for a stay of execution. They executed a man just because they could. More than a reasonable doubt existed in this case. The same Supreme Court who denied the stay of execution is the same one who gave the 45th guy in charge full immunity in inciting an insurrection. The same court combing for loopholes to free the man couldn’t be bothered with actual evidence that warranted a man to at least be able to have life in prison. It’s never enough. Each time we get something, they want to take it from us. Especially things to help us merely survive while they thrive.
This entire video was BARS. I love the Prof's perspective because I'm realizing that a 🧑🏼's lived experience is insanely valid in judging WTD's apology. For example: We 👨🏿👩🏿 know when our peers are code switching around 🧑🏼👩🏼 - it's incredibly performative. *_We know that_* but they don't. If the Prof has tenable misgivings about a 🧑🏼 peer, _I'm listening_ because I don't have the lived experience. My husband does though - I get to hear tales of 🧑🏼 that must've saw his blond hair, blue eyes and said _"I'm safe to chat about the most rac!st sh!t possible with this guy. I'm sure he'll agree with me that n*****s are lazy!"_ (yes, this has happened multiple times!) Nope, now you done f*cked up A-ARON 💀😌 Racial bias is uglier in the dark than it is in the light. What 👩🏿👨🏿experience is but a SMIDGEN of what actually exists. A peer will be able to smell the BS before it even comes out @ss😭
Has a hat and the box in the background! He stole 6:16 from at least 2 unknown black guys......NiteNite and Professor Lexx Lexx Hip Hop X-amination. Professor mentioned it bc people were bragging about wtd. Professor's breakdown is still up. FM was wtd's work. 6:16 stolen which explains why FM was horrible. bbl = wtd and wtd = bbl
That got me too. I had missed the far right connection with Happy Dad, so that lesson had layers for me. Friendly reminder for me to remember where my money might go.
I work as a chef in one of the most beautiful coastal towns in the world. This town cannot exist as it does without tourism. Tourism also means this town gets trash left lying around it, shops overly full of people, a lack of beach space, people annoying the whales in their tinnies and over fishing for 6 months of the year. Whenever im a tourist geographically or culturally i keep this in mind. My money or time might be of benefit but it doesnt mean my presence is enjoyed and that's ok.
TWD constantly line steps so im not surprised this happened. Like he has an idea of how a black person should be so when he sees someone who doesn't fit that mode he thinks it's alright to say you aren't black. Bro you don't know how many white people i meet in my life who said some shit like that to me "you don't act like one of them, your one of the good ones" that is what my last boss said to me and I quit the next day. A bigot is way worse than a racist and dirt comes off pretty bigoted. A racist will avoid you a bigot will be all friendly but fall back on stereotypes and constantly test that line.
WTD behaves as if he's never had a personal relationship with a black person in real life. He engages with us using his internet connection, as if he's a visitor at the zoo looking at the animals from behind a fence. He makes observations about our culture that seem strictly formed by analyzing black celebrities, hiphop music, and information available online. Then asserts himself as an expert in the realm of rap music. He's been treading murky waters for a good while now.
So you see this a lot in the Army. Many assume that black people on the Army are from a ghetto and are expected to be that way. If you speak “proper”, have discipline, integrity, ingenuity, and ambition as a black person one of two racist things happens: you are either diminished in your blackness be being referred to as “one of the good ones” or you’re looked at as a threat and you receive even more racism, hazing, and abuse until you crash out or fall in line.
Prof: it wasn’t just counting 37 times, it is what WTD said before and after. It’s the context and hubris, as said so eloquently by Justin Hunte. It is also the point Curtis King was making when he counted the number of times WTD called Justin “stupid” in his rant on Twitter. I appreciate you making this video to expand the discussion.
I think he acknowledges just that. That his initial feeling was "okay..." until it was explained (context) to him. He gets it, but he was explaining that his initial feeling is part of the larger problem because he had to have out explained. Of course, he understands "if you're checked, just be checked" and WTD doesn't.
What’s insulting to me is when non-black Americans behave as if my lived experience as a black American is subordinate to their superficial understanding of my culture. IMO WTD believed his superficial understanding of black American culture was superior to TCM’s lived experience.
@@xteihnInteresting. I’ve never heard those albums. I’m still old school - Funkadelics., Etta James, Curtis Mayfield, etc. I don’t need anyone to inform me about what I’ve experienced in life.
Well stated. I run into that often. I've checked many. Basically what you're saying they're essentially saying boils down to: "'I'm white and I say so." Sorry, I don't accept that.
This video is great. I used to have a white friend, I know he meant well but he would always argue with me about how white privilege doesn't exist. This whole video basically sums up what the privilege is. On top of other things.
AVAA.. your explanation of being a tourist in Egypt, the process of a visa, learning Arabic, and the ugly American acting like they're Jonny Quest AND equating it to the hip hop / black experience is spot on. Appreciate the lesson Professor 👍🏾
Been following you for a while now and appreciate your opinions and perspective. As well as, greatly appreciate you introducing me to Justin Hunt. As an Egyptian born, American citizen I appreciate the effort that went into that analogy. AVAA
Hip Hop is a part of black culture but black culture is not only hip hop. There’s many black people that know (or want to know) nothing about hip hop and rap but are unquestionably black.
What you said around the 22 minute and 30 second mark is something that I think all white people really need to pay attention to. It doesn’t matter if a small handful of Black people told you that something was OK. Because that small group might represent less than one percent if it’s something that’s going to be offensive to everybody else you can’t keep going back to that small group that said it was OK. I am Navajo and half white. I grew up in the deep south with Black people, they were my best friends, I lived with some of them for three years we would go to one of our friends mom’s house every year for Thanksgiving and I remember one day after they noticed when I’m singing along with my favorite songs I skipped the N-word. One of them said it was OK for me to say it and at this time I had just gotten a construction job where I was traveling the country. Even though I grew up with them and went through many life experiences, good and bad it is never OK for me to say that word. That word should not be in my vocabulary. Because if I’m using that word them, then I am going to have it slip out one day when I shouldn’t. If I’m in another state working and I’m at a bar and I say that word, I can’t very well. Say “it’s OK I have a note from my neighborhood.” they’re not going to care. And I have just defended them. I try my best not to offend anybody I don’t ever want to be the reason anyone feels a certain way that is a negative feeling ever.
Black Canadian here. Didn’t know WTD was from NFLD, but now that I do. I can (with my chest) say that his blind spots make sense. I hope he’s able to learn from this experience about the blinders he had/has on as a White Canadian (from NFLD). Just because you’re not White American, doesn’t mean you’ve got a pass into places the White American doesn’t. The type of racism in Canada sounds like WTD’s apology - aggressive and mean spirited, always denied, arrogant and doesn’t like to be called out/corrected. Other Canadians, can you weigh in?
Also Canadian, and yeah, you're absolutely right. I'm white so I see the racism from the outside, but the particularly Canadian brand of it has always seemed to me like you've said--aggressive and mean-spirited, while always demanding racialized people adhere to some undefined standard of "reasonableness" that is always a moving target and never achievable, because the thing that's "unreasonable" or "uncivil" is responding at all. "Civility" is also big here. WTD's apology, where he was like "I'm so sorry I lashed out at JH, but you see, JH hurt my feelings by saying true things," is very much in that spirit, IMO. I, too, hope he learns from this--I've been learning a lot about my own blind spots from some of the commentary around the beef, so I hope he has a similar experience.
😂 Canadian racism is a frustrating experience as it requires one to dip and dive around the constant whataboutism that is thrown out by bigots who chip away focus from their actions and the racism. That is why no one has noticed the absolutely disgusting language used at the latest minority and immigrant who faces acceptable discrimination in Canada and is driving far too much of our daily interactions, conversation, and politics. Those who live in Alberta, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and all of these less diverse places in Canada, they don't consider how that lack of experience means they have a lack of knowledge about different cultures...they just assume a lack of opportunities for racist actions means they have no racist notions. Compassion and understanding are extremely, extremely difficult. Empathy is known through the opportunity to flex it in complex, human nonsense we're all living rather than presumption hypotheticals that have gone unchallenged by those who are unaffected by a lack of empathy. It thrives through a miasma of distraction from direct conversation and a multitude of ideas from a variety of people from the same community rather than one centralized voice.
He's done the same thing too many times and to claim he watched Justin and respected him yet still did what he did I think says a lot. He only made the public apology because he was going into livestreams trying to defend himself and was getting cooked, also Justin showing the DM apology also didn't look good for him. He said what he said with his full chest loud and wrong apologies publicly not double down and say blah blah blah Kendrick fans
THIS! That apology was malarkey. Didn't believe a second of it because how is this someone you supposedly respect and admire and you disrespect them so thoroughly over MULTIPLE platforms?
You'd think the way beauty guru walked so piss poor TH-cam apologies could run... and then get shat on...and WTD STILL went and did one of the most commonly criticized things in an apology 😂😂
Hi Professor, I found your channel through Justin Hunte & I’m so glad I did. I went down a rabbit hole of your videos yesterday. I love the historical and social context you bring to your analysis of music. LOVE FROM BOSTON ❤ AVAA
I had never heard of WTD until company Man’s video that kicked off the crash out. But just seeing clips of him and his whole vibe, dude immediately made me think of Tim Poole. He’s like, a Canadian, hip-hop Tim Poole.😂
Encapsulates the issue I have with these takes. Nobody was criticizing him when he was reviewing and literally trying to calculate at what age Drake started using the N word in his 6:16 breakdown. It's only when started reviewing Drake's song that people started caring.
More awesome video than usual (MAVU?). I've been struggling with communicating my experience living with multiple disabilities/illnesses to loved ones. Becoming disabled comes with the social experience of becoming part of a minority group and I've been struggling with how to put words to that. I think what you said about the 'default mode' will help me communicate that part of my lived experience a bit better. Thanks as always, prof!
AAVA Don't delete this video!!!! Not only is it a excellent perspective on the WTD and TCM controversy, it's also an excellent elucidation of respecting cultural differences.
AVAA I'm glad you decided to release this. Your honesty is refreshing. The ability to express not being able to understand what is offensive yet still acknowledging that it is offensive is something more people need to learn. Your analogy was spot on about being a guest. Shoot even being a guest in someone else's house here in the US requires this level of understanding. Also your thumbnail for this video could have been a mug shot with you holding the "Not in the position to properly contextualize." It's a great quote from Justin.
This channel is amazing. I enjoy the way in which you talk about hip hop, always thoughtful, gracious and respectful. You're also very humorous which adds so much texture and interest to your perspectives and is something that i find to be very compelling.
I love that you KNOW how to appreciate other cultures while being aware if your position. I love your channel and perspectives. You give awesome reviews and insight.
I also love that he understands knowing how to appreciate can go beyond schooling and knowledge and can just be getting checked by another culture and having the wisdom to listen.
Spot on as always. I particularly wanna give props to your shout out/acknowledgement of the "default" character. Whenever I need some space away from some audacious but well meaning statement, I say 'I'm not dealing with The Defaults today'. Relieves me of further unnecessary expenditure of energy and also subconsciously allows me to give a bit of grace to the person who likely didn't mean any harm.
Timestamp? I heard it and remember what he said somewhat, but can you summarize or paraphrase it for me please? I remember it was a solid point but I was listening while driving.🙏🏽
You, Sir, are a real one. Thank you for making this video. You are one of the few I've heard speak so well on this topic, in general. Love hearing your POV.
38:18 he lost any possible deniability when he put the video clip up of Uncle ruckus. That was flagrant and he can hide behind the fact that he wore that wool costume well for a long time. Now that we have seen the real him, it's impossible for me to go back. He said sorry with his fingers crossed behind his back.
I'm Asian, my friends are black and Persians. We understood from early on in our youth there's no such thing as a Multipass. We only have short term Visas. We didn't overstay our welcome and we learned through that to respect each others culture. 40 years later and we're still friends.
Well, being a tourist isn’t untrue tbh. And, like, there’s ethics to being a tourist. I feel pretty confident in saying that last time I went to another country in a group (huge fucking nightmare) I was the one that put the most effort into… engaging. Didn’t speak the language. But I made an effort.
This was one of the best video essays I've ever seen. I feel seen and understood. I'm so grateful the Kendrick and Drake beef brought me to your channel. Thanks for all you do ❤
AVAA, Prof Skye~I’ll be honest with you here and tell you that when this matter crashed into my algorithm ~you were the human who came to mind. You only recently crashed into my algorithm too, however more organically via Foreign man’s nebula essay on this very topic ..anyway, I digress, something you said that stuck with me came to the surface when all this deliciously exploded (delicious in a psycho-anthropological sense:-) the channels, something to the effect of “I have black American subscribers who tell me I’m invited to the cookout, and that’s nice to hear~but I still would never go…” well, because of my own affinity with and for you I respected your position but I was like, you might like the ribs, ya know? However, that situation instantly brought understanding, the nuanced meaning found only through direct experience or between the words-the same way you didn’t -couldn’t-understand the commotion around Dirt, until that moment I couldn’t understand why you wouldn’t come to the cookout even if invited. I know it sounds crazy, but my respect and fondness for you grew to new heights in that moment. I’m high in dominant group acculturation , so there are many white Americans who share the GenX experience that I get along with very well-even have close bonds with, but I’m also a black American woman and there is always a part of my experience that is divergent bc standing in the same neighborhoods in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, there were some things that I experienced that created deep wounds before I even knew that wounds were occurring. A divide that my black girlfriends who didn’t grow up in my neighborhood can actually bridge. Bc at the end of the day, I had some economic comfort growing up but there was never social parity in those spaces. The thing you couldn’t feel was the trigger that went secondary to the cultural trauma and wounding. Dirts assessment of what that word meant 37 times was what exposed his myopia and separateness from the heart of this genre he loves. It’s the blues in a different form. Some themes are universal, but the thread which knits together this particular genre to produce some universal themes is made with the very specific and individualized subcultural epigenetic and contemporary pain. Even this thing playing out through the Kendrick/Drake predicament. Maybe Kendrick even knows Drake is either the trope or the scapegoat for the real offender and oppressor~the dominant culture. Either way, it evokes some excitement from deep within, as the answers and even solutions arise from unlikely places. This is playing out in parallel to the larger predicament playing out on the national level. I’m excited that we’re possibly finally moving forward again, after my 51 yrs here of observing nothing moving…but critical mass is over the next ridge. I still might not live to see it, but my kiddos might. We don’t need everyone~we just need enough of us. Thanks for being part of the solution. Some small part of the healing that’s ongoing in our country and shared experience ~albeit flip-sides of the same coin. Or maybe mirror images of one another… You’re a tiny pebble making great waves, prof. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🌺 I’m not sure I even finished my initial thought, and I’m too tired to proof it😅 so I hope this makes a little sense.
PS-your awareness and insight is all you. All I know is educated white folks~and few have taken the courage to overcome their cognitive dissonance, feel the pain and sorrow on the other side of it…when they realize they were indoctrinated with anti-black bias very completely, even when it was tacitly accomplished. You did that part. Your privilege would’ve actually served to separate you from your insight, even if you managed to overcome the barrier. The privilege ~you had to give some of it up within yourself to cultivate this awareness and insight. The proof is how you approach this genre and the PEOPLE who created it. This is humility. And no matter who we are, it’s one of the tenets of self actualizing. Others might see the product, but it’s a very private process💙🙏🏽
AVAA. Man that first story alone is powerful and insightful. As someone who always loves to know foreign culture and also yearn for that connection, it's a good reminder that no matter what, you're just a tourist. You should keep distance and respect.
Soooo much respect for you making this video. 🙏🏽💕 I think you nailed it from all angles. And that Happy Dad Seltzer sponsorship sealed WTD’S fate with me. I will NEVER visit his page again.
AVAA I feel like I have an interesting perspective here, as someone who is a Person of color but not black so I am very familiar with the idea of being immersed in cultures that are not my own. In my daily life I am chest deep in whiteness and it really does alienate me, and that applies to the music I listen to as well. Both of my favorite genres (old 70s rock and hip hop) are very white and black oriented respectively and I don’t know where to fit in in any of the cultures. I’ve grown closer to hip hop as non whiteness and opposition to white supremacy is easier for me to attach to than the other way around, but I still have to watch myself in these discussions to not say anything out of line myself. I still can’t go to the cookout but I can at least offer my own perspective on how whiteness can damage things and how to fight against it. Another thing that may either help or harm your tourism metaphor. The tourism industry actually does a lot to hurt specific areas of the world. A lot of infrastructure specifically built for tourism comes at the expense of the people and culture that’s already there, with resources being spent on accommodating tourists who don’t want to spend time with the people they’re visiting the land of or engage with the culture. Something to think about in terms of hip hop maybe.
I had mixed feelings about the apology to begin with, but tried to engage in the spirit of kindness/assuming good intentions while gently pointing out why good intentions aren't always enough. But even before you mentioned the seltzer thing (thanks for that--I had no idea) I was getting a sinking feeling in my chest the more I thought about it. I think what gets me is that it still felt like he was trying to frame himself as, like, the main character of hip-hop, the beef, and TH-cam commentary. His racist lashing out at Justin Hunte was all about what JH was supposedly "trying to do to him" when Hunte clearly wasn't trying to do anything TO him at all. It was all about HIS theories, HIS takes, HIS credibility, and how HE was being "objective" whereas JH, an actual journalist, was showing his "bias" and being a "snake" because he liked WTD's earlier videos but not this one? Which somehow constituted a personal betrayal of WTD, instead of a professional critique of a colleague? Although WTD deserves some credit for recognizing and publicly stating that the things he said about JH were artefacts of projection and were actually about himself, his apology still made EVERYTHING about himself. HE suffers from mental illness. HE was projecting. HE was the only person who EVER "made" JH be unkind. (He didn't make JH do shit and JH was still very kind, even in his fierce response.) He even weirdly sounded somewhat proud of getting a reaction out of JH. Even his saying none of the things he said about JH were true was weird--I'm pretty sure no one ever thought they were, the problem is that WTD said them in the first place. Yes, it sucks when people you respect, who had said you were doing a good job, start saying you're not doing so great. Yes, it's natural to have an emotional reaction to that, including feelings of anger and hurt, even if the person is right. But to use those feelings to attempt to discredit that person's professional and personal identity is beyond the pale even without the blatant racism, and then still centring those feelings in your apology is gross, imo. Sigh.
matt recently spent a lot of time touring live streams and insulting ppl in the chats for being a Kendrick fan & using inflammatory language to stir up views for the FM breakdown similar tactic of his influencers being Jerry/Akademics, Adam16/22 and the never been a dj vlad
Oh man. Recent viewer, first time commenter. Really appreciating your analysis. I saw the apology video, and it seemed pretty decent on the surface but it felt a little off and I couldn't quite grasp why, so your take on it was helpful for me. I did side-eye the sponsor even at the time, but now knowing what the company stands for makes it just that little bit worse. AVAA P.S. Bought 'Recovering From Emotionally Immature Parents' after seeing it in one of your videos and it's already changed my life.
In my opinion his apology seemed off because he contradicted himself about his reasoning for his insults. He said he looked up to the company yet was insulting him by calling him a snake and saying that he’s a failure because he doesn’t have a following and was using him for clout. What’s the Dirt also lacks insight on we some people in our culture was insulted by parts of his breakdown and some of his comments. Even after the apology you can tell that he still fully doesn’t understand.
@@Pianokeys-ee5of whole apology falls apart once you learn his disgusting comments calling Kendrick Lamar a milk man, harping on calling him 'black messiah' and going to Whitney's IG account and trying to deduce if she was suffering from post-partum. The way he delivered these takes made me feel like he was compromised. What a vile piece of sh*t
Very well put, Professor. Definitely think you should keep this video up, its good food for thought for folks in this space(particularly as tourists.) As always you have a way of cutting to the heart of things and adding something of substance to these conversations
As a white person that has been in culturally intimate spaces for other races/cultures, I agree: Stop romanticizing the "cookout." Sometimes there is a feeling amongst white people like you get made fun of/left out for not having a culture. Take time to be with the ones you love and hold dear and realize what things you do with them that you take for granted - that is your culture. Embrace your own cookout, even if the meat isn't as well-seasoned.
I saw a video that detailed how white Americans as a whole, not invidually, gave up their unique cultures to become a dominant economic force. And it's pretty accurate. As a black American I shouldn't have to go to Ireland to get authentic Irish culture, now obviously I dont literally have to. But considering the number of Irish descendents living in America that culture should be much more prominent.
@@TekniCaliSpeakinwell we also have to remember the Irish assimilated to Americans because they were getting treated horribly, ban from jobs and more. Almost like how they were treating the blk ppl. A lot of white skinned ppl weren’t counted as white in America until the government needed it too
@@sibusiso2841 The difference was authentic African culture was actively attempted to be stomped out by white supremacy, who we consider "white people" today gave it up willingly and readily. Especially obvious with the Irish because they weren't always considered "white".
Well done, sir. Your self awareness and understanding of the underlying issues is appreciated. If only it were this easy for others who look like you to understand these concepts that seem rather basic to me, as a POC queer in America. Excellent work, as always! Please, keep educating folks! AVAA
"you done messed up a-aron" 😂😂😂 I've never been to any of your "actual" classes, but on here you have time and time again demonstrated why you're a fantastic professor. you thoughtfully make important and deep points and sprinkle in stuff like this to make listening even more engaging and fun, masterclass
Avaa wtd was definitely on the way to hoing full ak hes in a group chat with ak trap lore ross and adam 22. I think the reason what hr did got picked up on so quickly is because Justin is well respected in the hip hop community but also that this isnt the first time he has gone after creators he believes are smaller and have less clout than him. He used parts of one of cliff beats videos and then set his follower on cliff to say cliff had copied him and started a whole beef. As i said he has done this a number if times but justin has way more social currency than he imagined. Him putting the video on twitter and saying something' along the lines of i dont want to give him any clout (paraphrasing) said it all. He said he watched justin in the past but i dont think it was as far back as Justin's hio hopdx days. Justin walked so wtd could run and wtd completely disrespected that.
This is amazing. I was teaching hiphop in university 2 decades ago. Always tried to behave the way you describe, but never had a vocabulary for it. And thus felt lost. You finally made me understand my place. Thanks!
I owe a big part of my current education to you. Big thanks to you Pofessore Skye! PS: here I would love to use the formal expression of „you“ as we have it in german to express respect:)
Great video and much needed wisdom disseminated. On a side note I had to laugh when you mentioned Mad Eye Moody, because when you first started talking about the little elderly Japanese lady my initial knee-jerk thought was, “what if it’s Nagini wearing Bathilda Bagshot!” 😂
Woooow, a lot of creatoes have had their take on this apology, i even listened to Jeremy's take on my way to work this morning. However, you hit the nail on the head perfectly, as a tourist of the culture. I say this because, in that sense, you are on the same grounds as wtd, and boi oh boi, you blew me away. Thank you for showing how things can be from the other perspective.
Completely love that tourist analogy. I love Yasujiro Ozu as well, and years ago I visited his grave at Kanagawa. But of course, no matter how in tuned I felt with Japanese Zen Buddhism, and enjoyed the sense of zen, of peace, etc watching his films, and soaking in the atmosphere in that temple-grave site, I in the end cannot claim this culture. I am not Japanese, and I was born years away from experiencing that time period where Ozu and his contemporaries were producing films. There will always be an invisible barrier preventing me from truly understanding the Japanese condition that Ozu, Mizoguchi, and Mikio Naruse were making films about. I think it's possible to take inspiration from a culture while still acknowledging your cultural identity as a tourist. In this movie context, somebody like Quentin Tarantino I think does quite well in how he openly credits the Japanese movies he takes inspiration from in the movie itself (e.g. Kill Bill).
Yea the happy dad brand is definitely getting access to our culture. akademiks, a bunch of streamers, even Snoop has death-row brand on it now, and celebrities go on that FULL SEND POD
In previous analysis and breakdowns on heavy topics, those on matters of Black American Culture or the plight(s) they've endured... he tread carefully. Relatively. He still line stepped. However the tone was different. In this one... he's calling Kendrick Uncle Ruckus, Milkman, and making judgements on... of ALL things... LA gang politics. The angle that got Drake ridiculed by the community itself. He tried to assert a view on THAT. This is where i'm convinced wtd is compromised. This reflects Drakes biggest insecurity - always running away from wheelchair Jimmy. He glorifies street life because to him its Cool, its a hood fantasy, he doesnt undersrand the costs. Both WTD and Akademiks embarassed themselves trying to make the case here... and this isnt a coincidence.
speaking about white people in a black space, please review Phiik & Lungs' Carrot Season, I think you'll have interesting things to say about their rapping styles. AVAA
AVAA, brother. 🙏🏿
It's great seeing you outside of your channel, too.
It's been neat to witness such impressive creators in dialogue...even if the dialogue concerns how very outta pocket that white kid was.
Professoor needs a light styling mouse it will hold and train your hair to stay in or lay in the desired direction "Out of your face"🤭, with love from an old hairstylist🤗 @@cheriann6461
Light hair mouse to hold and train your hair ask your barber😊🤭
@@sandradee8093-c4g what??? if you're making fun of someone hair you shouldn't because you don't have your face on that pfp. let's see what you look like.
they were just giving helpful hair tips to what i assume is the original video when skye mentioned his hair @dreameva1400
AVAA… “You shouldn’t want to be ‘The Definitive Voice’ when describing other people’s lived experiences.” Easily one of the best statements I’ve ever heard on TH-cam (or probably anywhere).
"When you get checked, you just gotta get checked". The REALEST life advise I've ever run across on the internet. This why I'm a subscriber
Falling crazy in love with something from another culture as a white European to me feels a lot like falling head over heels in love with a person. The feeling can be so pure and exciting! You feel overwhelming transcendental attraction and an urge to subsume yourself in that other completely but you fucking don't obviously, that'd be insane, you don't act on it, you don't put your hands on that person, you don't hold up a boombox under their window, you don't get weird with it. You act respectful, you take a genuine interest in them, you respect boundaries, you learn about them and come to appreciate them on more than a surface level, and then *maybe* you can try and cozy up a little closer on movie night. Maybe. Be cool about it though.
WTD I think fell in love with hip hop, purely and honestly and deeply, and immediately decided to put a thumb up in it.
Well said 😅
For me, it's that 1) he believed that he could know it (hip hop culture but really Black culture, in terms off his missteps) as well as the Black people who were correcting him 2) he seems to think of hip hop as equivalent to Black culture which it isn't (it's part of it,like anime is part of Japanese culture 3) he revealed that he had a lot of stereotypes/surface takes of Black culture/Black people based on his understandings of hip hop 4) he just misunderstood many nuanced things like the contextual use of nigga, the slavery verse, etc. Maybe bigger than that for me, Black people told him what was wrong with his analysis before and after he posted it and he doubled down on his positions plus he disrespected an OG/veteran, hip hop journalist, Justin Hunte, talking about him first as if he were on his level and then beneath him - in an effort to humiliate him. That comes from privilege and white supremacy and it is foul.
@@haniyyahn It was so foul the way he went off on TCM on Twitter and not TH-cam, saying he "didn't want to give him a platform" and "these guys don't have much wind." Then it's time for the apology to try and save his channel and suddenly he respects TCM so much, has been watching him for years, respects his opinions, he's such an important voice... Bro which is it? Is TCM some random nobody you don't even want to platform or is he a pillar of the community?
He didn't even use the word "racist" in his apology. How are you going to grow if you can't even name the thing you did? Say it with your chest, man. You said racist shit. If you're going to apologize for it, name it. If you're shocked you had that in you, GOOD.
Never seen someone get this level of clout poisoning from one viral video, I swear to god.
Good comment!
Thumbing aside, you know what all this reminds me of? So I'm a trans and queer person, have been for a good three decades now, and while that's clearly not the same thing in general, I'll never forget the time I took my friend to an underground queer bar. That's my culture, that's where I'm safe amongst my own people, and I took this friend because I trusted her. She said all the right things, always listened, spoke up when needed, just a really good ally, and she *still* didn't understand why we almost got thrown out on our asses when she just got out her phone and started taking pics and making reels. Did not for the life of her understand why I damn near slapped that phone out of her hand. Sis, half these people aren't out! They could get into life-altering trouble if the wrong person sees them in your damn reels! She just hadn't thought about that. Didn't know *rule number one* of underground queer spaces despite genuinely caring and trying. I hold no grudge, I didn't even think to tell her that because the rules are so obvious to me so how could she know, she's a great person and she keeps trying, but it did teach me to think a little harder about who's invited. Because me inviting her didn't just put my safety on the line. I made that decision for everyone in that bar that night.
It's not the same at all, but I do think even purely well-intentioned and educated people can do so much harm if they don't have that innate sense of what a space means and what it's for. You can't get that pure intuition, that Fingerspitzengefühl (sorry) of what can and can't be said and done. You can learn the rules but you can't feel the boundaries.
I also didn't see the N word counting as the worst part of the video, and I'm black. I also didn't think Justin Hunts "save the children" angle was THAT great either. n-word counting was corny but not disrespectful
Whats the Dirt's video is actually WAY worse than that. He called Kendrick, an Uncle Ruckus, Milk man, other damn near derogatory black slurs. And then he made comments about whether whitney has postpartum depression after stalking her social media. It was actually insane that the n-word counting was the loudest critique in the community. If anything, Whats the Dirt said way worse later in the video but people who watched must not have made it that far
I agree with you, I think the counting of the N word was just the headline and easy to communicate how bad the whole video was. I also think many people fell asleep during that long ting.
Yeaa, it doesn't seem like many people made it that far. I was getting heated by n word counting and didn't even want to waste a second more of my time. When i saw other people mention the milk man and Whitney bits, i was relieved i never got that far. 😅
I agree I watched the entire video however, by the time I got to the counting n"s I was no longer invested.
I was definitely more appalled by the repulsive comments about Whitney than anything.
I'm glad WTD got a well deserved reality check.
The Whitney bit is disgusting because it doesn't seem that he even found any of how she DID actually have post partum and runs a foundation to help women with it because of that, but just because she "seemed depressed" in some social media captions. Like I thought you were supposed to be doing research
There it is! But to be fair perhaps a part of that is because Justin was guaranteed to respond and is a more "accessible and immediate" piece in this bigger system of gears. Like Kendrick and Whitney are never going to address WTD let's be fr lol
I've always loved Justin's use of the "Shakespeare shakedown" and i love the use of it here as well.
I am a 41 year old black woman and I just experienced someone acknowledging Edouard Glissant on the internet for the first time from a white American man. I’ve loved his work for decades and I thought I was the only one. Wow
You're invited to the slurpee sipping at 7-Eleven!
Best thing that I've heard you say "Don't make me a plate.... afterwards... let's get a slurpy." That's it!!!
My grandmother used to tell a story from her childhood that I think encapsulated this dynamic perfectly. She was picking crops for a white farmer with her siblings back in the 50s. During a lunchbreak, this farmer saw them eating and say "boy i wish I could eat like that, yall sure can eat a lot" to which her brother replied "yall white folks got all the land and the money and the power; and all I got is my appetite, and damned if you don't want that to"
Wow 🎉 this is a profound statement. Thanks for sharing this perspective. This is exactly how we feel when "others" violate our very existence.
I can believe it. My mom was born in 1950 and Her grandmother was a big part of her life. The stories and experiences, passed down generation by generation, are quite telling and profound. And it hasn't shifted in any direction.
Wow, meanwhile they needed to eat that way in order to fuel rhe amount of physical labor they were doing
@@malcolmmoses2128 strong statement but could you explain how it ties in to this?
@@HollisKingIt’s simple: White folks want everything. Every effing thing. We can’t have anything. And they still want what you have simply because they don’t have it. I bet that man wasn’t even hungry or was even thinking about eating till he saw them. Didn’t think about why they would be eating in that manner. Didn’t even see the problem, like now. Didn’t even notice there was struggle, only his own avarice.
When you are communal, when you have been othered in some manner, you recognize these things because they affect you. And this is just part of it. This statement says so much. Those in power continue to oppress when they don’t have to. But they refuse to let anyone else really thrive. Prime example: today a Black man was executed after DNA cleared him of a murder. The prosecutor of the case, the jurors, and even the victims’ family disagreed and begged for a stay of execution. They executed a man just because they could. More than a reasonable doubt existed in this case. The same Supreme Court who denied the stay of execution is the same one who gave the 45th guy in charge full immunity in inciting an insurrection. The same court combing for loopholes to free the man couldn’t be bothered with actual evidence that warranted a man to at least be able to have life in prison. It’s never enough. Each time we get something, they want to take it from us. Especially things to help us merely survive while they thrive.
“Why are you thinking about me while you’re celebrating your community?” Love this line!!
I really appreciate hearing your thoughts! AAVA
This entire video was BARS. I love the Prof's perspective because I'm realizing that a 🧑🏼's lived experience is insanely valid in judging WTD's apology.
For example: We 👨🏿👩🏿 know when our peers are code switching around 🧑🏼👩🏼 - it's incredibly performative. *_We know that_* but they don't.
If the Prof has tenable misgivings about a 🧑🏼 peer, _I'm listening_ because I don't have the lived experience. My husband does though - I get to hear tales of 🧑🏼 that must've saw his blond hair, blue eyes and said _"I'm safe to chat about the most rac!st sh!t possible with this guy. I'm sure he'll agree with me that n*****s are lazy!"_ (yes, this has happened multiple times!) Nope, now you done f*cked up A-ARON 💀😌
Racial bias is uglier in the dark than it is in the light. What 👩🏿👨🏿experience is but a SMIDGEN of what actually exists. A peer will be able to smell the BS before it even comes out @ss😭
Wow! Didn’t catch the Happy Dad Seltzer t-shirt (sponsor) thing. Love all the details and nuanced explanations. AVAA
I did NOT know that as well. Blew my mind when I heard that.
He wore that shirt during his apology tour on TH-cam and I also thought it was a wild choice.
This was very informative for me so thank you for educating me on his sponsorship.
Has a hat and the box in the background! He stole 6:16 from at least 2 unknown black guys......NiteNite and Professor Lexx Lexx Hip Hop X-amination. Professor mentioned it bc people were bragging about wtd. Professor's breakdown is still up. FM was wtd's work. 6:16 stolen which explains why FM was horrible. bbl = wtd and wtd = bbl
That got me too. I had missed the far right connection with Happy Dad, so that lesson had layers for me. Friendly reminder for me to remember where my money might go.
I work as a chef in one of the most beautiful coastal towns in the world. This town cannot exist as it does without tourism. Tourism also means this town gets trash left lying around it, shops overly full of people, a lack of beach space, people annoying the whales in their tinnies and over fishing for 6 months of the year. Whenever im a tourist geographically or culturally i keep this in mind. My money or time might be of benefit but it doesnt mean my presence is enjoyed and that's ok.
TWD constantly line steps so im not surprised this happened. Like he has an idea of how a black person should be so when he sees someone who doesn't fit that mode he thinks it's alright to say you aren't black. Bro you don't know how many white people i meet in my life who said some shit like that to me "you don't act like one of them, your one of the good ones" that is what my last boss said to me and I quit the next day. A bigot is way worse than a racist and dirt comes off pretty bigoted. A racist will avoid you a bigot will be all friendly but fall back on stereotypes and constantly test that line.
Don't forget your so clever for a black person or your so well spoken 🤬😡
WTD behaves as if he's never had a personal relationship with a black person in real life. He engages with us using his internet connection, as if he's a visitor at the zoo looking at the animals from behind a fence. He makes observations about our culture that seem strictly formed by analyzing black celebrities, hiphop music, and information available online. Then asserts himself as an expert in the realm of rap music. He's been treading murky waters for a good while now.
He's a habitual line stepper
@@ZeroPlusDesignsLlc-pf3mm 🤣🤣🤣
So you see this a lot in the Army. Many assume that black people on the Army are from a ghetto and are expected to be that way. If you speak “proper”, have discipline, integrity, ingenuity, and ambition as a black person one of two racist things happens: you are either diminished in your blackness be being referred to as “one of the good ones” or you’re looked at as a threat and you receive even more racism, hazing, and abuse until you crash out or fall in line.
Prof: it wasn’t just counting 37 times, it is what WTD said before and after. It’s the context and hubris, as said so eloquently by Justin Hunte. It is also the point Curtis King was making when he counted the number of times WTD called Justin “stupid” in his rant on Twitter.
I appreciate you making this video to expand the discussion.
I hope he sees this
I think he acknowledges just that. That his initial feeling was "okay..." until it was explained (context) to him. He gets it, but he was explaining that his initial feeling is part of the larger problem because he had to have out explained. Of course, he understands "if you're checked, just be checked" and WTD doesn't.
What’s insulting to me is when non-black Americans behave as if my lived experience as a black American is subordinate to their superficial understanding of my culture.
IMO WTD believed his superficial understanding of black American culture was superior to TCM’s lived experience.
Facts!
Kendrick fans think this just cuz they heard gkmc & tpab
@@xteihnInteresting. I’ve never heard those albums. I’m still old school - Funkadelics., Etta James, Curtis Mayfield, etc. I don’t need anyone to inform me about what I’ve experienced in life.
Well stated. I run into that often. I've checked many. Basically what you're saying they're essentially saying boils down to:
"'I'm white and I say so."
Sorry, I don't accept that.
@@pitpride1220 Totally agree!
This video is great. I used to have a white friend, I know he meant well but he would always argue with me about how white privilege doesn't exist. This whole video basically sums up what the privilege is. On top of other things.
I’m black and your friend is right. white privilege doesn’t exist. it’s GODLESS to think otherwise.
GODBLESS.
AVAA.. your explanation of being a tourist in Egypt, the process of a visa, learning Arabic, and the ugly American acting like they're Jonny Quest AND equating it to the hip hop / black experience is spot on. Appreciate the lesson Professor 👍🏾
I've been feeling like I have been consuming a lot of youtube that is not enriching me. We need more content like this
Been following you for a while now and appreciate your opinions and perspective. As well as, greatly appreciate you introducing me to Justin Hunt. As an Egyptian born, American citizen I appreciate the effort that went into that analogy. AVAA
Hip Hop is a part of black culture but black culture is not only hip hop. There’s many black people that know (or want to know) nothing about hip hop and rap but are unquestionably black.
What you said around the 22 minute and 30 second mark is something that I think all white people really need to pay attention to. It doesn’t matter if a small handful of Black people told you that something was OK. Because that small group might represent less than one percent if it’s something that’s going to be offensive to everybody else you can’t keep going back to that small group that said it was OK.
I am Navajo and half white. I grew up in the deep south with Black people, they were my best friends, I lived with some of them for three years we would go to one of our friends mom’s house every year for Thanksgiving and I remember one day after they noticed when I’m singing along with my favorite songs I skipped the N-word. One of them said it was OK for me to say it and at this time I had just gotten a construction job where I was traveling the country. Even though I grew up with them and went through many life experiences, good and bad it is never OK for me to say that word. That word should not be in my vocabulary. Because if I’m using that word them, then I am going to have it slip out one day when I shouldn’t. If I’m in another state working and I’m at a bar and I say that word, I can’t very well. Say “it’s OK I have a note from my neighborhood.” they’re not going to care. And I have just defended them. I try my best not to offend anybody I don’t ever want to be the reason anyone feels a certain way that is a negative feeling ever.
"Just be part of the gumbo, the seasoning, man" 10/10 advice
Black Canadian here. Didn’t know WTD was from NFLD, but now that I do. I can (with my chest) say that his blind spots make sense. I hope he’s able to learn from this experience about the blinders he had/has on as a White Canadian (from NFLD). Just because you’re not White American, doesn’t mean you’ve got a pass into places the White American doesn’t. The type of racism in Canada sounds like WTD’s apology - aggressive and mean spirited, always denied, arrogant and doesn’t like to be called out/corrected.
Other Canadians, can you weigh in?
What is NFLD ? 😂😂😂
@@YeMyGoat Newfoundland
Also Canadian, and yeah, you're absolutely right. I'm white so I see the racism from the outside, but the particularly Canadian brand of it has always seemed to me like you've said--aggressive and mean-spirited, while always demanding racialized people adhere to some undefined standard of "reasonableness" that is always a moving target and never achievable, because the thing that's "unreasonable" or "uncivil" is responding at all. "Civility" is also big here. WTD's apology, where he was like "I'm so sorry I lashed out at JH, but you see, JH hurt my feelings by saying true things," is very much in that spirit, IMO. I, too, hope he learns from this--I've been learning a lot about my own blind spots from some of the commentary around the beef, so I hope he has a similar experience.
😂 Canadian racism is a frustrating experience as it requires one to dip and dive around the constant whataboutism that is thrown out by bigots who chip away focus from their actions and the racism. That is why no one has noticed the absolutely disgusting language used at the latest minority and immigrant who faces acceptable discrimination in Canada and is driving far too much of our daily interactions, conversation, and politics.
Those who live in Alberta, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and all of these less diverse places in Canada, they don't consider how that lack of experience means they have a lack of knowledge about different cultures...they just assume a lack of opportunities for racist actions means they have no racist notions.
Compassion and understanding are extremely, extremely difficult. Empathy is known through the opportunity to flex it in complex, human nonsense we're all living rather than presumption hypotheticals that have gone unchallenged by those who are unaffected by a lack of empathy. It thrives through a miasma of distraction from direct conversation and a multitude of ideas from a variety of people from the same community rather than one centralized voice.
@@sarahtrick9043 very much appreciate your response, thank you!
This may be my favorite thumbnail so far. It's between this and the Doechii vid.
Shoobie is a slang term for a tourist. It was used in Season 2 Ep.5: of the show Rocket Power. Kendrick also used this term in Euphoria.
I'm a ol' man and feel I know ppl
That kid didn't mean his apology
He's done the same thing too many times and to claim he watched Justin and respected him yet still did what he did I think says a lot. He only made the public apology because he was going into livestreams trying to defend himself and was getting cooked, also Justin showing the DM apology also didn't look good for him. He said what he said with his full chest loud and wrong apologies publicly not double down and say blah blah blah Kendrick fans
@@deedeedussardto attack Justin w such vitriol and disdain, there is NO WAY that's apology was sincere.
I think he may have meant it - HOWEVER, I don't think he fully understands why he needed to apologize.
100% agree
This kid is in it for the money and fame, and this hurt his income and character
THIS! That apology was malarkey. Didn't believe a second of it because how is this someone you supposedly respect and admire and you disrespect them so thoroughly over MULTIPLE platforms?
“You just gotta say…my bad” 💯💯
And this is why Professor Skye is the best. 🙏🏽
Thank you for talking about Happy Dad ad part cause its crazy to still try and squeeze a little bit of money out of his apology vid
You'd think the way beauty guru walked so piss poor TH-cam apologies could run... and then get shat on...and WTD STILL went and did one of the most commonly criticized things in an apology 😂😂
@@itslawren For me it's that Happy Dad are massive Trump supporters
Hi Professor, I found your channel through Justin Hunte & I’m so glad I did. I went down a rabbit hole of your videos yesterday. I love the historical and social context you bring to your analysis of music. LOVE FROM BOSTON ❤ AVAA
I had never heard of WTD until company Man’s video that kicked off the crash out. But just seeing clips of him and his whole vibe, dude immediately made me think of Tim Poole. He’s like, a Canadian, hip-hop Tim Poole.😂
Same. To all~but I didn’t catch the Tim Pool parallels, good read!
Encapsulates the issue I have with these takes.
Nobody was criticizing him when he was reviewing and literally trying to calculate at what age Drake started using the N word in his 6:16 breakdown.
It's only when started reviewing Drake's song that people started caring.
More awesome video than usual (MAVU?).
I've been struggling with communicating my experience living with multiple disabilities/illnesses to loved ones. Becoming disabled comes with the social experience of becoming part of a minority group and I've been struggling with how to put words to that. I think what you said about the 'default mode' will help me communicate that part of my lived experience a bit better. Thanks as always, prof!
I understand you. God Bless You and He Will Show You Favor!☮️
AAVA Don't delete this video!!!! Not only is it a excellent perspective on the WTD and TCM controversy, it's also an excellent elucidation of respecting cultural differences.
AVAA I'm glad you decided to release this. Your honesty is refreshing. The ability to express not being able to understand what is offensive yet still acknowledging that it is offensive is something more people need to learn. Your analogy was spot on about being a guest. Shoot even being a guest in someone else's house here in the US requires this level of understanding. Also your thumbnail for this video could have been a mug shot with you holding the "Not in the position to properly contextualize." It's a great quote from Justin.
Thumbnail game is top tier 😂😂
facts
This channel is amazing. I enjoy the way in which you talk about hip hop, always thoughtful, gracious and respectful. You're also very humorous which adds so much texture and interest to your perspectives and is something that i find to be very compelling.
I love that you KNOW how to appreciate other cultures while being aware if your position. I love your channel and perspectives. You give awesome reviews and insight.
I also love that he understands knowing how to appreciate can go beyond schooling and knowledge and can just be getting checked by another culture and having the wisdom to listen.
Spot on as always. I particularly wanna give props to your shout out/acknowledgement of the "default" character. Whenever I need some space away from some audacious but well meaning statement, I say 'I'm not dealing with The Defaults today'. Relieves me of further unnecessary expenditure of energy and also subconsciously allows me to give a bit of grace to the person who likely didn't mean any harm.
Timestamp? I heard it and remember what he said somewhat, but can you summarize or paraphrase it for me please? I remember it was a solid point but I was listening while driving.🙏🏽
Been waiting for this.
You, Sir, are a real one. Thank you for making this video. You are one of the few I've heard speak so well on this topic, in general. Love hearing your POV.
AVAA Maaaan Prof, why you gotta drop gems middle of a Monday? Now I'll never get anything done. lol
38:18 he lost any possible deniability when he put the video clip up of Uncle ruckus. That was flagrant and he can hide behind the fact that he wore that wool costume well for a long time. Now that we have seen the real him, it's impossible for me to go back. He said sorry with his fingers crossed behind his back.
Thoughtful as always, thanks.
Love that Professor Skye not just referenced Shawn Cee's negative response to the apology, but agreed with it.
Love u professor! U r always on point!
so unrelated to the actual topic at hand but Modern Lovers namedrop is making me so happy i love that album
I'm Asian, my friends are black and Persians. We understood from early on in our youth there's no such thing as a Multipass. We only have short term Visas. We didn't overstay our welcome and we learned through that to respect each others culture. 40 years later and we're still friends.
You called him a nooofy and revoked his visa and the culture thanks you. Teamkendrick incanada ❤
as another white person who loves hip hop and tries to be respectful I'm so glad I just found this channel
Well, being a tourist isn’t untrue tbh. And, like, there’s ethics to being a tourist. I feel pretty confident in saying that last time I went to another country in a group (huge fucking nightmare) I was the one that put the most effort into… engaging.
Didn’t speak the language. But I made an effort.
This was one of the best video essays I've ever seen. I feel seen and understood. I'm so grateful the Kendrick and Drake beef brought me to your channel. Thanks for all you do ❤
AVAA, Prof Skye~I’ll be honest with you here and tell you that when this matter crashed into my algorithm ~you were the human who came to mind. You only recently crashed into my algorithm too, however more organically via Foreign man’s nebula essay on this very topic ..anyway, I digress, something you said that stuck with me came to the surface when all this deliciously exploded (delicious in a psycho-anthropological sense:-) the channels, something to the effect of “I have black American subscribers who tell me I’m invited to the cookout, and that’s nice to hear~but I still would never go…” well, because of my own affinity with and for you I respected your position but I was like, you might like the ribs, ya know? However, that situation instantly brought understanding, the nuanced meaning found only through direct experience or between the words-the same way you didn’t -couldn’t-understand the commotion around Dirt, until that moment I couldn’t understand why you wouldn’t come to the cookout even if invited. I know it sounds crazy, but my respect and fondness for you grew to new heights in that moment.
I’m high in dominant group acculturation , so there are many white Americans who share the GenX experience that I get along with very well-even have close bonds with, but I’m also a black American woman and there is always a part of my experience that is divergent bc standing in the same neighborhoods in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, there were some things that I experienced that created deep wounds before I even knew that wounds were occurring. A divide that my black girlfriends who didn’t grow up in my neighborhood can actually bridge. Bc at the end of the day, I had some economic comfort growing up but there was never social parity in those spaces.
The thing you couldn’t feel was the trigger that went secondary to the cultural trauma and wounding. Dirts assessment of what that word meant 37 times was what exposed his myopia and separateness from the heart of this genre he loves. It’s the blues in a different form. Some themes are universal, but the thread which knits together this particular genre to produce some universal themes is made with the very specific and individualized subcultural epigenetic and contemporary pain. Even this thing playing out through the Kendrick/Drake predicament. Maybe Kendrick even knows Drake is either the trope or the scapegoat for the real offender and oppressor~the dominant culture. Either way, it evokes some excitement from deep within, as the answers and even solutions arise from unlikely places. This is playing out in parallel to the larger predicament playing out on the national level. I’m excited that we’re possibly finally moving forward again, after my 51 yrs here of observing nothing moving…but critical mass is over the next ridge. I still might not live to see it, but my kiddos might. We don’t need everyone~we just need enough of us.
Thanks for being part of the solution. Some small part of the healing that’s ongoing in our country and shared experience ~albeit flip-sides of the same coin. Or maybe mirror images of one another…
You’re a tiny pebble making great waves, prof. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🌺
I’m not sure I even finished my initial thought, and I’m too tired to proof it😅 so I hope this makes a little sense.
PS-your awareness and insight is all you. All I know is educated white folks~and few have taken the courage to overcome their cognitive dissonance, feel the pain and sorrow on the other side of it…when they realize they were indoctrinated with anti-black bias very completely, even when it was tacitly accomplished.
You did that part. Your privilege would’ve actually served to separate you from your insight, even if you managed to overcome the barrier. The privilege ~you had to give some of it up within yourself to cultivate this awareness and insight. The proof is how you approach this genre and the PEOPLE who created it. This is humility. And no matter who we are, it’s one of the tenets of self actualizing. Others might see the product, but it’s a very private process💙🙏🏽
Thanks for these comments. I really appreciate them.
I Love This Guy
AVAA. Man that first story alone is powerful and insightful. As someone who always loves to know foreign culture and also yearn for that connection, it's a good reminder that no matter what, you're just a tourist. You should keep distance and respect.
Soooo much respect for you making this video. 🙏🏽💕 I think you nailed it from all angles. And that Happy Dad Seltzer sponsorship sealed WTD’S fate with me. I will NEVER visit his page again.
AVAA
I feel like I have an interesting perspective here, as someone who is a Person of color but not black so I am very familiar with the idea of being immersed in cultures that are not my own. In my daily life I am chest deep in whiteness and it really does alienate me, and that applies to the music I listen to as well. Both of my favorite genres (old 70s rock and hip hop) are very white and black oriented respectively and I don’t know where to fit in in any of the cultures. I’ve grown closer to hip hop as non whiteness and opposition to white supremacy is easier for me to attach to than the other way around, but I still have to watch myself in these discussions to not say anything out of line myself. I still can’t go to the cookout but I can at least offer my own perspective on how whiteness can damage things and how to fight against it.
Another thing that may either help or harm your tourism metaphor. The tourism industry actually does a lot to hurt specific areas of the world. A lot of infrastructure specifically built for tourism comes at the expense of the people and culture that’s already there, with resources being spent on accommodating tourists who don’t want to spend time with the people they’re visiting the land of or engage with the culture. Something to think about in terms of hip hop maybe.
I had mixed feelings about the apology to begin with, but tried to engage in the spirit of kindness/assuming good intentions while gently pointing out why good intentions aren't always enough. But even before you mentioned the seltzer thing (thanks for that--I had no idea) I was getting a sinking feeling in my chest the more I thought about it. I think what gets me is that it still felt like he was trying to frame himself as, like, the main character of hip-hop, the beef, and TH-cam commentary. His racist lashing out at Justin Hunte was all about what JH was supposedly "trying to do to him" when Hunte clearly wasn't trying to do anything TO him at all. It was all about HIS theories, HIS takes, HIS credibility, and how HE was being "objective" whereas JH, an actual journalist, was showing his "bias" and being a "snake" because he liked WTD's earlier videos but not this one? Which somehow constituted a personal betrayal of WTD, instead of a professional critique of a colleague?
Although WTD deserves some credit for recognizing and publicly stating that the things he said about JH were artefacts of projection and were actually about himself, his apology still made EVERYTHING about himself. HE suffers from mental illness. HE was projecting. HE was the only person who EVER "made" JH be unkind. (He didn't make JH do shit and JH was still very kind, even in his fierce response.) He even weirdly sounded somewhat proud of getting a reaction out of JH. Even his saying none of the things he said about JH were true was weird--I'm pretty sure no one ever thought they were, the problem is that WTD said them in the first place.
Yes, it sucks when people you respect, who had said you were doing a good job, start saying you're not doing so great. Yes, it's natural to have an emotional reaction to that, including feelings of anger and hurt, even if the person is right. But to use those feelings to attempt to discredit that person's professional and personal identity is beyond the pale even without the blatant racism, and then still centring those feelings in your apology is gross, imo. Sigh.
Your comment on his video really stood out.
I knew it all along...everything what's the Dirt did was intentional...from the crash out to the BS apology, it was by design
Designed to do what?
He knew he was wrong before he did his breakdown he disrespected kendrick and his lady he made it seem like she was a 304
matt recently spent a lot of time touring live streams and insulting ppl in the chats for being a Kendrick fan & using inflammatory language to stir up views for the FM breakdown similar tactic of his influencers being Jerry/Akademics, Adam16/22 and the never been a dj vlad
@@haniyyahn so the MTG/Not Like Us videos dont come out around Superbowl time
We have to know micro mannerism its part of black survival, i know what room ive walked into within 0.5 seconds, lived experience creates a 6th sense
AVAA - Im glad the professor chimed in.
Oh man. Recent viewer, first time commenter. Really appreciating your analysis. I saw the apology video, and it seemed pretty decent on the surface but it felt a little off and I couldn't quite grasp why, so your take on it was helpful for me. I did side-eye the sponsor even at the time, but now knowing what the company stands for makes it just that little bit worse. AVAA
P.S. Bought 'Recovering From Emotionally Immature Parents' after seeing it in one of your videos and it's already changed my life.
Glad that the book helped you out!
In my opinion his apology seemed off because he contradicted himself about his reasoning for his insults. He said he looked up to the company yet was insulting him by calling him a snake and saying that he’s a failure because he doesn’t have a following and was using him for clout. What’s the Dirt also lacks insight on we some people in our culture was insulted by parts of his breakdown and some of his comments. Even after the apology you can tell that he still fully doesn’t understand.
@@Pianokeys-ee5of whole apology falls apart once you learn his disgusting comments calling Kendrick Lamar a milk man, harping on calling him 'black messiah' and going to Whitney's IG account and trying to deduce if she was suffering from post-partum. The way he delivered these takes made me feel like he was compromised. What a vile piece of sh*t
That Candice line from FD always stuck with me too
I’d definitely learn everything you teach if you’re my professor. How you dissect everything for the “layest-man” to understand.
Not A-Aron!!! 😂 Great video so thoroughly and elegantly explained.
I watched all your mentioned vids, and thank you for always keeping it real😂❤
i'm just happy that you have a massive respect for the culture and that's why i appeciate your videos loved the video on Bando Stone AAVA
WOW 🤯 that spicy segment was insane. I never would've never caught that detail, Professor. Thank you.
Very well put, Professor. Definitely think you should keep this video up, its good food for thought for folks in this space(particularly as tourists.) As always you have a way of cutting to the heart of things and adding something of substance to these conversations
never heard of this dirt person, good video tho prof AVAA
the shawncee name drop caught me the fuck off guard LMAOOO
back in the office -- love it!
As a white person that has been in culturally intimate spaces for other races/cultures, I agree: Stop romanticizing the "cookout."
Sometimes there is a feeling amongst white people like you get made fun of/left out for not having a culture. Take time to be with the ones you love and hold dear and realize what things you do with them that you take for granted - that is your culture. Embrace your own cookout, even if the meat isn't as well-seasoned.
I saw a video that detailed how white Americans as a whole, not invidually, gave up their unique cultures to become a dominant economic force. And it's pretty accurate. As a black American I shouldn't have to go to Ireland to get authentic Irish culture, now obviously I dont literally have to. But considering the number of Irish descendents living in America that culture should be much more prominent.
@@TekniCaliSpeakinwell we also have to remember the Irish assimilated to Americans because they were getting treated horribly, ban from jobs and more. Almost like how they were treating the blk ppl. A lot of white skinned ppl weren’t counted as white in America until the government needed it too
@@TekniCaliSpeakin yeah but that would mean stop exploiting black people. Can't have that. lmao
@@TekniCaliSpeakincouldn't the same be said about african Americans regarding the irish example?
@@sibusiso2841 The difference was authentic African culture was actively attempted to be stomped out by white supremacy, who we consider "white people" today gave it up willingly and readily. Especially obvious with the Irish because they weren't always considered "white".
Didn't know abt the Happy Dad's Seltzer 🤯 thanks for the nugget! Feel better
Well done, sir. Your self awareness and understanding of the underlying issues is appreciated. If only it were this easy for others who look like you to understand these concepts that seem rather basic to me, as a POC queer in America.
Excellent work, as always! Please, keep educating folks! AVAA
"you done messed up a-aron" 😂😂😂
I've never been to any of your "actual" classes, but on here you have time and time again demonstrated why you're a fantastic professor. you thoughtfully make important and deep points and sprinkle in stuff like this to make listening even more engaging and fun, masterclass
AVAA in advance, because I was not expecting to see Ozu in less than 1 minute in, LET'S GO 🔥🔥🔥
Avaa wtd was definitely on the way to hoing full ak hes in a group chat with ak trap lore ross and adam 22.
I think the reason what hr did got picked up on so quickly is because Justin is well respected in the hip hop community but also that this isnt the first time he has gone after creators he believes are smaller and have less clout than him. He used parts of one of cliff beats videos and then set his follower on cliff to say cliff had copied him and started a whole beef. As i said he has done this a number if times but justin has way more social currency than he imagined. Him putting the video on twitter and saying something' along the lines of i dont want to give him any clout (paraphrasing) said it all. He said he watched justin in the past but i dont think it was as far back as Justin's hio hopdx days. Justin walked so wtd could run and wtd completely disrespected that.
This is amazing. I was teaching hiphop in university 2 decades ago. Always tried to behave the way you describe, but never had a vocabulary for it. And thus felt lost. You finally made me understand my place. Thanks!
Your thumbnails continue to get better AVAA
I owe a big part of my current education to you.
Big thanks to you Pofessore Skye!
PS: here I would love to use the formal expression of „you“ as we have it in german to express respect:)
Well said prof, appreciate you and your sincerity as a person and towards the culture.
Not gone lie, as a young blackman when you said the "k slur" I had no clue what you meant
Google it. It's a pretty bad word.. Close to the word Kite.. I wouldn't suggest using it. But learning about the past
Heartening you weren't aware it's meaning, honestly, though we all need to know them to avoid.
my exact sentiments
AVAA prof if it was summer you may have had barley tea! not japanese but ive always wanted to try it
Monie's video about Dirt was very interesting especially the conversations had before what happened, happened
Bless your perspective and words on the matter! You know where the line is and know you’re a tourist in a positive sense. AVAA
Great video and much needed wisdom disseminated. On a side note I had to laugh when you mentioned Mad Eye Moody, because when you first started talking about the little elderly Japanese lady my initial knee-jerk thought was, “what if it’s Nagini wearing Bathilda Bagshot!” 😂
AVAA - Your thumbnail game is becoming top notch
Was that the album that David Robinson of the Cars played on before he was in the Cars?
You done messed up A-a Ron!! 😂💯🫶🏽
Nice coverage, especially the funding or sponsorship part. Thank you!
Woooow, a lot of creatoes have had their take on this apology, i even listened to Jeremy's take on my way to work this morning. However, you hit the nail on the head perfectly, as a tourist of the culture. I say this because, in that sense, you are on the same grounds as wtd, and boi oh boi, you blew me away.
Thank you for showing how things can be from the other perspective.
Man i love your stuff I'm always looking forward to your vids. Thanks for speaking out!
Completely love that tourist analogy. I love Yasujiro Ozu as well, and years ago I visited his grave at Kanagawa. But of course, no matter how in tuned I felt with Japanese Zen Buddhism, and enjoyed the sense of zen, of peace, etc watching his films, and soaking in the atmosphere in that temple-grave site, I in the end cannot claim this culture. I am not Japanese, and I was born years away from experiencing that time period where Ozu and his contemporaries were producing films. There will always be an invisible barrier preventing me from truly understanding the Japanese condition that Ozu, Mizoguchi, and Mikio Naruse were making films about. I think it's possible to take inspiration from a culture while still acknowledging your cultural identity as a tourist. In this movie context, somebody like Quentin Tarantino I think does quite well in how he openly credits the Japanese movies he takes inspiration from in the movie itself (e.g. Kill Bill).
very important video Professor. Thank you for sharing your thoughts so beautifully
Yea the happy dad brand is definitely getting access to our culture. akademiks, a bunch of streamers, even Snoop has death-row brand on it now, and celebrities go on that FULL SEND POD
Speaking on behalf of the culture, Bravo 🙌🏾 Excellent commentary!! 💯
In previous analysis and breakdowns on heavy topics, those on matters of Black American Culture or the plight(s) they've endured... he tread carefully. Relatively. He still line stepped. However the tone was different. In this one... he's calling Kendrick Uncle Ruckus, Milkman, and making judgements on... of ALL things... LA gang politics. The angle that got Drake ridiculed by the community itself. He tried to assert a view on THAT. This is where i'm convinced wtd is compromised. This reflects Drakes biggest insecurity - always running away from wheelchair Jimmy. He glorifies street life because to him its Cool, its a hood fantasy, he doesnt undersrand the costs. Both WTD and Akademiks embarassed themselves trying to make the case here... and this isnt a coincidence.
The King T album shootout was bananas! That was my favorite album at that time too.
Probably the best analogy and breakdown of what it means to be in solidarity with non-white, non-American communities.
speaking about white people in a black space, please review Phiik & Lungs' Carrot Season, I think you'll have interesting things to say about their rapping styles. AVAA
AVAA when bro brought it back to the japan story to make his point i was like wooooah that was cool, love this channel