Back when I was actively pursuing rap music as a means to pay my bills, it wasn’t much for someone to show me love for something I said. I believe most of it was contrived, but even if it was genuine, I’m a pretty humble dude. I can take a compliment, even if it makes me a little uncomfortable. Truth be told, I never had my heart set on making much money off of rapping, I just wanted the acknowledgment that I was good at it. & that’s exactly what I got, but I digress.
Years ago, when I first began jumping on people’s songs (who weren’t an immediate part of our rap crew), I’d occasionally come across cats who knew me from the music. It didn’t happen daily, but enough to let me know that somebody somewhere was listening. This was the tail end of the CD era, & the ‘Net hadn’t yet localized all rap music, so for someone to hear a song meant that someone had to be playing it. In this particular case, someone also had to have said my name, because they knew it.
One day, a dude who I didn’t know said, “Oh shit, you’re Tony Grands?” I nodded, attempting to maintain the recommended level of MC nonchalance. He didn’t have the requisite “So what. I rap, too” attitude I’d grown accustomed to. & he wasn’t one of those overly gracious fellows who seem too happy about nothing in particular. This dude appeared sort of surprised, as if he wanted to chuckle. Which he kind of did. He stuck out his hand for dap, & we shook hands & he gave me the oddest compliment I’ve received to date.
“You tight. Sound like you’d be a big black nigga, though.”
I imagine that’s what people thought to themselves the first time RZA said to them “Yo sun, this the nigga that was on that track, U-God…” Or perhaps how the rest of the world felt when they heard Drake’s verse about catching “a body (like that).” Light skinned dudes who rap aggressively get looked at like the pretty girls that are shaped like tackling dummies, or the last bag of shake weed left in the shoe box. The consensus seems to be that we collectively rock sandals year ’round & sleep with teddy bears. No dice, though. Also, just because we turn red under stressful situations doesn’t mean we bruise easily. Nevertheless, it’s another subsidiary of what I call “Snipes-Williams Complex,” a phenomenon started when Nino stabbed Kareem in “New Jack City.” Hip Hop takes that scene to heart as closely as it does the “Say ‘Hello’ to my lil friend” clip from it’s favorite movie. Ever since then, beige cats in rap have been relegated to explosive outbursts to prove themselves, like Benzino & Bow Wow & Chris Brown have been known to do. (I told y’all Chris Brown was going to lose it.) If not that then it’s a slight self-mockery, with such names as “Yella” & “Redhead.” In fact, imagine my surprise when I found out that Aloe Blacc was really a dark skinned guy. I was expecting a tiny redbone fellow.
& for the record, I’m well aware that most African-American communal conflicts derive from some sort of pre-existing slave mentality, but that’s way deeper than I’m willing to go on a Tuesday morning. With that said, the light skinned rapper is & always will be overlooked, no matter his miniature accolades or his colossal failures, but we at R&WIFDP #salute him. Shouts out to Redhead Kingpin, Knoccturnal, J. Cole, Benzino, U-God, Tash, Cory Gunz, & the rest of the bunch who have more skills per song than they do melanin per square inch.
wow cheers for a bit of insight to african-american relations, i have often heard reference to the exact tone of skin but never get it, terms like hi yellow , redbone just aren’t in the aussie vocab. sorry if i appear ignorant on this post, more an american thang
Not ignorant at all.
Of course this is just my little humous spin, but there are books, movies, college courses based around the relationship between light & dark African Americans. It’s gets real deep real quick, all starting with Africans (& others in that areas around that time like the spanish) being loaded on a ship.
LMAO
TC is still melted Parkay Grands…
Man..tell me about it, man. I was light-skinted AND had a Napoleon-Complex. No bullshit, I actually went through a bully-esque faze, even threatening to whup bandmates who didn’t respect my gangster. Looking back, I’m shocked that I wasn’t on the receiving end if an ass-whooping of epic proportions for all of the chin-checking I gave to folks. I was as confident in my fist-game as my mic-skills (I studuied martial arts with a real Bruce Leroy type), and am sure I projected that…but there’s ALWAYS someone better. I guess, in hindsight, I’m glad that THAT motherfucker didn’t ever accept my challenge to get his face pounded into hamburger meat. SMDH @ my younger, melanin-lite, over-compensating ass
Try being the albino cat from Strong Arm Steady. Imagine his conundrum. Poor dude has to walk around looking like Eddie Murphy in the coming to america barbershop.
*taste the soup*
Yo Cap….when I first saw dude, I gained a new appreciation for the melanin that I did have. I bet he’s a tough mutha too…b/c looking like he does, he HAS to be.
Krondon.
I know an albino cat named Casper (I swear to God) who is crazy. I don’t doubt that most of them are a bit extra defensive most days. But Albinos don’t technically count, & if we let them in, dudes like Fat Joe & Cuban Linx will be trying to submit applications next…
I know an albino cat named Casper (I swear to God) who is crazy.
^^^^ That shit right there? I’m done. Grands…thou art INSANE! LOL!
In albinos defense, the paper bag test is going to have to be referred to as the gallon of milk test from here on out.
You know of all my years of listening to Hip Hop, that has never came into my mind !! I mean we all knew that the light skinned homie got the chick in the late 80′s to 90′s but as far as emceeing, if you were tight that’s all tat mattered. Of course I acknowledge the light skinned complex of supposely being soft and just for the ladies when it comes to Hip Hop. Those Black Mufuckas looked like they just left a cell sometimes. It is what it is though. Nice write up.
I’ve never received props on any “curly hair” punchlines. I’m just saying.
On the topic of albinos, Brother Ali ftw.
Fux benzino, I don’t know all those other dudes but i know Cory gunz and Knoc definetly don’t get the recognition they deserve.
Brother Ali is a CAUCASIAN albino, double whammy.
RIP Heavy D.
Just saw that. Only 44. Seemed like a nice dude, never in no shit. Damn shame
I still ain’t on twitter so pardon the random topic and excuse the comment that has absolute zero to do with this post. With that being said, I was getting my lurker on over on your twitter page and came across something about the McRib. If you eat that shit go enjoy one last one then google “heart and sole of the McRib”. Sole wasn’t a typo…
I’m mightve been cracking a Mcjoke. No synthetic foods for me…
“Light skinned dudes who rap aggressively get looked at like the pretty girls that are shaped like tackling dummies, or the last bag of
shake weed left in the shoe box.”
Same applies to skinny dudes with deep voices.
LMAO! I’m 5’10″ , 165lbs and sound like Johnny Cash and Barry White’s love child. On the phone I’m a giant, in person I’m extra medium.
I’m just an inch taller fam. Same weight though. Everyone is like “you don’t look how you sound”. Smh.
Luda’s throwing shots (back) at Drake…ha.