In relation to our class discussion on “blacking up”, I have found a  rap battle video that perfectly showcases what many conceive to be the “blacking up” of wealthy suburban white kids in modern day America. This rap battle is a great example because it features a group of what looks to be suburban white teens that just came home from boarding school to the hard streets of Beverley Hills Mansions Boulevard. In fact, Gabe Day, one of the “rappers” featured in the battle, is actually Gabe Day Lewis, the son of Daniel Day Lewis, who is an extremely successful actor that has an estimated net worth of fifty million dollars. While the viscous crew featured in the video has far from experienced the struggles of a hood upbringing similar to that of 50 cent or Tupac, it is evident in their rapping that they wish to emulate many aspects of the gangster, thug persona common to mainstream rap music. This desire exists despite the fact that the two teens are unable to hide their wealthy background while rapping. It is fairly comical how rhymes that reveal the luxurious lifestyle of these privileged kids are mixed with rhymes that follow suit of the violent, hyper-sexualized, homophobic themes that are commonplace in modern rap battles and rap music. Furthermore, the lack of a struggle of these teens shows how they attempt to share, or in the perspective of many critics of the “blacking up” trend, steal the oppressed, poor and rebellious inner city African American culture that is responsible for the creation of rap.

The rap begins with Day’s friend, or rapping rival, insulting Day’s masculinity. He states that Day is “such a bitch, look here, his water just broke.” In rap music, it is common for rappers to criticize each other by stating that the other person has female like qualities, and to declare or imply that these qualities are a sign of weakness. Day’s friend was likely copying what he has heard on rap tracks in which I presume were played on $1,000.00 speakers.

During the rap battle, the toughness of the two rappers also becomes an attacking point. Day’s friend raps, “I’ve seen you in the gym, 2 2.2s is what he presses.” This criticism may not be all that clever, but in the rap industry, flexing your muscles can help sell records and winning fist fights is one way to build “street cred”. Therefore, it is not unusual for a rapper to call out another rapper’s physical weakness to get underneath their skin and to hit them where it hurts during a battle. Later in the song, Day’s friend even directly uses the physical threat, “I’ll put you in crutches.” This violence is most frequently portrayed in rap music as taking place in an impoverished area in which African Americans predominately occupy.

One other common point of criticism of a rap opponent is to insult their sexuality. Day raps, “You told me to take a leaf out of your book and suck a dick, fucking queer.” After being called a homosexual, Day’s friend responds by calling out Day’s lack of sexual promiscuity, a concept that is constantly glorified in Rap music. Day’s friend raps, “You haven’t lost your virginity.”

It is during rhyming about drug use that Day’s friend reveals the wealthy distinctions that separate him from the poor drug users that in part make up the inner city ghetto communities that inspired hip hop. This disconnection is shown as he raps about Day’s powder cocaine use, a drug that is often too expensive to be trafficked in poorer neighborhoods. He states, “This guy thinks he’s cool because he sniffs coke.” Rappers may talk about using cocaine when they’ve made it big, but crack use and crack dealing is more often brought up when rappers, mainly African American, speak of their past struggles. Once again, these are the struggles that inspired hip hop, not the cocaine use of wealthy white suburban kids.

The awkwardness of the video finally comes to an end when the Rap battle concludes with the memorable rhyme “I’m sorry man, but for this rap shit I’d say you’re a pass, but for now brah, I’ve got to go to class” This ending is of course how the likes of Eminem, Biggie Smalls, and Snoop Dogg all finish their rap songs, by showing the importance of school attendance. These kids might only be rapping to pass time, but the enjoyment and enthusiasm of the rappers and spectators shows how white teens who can’t really relate to many of the gangster themes in rap music will happily pretend and fake it, poorly albeit, for entertainment, to imitate idols, or to feel cool.

URL Link to video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYmBnE84qP0

For some background information on the subject I also used this source URL Link – http://theboombox.com/gabe-day-rappers-born-rich/