Yelawolf Delivers the Definitive Word on Hip-Hop, Whiteness & the N-Word (Video)

“Hip-Hop – and American music culture – is black culture. Don’t ever get it fucked up…I’m from the South. That shit don’t fly. It’s a very real situation. Know your roots, know where the fuck you’re getting this music from and respect it. And don’t embarrass white people and white rappers by doing that dumb shit, by dropping the N-bomb and thinking you’re all cool and shit. You’re going to find yourself slapped up and it might be by a white boy. Because you ain’t gonna embarrass me around my people like that. As a white rapper, it’s always been a big no-no. But as a human being, it’s been an even bigger no-no.” - Yelawolf

There's been a lot of discussion about V-Nasty (aka that other chick in the Kreayshawn videos/White Girl Mob founder) and her rampant use of the N-word, but as complicated of a topic as it is, it personally couldn't be more cut and dry. If you're white (like me) don't use it, ever, in any circumstance, even if you're reciting your favorite rap lyrics. Boom, problem solved. Remember white people, no one's ever going to get mad at you for not saying it.

That policy comes from two places. First, growing up in Boston, a city with a serious history of racial violence, if you were white and used the "n word" you ran a pretty high risk of getting your ass beat, a reality that was clear even by early elementary school. Out of a basic sense of survival you learned quickly to just shut your mouth.

As an adult I of course learned about the terrible history behind that term, and making my living in hip-hop has forced me to confront my whiteness daily. While the times have certainly changed, largely for the better, hip-hop will always be first and foremost a culture created by Black people, and the only way I can avoid joining the long list of White people who exploited the Black creators of hip-hop is to remember that I'm really just a word away from losing any and all credibility I've built in this industry and culture.

In other words I co-sign the fuck out of everything Yelawolf said in the video above. White people in hip-hop - hell, just white people in general - that video is now your Bible. Follow it religiously.

(Props to The Smoking Section for the spot.)