Alt-Black Raps.
This is not a piece about alternative rap music, whatever that means. Sorry if you came here ready to read a blog post about alt-rap, but if you want my opinion on music check out the My $0.02 Podcast https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/My2centspodcast.
I Get It But I Don’t Fully Support It.
For years now, BET has strayed more and more towards the negative stereotypical black path when it came to entertainment, and what they choose to celebrate. Hell, they “mysteriously mistaken” Usher talking about forgiving his father and allowing him back into his life with a Sexxy Red performance heavily censoring his speech. Black dad's bad but degeneracy within the black community good? It’s not hard to see where Donald Glover was coming from.
BET hasn’t really been too welcoming of black people like him. Black people who don’t like, live or consume what BET and their supporters call “real black,” so his words that night did not come out of nowhere, he’s just not one to talk. Gambino is a mastermind who like other black folks in his shoes, “othered” themselves and continue to do so on the high and on the low. You can’t purposely distance yourself from a community and then passively aggressively call them out for ignoring you. Yes, BET’s track record of celebrating anybody black who is not GOATED or ghetto is trash, they tried to clean it up by having all of those black country singers present that night, but from what I hear, they didn’t even create a “best country” award for them or something in that vain.
BET is far from off the hook but I get tired of “alt-blacks” othering themselves then getting mad at black folks for saying “okay, you’re an “other.”” I’m not saying Donald Glover has to star in Baby Boy 2, he just has to actually show the black community at large that his love for us isn’t just a moment in time (a fad). Putting out a very mid phunk album and a magnificent TV show is not how he properly goes about showing love to the black community.
With all that being said, I still loved the “joke” because it put BET’s flagrant “black” asses in the hot seat. The way they celebrate any white boy who can recite a rap verse is pathetic seeing as they consider “alt-blacks” “Oreos.” Gambino’s a grown man who can do whatever he wants. I’m just saying don’t cry about not being invited to parties you intentionally avoid or if you don’t make yourself known to the very people you want acknowledgement from. I’m sure he shows up to the Grammys without being invited to present at or perform. If he truly wants the acknowledgement of BET, he should start showing his face more. It’s not a guarantee he gets more awards, but if being acknowledged by his own people is what he wants then it shouldn’t be a thang but a chicken wang to show up. Again, falling back on “I made Atlanta and Redbone” is not “showing up.” That’s the same energy Jay-Z has about 444. “I made one “pro-black” album so I never have to do anything for the black community ever again.”
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