Initially, a co-sign - an imprimatur of authenticity, or at least tolerance, given by an established black artist - was essential. White rappers - especially in the wake of the success of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and, to a lesser degree, Iggy Azalea - are now finding paths to success that have little if anything to do with black acceptance.įor decades, white rappers who have reached wide renown - and plenty who never did - have employed a handful of familiar strategies.
That is, naturally, absurd, but it is a clear reflection of a somewhat unexpected emergent racial reality in hip-hop.
It was an inducement to overlook the show’s discomfiting racial dynamic, suggesting that the issues brought up by its lineup - with two popular black rappers, each with more radio and chart success than the headliners, relegated to the evening opening slots - have little to do with race. This gesture was avoidant, devious, disingenuous, rude. But in a sleight of hue, everyone in the image appears to have similar skin tone. The most revealing aspect of the G-Eazy tour was its promotional image: a painted tableau of G-Eazy and his fellow headliner Logic (born to a black father and white mother), flanked on either side by the opening acts, YG and Yo Gotti, both of whom are black. It has the same structure as a conventional hip-hop crossover attempt - rapper on the verses, singer on the hook - but here, both rapper and singer are white. And his big single is like a simulacrum of a mainstream hip-hop hit. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.īut G-Eazy has achieved a large chunk of this success via a hip-hop side door - not reliant on traditional gatekeepers like hip-hop radio or the support of an established black mentor. Over the last couple of years, this Oakland, Calif., musician has evolved from regional curio to legitimate pop contender: He appears on the lead single from the forthcoming Britney Spears album, and in March, his song “ Me, Myself & I” with the guest singer Bebe Rexha - from his platinum album, “When It’s Dark Out” - went to No. Last month, the white rapper G-Eazy - a handsome ectomorph sporting a motorcycle jacket and 1950s-slick hair - headlined a show at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, part of a weekslong tour.
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