Somebody’s gotta say it, and we don’t think it could have been said, or delivered, better.
Rapper Big Piph took to the track to say what somebody’s gotta say. On “Dear White People,” an introspective anthem with a feel-good beat and some well-timed, well-meaning, funny but not so funny samples, Big Piph (short for an Epiphany) delivers a sermon on the mount style manifesto on behalf of all the darker-hued people everywhere to #notallwhitepeople, but those white people.
You know…the people who think Kylie Jenner made full lips trendy, the people that think she made the dress-over-pants look “a thing,” the George Zimmerman and killer cop apologists, the people who think Miley Cyrus invented twerking, the people who think Elvis invented rock and roll, the people who defend their racist remarks by saying they aren’t racist because they have black friends, the people who are perfectly happy appropriating Black culture (with no credit to the Black culture, of course), the people who are happy to listen to hip hop, but refuse to listen to the black narratives behind the music, and everyone in between. This is a song for y’all, but it’s really a song for everybody.
The song delivers a dose of truth serum with a touch of sarcasm and satire (you know, that thing people always use to justify it when they mock oppressed and marginalized people–it’s not prejudice or racism at play, it’s satire, hello!), packaged in paradoxical happy-go-lucky, sing-song manner, while eloquently touching on some of the darker topics in race relations.
The rapper’s Soundcloud page says this of the record:
“Dear White People: I’m sincerely happy that race relations are perfect in America. Given some of the blatant atrocities as of late that have placed black people at the butt of every cruel joke, I am warmed by your loving responses and happy that your belly chuckle is as hearty as ever. When valid complaints, inquiries, injuries, and anger are brought to the surface by darker hued crews in a non-appeasing manner, the excuses, wrath, diversions, and stupidity that ya’ll offer warm my spirit. (More pride and less listening has always been my code too.) Well, this song was birthed from that feeling. In ‘Dear White People’ (and by “white people” I of course don’t mean ALL white people, but THEM white people) I’m giving you a lilac-hued butterfly with wingtips kissed by unicorn sprinkles fluttering in a Maui spring breeze over a volcano. The joy of such awesomeness cannot be easily absorbed by the medulla, but luckily you will still catch it in the form of a feel good, sing-along hip-hop song, so everybody can continue to feel great while some issues are presented. We are black. We aren’t happy. Well…some junk pretty much sucks, but it is much more important that we cater to your contentment, so here you go. Oh, and please don’t get rattled by the “twist” in the 3rd verse. Hope you enjoy. Yay.”
We have nothing left to say about this record, except “NAILED IT.”
Check it out below.
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