S. Samuel
Maybach Music Group's Wale recently offered his take on living out a rags-to-riches success story and why as great as it is to have a Black president, much more progress can be made in the African American community.
In Wale’s opinion, there are much more opportunities waiting for people to reach for in 2013 than in past years.
“We got a black president. As cliché as that sounds,” he also states. “And it sounds normal now since it’s been about six years, but [there] was a time when it seemed far-fetched. Anything can happen. I think there are way more outlets. Way more. There are way more things going on. You can become a director without even going to art school now. It’s not just trapping and rapping.” (Rolling Out)
The rapper also provided his take on controversial language, notably the N-Word being used by non-Black people.
With MMG head Rick Ross having faced a major backlash earlier this year due to lyrics on the remix for Rocko’s “U.O.E.N.O.,” which critics believed advocated date rape. In the media furor that followed, the entire genre came under scrutiny for the rhymes of one artist. Also, the N-word debate has surfaced in two high-profile incidents this year: The discrimination case against Food Network star Paula Deen, and following the release of concert footage of Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper threatening to “fight every n—er in here.” In both instances, hip-hop’s tendency to toss the word around was called into question. But to Wale, that correlation makes absolutely no sense. “Hip-hop is balance,” he says. “There are a lot of layers to hip-hop. We are not all responsible for what everyone else does. If Eminem goes out there and calls every black person … a ‘monkey,’ ‘n–a’ or whatever, you can’t blame everyone rapping. One has nothing to do with the other.” (Rolling Out)
Recently, Wale’s rap pal Jay Z said the separation between rich and poor continues to grow apart despite having made progress in the White House.
“I don’t really wanna scare America, but the real problem is there’s no middle-class,” Jay explained on the show’s open panel. “So, the gap between the have and the have-not’s is getting wider and wider. Let me finish this point because I do want to scare them a little bit. It’s gonna be a problem that no amount of police can solve because once you have that sort of oppression and that gap is widening, it’s inevitable that something’s gonna happen, period.” (“Real Time with Bill Maher”)
Known for having a relationship with United States President Barack Obama, Hov gave his assessment of the nation’s leader a couple years ago.
“I still think he is the best man for the job,” Jay said in an interview. “Yes, I think he got a raw deal and a bad economy. You wouldn’t be given anything you can’t handle so he must be really special, because he has a lot of work to do!” (E! Online)
