Your average white guy probably isn’t listening to hardcore rappers spitting rhymes about crime and death because they honestly can’t relate to the experiences. Caucasian hip hop listeners have usually flocked to artists off the beaten path who spit flows about professional wrestlers, comic book heroes and chop socky cinema. On the other hand, white people have also been known to congregate around artists/scenes in hip hop that they wish they could be a part of, even when they know it’s an unrealistic idea.
By Dustin Sussman
The following article does not represent the opinions of Spike TV or its affiliates.
10. Eminem
I might as well get it out of the way now because this one really goes without saying.
The second he stepped on the mainstream scene in 1999, the raps of Eminem easily made a huge connection with whiteboys from all over the Midwestern United States. I can’t deny that he got respect from almost every single authority in the hip hop/rap game, but I don’t really think too many brothas from Harlem we’re lending an open mind to his white trash trailer park fables.
9. MURS
The funniest thing about MURS is the fact that he knows most of his diehard hip hop fans are whiteboys and he doesn’t seem to care that much. He just needs to get it off his chest over a sick 9th Wonder production.
When Nick Carter started dropping classics like The End of the Beginning and Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition off of the Definitive Jux label, he saw most of his followers grow into a horde of weed-smoking white dudes. A lot of this has to do with the fact that MURS’s rhyme style and raw lyrical content doesn’t mix that well with the mainstream scene.
In the track “And This Is For...,” MURS complains about how more and more white dudes keep showing up at his live shows while also dissing stereotypical aspects of black culture. In the end, he comes to the conclusion that good music is good music. I think white fans flock to this type of material because it’s freethinking and helps the genre continue to evolve.
Either way, white dudes love the guy and will continue to be front row at his shows. I know I will.
8. MF Doom
What dorky white dude wouldn’t love a lyrically insane MC wearing a metal mask rapping about world domination and his favorite food groups?
After listening to Daniel Dumile getting’ busy on the mic for many years now I have come to the conclusion that he’s kinda of a big dork. I say this because he raps about really zany and brainy stuff. It’s like he’s speaking in code sometimes. I think he might also be the only MC in the history of hip hop to dedicate an entire album to food consumption. This is probably the main reason why so many geeky white fans think he’s the cat’s meow.
What white person wouldn’t love this type of sh*t?
This yard bird taste like fried toad turd
Love Villain, take pride in code words
Crooked eye, mold nerd geek with a cold heart
Probably still be speakin in rhymes as an old fart
Study how to eat to die by the pizza guy
No he's not too fly to skeet... in a skeezer eye
And squeeze her thigh, maybe give her curves a feel
The same way she feel it when he flow with nerves of steel
Written by Daniel Dumile and Otis Jackson, Jr, Lyrics by Daniel Dumile
© Rhymesayers Entertainment
7. Kool Keith
The greatest thing about the Dr. Octagonecologyst LP is that it took all of the expected norms of G-Rap and threw it out of the f***ing window. This has to be a big reason why wacky white kids from all over instantly feel in love with the Bronx MC. It also doesn’t hurt that Keith raps about being half-shark, half-man and other weird psychedelic s**t. Keith might also be the only MC ever to represent for plain club soda.
The other reason why white music listeners get so passionate about the Black Elvis is probably because he doesn’t necessarily get the respect he deserves in the world of mainstream hip hop/rap. I’m guessing some would argue that Dr. Octagonecologyst is one of the most underrated hip hop records ever released. When it first dropped in 1996, The Source only gave 3.5 Mics out of 5. In my option, that is a f***ing joke and I assume some other diehard Keith fans would say the same thing.
I myself Mr. Gerbik. Half-shark, half-man, skin like alligator!
6. OutKast
Even before “Ms. Jackson” and “Hey Yah” took over the pop world, white people loved them some OutKast from day one. With classic records like ATLiens and Aquemini, the dynamic duo seemed to be one the first real alternative hip hop groups on the scene. The fact that they had a mock comic book as their album cover for ATLiens was definitely grounds for dorky white dudes to lose their s**t. I don’t think I have ever met a white hip hop fan that hasn’t owned at least one classic OutKast LP in their lifetime.
