“Even though my skin’s kinda light/means my ancestors were raped by somebody white…”
“I’m Black” -Styles P
Over the past few weeks, black rapper Rich Homie Quan has taken a lot of heat because of lyrics of two songs (and counting) that glorify the rape of women.
And rightly so. If Rich Homie Quan showed up at my crib trying to date my daughter, I’d drop kick him out the front door. But what is ironic is that at the same time, Mick Jagger and his Rolling Stones are re-releasing what could, arguably, be called the most racist , misogynistic record of all time and folks are praising it it like the Second Coming.
In 1971, The Rolling Stones released a song called “Brown Sugar” off of their “Sticky Fingers” album which was about the rape of a slave girl by her white master. According to some sources the original title was supposed to be Black P*****. And because that song was so well received, a few years later Mick and the boys recorded Some Girls as an encore which contained the lyrics “black girls just want to f****.” While some may argue that this is ancient history, what is problematic is that the “Sticky Fingers” album featuring “Brown Sugar” is being re-released June 9 during a hip hop era when many Black male rappers have been demonized for their misogynist lyrics by feminist groups. You mean to tell me while there is all this outcry over Rich Homie Quan’s songs, no tears are being shed over this?
I remember back in the day folks were outraged over Luke Campbell and the 2 Live Crew’s ‘Nasty as they Wanna Be’ records. And a few years ago, women’s groups caused Rick Ross to lose his Reebok deal (as he should have) because of his verse on “U.N.O.E.N.O,” where he rapped about date-raping a woman after he slipped a Molly in her drink.
Don’t get me wrong, Black rappers should be criticized, but so should white rockers. There seems to be a dirty little double standard at play here, Sexual assault is a very serious issue in this country and is not taken lightly. When was the last time you saw a Cosby Show rerun on tv? However, we cannot allow Black men to be the poster boys for misogyny while white men like Mick Jagger are given hood passes.
This country gets historical amnesia when it is convenient and will flip and go “post racial” on you in a heartbeat anytime you bring up the atrocities of the past. But there is a long history of white men sexually assaulting Black women in this country with impunity that goes back to slavery. It continues today – check out some ongoing issues with NYPD and sexual harassment. Lets not even get started on real life molesters like Josh Duggar. And to glorify that in a song should be denounced, especially by feminist groups that are quick to call Black men onto the carpet.
Where are the women’s groups threatening to picket classic rock stations if they play “Brown Sugar: on the radio. Where are the feminist groups threatening to burn their bras in effigy at every stop of the Rolling Stones’ current Zip Code tour?
I can’t help but think that some of the outrage over Rich Homie Quan and other rappers might be part of a clandestine plot by the She-Woman Black Male Haters Club to cause division between Black men and women. These are very serious times for African Americans in this country , as both Black men and Black women are being shot down by the Po-Po. Now more than ever we need to heed Queen Latifah’s call for U-N-I-T-Y. And one thing that we should be united against is “Brown Sugar.” Like Public Enemy said on Revolutionary Generation: “R-E-S-P-E-C-T/ my sister’s not my enemy.”
Min. Paul Scott is founder of the Messianic Afrikan Nation. He can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com Follow on Twitter @truthminista