I just like the picture of Madonna holding a baby in a yarmulke
It's no secret that most rappers approach Jews with either casual contempt or the faint praise of positive stereotype. It's not that Jews are so affirmatively bad; they're not pushing weight or jackin' people up or terrorizing everyone. It's just that they're tightfisted, crafty, and always succeeding at the expense of others. Ask Ice Cube--no one wants some meddling Jew calling the shots. Sadly, that's just how it is--the sun goes up, the world rotates, we grudgingly recognize the Jewish element, and we do it all again the next day. Rap music!
In hip-hop, like most other venues, Jews are bankers, money lenders, T.I.'s running this rap shit, or, most sacrosanct, lawyers. Oh, the lawyers. Keep your whip newish, your ice bluish, and your lawyer Jewish. If you do, you're gonna stack chips and beat charges. This has become so universal that there are people who don't know what kosher is, but have no doubt that they want that kosher-lawyer paper. I go to law school; I know.
This is regrettable, of course, but it is what it is. The circumstance persists, people put up with it, and all is swept under the rug of a gorgeous soul sample or something that just makes you want to dance. For decades, Jewish people have consumed rap music, always issuing the token caveats required to otherwise enjoy a Clipse record without reservation. To be honest, it's much more worrisome if, say, Sarah Palin, or Bill Clinton, or even Mel Gibson thinks ill of the Jews than if Jim Jones joins that chorus. Though he shouldn't. (And, of course, we know how much esteem Jimmy harbors for the chosen people who keep him free.)
There is also the alluring, albeit intellectually bankrupt, notion that if you're going to paint a group with broad strokes, you could do worse than making it out to be competent professionals. That's why someone needs to throw a challenge flag in response to Jadakiss's verse on "Broken Safety."
Jada raps, "The economy is down/So you already know it's gon' be a lot of Hymies in the town." That's not right. He violates the delicate detente, opting against the Jewish lawyer trope, or even the Jewish doctor trope. Those are safe; people put up with that shit. Instead, Jada goes for the low blow, reviving the tired Jew-as-exploiter identity and inserting it into the contemporary economic climate. (You know, to the extent that a generic verse about drugs, money, and street life contemplates prevaling market forces.) Tough times? Can't help that all those hymies are sticking it to you while you're down.
And what's with "hymie," Jesse Jackson? Why not go for the full Michael Jackson and just re-appropriate "Jew Me/Sue Me/Everybody do me/Kick me/Kike me/Don't ya black-or-white me"? That's lame. No one raps about a hymie lawyer. Stick to the script.
Why do I post this today? Why not? Just saying....
- Raekwon ft. Jadakiss and Styles P, "Broken Safety"
- Sean Price, "Broken Safety 2"
Labels: Bill Clinton, Clipse, Hip-Hop, Jadakiss, Jesse Jackson, Jim Jones, Judaism, Mel Gibson, Raekwon, Sarah Palin, Sean Price