Old School Rules, New School Fools

"Shit be real." - Common, Real Nigga Quotes

I have some problems with Lisa Taddeo's Esquire Profile of Jay-Z.

The most problematic quote. There's a friendfeed discussion, where I said:

It's not in the point, I guess. It's the language. Although, I do think this is an "old" way of looking at race. It's a definition of "blackness" or "realness" that feels off to me. 50 Cent owns Vitamin Water. Our President listens to hip hop. Ice Cube does family movies. The old white ladies at the retirement home know who Snoop Dogg is and aren't scared of him. It's the kind of language intended to shock or grab attention rather than to actually reveal something we don't already naturally understand.

Jay-Z's black and, yet, white people like him. News at 11.

Wake me up when y'all do.