MC Lyte Defends Iggy Azalea: 'Hip Hop is Universal, No Color Lines'

[Remus 54]

Iggy Azalea has been called many things. Being described as an “actor” is a new one. 

MC Lyte has offered her own a--lysis on the Australia-raised artist and her curious rapping style which has been derided by others as a “blaccent,” lacking in originality and, inevitably, dragged the newcomer into a noisy debate on cultural appropriation.

In an interview with New York radio station Hot 97, Lyte came to Iggy’s defense. “Iggy’s style is different,” the veteran rapper said. “You know, people want to get on her because of wherever she’s from. Wherever she’s from really doesn’t matter. She has a love of the craft, of the art. And the reason why I can say it and mean it is because one of the first tours I ever did was in Denmark, Copenhagen and everybody in the audience looked just like her.” She added, “hip hop is universal, no color lines.”

Watch the clip below (the Iggy discussion starts at 9.30).

 

Iggy is one of the most polarizing characters in the business right now. It seems no-one is fence-sitting on this topic. The likes of Lupe Fiasco, Questlove and will.i.am have spoken out “for” Iggy, while Azealia Banks, K Michelle, and Q-Tip are in the “against” camp. A once-prolific tweeter, Iggy decided to step away from social media earlier this year due to the constant deluge of negativity. 

Later in the Hot 97 interview, MC Lyte offered her take on how Iggy’s Mullumbimby accent could morph into an Atlanta twang. Sure she’s faking it. But it’s all an act, apparently, not dissimilar to the work of Hollywood hero. 
“Every time we see an English actor, they’re putting it on to act like an American. We don’t get on Idris when he has to act like a homeboy from Baltimore to make his job work. It’s a job, you know. But with Iggy, I think she catches a lot of heat because she’s so damn confident, you know. It’s a catch 22. You wanna be humble but if you’re too humble, they’ll tear you up. So she’s caught between a rock and a hard place.”

This won’t be the last time Iggy’s acting talents will be scrutinized. She has a cameo in the Furious 7 blockbuster, and more movie roles will surely come her way.

Iggy got back behind the wheel of her Twitter account recently to big-up her collaboration with Britney Spears. The pair will perform the song “Pretty Girls” for the first time at the May 17 Billboard Music Awards. 

MC Lyte's first studio album in 12 years, Legend, dropped as a limited edition vinyl release on April 18. In recognition of her illustrious career, she received the I Am Hip Hop Award at the BET Hip Hop Awards 2013.

 

Source: http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/6546299/mc-lyte-defends-iggy-azalea-hip-hop-is-universal-no-color-lines

 

Your thoughts? Is hip hop really universal and doesn't have color lines? Discuss.

 

 

 

 

[boobtank 9,090]

I think anyone can venture into hip-hop, the problem starts when someone with less than mediocre music is heralded for her talents due to her being the 'white pretty rapper with a big ass' over her contemporaries that clearly excel her talents and deliver; this is when the problem starts.

[Serendipity 7,821]

Some of you guys are really way too hard on her

Give the poor girl a break

She'll get the hang of things with time

[Dangerous Man 9,245]

She betta recognize the Grammy nominated future pop princess of rap.

 

[MonsterForLife 407]

She is so right

[Remus 54]

She betta recognize the Grammy nominated future pop princess of rap.

 

​But I thought you've mentioned in the other thread that Azealia Banks is the princess of rap? Balimbing much?

 

jk.

Nice to see you acknowledging Azealia's talent amidst her offensive tweets. :)

[Mills 446]

Yes, hip-hop IS universal. But before, it wasn't. And it's the reason why there's still a resistance in the form of criticism, especially if those who embraced that music and then profit from it would turn a blind eye, whether intentionally or not, to the issues which haunt the community which originated it or popularised it first as part of their culture. If only respect and empathy are universally observed, then there should be no problem of having a universal acceptance as well.  

[Serendipity 7,821]

Yes, hip-hop IS universal. But before, it wasn't. And it's the reason why there's still a resistance in the form of criticism, especially if those who embraced that music and then profit from it would turn a blind eye, whether intentionally or not, to the issues which haunt the community which originated it or popularised it first as part of their culture. If only respect and empathy are universally observed, then there should be no problem of having a universal acceptance as well.  

This

​If some guy raps about being homophobic, it's cool

But when it's a girl, it's she's so slutty

At least she's not homophobic unlike certain people

[Diamond Heart 4,400]

I think it is Universal, and i believe that white rappers can exist and be welcomed into the community. However, my opinion is that Iggy's issues arent racism against her but that she isnt genuine.  She raps in a fake accent (for wider appeal) while saying things like 'shes the realest' and has a ghostwriter. It just comes off as a cash grab.
It just makes her look fake, calculated and that she is in it for the money. 

[Bebe 16,579]

I agree that hip-hop is universal, that's undeniable. I'm a fan of hip-hop it was all over Australian airwaves, I don't think many people have a problem with white people rapping.

Here are some white australian rappers who I love:

 

 

 

 

 

The difference with these rappers is that they are authentic. They write their own rhymes, they rap in their own accent, they rap about their experiences from an australian perspective.
They can also actually spit what they write, they are at a top level.

Someone who fakes a black accent, gets somebody else to write their raps, brings nothing new thematically and is incapable of delivering some of their lines coherently isn't going to get much respect.

Lack of songwriting ability, lack of authenticity, lack of flow. That's Iggy's problem, and we all know there are female rappers out there, many of colour, who can write and spit who are being overlooked for this pretty, blonde white girl.

[xoxo cupcakke 4,781]

The Original Queen of Rap has spoken. Listen to ha now 

[StrawberryBlond 13,673]

Nice to hear more black artists speaking out in support of Iggy as it's ultimately them that make the naysayers more likely to listen, as her white supporters have no credibility in their eyes. It's not like her supporters are arguing that Iggy is the best female rapper or white rapper, they're just defending her right to do her thing without being overly criticised every 2 seconds. Is that too much to ask? Lyte makes a good point when she says Iggy partly gets criticised because she's so confident. Lord knows the media and the public can be quite averse to confident women, black or white. It's one of the reasons why female rappers have always struggled to get sales and to be taken seriously. I think that's a bigger issue than colour in the game. It always annoys me when I see untalented male rappers get criticised more than decently talented female rappers. Male rappers also get asked serious questions in rap station interviews but females get asked questions about their s-x life and all manner of degrading questions (unless you're Azealia Banks, it seems, apparently she's more commanding of respect for some reason). I wish that one day, there'll be a time when female rappers are treated with the same respect as male rappers, but the way we're going, that's not going to happen.