Filed under: News, Politics, President Obama
When I was asked my thoughts about a YouTube video spoof of President Barack Obama rapping the song "Hard in Da Paint," by Atlanta-based rapper Waka Flocka Flame, I didn't quite know what to say. Knowing what I know about Waka Flocka Flame, I figured that the spoof would be a reflection of the kind of ignorance that seems to breed itself in modern day hip-hop. I also expected that the video might consist of insulting depictions of President Obama in an environment that involved weed, liquor, half-naked women and maybe a gun or two. For some reason, there are people who seem to think that this represents everything about being black in America.
After seeing the spoof, I can only say that I was right. The video throws together a bunch of twisted lyrics being recited by an Obama look-alike who keeps telling us that he's "the head of state n*gga." The lyrics aren't exactly creative and the video is short of inspirational to anyone. Unfortunately, it has gotten tens of thousands of views on YouTube, which means that somebody out there likes it.
I'm a huge fan of hip-hop, and I even listen to some music that I probably shouldn't. I'm not sure why there are so many of us in the black community, though, who wish to keep nothing sacred and insist on taking every great black male achievement and reducing it to a bucket of stereotypes. Of course, there are spoofs of white public figures, and those spoofs are funny as well, but there's something a bit disturbing about this video.
I'm sure President Obama hasn't paid any attention to the video, as he shouldn't. As for the rest of us, I'm not sure what's accomplished by creating this spoof. It's one thing to make a skit that's a bit silly, and yet another to make a spoof that reminds black people of all the dirty habits that keep us psychologically enslaved. In a world where black men are several times more likely to go to prison, drop out of high school and end up unemployed, I can't laugh at the fact that we are so quick to celebrate our own self-destruction.
We can do better than that.
Watch the foolishness here:
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.