Although they’ve invented it, Black folks don’t have much ownership, if any, when it comes to rock and roll. It’s the same thing with jazz, as well as other forms of music and Sean “Diddy” Combs says hip-hop could follow the same path.
On Tuesday, Diddy posted a video of a group of white kids rapping, dancing and showing off cash like they were in a rap video. Then he captioned the clip with a warning about Black folks obtaining proper contracts and making sure all of their business is up to par.
YouTube/Instagram
“Our culture is a global resource, let’s not play ourselves and wake up one day and not own our own culture,” he wrote. “Tighten up on your contracts, tighten up on your deals. Demand ownership. Demand equity. Protect your culture. It’s for everyone to enjoy but for us to own.”
Diddy’s post created a huge conversation on music, race and ownership and many thanked him for his message.
“Takes people like you to help take back the culture you help create @diddy,” one person wrote. “I think it’s time you take it back to the roots of discovering talent outside of numbers. In this day an age these white kids will get a deal because of the numbers, not the talent.”
“Other races try to emulate,” wrote someone else. “We understand we’re the cool kids and everybody wants to be like us, but we should own it.”
But some said the culture of hip-hop and Black music is more than what these kids were emulating and didn’t quite agree with Diddy’s message.
“There is more to this culture than what those kids [are doing], what you are speaking about,” he or she wrote. “If you believe the culture is what these kids are doing then they are in a state of admiration. However, hip-hop is so much more than this. You should know. You were there.”
You can see Diddy’s post below.
