Need? Absolutely not. Could we tolerate another white female rapper—perhaps one day even ascending into liking and enjoy her music? Maybe. But please don’t let it be Chanel West Coast.
Capitalism loves taking black ideas, trends and styles and slapping them on a white body for profit. See: rock and roll, twerking/Miley Cyrus, Jen Selter, nail art and most recently, Iggy Azeala. The funny thing is, I don’t think anyone would have much of a problem with a white female rapper as long as she was actually talented, authentic and wasn’t a problematic minstrel show à la Iggy.
We got onboard with Eminem because he seemed genuine and was cognizant of, and sensitive to, the fact that he was entering a largely black space. Hell, we were almost riding the Kreayshawn train for awhile until she decided to act a damn fool and make horrendously bad music.
So sure, find a talented white female rapper, but please, please don’t let it be Chanel West Coast. West Coast was recently featured in LA Weekly as “The Other White Female Rapper.” You can tell Chanel isn’t famous enough for a publicist just yet because any PR professional worth their fee would have immediately killed this interview where she comes off as a unaware brat who believes she is entitled to a place in hip hop.
The 26 year-old is best known, apparently, from MTV’s Ridiculousness or Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory where is is the “giggling dumb blonde.” West Coast feels strongly that the show has hindered her rap career.
“I have a tendency to say ditzy, stupid things on TV, but part of that is because I’m high,” she says. (Before coming to the Grove, she smoked a bowl out of a pipe shaped like a microphone.) “I say other funny shit that’s not stupid, but they use more of the stupid stuff.”
Oh and it’s also MTV’s fault for not making her famous.
“I’ve been on MTV for so many years. They’re so stupid and, like, disrespectful and rude,” she says, launching into a story about how she wasn’t allowed to sit with the rest of Young Money’s artists at the MTV Video Music Awards last fall, forced instead into a section with Snooki and the Teen Moms.
I bet calling them stupid is an excellent way to get them to support your music.
The underlying issue seems to be that no one takes Chanel West Coast seriously and she is struggling to find the reason why. Is it, perhaps her 18 year-old Scottish boyfriend who reads like a character from a Wayans brothers movie?
“I want to go somewhere we can drink,” he says, with hyperactive urgency. He’s wearing a black Tupac Shakur hat and a white Tupac Shakur T-shirt, and his primary claim to fame is having written a track on Justin Bieber’s album Believe.
“Let’s go to the place upstairs,” Chanel says.
“Can I get in there?” Edwards asks.
“Did you bring your ID?” she says. He nods, but at the restaurant, they don’t even card him.
Could be. Chanel also cannot, for the life of her, understand why she’s not at Iggy Azalea’s level yet. LA Weekly ponders: “Did Azalea have better videos, or work harder?” Maybe—and I say that as someone who doesn’t even like Iggy Azalea. “Or is it because Azalea is taller, with the striking features of a model, while West Coast is 5 foot 3 and looks more like somebody’s cute little sister?” That’s probably not it.
Nope, I got it, the real reason Chanel West Coast is not a rap superstar is because Lil Wayne and Young Money—the record label she’s signed to and one of the hottest hip hop crews active right now—won’t pay enough attention to her.
Her ornery Pomeranian may be named Weezy, but she’s never had the real Weezy’s phone number, and she feels totally disconnected from Drake, Nicki Minaj and the rest of Lil Wayne’s powerhouse collection of artists.
“It’s actually, like, really annoying,” she says. “I feel like the red-headed stepchild of Young Money.”
I am not against a white female rapper entirely. Assuming she works hard and comes from an authentic place and doesn’t jack the steeze of black girls and black culture, I would be down. But please, please, I pray to the hip hop Gods, please do not let the next white female rapper be Chanel West Coast.
Image via Getty.
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