I didn’t know Common was a “racist bitch?!”
JC
BallerStatus.net reports on a story that we didn’t seem to get wind of in the US….apparently, a couple months back, Common displayed his distate for interracial relationships in an interview with a London-based magazine. It angered a few emcees — so much that they put a rhyme together to respond to Common’s racist views! (You should be able to listen to the track here, but it’s not working. Shoot! I really wanted to hear it!) 
While in London promoting Be a couple of months back, he discussed his disapproval of mixed race relationships in an interview with London magazine, Touch, where he criticized blacks with dreadlocks for dating white women, stating that those men would be “going against what the dreadlock’s purpose was.”
Three multi-cultural emcees from the UK didn’t take lightly to Common’s words and have recorded a track in retaliation. Rising Son, Yungun and Doc Brown — three emcees who are known for the lyrically skills in Europe — put together “Dear Common (The Corner Dub),” where they respond to Common’s extreme views. Rising Son refers to Common as a “racist bitch” and spits, “I predict the future is mixed/ Marking the end of all this racism sh–.”
Britain is known to be more multicultural than America, which Doc details on the chorus. Meanwhile, Yungun says, “Black and white used to drink from different taps/ And you should know ’cause your album had a picture of that/ So when you say that you’re showing how a hypocrite acts/ Now I ain’t dissing this cat, I’m only spitting the facts.”
“I respected Common more as a person before,” Rising Son told BallerStatus.net. “I thought he would have been a bit more educated. He’s quite a well-traveled person; he’s been around the globe with his music, so I expected him to be a bit more clued-up about the world. It’s a new day, it’s a new era, a new time, and that was so last century — all that ’stick to your own race’ sh–.
Yea, Common! What the hell?! So much for your socially-conscious reputation!
Damon wrote:
Is Common not allowed an opinion?If you actually listen to the song “Real People” he never says anything against interracial couples. He talks about how folks “devalue” black women. And if you go to the touch magazine website and go to the boards you can read the interview and see he did not “criticize” anyone. Are these guys serious with that song? I hope they are joking lol an entire song based on four lines from the entire song. Lawd I swear black folks can’t get a break!
Posted 07 Sep 2005 at 5:22 am ¶
tony wrote:
Every person is entitled to their own opinion, this kind of fuss just because he doesn’t advocate “race mixing” is political correctness gone mad. I am mixed race by the way so I am not biased in my opinion.
Posted 08 Sep 2005 at 12:02 pm ¶
john park wrote:
what must be considered is global social politics. common has brought attention to a larger ideological problem–the glorification of western ideals of beauty, the sexualization of black men, and how black women are pushed to the beauty margin to create a very large ratio between black men having access to dating other races vs. the access of black women, and such a disparity points to deeper social issues and contradicts the liberal ideal that ‘all races are beautiful’–and common is rightly questioning this contradiction. there is much involved in interracial dating and the issue isn’t a simple black and white issue, as in, interracial dating equals good and anything contrary equals bad. there is a long colonial legacy that continues, and how people are objectified, made into fantasies, or fetishized. common HAS been around, and if his statement was ignorant, so are the people bashing him who clearly don’t understand the full issues either.
Posted 13 Sep 2005 at 12:30 am ¶
S.T. wrote:
Where were all the hate responses when Slim Shady was dissing black women? As soon as somebody says something about not dating a white chick, everybody wants to come to the recue (she does not NEED rescued, she is the majority). It’s strange to me to see people jump down Common’s throat for encorauging black people to stick together, but then people act like they would give their life upon the cross to argue the opposite. Yeah, I love America. You got whites againsts blacks, asians against black, indians against blacks, latinos against black, mulattos against blacks (especially black women) and most importantly…blacks against blacks. It doesn’t get any better than that! Note to black people: If you can’t beat em, join em! Oh, wait, you’re already doing that…
Posted 20 Sep 2005 at 12:48 pm ¶
rising son (the real one) wrote:
Look. I aint lookin 4 no sympathy or NUTHIN. The preservation of the black race is a long and sensitive subject. I do not disagree with the bfact that some black men want to only date black women. I UNDERSTAND this, and for the reasons that they’ve given, i agree with them whole heartedly. I have witnessed the oppression of black women AND men for years and i believe that it is important for EVEY race to be preserved in its natural glory and kept very much alive. I just have a problem with the way that my father (amongst many others who do not swear by this way of life) is labelled a “sellout” by a music artist or ANYONE else for that matter. I AGREE with racial preservation, but i do NOT agree with discrediting or disregarding anyone who has had or is in a relationship with someone outside of thier race, namely a Black man with a White girlfriend. i CANNOT believe in this otherwise i would be a hypocrite unto myself. I don’t “hate” Common at all, in fact i still very much like his music, but in this situation i treated common like anybody else i disagreed with and i challenged it. This is not illegal. Common has the right to voice HIS opinion, and i have the EXACT same right to voice mine. My father was a Panther in his country (Trinidad) in the 60’s. He fought for things like Black girls being allowed to work in the Banks because they weren’t being employed. IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY. He literally stood on one side of the street and traded gunshots with the Police over these things. He was part of the movement which saw the destruction of the US Airbase in Trinidad and ran the Yankees back the where their sorry butts came from. He helped to Liberate his country like Che Guevara did. Now….is it fair for Common or anyone else to call my father a sellout? Perhaps now you can see why i got upset about those comments. As for saying i did this for publicity, This was never a publicity stunt. You can find ME on NAS’s Streets Disciple album, i don’t need Common, lmao.
Posted 21 Sep 2005 at 8:48 am ¶
monkeylumps wrote:
We’re all entitled to our opinions. However, S.T….
You feel that white women are the majority? They aren’t anymore. There has been an exponential growth of the Black & Hispanic population in America over the last decade or so. The number of non-Hispanic whites in this country is dwindling, slowly but surely. People like Halle Berry, Beyonce, and J-Lo have replaced the Christie Brinkleys & Heather Locklears. Compare America in the 1980’s to what it is now. White people are the minorities today, if you ask me. We haven’t had a Black president or a female president yet, but America has definitely come a long way from what it used to be.
I have nothing against Common or his work. I’m not in total agreement with his views but they’re his. And people have spoken out in defense of Black women concerning Eminem’s comments. You have to bear in mind that Slim Shady is disrespectful of White women too, having battered his former wife & slandered his own mother. It really shouldn’t surprise you that he would diss Black girls if he does it to women of his own race. It hasn’t stopped young males of all races from thinking he’s cool. I’m not picking on you but you come across as somewhat bitter that people would defend the right to an interracial relationship. Yes, Black folks should be encouraged to “stick together” in the sense of loving one another, helping one another, uplifting one another…however, I don’t believe that this is meant to be an exclusive concept. It is something that should be a universal concept, practiced by everyone.
IMO, if a Black male prefers to date “his own kind”, there’s nothing wrong with that as long as he is open-minded and understands that there is good & bad in everyone. I personally see nothing wrong with interracial relationships/marriage as long as they’re based on two little words: LOVE and RESPECT, not SEX. Many men in the Black community were brought up to believe that interracial relationships are to be avoided because 1) whites are the enemy, 2) all white females are sluts, and 3) to even be attracted to a white girl or woman is to be disloyal to the Black race. These are myths created by ignorance, fear, & mistrust and they are sweeping generalizations. All women should be cherished and loved without racist stereotypes.
Posted 25 Sep 2005 at 2:26 pm ¶
Michelle wrote:
A couple of points: folks upset about Common’s remarks really don’t listen to Common’s music. He’s clearly Afrocentric and promotes that as an ideology and practice. In “I Used to Love H.E.R.” he somewhat laments hip hop’s movement away from Afrocentricity towards mainstream commercialism, etc. His album ONE DAY IT’LL ALL MAKE SENSE is very Afrocentric and he even has a clip of Farrakhan talking about the importance of the black family. So I don’t know why everyone is so surprised–he’s staying consistent to what he preaches.
To be fair to Eminem: he explained that the song everyone was so upset about WAS NOT a diss on black women in general. He had had an ugly break up with his girlfriend–who was black–and in his hurt and anger he wrote that song. In other words, it was specificly directed towards her. Plus, it’s also an old song–not something he did recently. I don’t see Hollywood or movie audiences holding Ice Cube to anything he may have said about white people during his N.W.A. days, so let’s be careful when we talk about double standards.
Posted 02 Oct 2005 at 12:08 pm ¶
Michelle wrote:
One other point: in considering the surprised responses to Common’s views, I think the reason why these hip hop artists in the UK were upset with Common is b/c they are mixed race. If Common is against interracial relationships, then what does he think about mixed-race blacks? Does he not regard them as “black”? It becomes a potential rejection on their end by someone they respected–i.e., Is Common denying my blackness simply b/c I’m mixed-race, you know? This is not to say Common isn’t entitled to his opinion , but it’s about understanding what his definition of blackness as an identity is. Anyone who is mixed-race faces these kinds of assaults on our identity everyday. So when any of you say, “Black folks can’t catch a break!” are you saying these hip hop artists aren’t black and can’t criticize their own, being part of the African/black diaspora? I’m assuming that most of the folks checking out and commenting on Mixed Media Watch are mixed, otherwise, why are you invested in this?
Posted 02 Oct 2005 at 12:29 pm ¶
Daisy wrote:
OK…..All African AMericans that are decendants of slaves have diverse back grounds..not ONE is PURE African. [non arab , berber, Etc..] look at Common, need i say more??
Posted 13 Oct 2005 at 2:57 pm ¶
Jessica R. wrote:
I’m one of the first people to say that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but this comment by Common is an opinion of ignorance and hate. The article itself has him caught up in his words a number of times. As a woman of mixed race, i consider myself both black and white. And I don’t think my father was any less proud of his “blackness” because he fell in love with a white woman. And the funniest part of the story was that fact that Common wasd basing all these beliefs on Rastafarianism and then says that he doesn’t know much about the roots of it!! Come on, Common. I thought you were an enlightened man. Well, if I ever meet Common, I’ll be sure to enlighten him. Because in the year 2010, experts say that 4 out of every 10 Americans will be something other than white, and probably mixed. You are gonna have to learn to live with the people who love for the sake of being with someone, not because of the shade of their skin, or to slap their race in the face. That is just pure ignorance.
Posted 19 Oct 2005 at 9:17 am ¶
Possitive black man wrote:
I think it is funny that black women will complain to no end, how elligible black men leave them for white women. Here is a black man that is comfortable saying he would never do that. NO black woman should criticize him, you’d be among the first to criticize him if he did the opposite. I support what he said, as a black man I believe all positive successful black man should also ascribe to his beliefs. Race mixing is disgraceful and it sets a bad example when you are a black celebrity or in the public eye. Common is a leader and he understands what its all about. I wish more black women would look to men like him when they are complaining bitterly about soooo many black men chasing white women once they become succesful. I do not believe this stance in anyway affronts mixed race people, they had no choice in the matter.
Posted 23 Oct 2005 at 10:02 pm ¶
S.T. wrote:
Moneky:
“I’m not picking on you but you come across as somewhat bitter that people would defend the right to an interracial relationship.”
You took it the wrong way, but I’m not suprised. I did not mention anything negative about IR’s. Yet, of course, you mysteriously detected bitterness. Leave it up to SOMEBODY to magically pull out something from my post to make the famous “bitter about IR’s” statement (so tired).
What Common said was contradicting, I know that. But if he were a white guy, dissing white guys dating black women, this would not be a discussion. No black guys would take up for black women or THAT TYPYE of IR, no biracial/black people would take up for them either (well, maybe one or two). No one would be upset except black women and a FEW white guys.
That was what I was getting to, but like I said, I’m not suprised it was taken out of context and turned into “bitterness”; a common word that brainwashed people and sellouts like to use to describe black women. Thanks for nothin.
Posted 24 Oct 2005 at 4:22 pm ¶
S.T. wrote:
Michelle-
To Be FAIR: There are FAR MORE “double standards” against blacks than there will ever be against whites.
If Hollywood chooses not to speak out on ignorance about what was said about white people by Ice Cube, that is their choice. Just because they sit and take it, doesn’t mean we should, we put up with enough B.S. from white people on a daily basis. My point was that people love to come out and defend IR’s when it invloves a white chick, but few people made a stink about Em’s comment about a black chick. Again, I’m not suprised at the response…one can expect to get bashed when taking up for black women.
Posted 24 Oct 2005 at 4:32 pm ¶
2 tone wrote:
i am a mixed race person, everyone is entitled to their own opinion but the issue i have with common is that he claims to be a muslim - a member of islam the religion which teaches all men to be equal regardless of race, he then goes on criticising white people, if we all followed his example of no race mixing we would have no bob marley, malcolm x, walter white, adam clayton powell jnr or huey newton, and looking at his features and skin tone we probably would have no common either… we should be with a person for reasons deeper than their ethnicity, why limit ourselves to someone just because of race? i am an irish/jamaican/english/gypsy convert to islam from a catholic family and my wife is a jamaican/yemeni/asian muslim. like the old song goes “love is where you find it”…….. peace
Posted 27 Dec 2005 at 4:44 pm ¶
J wrote:
Common is hypocrite, he goes on about racism and segregation in his songs, yet thinks black people cannot date white people, is that not a form of segregation, he should stop living in the past and wise up to this century.
Posted 30 Dec 2005 at 11:49 am ¶