I really didn’t want to write about so-called Kanye gate…
In fact I still don’t want to comment on this whole Kanye situation. It’s a personal choice that I made and I’m sticking to it. However what’s been appalling, I’d even say traumatizing, is the outburst of openly racist attacks directed at him. A post on Harry Allen’s blog recaps many such tweets, all with open use of the N-word and talk of lynching. Clearly the idea of a post-racial society in the Obama age is extremely naive. Yesterday this made its way onto my own blog with the following comment to my post about Jordans and Super sunglasses:
Bizzle Sundizzle says:
September 17th, 2009 at 2:45 pmwow Kanye West is such a douche bag. If this is his web site I just wanted to let him know that he looks acts and sounds like a big harry shaved gorilla. Someone like that shoulden’t be allowed into society should be in a zooo eating and playing with his own shit like he was ment to. FUCKIN SLAVE!!! should be sent back to south africa where he belongs
I can’t even explain the level of shock that I’m in as I read this. I’m not deleting that comment, people need to see it and be aware that racism is still everywhere around us. These are deeply-rooted, historically poignant slurs. How long will it take for America to vanquish this poison?
PS: If you’re going to comment on this post, please stick to this topic of racism, not what Kanye said at the awards. I want to know what you think…
71 Responses to “I really didn’t want to write about so-called Kanye gate…”
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Hey A Trak,
I have a feeling this guy was joking. But then again, racism shouldn’t be laughed at. I too have noticed the increased level of ignorance in the past several months after a variety of socially transcending moments. There really isn’t much to be done.
Peace
I dont agree with what Kayne said at all, but the worst thing that could possibly come of this is what people are saying above. The fact that in 2009 people living could still manifest thoughts and feel like it is alright to put them out there for the world to see is disgusting. Ive been all over the place but was born in Louisiana so I know that racism still exists I just had no clue it was as rampant and disgusting as what what said above. I now live in Seattle and have been traveling to LA a lot and most of what I see on the surface is everyone getting along so you start to feel safe and secure that maybe racism is behind us but then an event like this comes up and just slaps me in the face for thinking positive. Thanks Atrak for posting this so people can see what we as a society are dealing with.
I FEEL SORRY FOR THIS NARROW MINDED IGNORANT HALF OF A HUMAN BEING .
It is the height of sophistry for you to refuse to discuss Kanye’s bad acts, and to instead want to focus only on his least cogent critics. I know that he employs you and could make or break your career, but have a little integrity.
It saddens me to see stuff like this. It’s 2009 for goodness sake. We are all people with equal rights. Nothing can change that so racist people need to deal with it.
I think that everyone should just leave Kanye alone. So what if he’s too opinionated, and a little disrespectful. He’s still human. Say if Taylor Swift did that to Kanye, I don’t think everyone would be acting all anti-white against her. I honestly believe that racism really does still exist everywhere. I see it amongst my peers, my family and the general society and I do not like it. The Australian government tells us we are an accepting nation, yet its what they have to say to have a sense of normality. I think what the governments should really do is push alot more education into todays teens. Even campaign ads, something graphic like those smoking ads.
Its ridiculous how people act especially through the world wide web. The point is yeah Kanye’s move by grabbing the mic was not a good idea but if people are going to react saying/typing racial slurs. Then there is more work to be done with the nation.
the internet is the truest outlet to get insight into what people really believe… they got the security of anonymity allowing themselves to say what they truly feel.
racism surely isn’t dead… probably won’t be dead for a long, long time. There really is no discussion to be had about this. You just have to wait till these people fade out.
‘Hey a-trak i have a feeling this guy was joking’ – philip… JOKING..you DON”T EVEN JOKE about something like that…it is that fucking mentality that lets Racism thrive..that something like that can even be CONSIDERED a joke is keeping racism alive. FUCK THAT SHIT.
I am shocked too man, but at the same time not surprised…the internet is full of people who can hide behind their computer screens and freely say how they are feeling. Most likely this person is a fucking kid..which is even worse…cuz someone raised em that way.
p.s. we are a fucking apes, don’t matter what colour your skin is, we are all walking and talking monkeys, but that never justifies anyone using gorilla, monkey, ape in a racial manner.
Man, talk about something being blown out of proportions. What kanye did wasn’t even bad!! It might have been a little dumb but that’s it! It’s like when a friend of yours does something dumb, you check him on it, then you clown him and move on. But this just seems like an opportunity for racist to speak their minds with (dare I say it) little consequence. That comment is just wrong and I’m sure with that persons outlook he will get his sooner or later. Not wishing bad on anyone but do unto others….thanks Atrak for the soapbox and keep up the good work.
I THINK THIS GUY IS JUST ASKING FOR ATTENTION!! HOW CAN HE EVEN LISTEN TO HIP HOP & NOT LIKE BLACKS??? WHAT HE’S TRYNNA PUT ACROSS SEEMS TO BE DEEPER THAN KANYE, BUT “HIS ELEVATOR SIMPLY DOSENT GO ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP FLOOR” IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. TRACK STAY POSITIVE BRO!!! HE SEEMS TO BE FROM CALI WITH THE “IZZLE” SO HE SHOULD REALLY KNOW THAT RACIST CARD IS BURNT!!!!
It felt like 1960s while I was reading the tweets this past week. One step forward… two steps back for the U.S.A.
Other people’s stupidity usually makes me laugh, but this is just depressing. Ah, the internet.
I think that sadly, racism exists on both side.
I agree with pretty much everybody BUT eric..its a shame to still see people drop the race card so easily out of insecurity..did kanye embarrass YOU? No he didn’t.Anyway I REALLY wanna let eric know that ATrak made his name a legend in the DJ world a longgg time ago and to say his career would be crushed without kanye just shows your ignorance to a culture and a lifestyle you’ll even begin to grasp..have a good night
Eric,
I disagree with your criticism. First of all Kanye doesn’t employ me. I stopped touring with him a year and a half ago. My decision to not comment on his outburst is a combination of finding it pointless to address publicly someone that I know personally — if I feel the need to scorn my man I can simply call him — and also not wanting to add fuel to a fire that’s already drawn appallingly incendiary outbursts, as we saw here.
I really think this whole kanye thing is really going way to far. Hate to compare but kanye apologized 3 times, Joe Wilson 1 time. Sad to say but racism is here to stay have learn to live each other in peace.
HEY THERE!
WE ALL ARE A MIX OF DIFFERENT ORIGINES.
IS NOBODY WITH A PURE BLOOD.
EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD IS A FUCKING MIX!
but some peoples are 100% pure idiot blood!
It all starts like this with thoughts which become words and then manifest into our actions.
it doesn’t matter if its 1909 or 2009 there’s no excuse for thoughts like these above and the dangerous potential they have for shaping our actions.
You’re right A-trak, racism IS still everywhere around us! I live in the south and work in a lower middle-class area so I definitely see racism at it’s finest. I actually see more racist African-Americans day-to-day than I see racist Caucasians in my area… I definitely think sometimes the tables are turned more than people think.
this is out of control.its why i hate technology.(sometimes).words have become even harsher daggers through the net, and cellular devices.simply because WORDS can be typed or written for the entire public to see without any sense of discretion at times, therefore comments like this are just true examples of cowardice acts..i can’t believe this guy eric just attempted to snap at atrak like this too.like WTF are u doing on this site then?….WHO are you to question someone’s integrity? or where the hell they work.?it doesn’t matter where atrak is or who kanye knows if he doesn’t want to share that, he shouldn’t be obligated too.that’s his right..get a grip mr.eric…racism is just an awful thing which will probably never disappear as long as we have individuals like such..ugh!
Tabarnak that’s disgusting. Why such regressive and ignorant bigots are able to maintain their right to free expression is beyond me. The worst part is that the racialization of the backlash of the incident is nothing surprising. Cumshots that should never have made it through the rubber such as the incredibly eloquent original poster get off on discriminating those of different race, gender, orientation, class and ability then themselves because they jerk it to Fox news everynight and get hard at the sound of Rush Limbaugh’s voice. Get educated and stop being so fucking afraid of difference.
Something needs to be done about this. Educating the ignorant is the key. 1st lesson : We are all human , humans make mistakes, forgive and move forward. 2nd : NEVER call anyone by the N word.
I h8 black people
Ive been getting a feelin since Obamas health care reform and watching the insanely angry white ppl screaming…then this Kanye thing…that white americans…those who are racist in America are ready to burst.
Someone commented how it felt like the 60s…i said the 50s with dogs and burning crosses.
I don’t know if the psychology theory is well enough developed yet, but there is not enough that can be said about the anonymity factor the internet provides. On any subject you will find someone that expresses an opinion that hovers somewhere in an triangle of sarcasm, latent hatred, and absurdity. It’s hard to know where a lot of comments lay, because of the medium the internet provides for them. I think the best we can do is to ignore them, and move on focusing on the positive.
I know how I feel about the Kanye situation, and I know it has nothing to do with race, and that’s good enough for me.
I just discovered your blog & love it!
Anyways about racism…I don’t think racism will ever end. I’m Asian-American, but will always be discriminated. I’m not sure if it’s human nature to be racist, but racism will never end. Even though people have said that Obama has broken the race barrier, it has in some ways. And in other ways, it hasn’t. We haven’t ended our discrimination towards GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender). Men being equal may be an idea than a reality. I’m not trying to be negative, but trying to be as realistic as possible.
Hey ignorant commentor I’m happy for & I’m gonna let you finish.. But Archie Bunker was the greatest racist of ALL TIME!! Of ALL TIME!! Kanye was being Kanye!! Just because you don’t have the balls to take a mic from someone @ MTV Video awards doesn’t mean Kanye doesn’t!! Racism & MTV are whack!!Long live A-Trak & Kanye!! The greatest MC/DJ duo of all time!!
I am really wondering what is going on in America right now. Are things about to implode? Kanye does this kinda stuff all the time, why is it such a big deal now? Because she was a country music star? Was it taken as an attack on the country music community? I’m rolling my eyes.
All this stuff seems like subterfuge.
Obama is still paying Blackwater even though they kill innocent people in broad daylight for sport, so why is he talking about Kanye being a jackass? Last time I checked Kanye didn’t have blood on his hands. Millions of people don’t have access to health care…and millions more don’t have ENOUGH coverage. People worldwide are losing their jobs and homes. Why aren’t we talking about these things? Why aren’t people protesting in American streets rather than cowering behind computer screens? There is war and genocide around the world, things that would make us sick, things that are trumping the horrors of the previous century, things that we should be speaking up and out about, and all people can talk about is Joe Wilson, Serena Williams, and Kanye West? Public Enemy said it more than 20 years ago, and it bares repeating…..”Don’t believe the hype.” Frankly, someone should make a 21st Century update called “Don’t even listen to the hype.” Clear out all the noise and hourly Twitter updates, people, figure out what really matters, and ride for those things.
It is sad, and its even more sad to realize this is a widespread thing.
Did you know that there is a school in Mississippi that had their first integrated prom this past year? And that there are others that still don’t?
Did you know that there are states that celebrate confederate day (when the south seceded from the union) instead of independence day?
Its so sad that we’ve come so far, yet some of us still have these sentiments that they are superior to others based on skin color… something so insignificant in the list of things that make us different from eachother.
Its never really gone away. People just use different words to give the same sentiment – without a direct relation to race in order to not be called a racist. Would Joe Wilson have called out a liar that he really strongly believed was a lier if the person was a white president?
Would these angry white working class mobs of ‘tea-baggers’ really want to thwart legislation that is trying to be designed to help them specifically if it was from a white president?
….
those are my thoughts
-James
its sad that people cant just recognize what kanye did was just a drunk douchebag move. it had nothing to do with black or white, he just lost his mind since 808s & heartbreaks. he was either really drunk or just really dumb to think that beyonce video was the best video ever. racism will always be here tho, it will never stop. i prefer to just view people as intelligent and not intelligent.
Well…that guy is an ignorant!!
But we are seeing a muslim genocide in the middle-east (that means there are a lot of racist people)…And we dont care a shit about it…
A guy from Spain (Europe..not around Mexico). Im am not muslim.
its terrible that race is still a big issue. u should never judge someone on there colour, race or religion but judge them on there personality and character. As far as im concerned everyone is equal in this world no matter if your black, white, asian, christian, jewish, hindu, muslim etc… we are all humans
with the kanye west thing. yes it was a silly thing that he did and made him look like an idiot but he deeply apologised to taylor swift and her family. he realised what he did was wrong. thats good enough for me. hes more of a man to take back those words, apologise and to reflect on what he did wrong. im sure hes going to the ends of the earth to make it up to taylor swift. people make mistakes he just human
thats just my thought
ed from perth, aus
Racism is a two way street. You don’t have to be of color or a certain origin to be a victim of it.
Just keep that in mind….calling someone a “cracker” is just as bad as the N word in my book.
atrak you are a good politician, you knows how to get brownie points from those higher up the social ladder. this is good because it will allow you to get his music heard. It will help you avoid the pitfalls of speaking your mind (See Cam’Ron who did not know when to bow down, even to ex-label boss Jay-Z, his career has suffered and he misses more than hits, one recent standout: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrtv9YO2zC0 ). Please though make sure that you learn to maintain cognitive dissonance. Without it you will be forced to internally adopt the mild persona that you project.
well in my view kanye is a massive dirty nigger and SHOULD be put back into the cage at the zoo.
I have to admit I jumped on Kanye for his actions at the start, probably should have held my tongue. What he did was disrespectful to her in a huge way, but I wasn’t aware he had lost his mother recently – people deal with things in strange ways. Lesson learned for both of us.
As far as the ignorant racist shiz – no time for it, but not surprised it festers in these fools.
Some people cannot understand racism is unacceptable in all forms.
Some people do not understand the why a-trak is a successful producer/dj/entrepreneur and need some schooling.
Some people could care less about Kanye outbursts. Maybe he needs to look at his actions – maybe not. To be honest, who really cares.
I think it’s silly for people not to expect that racism still exists in the year 2009. Just because we have a president who is part African American, a latino in the supreme court and a woman as speaker of the house does not erase centuries of repression. Racism isn’t even the real central theme, it’s repression. Minorities in this country are beginning to self actualize their part of the American dream, and although there are a majority of people who are thrilled by this notion, some people are scared to death by it. Those people will use every opportunity to repress their own emotions about the success of minorities, and dilute themselves with a out of date thought process to cope.
I went golfing two days after with some guys I knew, and the Kanye situation came up. What I heard left me with my jaw dropped and mouth open. It went something like this. So what about Kanye, huh?! Oh, that guy’s a F****** N*****. That’s who does shi* like that, F****** N******. I honestly was just like :-O. I mean I generalize from time to time, I’m not perfect. But what I heard just left me dumbfounded that people still think and feel in such an extreme way. (Smh)
Then last night the Obama situation came up amongst my cousins and something interesting came up. A cousin said, If George Bush called Kanye a Jackass, there would be all these racism claims, but since Obama did it Kanye will just be like man, yeah I messed up. An intersting thought. There’s a lot of racism but there is also a lot of reverse racism. Ignorance is very prevalent to this day.
During the course of my lifetime (I’m 54) I have learned one lesson that transcends all others, Human Behavior is Completely Unpredictable. I feel rather certain that Kanye West cringes when he is faced with replays, retorts, and reminders of his mistake. I think dj mcxyz said it best when he said, “We’ll obsess over it for a week, and then we’ll move on to something else.” Racism is not contagious or terminal. However, to recover from Racism, a person has to realize s/he has a fear or a stereotypical idea about people about whom they perceive to be “less than,” in some way. Racism is Racism it exists within every race. Some people are even Racist against people in their own group, feeling they are basically better or superior than other “types.” It is the responsibility of people who recognize and celebrate differences to model that behavior and to educate those who struggle to embrace Equality.
The fact that you use the “the N-word” expression is very relieving to me and is part of the bigger problem here that is racism.
I can’t help but think a society is in trouble when the use of some words is prohibited. I’m not American, I’m french, but it’s the exact same thing here: you can’t say “black people”, nor can you say “old people” (they are “les seniors” now), and the list goes on and on. That’s the so-called political correctness. Thing is, it backlashes and racism builds on it. And that’s, to me, very preoccupying, because of its perniciousness. See what I mean? You know it’s here, but nobody wants to face it. And I think it’s the way racism grows: under the public radar, at the very base of the social ground.
That’s why the use of the “the N-word” expression made me want to comment. I know there’s a lot of history behind that word, I’m not stupid, I get that. But come on, we have to face this history, it’s the only way people can reconcile. It’s a lot easier to go and boo the “racists”, but I’m not sure it’s gonna fix anything.
I’m sorry I meant “revealing” and not “relieving”. Please forgive my english.
wtf…..coming outta the woodworks with the racist slurs.sickening!
A-Trak,
I wrote the below email to some friends as a response to your post.
Yo,
It’s Saturday afternoon I go DJ A-Trak’s blog and read his post from yesterday http://djatrak.com/2009/09/18/i-really-didnt-want-to-write-about-so-called-kanye-gate/.
He writes about how he did not want to post about the Kanye-Taylor swift incident and you know what I totally respect that. I never want to write about it and I’m not his DJ. Like many others via email, Facebook and text some of my peeps have been talking and asked for my stance. For the most part I’ve been like “hey it’s Kanye…” or “I am more concerned about the man’s music, business, label, and work”. This changed when I read A-Trak’s post. He writes as a response to a comment that some dude left on his post:
Bizzle Sundizzle says:
September 17th, 2009 at 2:45 pmwow Kanye West is such a douche bag. If this is his web site I just wanted to let him know that he looks acts and sounds like a big harry shaved gorilla. Someone like that shoulden’t be allowed into society should be in a zooo eating and playing with his own shit like he was ment to. FUCKIN SLAVE!!! should be sent back to south africa where he belongs
This whole thing is just snowballing terribly out of control. I am all for freedom of speech but comments like the above you are totally unacceptable. People need to take accountability. Kanye did this, he man’d up apologized and now people are just straight twisting stuff way out of order as an excuse to exonerate their individual racism.
I AM SHOCKED AND EACH DAY ACKNOWLEDGE THE NUACES OF RACISMs UGLY HEAD TRYING TO INVADE HOW I’M LIVING.
“I will never forget that the only reason I’m standing here today is because somebody, somewhere stood up for me when it was risky. Stood up when it was hard. Stood up when it wasn’t popular. And because that somebody stood up, a few more stood up. And then a few thousand stood up. And then a few million stood up. And standing up, with courage and clear purpose, they somehow managed to change the world.” – Barack Obama
The guy made a mistake, apologised. That gives no one the place or the right to insult or give racial abuse to anyone.
I have no time for this one mindedness, joke or not, this is the 21st century, we should be working together to overcome this, everyone is in the world together here.
The person who made that comment, I feel sorry for you more than anything and you too deserve that second chance. Come to your senses that there is only one race.
One love
Kyle
I just wonder like what people were thinking when they voted for Obama? What they thought he was a black man who thought like a conservative white male politician? Nope. People are seriously asking for too much from the guy like if he is God. Fixing this country will probably take a while. Many people in the U.S are like spoiled kids who if they don’t get what they want or things don’t go as they want then they start complaining and being disrespectful. This Kanye situation is very ridiculous. I was kind of disappointed because it’s like damn he just made it harder to be his fan but I will continue to enjoy his music. All those individuals who are saying racist and mean remarks towards the President or Kanye are just hypocrites and dullards. Sooner or later many people will have to realize that the minority as in blacks, hispanics, and other cultures are going to continue to do things that people thought only white Americans could mostly do. By that I don’t mean going on a stage and interrupting somebody because that is rude no matter who or what is the persons reason to do that. I call those racists and wicked individuals hypocrites because they most likely go to a Christian church and are taught to forgive especially the majority of the fans of Taylor Swift. I think those people are not open minded and just haven’t seen the reality of the status quo of how our country really is today. Kanye as we all know apologized, she forgave him, yet he is still receiving this backlash towards him. I wouldn’t completely say that it is mostly racism being thrown at the guy but obviously it plays a sad part. Also those celebrities saying to boycott this mans music are stupid because he still has fans and in reality is a smart and great artist who is human and also makes mistakes like us. Plus it was just a dull award show (IMO) where this occurred and it became a big deal. People just need to move on and learn how see the reality of things today and how things will be tomorrow.
Plus I highly doubt due to how big this Kanye/Swift situation became that he will do it again.
I think we’re forgetting the important thing here….Beyonce did have one of the hottest videos of all time.
RIP Roc Raida
USA it´s the only country in this entire world that deal with this racist thing, the jokes, the white jokes, the black jokes the jew jokes…everyday, come on PEOPLE. WAKE UP..
don´t matter wich color you are, doesn´t matter!!!!
unites states will never grow up on this stuff..
Thank God here in Brazil people don´t act like that!
When people die we all turn to the same thing
D-U-S-T.
That’s because the black community still speaks slaves and racism and the n word. They NEVER let it up..So why would any one else? Case in point – Kanye -still calling racism..Kanye does make the African American community look awful. You are not entitled because Africans sold their own as slaves to America. Clearly you hate being black more than anyone!