Vulture Magazine The Michaelmas Issue 2013 | Page 13

ple. This is a standpoint it is difficult to argue
against, but Wade Page can be held up as one
example amongst many of white supremacist
music inspiring violence, despite the insistence
of Blood and Honour via a somewhat muddled
comparison that “it is a step too far to insinuate
that WN music as a whole promotes violence.
Just as singing about the weather doesnt [sic]
mean the artist is promoting rain over snow.”
Yet as well as the media’s unwillingness to be
seen condemning black culture, then, the history of white-on-black violence associated with
white supremacist music must be set against
the paucity of black-on-white incidents, as well
as the context of the whole history of white-onblack oppression. Hindson and Caner suggest
that “the Nation of Islam serves to vent the frustrations of African-Americans who have felt the
brunt of racism”; the adherence of rappers to
the apparently racist doctrines of the Nation
can therefore be seen as understandable, if not
desirable, in the light of the years of discrimination experienced by black people. Incidents
such as the murders of 14 people by black supremacist group “The Death Angels” in the “Zebra Murders” of the 1970s should not be forgotten, but historically and numerically it is white
supremacists who have proven the more violent
and numerous- again, perhaps this is why black
supremacist music is so much more legitimised.
There are angry young men listening to hateful
music produced by black and white artists alike.

Hate is appealing and simple to understand,
particularly when tied to a movement which
identifies with “pride, heritage and loyalty to
ones [sic] own race, nation and kin.” These tenets, offered by the Blood and Honour spokesman as the core basis of white nationalist music
when I suggested their music was mainly based
on a culture of violence, could apply equally to
the teachings of the Nation of Islam. Ultimately,
the main difference between the differing social
movements is a blurring of boundaries in hiphop which is absent in white nationalist music. Hip-hop is an avenue for young black men
to escape poverty and racial stigma to a world
of success, and at its best it reinforces positive
messages of empowerment for poor people
of all colours and genders. Regrettably, this is
twisted by some otherwise brilliant artists into
a black supremacist agenda, perhaps out of ignorance and more understandably as a reaction
to personal and historical oppression. White
supremacist music is easy to get angry about
and black supremacist music is easy to ignore,
but linguistically, there is not a lot between
them. In Jay-Z’s book “Decoded”, he says that
the reason hip-hop is so controversial is often
simply that “people don’t bother trying to get
it”. Comfortable though it is for the liberal media to gloss over the ugliness of black supremacist music even as the conservative establishment condemns the entire cultural movement
out of hand, it is no more beneficial a stance.
A version of this article appears online at Left Foot Forward