Is This Music Video The Best Explanation Ever Of White Male Privilege?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rnFlQAvk8U&w=594&h=375]
Rarely are presentations of privilege and status so painfully, gleefully clear-cut, but when they are, boy does it sting. And in this music video, the rapper Lil’ Dicky, real name David Burd, gives us a step-by-step breakdown of what it means to have been born white, male, and upper middle class. “White Dude” is a veritable buffet of astute lyrics describing of the privileges he holds over the rest of us, hitting every point of his genetic fortune with perfect accuracy. And just for a good cringe, let’s take a look at a few of them here together.
Here’s Dicky on being white:
If ain’t I gotta theme party, Ion’t be at goodwill
I’m dentist paying, tennis playing, smellin on some cabernet
And I ain’t gay but if I was, everything would be okay, look…
I know I’m being condescending in ma rhymes
But ma premium channels mean tyler perry’s never live
Getting tickets, they sick, I sit at the eagle 45
Where I’m eating when I’m high’s where they eat at to survive (food chainssss)
And the existential joy that is not being a woman:
Happy that I’m white, but relieved I ain’t a chick yo
I never wake up and have to cake on ma make up
Or straighten hair, I ain’t given a damn
I’m wearing whatever I wanna in this muthafucka
They up in heels
And tummy tuckin, theyon’t grub except for takin them pills, foreal…
And ion’t bleach shit
Ion’t gotta eat dick
I ain’t bleeding up out ma penis
…
I go on dates, and never have to worry bout getting raped
And I watch a game and never have to worry bout how it’s played
And I meet a babe and never have to act deliriously fake
And if impregnate I can pack a back and be on my way, but good luck girl!
And the overall privileges afforded to him when it comes to higher education:
And the on top of that I’m white
Which is like, amazing because
Everybody naturally assumes I’m a great person
I get a fair shot at the life i deserve
I mean I could underachieve my way into any college in the country
While there are obviously some clear generalizations here, it’s pretty refreshing to see a guy like Dicky wax poetic about how great it is to have been born on third, even if it’s a bit brutal to listen to if you are not part of his elite club. For now, let’s just bask in the lyrical prowess and try to forget that, as he laughs it off, all of these realities will stay very, very real for the rest of us.