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New York rapper Le1f is one of the first to publicly respond to an article in the New Yorker by self-proclaimed “hip-hop conservative” Lord Jamar. In the article the former Brand Nubian member attacks contemporary rappers such as Kanye West and Le1f for what he sees as a watering down hip-hop’s machismo and alpha male image with their clothing choices and experimental music. The piece ends with Jamar’s tweeted reaction to Le1f performance of Wut on David Letterman, “THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING.”

Arguing that rap is losing sight of its black culture, Jamar’s comments (not to mention his angry tweets and Instagram posts) earned him a stinging rebuke from Le1f. In an open Facebook post, Le1f lectures the “ignorant” rapper about the true foundations of rap and asks him if he is “proud to be a hateful member of a majority”.

Read the full post below:

“dear Lord Jamar,
Choose your battles. If the whitening of rap is a concern to you, please leave my name out of it. If you think being gay is the same as being white, you are as ignorant as your enemies. I’m darker than you. I’m african. I’m a black man and I experience all the same racism you do, if not more, on top of homophobia, including from black men just like you. Are you proud of being a hateful member of a majority? Rap started out as a creative response to oppression, and no matter my outfit, I know oppressions you will never understand.
All respect,
Le1f”

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