Black rapper wears whiteface for 'White People Party Music' album

speedboatchase

Blackface is bad, right? We can all agree on that? But what about whiteface, as seen in the comedy film White Chicks?

Mariah Carey's husband Nick Cannon has created a whiteface persona called 'Connor Smallnut' (because white people have small penises! Hurrrr) to promote his new album called... White People Party Music. Yep.

He has said: "'It's funny how people take themselves so seriously. People love drama! We feed off of it. Just relax and have fun!!"

So remember that if you want to wear blackface and impersonate Nick Cannon at some point.

wazky

speedboatchase wrote: »

So remember that if you want to wear blackface and impersonate Nick Cannon at some point.

Tape a dildo to your head, that would be a more apt impersonation of him.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

White Chicks, I took it as seriously as it was meant to be, which was not at all.

I'd still eat my hat if 2 white actors dressed up and acted like stereotypical black chicks and the film wasn't banned.

RDM_83 again

But your still allowed to do black face as long as its subtle and integral to the story line as in lethal weapon 5 and 6 :-) (always sunny)

Duggy747

Album must be is probably shìt so he needs the publicity to sell it.

Festy

GenieOz

So people are just forgetting about Robert Downey Jr in Tropic Thunder then...

It's fine, when it's funny.
Majority of it isn't.

131spanner

speedboatchase wrote: »

Mariah Carey's husband

Doing well for himself.

mad muffin

I like to do yellow face. Black face is so 2013.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

GenieOz wrote: »

So people are just forgetting about Robert Downey Jr in Tropic Thunder then...

It's fine, when it's funny.
Majority of it isn't.

it tends to be people without a sense of humour that try and decide for everyone else what is and isn't funny though

mikom

speedboatchase wrote: »

Mariah Carey's husband Nick Cannon

Is that your man from "Agents of SHIELD" ?

My name is URL

speedboatchase wrote: »

Blackface is bad, right? We can all agree on that?

What about Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder?

edit: I see this was already mentioned, but still. It's not always necessarily designed to be offensive.

Scotty P

speedboatchase wrote: »

Blackface is bad, right? We can all agree on that?

I don't agree. I'm sure at times certain people had / have bad intentions when blacking up, but it's not an inherently racist thing to do imo, not even close. I remember wanting to make myself look like Mr.T when I was a kid and was told that I couldn' as it would be offensive. To me, the idea that making my face black is offensive.. is what is really offensive.

Dwayne Wade (the NBA star) whitefaced when dressing up as Justin Timberlake for Halloween and received a lot of stick, but I don't see why.

speedboatchase

GenieOz wrote: »

So people are just forgetting about Robert Downey Jr in Tropic Thunder then...

It's fine, when it's funny.
Majority of it isn't.

There is a small distinction there though. RDJ's character and his obsession with method acting was the butt of the joke in Tropic Thunder. Everyone in the whole movie was offended by it. The joke was on him, not black people.

Here, the joke isn't on Nick Cannon. We're meant to laugh at how lame the stereotypical white character is, hence the surname 'Smallnut'.

token56

I dont see anything wrong with either provided they are used in the right way.

If you get outraged over Nick Cannon you need to watch Dave Chappelle. He did the whole white face thing over 10 years ago in The Chappelle Show and what Nick Cannon simple doesn't compare to some of the sketches in The Chappelle Show. Racial satire at its best.

humanji

"'It's funny how people take themselves so seriously. People love drama! We feed off of it. Just relax and have fun!!"

So essentially he broke the story himself trying to stir controversy and get free publicity. And the best thing to do is ignore him.

Czarcasm

speedboatchase wrote: »

Blackface is bad, right? We can all agree on that? But what about whiteface, as seen in the comedy film White Chicks?

Mariah Carey's husband Nick Cannon has created a whiteface persona called 'Connor Smallnut' (because white people have small penises! Hurrrr) to promote his new album called... White People Party Music. Yep.

He has said: "'It's funny how people take themselves so seriously. People love drama! We feed off of it. Just relax and have fun!!"

So remember that if you want to wear blackface and impersonate Nick Cannon at some point.

Really, how seriously are we meant to take this? It's all about context. I'm certainly not going to get all faux outraged about it. It's Nick Cannon for Christ sake, hardly Barak O' Bama.

speedboatchase

token56 wrote: »

I dont see anything wrong with either provided they are used in the right way.

If you get outraged over Nick Cannon you need to watch Dave Chappelle. He did the whole white face thing over 10 years ago in The Chappelle Show and what Nick Cannon simple doesn't compare to some of the sketches in The Chappelle Show. Racial satire at its best.

I have but Chappelle's sketches - the race draft and the pixies, you're talking about right? - were equal opportunity and highlighted how ridiculous the stereotypes for each race were. This is just using the stereotypes of white people to make white people the butt of a joke.

The Diabolical Monocle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnffskKI_IA

jimgoose

Bleh. I do that all the time for my Nō outfit. But first I go Jap by eating a raw lemon.

Killer Wench

Hold on. Let me get a pepsi and some popcorn. I'll be back to read the uninformed responses.

Czarcasm

speedboatchase wrote: »

I have but Chappelle's sketches - the race draft and the pixies, you're talking about right? - were equal opportunity and highlighted how ridiculous the stereotypes for each race were. This is just using the stereotypes of white people to make white people the butt of a joke.

Ahh I dunno tbh, it's a bit more "if the cap fits" than it is racist. I mean, there's no malicious intent there, and a good many celebrities have done the whole 'alter ego' thing.

The Diabolical Monocle

Killer Wench wrote: »

Hold on. Let me get a pepsi and some popcorn. I'll be back to read the uninformed responses.

Yo word.

suicide_circus

blackface = bad
whiteface = good

denhaagenite

Honestly don't care. He might as well sure. He should've called himself Connor Mariahcareysbitch though.

krudler

"Black people be drivin' like this: dun dun, dundund dun dun..and white people be drivin' like this: dee deee, diddle diddle dee dee"
"Haha! it's so true! we're so lame!"

Ray Palmer

http://www.allmusic.com/album/black-music-for-white-people-mw0000263735

Only 22 years after it has been already done to an extent

Smashius_Clay

Paul Mooney, a well-known stand up comedian and friend of the late Richard Pryor, once described white people even attempting rap as 'blackface without the makeup'.

wexie

RDM_83 again wrote: »

But your still allowed to do black face as long as its subtle and integral to the story line as in lethal weapon 5 and 6 :-) (always sunny)

There was a lethal weapon 5 and 6?

Scotty P

Killer Wench wrote: »

Hold on. Let me get a pepsi and some popcorn. I'll be back to read the uninformed responses.

Oh and I suppose it's just a coincidence that Pepsi is Black and Popcorn is white, eh?

You people make me sick.

123balltv

Ike and Tina were depicted in “white face” make-up that mocked the prejudicial black-faced make-up used by minstrel performers from the past.
Never done Tina any harm and Ike well he was always messed up.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VcOGQZtm8ZE/ULWGXoHn6GI/AAAAAAAAD-k/jpk6xwFQSjU/s1600/outtaseason.jpg

GenieOz

Scotty P wrote: »

Oh and I suppose it's just a coincidence that Pepsi is Black and Popcorn is white, eh?

You people make me sick.

Popcorn is brown before it's cooked and..made better I guess?
tut. typical racist food.

Femme_Fatale

Blackface goes back to the minstrels and other Jim Crow stuff, so it's pretty disingenuous to say whiteface is the same thing.
That said though, I don't understand how blackface in more recent years is offensive if there is no ill intention behind it and all it is is imitation (e.g. a kid wanting to look like Mr T, as mentioned).

kumate_champ07

Scotty P wrote: »

Oh and I suppose it's just a coincidence that Pepsi is Black and Popcorn is white, eh?

You people make me sick.

thats racist

Temptamperu

You see black folk never subjugated the white man so the issue isn't the same as if a white-man did it.

Millicent

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

Blackface goes back to the minstrels and other Jim Crow stuff, so it's pretty disingenuous to say whiteface is the same thing.
That said though, I don't understand how blackface in more recent years is offensive if there is no ill intention behind it and all it is is imitation (e.g. a kid wanting to look like Mr T, as mentioned).

Agree wholeheartedly with the first part, not so much with the second part. There's so much history behind blackface that it's impossible not to do it offensively.

The reason it's offensive, even if it's a kid doing it, is partly because of that history and partly that it makes skin color the focal part of the costume. It's pretty easy to dress up as Mr. T without blackface.

Femme_Fatale

Millicent wrote: »

Agree wholeheartedly with the first part, not so much with the second part. There's so much history behind blackface that it's impossible not to do it offensively.

The reason it's offensive, even if it's a kid doing it, is partly because of that history and partly that it makes skin color the focal part of the costume. It's pretty easy to dress up as Mr. T without blackface.

What if the kid is blonde and pale?
To me, it is literally only someone completely removed from the political/historical connotations and just copying a physical trait, like putting on a wig. But I know I don't speak for black people who still find it offensive; just my personal take though.

Frank Lee Midere

Come fly with me had a black face derogotary character - a man dressed up as a lazy black woman. Nobody noticed that.

Millicent

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

What if the kid is blonde and pale?
To me, it is literally only someone completely removed from the political/historical connotations and just copying a physical trait, like putting on a wig. But I know I don't speak for black people who still find it offensive; just my personal take though.

He puts on a load of rings, some chains, a vest, and styles his hair up. Presto--Mr. T. Like this guy.

ETA: When someone isn't aware of the reasons behind it being offensive, that's one thing. I can imagine a little Irish kid wouldn't know much about the history of minstrels and blackface. But for adults to do it, or to let a kid do it, they have to either be a gobs.hite, or willfully ignorant of the racist connotations.

Millicent

Frank Lee Midere wrote: »

Come fly with me had a black face derogotary character - a man dressed up as a lazy black woman. Nobody noticed that.

I think a load of people noticed that. That show was a steaming pile of poo on every level.

Frank Lee Midere

Millicent wrote: »

Agree wholeheartedly with the first part, not so much with the second part. There's so much history behind blackface that it's impossible not to do it offensively.

The reason it's offensive, even if it's a kid doing it, is partly because of that history and partly that it makes skin color the focal part of the costume. It's pretty easy to dress up as Mr. T without blackface.

An Irish kid may not be aware of Jim Crow. That said he probably wouldn't know Mr T either.

Frank Lee Midere

Millicent wrote: »

I think a load of people noticed that. That show was a steaming pile of poo on every level.

Yeah.

Millicent

Frank Lee Midere wrote: »

An Irish kid may not be aware of Jim Crow. That said he probably wouldn't know Mr T either.

Edited my comment above while you were posting that.

Push Pop

I defy the smallnut part however, I'm no mandingo (porn star) but I punch above my weight so to speak.

RDM_83 again

wexie wrote: »

There was a lethal weapon 5 and 6?

Let me educate you

This clip also neatly illustrates Millicents point about being a black character without make up IMO its just confusing

To be honest though I sort of hate this "white guilt" thing when applied to Ireland (the Irish in Ireland, Irish-Americans are a separate entity).

Ireland is and never has been institutionally racist. We've never had any race discrimination laws, we never colonized any countries apart from acting as the cannon fodder of the British Army.
Dublin wasn't a major beneficiary of the Atlantic slave trade in the way Bristol or Liverpool was.
Whats the major event between the abolition of slavery in the British Empire and its abolition in the USA, the Irish famine.
When the Irish missionaries spread across Africa they might have a patronizing view towards the native inhabitants but it was well intended and they had an influence on some of driving forces behind African liberation movements. Mugabe who can't be described as a big fan of the white man said he benefited greatly from the education he received and its been suggested that the Irish priests tales of the struggles in Ireland may have influenced him.
All in all looking through the historical period the Irish as a people have probably had more experience of being the indentured servants, convicts, forced laborers and literal slaves than beneficiaries of that institution.

I'm not supporting racist black face but if you say that somebody with pale skin can't ever impersonate some one with darker skin regardless of their cultural back ground while the reverse is inoffensive your ironically doing exactly the same thing as a real racist because your reducing everything to skin colour.