--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The question 'Why white kids love…" description: "\"The question 'Why white kids love hip-hop?' forces us immediately to deal with the historical weight of race in America. On the surface people see hip-..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/bakari-kitwana-29059_america_the-question-why-white-kids-love-hip-hop_488834.jpg" --- # The question 'Why white kids love hip-hop?' forces us… ![“The question 'Why white kids love hip-hop?' forces us immediately to deal with the historical weight of race in America. On the surface people see hip-hop and race as nothing new. I think the ways young white Americans are engaging hip-hop suggest something more.” quote by Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/bakari-kitwana-29059_america_the-question-why-white-kids-love-hip-hop_488834.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/bakari-kitwana-29059_america_the-question-why-white-kids-love-hip-hop_488834.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/bakari-kitwana-29059_america_the-question-why-white-kids-love-hip-hop_488834.jpg) > “The question 'Why white kids love hip-hop?' forces us immediately to deal with the historical weight of race in America. On the surface people see hip-hop and race as nothing new. I think the ways young white Americans are engaging hip-hop suggest something more.” [Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The curiosity about why white youth love hip‑hop reveals deeper historical racial dynamics and cultural exchange in America. **In simple terms:** White interest in hip‑hop shows deeper race history. Key Takeaway Explore the cultural roots behind musical preferences. Themes culture race music identity history Mood analytical thought‑provoking critical Type sociological cultural studies When to use this quote - music festivals - college campuses - media analysis - community discussions Key Concepts cultural appropriation social dynamics youth identity Questions to Reflect On - What does hip‑hop mean to different communities? - How does this interest affect racial dialogue? A Different Perspective Simplifying complex race issues to a single genre can be reductive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Deals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deals/) [Engaging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engaging/) [Engaging Hip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engaging-hip-4187935/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Hip hop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hip-hop/) [Hips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hips/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [Hops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hops/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Kids love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids-love/) [Nothing new](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing-new/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Question White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-white-2318785/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Race in america](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race-in-america/) [Rapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rapper/) [Surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surface/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weight/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White Americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-americans/) [White Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-kids-727380/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) ## Related quotes > [My experience is that white kids love hip-hop, and brown and black kids love rock music. That shows that brown kids - they carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-nokia/my-experience-is-that-white-kids-love-hip-hop-and-brown-and-black/) [Princess Nokia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-nokia/) > [The question that white people need to ask ourselves is not if we were shaped by the forces of racism, but how.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-diangelo/the-question-that-white-people-need-to-ask-ourselves-is-not-if-we/) [Robin DiAngelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-diangelo/) > [“It is not, I think, a question of when and how the white people will "free" the black and the red people. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/it-is-not-i-think-a-question-of-when-and-how-the-white-people-will/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Question: What is the white stuff in bird poop? Answer: That is bird poop, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/question-what-is-the-white-stuff-in-bird-poop-answer-that-is-bird/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [In my Philly neighborhood, black and white kids hung together without even thinking about it. The spirit of Martin Luther King was alive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-hall/in-my-philly-neighborhood-black-and-white-kids-hung-together-without/) [Daryl Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-hall/) > [In college, I didn't know whether to hang out with the black kids or the white kids, and then I found the theatre kids,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-a-kemp/in-college-i-didn-t-know-whether-to-hang-out-with-the-black-kids-or/) [Courtney A. Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-a-kemp/) > [I've always thought it would be fun to update "Hansel and Gretel." I'd have these white parents in the suburbs with an income of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-ve-always-thought-it-would-be-fun-to-update-hansel-and-gretel-i-d/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [When I was a kid, my parents never let me use race as an excuse. They'd say, 'When you walk into a room and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-packer/when-i-was-a-kid-my-parents-never-let-me-use-race-as-an-excuse-they-d/) [Will Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-packer/) > [There was a time in America not long ago when rock 'n' roll was called race music, and white kids who wanted to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/there-was-a-time-in-america-not-long-ago-when-rock-n-roll-was-called/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [Once my school was integrated, and I was there with white kids and a few black kids, it really didn't matter to us what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruby-bridges/once-my-school-was-integrated-and-i-was-there-with-white-kids-and-a/) [Ruby Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruby-bridges/) > [Yes, there was nothing else to do to get you high. I mean, there was, but white kids didn't hear about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-rettig/yes-there-was-nothing-else-to-do-to-get-you-high-i-mean-there-was-but/) [Tommy Rettig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-rettig/) > [That's why I called my record Devil Without a Cause - I'm a white boy who's so sick of hearing that white kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-rock/that-s-why-i-called-my-record-devil-without-a-cause-i-m-a-white-boy/) [Kid Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-rock/) > [When you're accustomed to wealth, you don't show it, right? That's why the white kids in school could wear bummy sneakers; it's almost like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/when-you-re-accustomed-to-wealth-you-don-t-show-it-right-that-s-why/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [That divide between the rich and poor is so crazy, because even white kids are suffering now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/that-divide-between-the-rich-and-poor-is-so-crazy-because-even-white/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [Between Alan Freed in Cleveland and Bob Horn and Lee Stewart in Philadelphia and George 'Hound Dog' Lorenz in Buffalo, they began to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-clark/between-alan-freed-in-cleveland-and-bob-horn-and-lee-stewart-in/) [Dick Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-clark/) ## More by Bakari Kitwana > [I'm not a poster boy for misogyny and I don't think hip-hop should be either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/i-m-not-a-poster-boy-for-misogyny-and-i-don-t-think-hip-hop-should-be/) [Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) > [Hip-hop is contributing to American society's misogyny and racism, hyper-sexuality anti-Black representations. Hip-Hop isn't setting the standard for misogyny. No one reduces the presidency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/hip-hop-is-contributing-to-american-society-s-misogyny-and-racism/) [Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) > [Few places in American culture have made as effective a case for entrepreneurship than hip-hop. Hip-hop tells young people that our society is offering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/few-places-in-american-culture-have-made-as-effective-a-case-for/) [Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) > [And just as you can find hip-hop lyrics beating up on all these groups, including young Black men themselves, the primary producers of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/and-just-as-you-can-find-hip-hop-lyrics-beating-up-on-all-these/) [Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) > [“Wigger: a young white who wants desperately to be down with hip-hop, who identifies more strongly with Black culture than white. (What's disturbing about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/wigger-a-young-white-who-wants-desperately-to-be-down-with-hip-hop/) [Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) > [Hip-hop is a complex music and culture that has been reduced to a one-dimensional critique. Hip-hop's messages aren't all bad. Neither are they all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/hip-hop-is-a-complex-music-and-culture-that-has-been-reduced-to-a-one/) [Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) > [I agree that a lot of mainstream corporate sold hip-hop is self-hating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/i-agree-that-a-lot-of-mainstream-corporate-sold-hip-hop-is-self-hating/) [Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) > [My hope is to get young people to think about ways that they can translate hip-hop's great cultural movement into political power that can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/my-hope-is-to-get-young-people-to-think-about-ways-that-they-can/) [Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) > [Hip-Hop's cultural movement is much larger than the corporate representation. The images most of hip-hop's critics point to are those manufactured by major corporations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/hip-hop-s-cultural-movement-is-much-larger-than-the-corporate/) [Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) > [Legions of young hip-hop fans are as against this as hip-hop's most fierce critics. There is a huge underground movement within hip-hop circles that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/legions-of-young-hip-hop-fans-are-as-against-this-as-hip-hop-s-most/) [Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) > [I agree that all kids of all colors love hip-hop. My point in writing the book was to raise questions about the ways the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/i-agree-that-all-kids-of-all-colors-love-hip-hop-my-point-in-writing/) [Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) > [After many years of hip-hop as a nation we should have the sophistication to accept that their are distinctions between the corporate manifestation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/after-many-years-of-hip-hop-as-a-nation-we-should-have-the/) [Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) > [We need to look beyond the obvious. Yes, there are minstrel images in hip-hop. Yes, there are demeaning, anti-racist, misogynistic and homophobic representations. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/we-need-to-look-beyond-the-obvious-yes-there-are-minstrel-images-in/) [Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) > [Locally lived hip-hop culture that is giving many of America's youth the tool they need to survive and thrive in America, in the face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/locally-lived-hip-hop-culture-that-is-giving-many-of-america-s-youth/) [Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) > [I am trying to get folks outside the hip-hop culture to understand why, despite the negatives, young people find hope and refuge in hip-hop.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/i-am-trying-to-get-folks-outside-the-hip-hop-culture-to-understand/) [Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) [Explore all 18 Bakari Kitwana quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The question 'Why white kids love hip-hop?' forces us immediately to deal with the historical weight of race in America. On the surface people see hip-hop and race as nothing new. I think the ways young white Americans are engaging hip-hop suggest something more.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bakari Kitwana" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/the-question-why-white-kids-love-hip-hop-forces-us-immediately-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/the-question-why-white-kids-love-hip-hop-forces-us-immediately-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/bakari-kitwana-29059_america_the-question-why-white-kids-love-hip-hop_488834.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/bakari-kitwana-29059_america_the-question-why-white-kids-love-hip-hop_488834.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/bakari-kitwana-29059_america_the-question-why-white-kids-love-hip-hop_488834.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The question 'Why white kids love hip-hop?' forces us immediately to deal with the historical weight of race…” — Bakari Kitwana", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bakari Kitwana", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The question 'Why white kids love...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/the-question-why-white-kids-love-hip-hop-forces-us-immediately-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/the-question-why-white-kids-love-hip-hop-forces-us-immediately-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```