--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The roots of rap are originally…" description: "\"The roots of rap are originally ghetto-ised or extremely working class. So when you're an artist who's making something which isn't how its mainstream ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/zadie-smith-584_appearance_the-roots-of-rap-are-originally-ghetto-i_2926758.jpg" --- # The roots of rap are originally ghetto-ised or extremely… ![“The roots of rap are originally ghetto-ised or extremely working class. So when you're an artist who's making something which isn't how its mainstream appearance should be, there's always these strange questions of authenticity and what you have to do to be 'real' as a rapper.” quote by Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/zadie-smith-584_appearance_the-roots-of-rap-are-originally-ghetto-i_2926758.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/zadie-smith-584_appearance_the-roots-of-rap-are-originally-ghetto-i_2926758.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bf/zadie-smith-584_appearance_the-roots-of-rap-are-originally-ghetto-i_2926758.jpg) > “The roots of rap are originally ghetto-ised or extremely working class. So when you're an artist who's making something which isn't how its mainstream appearance should be, there's always these strange questions of authenticity and what you have to do to be 'real' as a rapper.” [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rap authenticity is challenged by class origins and mainstream expectations, prompting questions of “realness.” **In simple terms:** Authenticity vs. mainstream. Key Takeaway Question authenticity. Themes culture class authenticity Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - artist branding - genre evolution - media critique Key Concepts sociology music theory Questions to Reflect On - How do you define “real” in art? - What pressures shape artistic authenticity? A Different Perspective Authenticity is subjective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Authenticity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authenticity/) [Being real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-real/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Ghetto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghetto/) [Mainstream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mainstream/) [Rap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rap/) [Rapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rapper/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Working class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/) ## Related quotes > [To me, the whole thing with the roots of rap music was when the DJ had to supply all the music for the group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-d/to-me-the-whole-thing-with-the-roots-of-rap-music-was-when-the-dj-had/) [Mike D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-d/) > [I can rap; that's what I was originally really good at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-paxton/i-can-rap-that-s-what-i-was-originally-really-good-at/) [James Paxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-paxton/) > [“So much possibility lives within the beauty of your authenticity. Be real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stabile/so-much-possibility-lives-within-the-beauty-of-your-authenticity-be/) [Scott Stabile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stabile/) > [I'm a real rapper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ybn-nahmir/i-m-a-real-rapper/) [YBN Nahmir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ybn-nahmir/) > [I really trust the authenticity of real people and my job is to get them to be themselves in front of the camera. Often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-really-trust-the-authenticity-of-real-people-and-my-job-is-to-get/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [I've got a million people telling me why I can't do it. 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I'm trying to serve a story and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xavier-dolan/i-don-t-belong-to-any-school-or-clique-or-ghetto-i-don-t-have-any/) [Xavier Dolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xavier-dolan/) > [If the Jews had issues with the Polish people then why during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, did the Jewish underground hang two flags from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-duda/if-the-jews-had-issues-with-the-polish-people-then-why-during-the/) [Andrzej Duda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-duda/) > [No mama, no papa, and I live in the ghetto. I'm just a child from a broken home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-aitken/no-mama-no-papa-and-i-live-in-the-ghetto-i-m-just-a-child-from-a/) [Laurel Aitken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurel-aitken/) > [Richard Price, who has made a fortune writing fake ghetto books, says he takes a cab into the ghetto, transcribes Black speech for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/richard-price-who-has-made-a-fortune-writing-fake-ghetto-books-says/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [I'm just one woman away, my mother, from being the same as Mike Tyson. I would've ended up like him if my mama had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evander-holyfield/i-m-just-one-woman-away-my-mother-from-being-the-same-as-mike-tyson-i/) [Evander Holyfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evander-holyfield/) > [Kill dem hoe's whid kindness..!\*](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-h/kill-dem-hoe-s-whid-kindness/) [Miranda H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-h/) > [He demeanor of the Ghetto, to never stay settled. Aldermen and corrupt men play Pharaoh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/common/he-demeanor-of-the-ghetto-to-never-stay-settled-aldermen-and-corrupt/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/common/) ## More by Zadie Smith > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“Pretty girls lie at the centre of straight culture, dyke culture, fag culture. They sell everything, they buy everything, they ruin great men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/pretty-girls-lie-at-the-centre-of-straight-culture-dyke-culture-fag/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“I have known many true connoisseurs, with excellent tastes that range across the humanities and the culinary arts--and they never fail to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-have-known-many-true-connoisseurs-with-excellent-tastes-that-range/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I cannot believe homosexuality is that much fun. 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I don't like them around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-don-t-keep-any-copies-of-my-books-in-the-house-they-go-to-my-mum-s/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [But it makes an immigrant laugh to hear the fears of the nationalist, scared of infection, penetration, miscegenation, when this is small fry, peanuts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/but-it-makes-an-immigrant-laugh-to-hear-the-fears-of-the-nationalist/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [Oh, I know that. You know me, baby, I cannot be broken. Takes a giant to snap me in half.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/oh-i-know-that-you-know-me-baby-i-cannot-be-broken-takes-a-giant-to/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“In short, it was precisely the kind of friendship and Englishman makes on holiday, that he can make only on holiday. 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