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“That’s a stereotype/Driven by some people up in Ariel Heights.” — J. Cole, G.O.M.D.
On an episode of his YouTube series entitled Cannon’s Class, actor, comedian, and rapper Nick Cannon met with Nation of Islam affiliate Rizza Islam to discuss Black men’s dating preferences. In what was a spirited conversation, Cannon proclaimed the following:
“White women are looked at as success, because in America we see a White woman, I couldn’t have you, my daddy couldn’t have you, my granddaddy couldn’t have you. I would get killed even looking at you. People, if they thought I whistled at you they would murder me. Beat me. Drag me down the street. So now, if I play for the NBA I want em’ all. And I could afford em’ all. That’s what they, that’s what they’re thinking.”
See the entire video below:
According to Cannon, Black men see White women as a status symbol and pursue interracial pairings based on a history of being forbidden to do so.
This soundbite was met with a series of reaction videos on YouTube, including comments from popular American syndicated radio show The Breakfast Club. When speaking on Cannon’s viewpoint during an interview, co-host of the show Charlamagne tha God countered, “I think that’s an old-school mentality. We talk about changing narratives. I don’t think that narrative is the same anymore.”
Cannon’s attitude regarding Black men’s preference for White women, especially Black men of means, has been echoed by others at both the public and celebrity level. For example, hip-hop artist and fashion designer Kanye West once rapped on his song Gold Digger,
“He got that ambition, baby, look at his eyes/This week he moppin’ floors, next week it’s the fries/So stick by his side/I know there’s dudes ballin’, and yeah, that’s nice/And they gonna keep callin’ and tryin’, but you stay right, girl/And when you get on, he’ll leave yo’ ass for a white girl.”
Revisiting Charlamagne’s point, however, West released this song in 2005. So, are Cannon’s…
