There's a 1,000 [White] MC's

There’s a perfect storm brewing on VH1, and it’s called Ego Trip’s the White Rapper Show. It features aspiring celebrities, hints of sexual tension, strange competitions and, of course, manipulated conflict – all standards of reality TV. Twelve wannabe rappers – plucked from ordinary lives and placed in a house in the South Bronx, the birthplace of Hip-Hop – are fighting to be the first “great white MC” since Eminem. The Great White Hip-Hop Hopes live together, test their devotion to the art form and battle each other for the grand prize of $100,000 and “a whole nation of devoted fans.” Money and fame are only a verse away.

The saturated genre of reality TV leaves little room for innovation, so White Rapper follows the Hip-Hop tradition of sampling bits and pieces of its predecessors. In addition to stylistic cues taken from other reality staples like The Real World and The Apprentice, the show occasionally borders on being Making the Band II with an all-white cast. During one comical yet disturbing moment of the premiere episode, Queens MC, Persia, taunts John Brown, the self-proclaimed King of the ‘Burbs, by poking a sex toy in his face until he’s willing to accept a battle challenge. When the King refuses and then dismisses her and fellow white rapper, Sullee, a fistfight nearly ensues. Much like the numerous arguments between MTB II castmates, the slightest provocation can spark strange and violent behavior.

The Mouth vs. Manmeat Moment of 2007

The creators of White Rapper – best known for their classic ego tripmagazines, books and culture commentary specials on VH1 – lace the show with not-so-subtleties. The rappers live in a shabby tenement known as Tha White House, place garbage in bins marked ‘White Trash’ and get messages from host, MC Serch of 3rd Bass, through a giant bottle of Mayo. Any comical oversights that producers may have missed are quickly met by an eclectic cast seemingly built to accentuate drama more than talent. Though the white rappers know that cameras trace their every move and the stereotypes of their race can be debunked or mistakenly confirmed in an instant, they make a mockery of themselves and the culture they claim to cherish.

John Brown spends much of his time uttering nonsensical phrases like “Hallelujah, Holla Back!” and referring to a “Ghetto Revival” movement that has neither plans nor followers. G-Child, a mousey MC from Allentown, Pa., openly admits that Vanilla Ice is her idol. Worse yet, she proudly states that Ice is the biggest influence on her rap style and career. Stop, collaborate and listen to what you’re saying.

Serch often shakes his head when contestants behave foolishly or don’t show respect for the opportunity placed in front of them. But with so many ridiculous moments, it’s hard to view White Rapper in a serious light. How respectable can you be when hefty women are shoving sex toys in someone's face? That makes the rare but serious moments seem a bit out of place. A show that readily embraces low-brow entertainment usually should avoid attempts at being socially-relevant or preachy. Still, those attempts can ocassionaly be well-placed, like when a castmate receives a tongue-in-cheek prize for repeatedly saying 'nigga/er.' The humbling experience that follows, as well as the very premise of White Rapper, reveals an unfortunate truth about race relations in the United States. Despite the social progress made since the Civil Rights Era and the communal bridge-building that Hip-Hop has allowed, America is still a place where cultural ignorance and stereotypes are alive and well. Then again, it doesn’t take a clownish television show to picture that.

Auditions from White Rapper