>"What's with white kids today? Why are they pretending to be black?"
>"They're not, they're pretending to be masculine. You may not believe this, but white boys/men have no symbol of masculinity or toughness-- or of sexual power-- that they can brand themselves with. The fictional white tough guys are either "black" or are flawed: strong in one way but weak in some other (broken men, depressed, drinkers, etc.) They have to pull it together to be tough. And white tough guy/heroes cry a lot. What's up with that?"
>"If a white kid wants to project masculine energy, he better figure out a way to be black and make it look legitimate. Fortunately, Eminem and others have done the hard work of branding blackness, reducing it from something you are to something you adopt, turning it into apparel to wear when you need to convey information. Now it's credible that white guys can be black without actually having to be black. Thanks."
-Jay Z 2009
