I’ll be the first to admit it. Being a white person and liking rap is embarrassing. Generally speaking, the stereotype surrounding it falls into two categories: dudebro douchebag and Weird Al from the video for “White and Nerdy”. Perhaps this is just a personal result of me feeling self-conscious, but for some reason I get the impression that if people find out you’re white and like rap or hip-hop, that’s somewhat of who you are.

But it’s really a non-issue. I love rap and hip-hop (the good stuff at least) for its clever word-play and linguistic manipulation. I’ve heard some really good lines in songs of the genre before and some hip-hop songs are better than some books I’ve read.

I’m also really into jazz. Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Duke Ellington; I love all of them (plus a bunch more). Of course, I have to be in the mood for it, but it’s among my top five favorite things (just above coffee and just below everything "Game of Thrones" related).

The reason I’m giving this little preamble to what I actually want to discuss is simply because I want to acknowledge my place in the subject. See, I’ve often been afraid of co-opting black culture moreso than my fellow white douchebags have already. Hip-hop and jazz were created by African-Americans and subsequently stolen by my people. So it’s really a matter of white guilt that I feel bad for liking the genres so much.

Which is silly, I think. Music is meant to be enjoyed by everyone, no matter their skin color or any other characteristic. I’m not sure what Kendrick Lamar or Miles Davis would have to say about me liking their music, but I think they’d be okay with it.