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In a massive win for the hip hop culture, white rappers have officially been around long enough for there to be an ‘Old school’ and a ‘new school.’
This was confirmed this week as American rapper Jack Harlow went to number 1 on music charts around the world with his new track ‘First Class’ – which features a sample of Fergie’s GLAMOROUS.
The song has already racked up hundreds of millions of streams on TikTok, and other bizarre social media platforms popular with kids that are too young to remember the Black Eyed Peas.
This marks the first time a white rapper has ever appropriated the work of another white rapper, a milestone that showcases the generational shift of before and post mumble rap.
It’s also a great moment for diversity in hip hop, as the pioneers of white hip hop take pride in giving the next generation role models who look like them – after having to break the glass ceiling on their own sampling 80s glam rock power ballads.
It is not yet known which other ‘old heads’ of white hip hop will be sampled by these young guns over the next few years, but the groundbreaking work of the little known 1990s Detroit artist Eminem could be a treasure trove for crate-digging Gen Z rappers.
More to come.
