Cracker, devil, greatest rapper of all time. The white man has been portrayed in many ways throughout the history of rap music. While you can argue that the derogatory terms were purely referring to rich racists it is kind of hard to make that distinction when you’re a kid listening to Ice Cube’s ‘Death Certificate’ or a middle-aged right winger who’s never heard rap music. Being a Caucasian rapper or rap fan remains the white elephant in the room.

For white rappers there has been that constant search for approval, attempting to set themselves apart as an artist rather than a white capitalist in a black art form. This has been a struggle since hip-hop began, to take a more serious, politicised tone. There was a time however in the early carefree disco days where white rappers like graff legend Blake ‘KEO’ Lethem were accepted without as much hesitation. “Every neighbourhood had one cool white dude hanging out,” he told Ego Trip last year. “His name was usually ‘Mighty Whitey’”. It’s ironic considering the age-old image of white men owning all the land and pulling all the strings. For the first time, rap presented something that the white man couldn’t own or dominate. At least that was the case until Eminem and Jimmy Iovine had to come along and take away all the accolades and money. Plus almost every rapper is now dressing all white and shit. As a white rap fan you are conditioned to being in a state of constant awkwardness when going to a rap club or hearing constant use of the N-word. Unless you’re one of those overconfident types that rocks ironically obscure snapbacks rather than liberal guilt as a fashion accessory.

With that said, things have progressed a lot since the early days. We’ve all heard ad nauseam how tough it was for Eminem as a white boy trying to make it. Now hip-hop’s biggest consumers are white and crowds at rap gigs are seas of white faces. Then you’ve got the Aussie hip-hop scene, which is a whole other beast. Aussie rappers don’t have to carry the same racial/cultural baggage as their American counterparts but Aussie hip-hop still has its own identity issues. No matter how much things have progressed and how much things will continue to progress into the future there will always be an element of novelty to white rappers.

Over the years white rap has become so big, or at least its sense of self-worth has grown so, that it has its own sub-genres. They even have their own encyclopaedia. Funky white boys, serious Caucasians, trailer park rap, nerdy white boys, white supremacist rap (yep, thanks Germany!), the rap game has seen it all. There is a lot of history to cover, so we get on our Ken Burns shit and look at the whiteys that have succeeded with their interpretation of rap and those that haven’t. Now let’s have a moment of silence for our Asian brethren, whose major contributions have been Jin and Far East Movement.