Hipster Feud! Tegan&Sara and OFWGKTA Throw Down

Maybe a week ago, some high school kid released a rap album that sported terrible production, amateur mastering and juvenile rhymes. Naturally, not only did this turd get a widespread commercial release, Pitchfork gave it an 8.0/10.

Veteran indie duo Tegan&Sara got upset about the content of the lyrics, or maybe they got upset about the music industry’s support and compliance with the lyrics? Either way, they called someone out about it, and now every music forum I go to has been divided in two, flame wars taking over the front page, and even more attention is being given to a high-school rap group that probably started out as an elaborate inside joke. (Never mind the hypocritical fact that I hate all the attention they’re getting and am now writing a post about them, giving them more of what I feel they don’t deserve. Irony cuts both ways, it seems.)

I didn’t want to get into a deep discussion of rap’s tendencies of antipathy towards marginalized minorities and if they “get away with it”, compared to other genres. I just wanted to talk about the new Antlers album, jeez.

Is this better than their last offering? Who cares, let’s debate gender politics in rap and how T&S should shut the fuck up because they’re white.

But let’s dive right in. Most rap doesn’t come right out and attack these groups. They just engage in name calling. Is that immature? Yes. Does that constitute full on misogyny or homophobia? That’s a hard case to make. Lots of people say not to take it seriously, that Tyler is “joking” or more pretentiously “expanding what’s acceptable in the rap paradigm” vis-a-vis casual defamation.

Is rap a “protected” genre? Does the media give them a free pass for fear of being called racist? Nas can say his style “switches like a faggot” with no criticism, but Eminem gets called out on his early material. Is it because Em is white? Should Tegan & Sara accept Goblin as having no malicious intent, and stop being such whiny pussies? With that last sentence, did I just contribute to the problem?

The long and the short of it is, there is a legitimate debate to be had about what is acceptable and what is not when it comes to lyrics in all genres, not just in rap. But it kind of makes me angry that such a valid debate has been sparked by a nineteen year old kid rhyming like he’s actually a fourteen year old who just discovered N.W.A. The internet hype machine had been turned on Tyler full force, making a poor-to-average record into an 8, and continuing to reward juvenile themes and language.

As long as critics (and fans) keep stroking themselves over something so obviously sophomoric, the debate will never be resolved. And I’ll never be able to talk about real hipster music.