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I get that's the part that would anger the most people and within the context of black artistry it makes perfect sense to that audience.
I'm going to get far more philosophical on this subject than I normally do but I don't expect any agreement. Not because you or anyone is close-minded but because I think differences on this boil down to fundamental differences in how people see this world. Opinions they formed long before they could rationalize the subject and that flows in both directions.
There is a general opinion within the black community (and if you're black, understand I'm not trying to speak for you) that as Paul Mooney put it:![]()
That America is perfectly comfortable taking elements of black America, copying it, incorporating it while simultaneously denigrating the creators of said elements. Now, there's 2 sides to that and Williams addressed part of it in the previous part of his speech re: branding of their bodies, chasing money, etc. A clear message to those black performers that they've undermined their community's standing via a desire to make commodities of themselves.
But the part here about black gold, burying black bodies out sight, etc. is a reference to how black art and black ideas can become celebrated while the people themselves don't share in acclaim. Hip hop is probably a decent example. Non-black people can put on the clothes, copy the slang, duplicate the music and celebrate all of the elements as something wonderful (realizing of course that plenty of people aren't hip hop fans) while simultaneously dismissing the culture that created hip hop as something uniquely and negatively black - emblematic of a debased pro-crime, anti-family, irresponsible culture.
So they extract the culture for social purposes while burying/dismissing/discarding the larger black social contexts that created that culture. To the black community, for which hip hop encompasses far more than the just the mainstream element that appeals to the most fervent consumer base (primarily not a black consumer base), it's a bit of a slap in the face. The mainstream won't adopt the messaging of more socially conscious rappers or singers to celebrate. It's a lesson that black artists need to be reminded of. That their messaging matters because the message you're selling (branding onto your body) isn't actually being used to raise the community just because you got paid to sell it.
This was a cogent argument and eloquently written post, but I disagree with your last point.
Black artists have largely been able to dictate the narrative surrounding hip hop music (and many other genres) and what they have chosen, is a celebration and glamorization of the urban experience (thug life). This in and of itself is a social commentary, as contemporary rap is often auto-biographical, describing what it means to succeed (and what it takes) in the communities that they come from.
You may think that the more socially conscious rappers are being pushed to the fringe due to the appetites of main stream consumers (which in turn, commodifies black music), but I would argue that commercially successful rappers have just put a different spin on the same social issues. Instead of condemning the pervasive issues that are destroying their communities, they wear it like badges of honors - they are the hustlers, the gangsters... the guys that survived the trial by fire and now have the credibility to sing and celebrate it. (As a tangent, I think that this is one of the biggest issues facing the black community - the values and customs that are now being espoused by popular black artists are not condusive to healthy and sustainable communities)
Rightly or wrongly, black artists have chosen the trajectory of their music, and many have become enormously successful in doing so. This will further encourage more artists to gravitate towards this particular genre of music (including non black performers).
With that being said, there have been several white artists who have blatantly appropriated elements of black culture while being completely divorced from the black experience, and as such, lack authenticity. I can understand why their success (Iggy Azelia, Lil Debbie) sticks in the craw of other black artists. However, the idea that only one race is "allowed" to sing a certain style of music is patantly dumb. It's like me telling a black person they shouldn't be allowed to participate in Equestrian choreography because they don't share in its rich history.