I began my interviews with Sarah Naville, who, when asked about race in hip-hop culture, stated that she didn't think that race should even be an issue in today's hip-hop culture. She said that we're all the same - "just different colors."   She says, "If some white guy, like Eminem, wants to rap or whatever, as long as he does a good job... then, you know, I don't think it's a problem, or whatever. I don't understand why people make it such an issue I think they just need to forget the past and realize that people are just making music, and look past the color of their skin." Sarah doesn't believe that race should even be an issue, since music is just an expression, and everyone should be allowed to make expressions as they choose, no matter their race.

Lucy Robinson was the next interview. Lucy is a DJ at WIUS, Indiana University's student-run radio station.  She talks about people trying to emulate anything new and different, and since hip-hop keeps changing and evolving, people are really interested in it, and will always try to emulate it. She sites groups such as the Beastie Boys, who "are themselves," as opposed to Fat Joe, a "400 lb. Puerto Rican rapper." She says, "There are so many different races of people who do hip-hop that [race] is starting not to matter, really... and it's going to keep going till it doesn. t really matter what the hell you look like anymore." She believes that the issue of race has calmed down, and will continue to do so.

Diana Clark is a hip-hop fan, and she was the next person on the interview tape. She recognizes that hip-hop started as a typically . African-American-cultural thing,. and she respects those who are into the culture, such as Bubba Sparks, Beastie Boys, and Rage Against the Machine. She says that it's "just a form of expression," and she doesn. t understand why it "has to be limited to just a certain race..."

When Veronica Lloyd was asked the question about race in hip-hop culture today, and began with how she got her knowledge: her Rock & Roll class this semester. She learned how it got started and "how it is today." She believes that there is a "balance now, where there are plenty of, like, all races involved in hip-hop." She also believes that hip-hop is a way to bring people together, since there are so many different races involved, and it appeals to everyone. She thinks it will always be an "African-American...culture...I think it shows them honor that a lot of people want to do this, and that they. ve created something cool that everyone wants to do." She also references the fact that "white people took over rock and roll, and kicked Black people out... this is something where we're always gonna see more African-Americans involved in hip-hop than anyone else, and that it should be that way... it should be open for anyone to experiment with, as long as we don't start to claim that it was us who started it, I guess." Veronica is the only person in these interviews to say that hip-hop is part of the African-American culture, and that it should stay that way. I don't exactly know how she wanted "white people" to fit into that picture, but I guess that she did. I think she meant that we can be a part of it, but we cannot be a large part, since it's "their" thing, not ours.

The last interview I did was with two boys, Kyle Burkett and Daniel Farahan. Kyle is in our Urban Folklore class. Kyle spoke a lot more than Danny, and Kyle speaks of the apparent "stigma" against "white people" in hip-hop. He said that he's seen it first hand, that white people are "trashed" by others for listening to their choice music, being hip-hop.  When asked if he thought something could be done about this stigma, he replied that there's "not much that can be done about it... [but] the stigma will go away with time." Danny then interjected that those who are concerned negatively about the issue of race in hip-hop society are only those out to make money, or "they just have... personal issues they have to deal with...." I asked Kyle and Danny if the hip-hop-audience has a stigma as well as the artist, or if it were one or the other. Kyle thought it was more the audience that had the stigma, not the artist at all. He speaks of those who are scared to express themselves in hip-hop culture, afraid of being labeled a "wigger," or being labeled as trying to "steal black culture," when the fact is that they just "genuinely have a love for that kind of music." 

Danny thinks that the real issue is regional. He says that since we live in Indiana, the issue of race is more noticeable, in comparison to the "east coast," where race "isn't even something people think twice about." They both agreed then that it was regional. Running through my head at this time was: how do they know? They aren't part, and have never been part of the hip-hop culture anywhere but here, so is this really a justified statement? Summing it up, Kyle said that "if we give it time, I don't think that it will be such a big problem...." He said that "people are more generally accepting of different races now."

I noticed that in almost all of the interviews, the interviewees said that the issue is dying down, and will soon not be a concern any longer. I believe, on the other hand, that until race is no longer an issue at all, for example in affirmative action, then it will finally disappear from hip-hop culture. It needs to disappear from the entire world first, and then it will disappear from the music industry. But until then, race will always be an issue everywhere, including hip-hop culture. In all of the interviews, the students seemed so positive and certain that race will not be an issue in times to come. What optimism! Veronica was the only one to mention that hip-hop really is an African-American culture, and that we are the ones who are joining the bandwagon. We did the same thing with rock and roll, and we took it over. We must not do this to hip-hop. I don't even think it would be possible. As Kyle said about the stigma placed upon the fans of hip-hop, I don. t think that the fans and artists would allow that stigma to take over the industry. It just wouldn't work. Although, we cannot rule anything out yet, since so many people believe that race shouldn't be an issue at all, so why would it matter who "took over" the industry, since we are all the same. Just some food for thought.