Michael Eric Dyson Defends Drake After His Blackness Was Challenged By Kendrick Lamar In Rap Beef

Michael Eric Dyson has commented on the ongoing Kendrick Lamar-Drake feud, and the noted professor has defended the Toronto rapper. In an interview on “The Stephen A. Smith Show” on Sunday, May 19, Dyson explained his thoughts, which first appeared in his most recent article for The Philadelphia Citizen about his take on the epic rap duel.  According to the New York Times Best-Selling author Dyson, the focus should be on the rapper’s wordplay, and Drake shouldn’t be “dismissed” from the culture because he’s a native of Canada and half-Jewish. “I’m pissed that Drake gets dismissed, off the scene, when he’s been Drake for 15 years and you act like you didn’t know that, [and] now he’s not really Black?” Dyson asked. “Challenging his racial identity saying he’s a culture vulture when he’s a Black man-‘he’s from Canada he ain’t real’-Idris Elba is from the UK, people still love him on The Wire,” Dyson went on. “So why is it that being outside of our geography outside of our nationality raises suspicions about Drake?” “So what he’s done to expand the horizon of hip-hop is underestimated, even artistically,” he continued. “We have to stop this narrow, punishing, pernicious, limited viewpoint...