rapper hassan wants to know ‘can i be black?’

West Coast MC Hassan Hamilton has been wooing crowds with his distinct flavor of humor-infused, punchline-packed rhymes since the tender age of 13. The rapper distinguishes himself from the pack through his willingness to verbally go where no MC has gone before, illustrated by his latest single “Can I Be Black.” The looping old-school hip-hop beat plays second-fiddle to Hassan’s socially commentary rap that poses questions like “Can I be Black and throw a barbecue in the park, go for a swim and maybe sell some water when it gets hot?”

 

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🚨HERE IT IS🚨 I’m back with arguably one of the most important songs I’ve ever written and recorded!! Everyday it seems more and more evident that it’s almost against the law to be Black in this country. Whether we’re getting harrassed and having the cops called on us by complete strangers while minding our business, the constant police brutality, the stereotypes, the economic disparity, and the complaining from the opposition whenever we protest social injustice and inequality, you name it.. it almost seems like we can’t exist in our skin anymore. And I wanna know why? Produced by the lovely and talented Queen of Northtown, @amyvoorhees, I finally decided 2 ask the question that myself and millions of others in this nation would like 2 know.. CAN I BE BLACK? Like, share, hate it, debate, do what you feel. But most importantly, listen!!! LINK IN BIO!! Available on other streaming services as well!! #RapIsFun #fatblackandawesome #AmyVoorhees #DTLV #northtown #tradevoorhees #canibeblack #blackexcellence #love2all #fuckracism #HipHop #instamusic #indie #diy #supportlocalart #supportlocalmusic #instagood #instadaily

A post shared by Hassan Hamilton (@hassanhiphop) on Aug 27, 2018 at 12:27pm PDT

Hassan weaves through the Black experience in America in each verse, filling each bar with realities relating to colorism, police brutality, anti-black media coverage and the harmful stereotypes that feed into systemic oppression. “Too independent to be liberal, to dark to be conservative” is the perspective that Hassan raps from, offering his views on the importance of who sits in the White House as well as Black-on-Black violence.

The song is 3 minutes and 21 seconds of hand-waving, finger-snapping truth, leaving us with one burning question:

Can we be Black?

Can I be Black? by Hassan