The rapper known to the world only as Rawcus took the Internet by storm back in 2014 when he released a song and video entitled “White People Crazy” about well, all the crazy things white people do. You know, like kissing their dogs on the mouth and watching NASCAR.
TMZ, The Huffington Post, and BuzzFeed were all talking about it and Jamilah Lemieux at Ebony even called it the record of the year. At the time, Rawcus’s interview with Digital Music News was perhaps his most revealing moment and the closest we got to learning his identity.
Rawcus chose to remain anonymous through all the hype and was never seen publicly seen without his trademark hybrid T-shirt/mask and gloves, leading to a lot of speculation about who he might be. There have even been suggestions that he might be a crazy white person himself. It would certainly explain the gloves, and these lyrics, which at least hint at the possibility: “White people they crazy/since they was baby gravy/I remember being in that womb/like ‘let me out I’m going crazy!’”
All that speculation is about to come to an end because Rawcus plans to unmask himself. And he has just released a new video, “White People Crazy 2,” detailing even more of the crazy things white people do.
In an interview with The Daily Dot, Rawcus was kind enough to answer a few questions about the reaction to his song, and what he has planned for the future.
The Daily Dot: The first version of “White People Crazy” was insanely popular when it was released in 2014. Why do you think people loved the song/video?
Rawcus: I think people loved the song and video because it was incredibly honest. Anything that was talked about was backed up by facts right there in front of you on the screen. It was also very witty and put together pretty well, if I must say so myself. Of course, I shot and edited it so I’m required to say that, LOL.
Why release a new version in 2016?
The new release in 2016 is for numerous reasons. 1) White people are clearly still crazy. 2) I could only fit so many crazy white people facts into part one and had so many more things to mention. 3) There is much more crazy to talk about now. I didn’t take it too far in any direction even though I wanted to—politics, racism, etc.—because if I did that, then it wouldn’t have the ability to resonate with the masses over all and spread. So I spoke on numerous subjects across the board while keeping it real and hitting the main points. 4) I plan on revealing [my identity] at the beginning of next month so that I can explain what R.A.W.C.U.S. truly is. I’ll explain more in your later question.
The response to the song has been mainly positive, but you have gotten some negative feedback. What are people who don’t like the song saying, and how do you respond to their criticism?
You can tell from the YouTube “like” bar alone that one out of every seven people dislike the song. I’ll take those numbers any day. Most negative comments say things along the lines of “This guy is racist,” which isn’t even true. What else can they say?
The people who are speaking on it in a negative light are just so clouded by their thoughts of thinking it’s racist that they can’t see there is a bigger picture. Of course, it’s hard to see the bigger picture when ostensibly it seems racist and they don’t know the whole story. But because it shows proof and you can’t tell if it’s really racist or honesty… that makes it loveable.
If those same people understood the story behind all of it, they would see it as courageous and actually respect it. You’ll see soon.
A few black celebrities have made it into your songs. Do they have to be especially crazy to make it in? Do you think it’s their white ancestry coming out?
The black celebs I mentioned are celebs that are overly ‘white acting.’ Their mannerisms, dress style and appearance aside from skin color seem to fit more into white culture. That’s why I mentioned them in a song called “White People Crazy.” I sure hope I explained that correctly…LOL.
You’ve stated before that maintaining your anonymity makes dealing with the legal issues of being an artist and getting paid more difficult. Does it also make it harder to perform live? Is that why you’re choosing to unmask yourself?
Oh no, me unmasking has nothing to do with issues performing live. I know how to perform live now. That was all figured out properly. Wacka Flocka Flame brought me out on stage in the middle of one of his sets to perform “White People Crazy” and everyone went nuts.
Did Waka Flocka know your true identity before the concert? If not, does he know now?
Waka Flocka is one of the only people who knows who I am. He knew well before that concert. After I exploded I went to Atlanta and was with him and Brick Squad in the studio for four days.
When/Where will this unmasking take place?
The unmasking is planned to take place the first week of February 2016. At that time, I will also be releasing a book I wrote about everything. In the book I explain the creation of the R.A.W.C.U.S. persona, what lead to it, its reasoning and good intentions I had from it. I explain how a persona made to be ignorant and mock the current garbage state of hip hop and pop culture was catapulted into spotlight.
Who do you think was the craziest white person of 2015?
It’s a tie between Donald Trump and President Obama.
https://twitter.com/TheRealRawcus/status/685249201731547136
Image via Rawcus/YouTube
Update 11:57pm CT, Jan. 10: This post was updated to clarify that Rawcus wears a T-shirt and mask that are connected to each other.
