Stereotyping the Hip Hop Gamer

Two years ago I was introduced to The Hip Hop Gamer show. I saw videos of Hip Hop Gamer talking about himself, as well videos of him playing basketball and exploring a local Gamestop. I gravitated towards his charming personality and the fact that he was an African American with a voice in the gaming industry. I thought to myself if he could do it, why cant I? A month later I was blogging about videogames and the rest is history.

I had the opportunity of meeting Hip Hop Gamer at a Playstation Move Event in Boston and we chopped it up. We talked about videogames and even filmed a few moments together as we tried out the Playstation Move. I was already a fan, but now I know how cool the guy is in person. Then the problem showed up.

I had a front page story on Bitmob back in August about the racism in Mafia II. I spoke up about it after I realized nobody else was saying anything. I figured it was mostly due to both politics, and the racial majority in the gaming industry not being offended by the content. I decided to ask Hip Hop Gamer, a minority in the gaming industry, what he thinks about the situation via Twitter. A day or two goes by with no response. I figured he's a popular guy and didn't see my question. No harm no foul. I then discovered the song "Mafia Music" by Hip Hop Gamer in support of Mafia II. I guess I got his response.

I'm not saying he should agree with my view, but I was interested to know why he supported a game that refers to African Americans as "Moolies." I went back to Twitter and asked him about the song. I grew frustrated after not hearing anything back from the guy and said something along the lines that only a b*tch wouldn't respond to my question. You can see the response I got from the Hip Hop Gamer on the picture to the left.  I get that I might have been out of line by calling him a b*tch, but why respond to that and not the actual issue? It was clear he wasn't going to answer my question, so I just decided to drop the whole situation.

Fast forward to a month later. I began to get excited about Pax East 2011 and logged on Twitter to express my thoughts. I said I wanted to do things differently than I did this year. In 2010 I had the opportunity of meeting a few personalities in the gaming industry at Pax East which was cool, but next year I want interviews with these people. I mentioned the Hip Hop Gamer's name in the tweet, and he replies. "You talk sh*t now you want an interview. Step Ya Game Up, and I'll think about it." I took that as an insult to the almost 2 years of writing I've done as a blogger. I might not have the fans, but I'm working hard at my craft. I decided to challenged him to a Freestyle Rap Battle since he's too hot for an interview.

Hip Hop Gamer is a man of many talents. He's a rapper with many songs on Youtube. One song he has is "60 Seconds." The line "If you want to battle. let's battle you can't get rid of me" stuck out to me like a sore thumb. I decided to see if this so called rapper practices what he preaches. I told him I'll put up $500 dollars if he does the same for a battle at Pax East 2011. Once again he get's quiet on Twitter again. I begin to poke jokes at Hip Hop Gamer as a way of showing that I'm serious. I guess he decided he was too important, and blocked me on Twitter.

I recorded a song titled "Psycho Sid" to get Hip Hop Gamers attention. One could call it a diss, but I call it a challenge. "$500 says I'll Beat You in a Battle" is repeated at the end of the song to make sure my intentions were clear. I'm sure he's heard the song by now, but I'm still waiting on his response. Remaining silent says a lot about his character. It says he's a fake rapper that's scared to battle some kid from Boston. My challenge is all in the name of friendly competition, and he has the opportunity of making $500 dollars if he wins. Maybe he can't rap at all, and knows he'll lose $500 dollars if he battles me. The offer is still on the table, and I'm still waiting for his response.

What does the Hip Hop Gamer's presence in the gaming industry say about the industries view of African Americans? It says that you have to fit the image of what the gaming industry thinks an African American should be. You have to be "Hip Hop" which I guess means wearing durags, bad writing, and an attitude that you're better than other African Americans. What kind of example does that set for the younger generation that looks up to you? I want to be the next Hip Hop Gamer so I'll just focus on being a likable stereotype at gaming conventions, as opposed to working on my craft to be the best journalist. If that's what the gaming industry wants then I signed up for the wrong sport.