Culture’s race war: 'Blackness is something to consume but not engage with'

Last month, the UK rapper Dave released his latest single, Black. Sparse but affecting, and largely threaded around a few minor piano chords and a drum beat, it saw the south Londoner dissect facets of black identity through lines such as “Black is my Ghanaian brother reading into scriptures / Doing research on his lineage, finding out that he’s Egyptian” and “Black ain’t just a single fucking colour, man, there’s shades to it”. It challenges the flattening and homogenisation of a culture while also celebrating a sense of solidarity. The accompanying video featured figures ranging from scientist Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon to Raheem Sterling, the England footballer frequently savaged by the likes of the Sun.

While the track was playlisted by Radio 1 and its accompanying album topped the UK charts on Friday, not everyone was so keen. A clutch of Twitter users took offence: “If I made a song titled ‘white’ about how good being white is, it would be banned never mind hitting the biggest record,” commented one. Presenters and , who had played the track, defended Dave, with Mac adding on Twitter: “It’s a real issue that a song so intelligent, so thought-provoking, so excellently put together can actually offend you.” Dave himself seemed nonplussed, telling BBC News: “If they take to it then they do, if they don’t [then they don’t].” It was a clear example of an increasingly familiar backlash faced by black artists in the entertainment industry. When a piece of culture is made by a black artist, it is often considered as “too black”, and evaluated in relation to white culture.