Sydney Morning Herald: October 26, 2006 - 10:17AM
The gangsta rapper Ras Kass has defended a line in his recently released track Gayme Over, which used the death of the Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin as ammunition against a fellow rapper, The Game.
"Every person should be treated with an equal brushstroke, or no one should, and everything must be considered in context," said Kass in his self-described "open letter to [The] Sydney Morning Herald".
The line from the song that refers to Irwin's death reads: "You're the waste of LA/get blast up in LA/face down, arse up in LA/you the Crocodile Hunter, I am the stingray."
The track, an attack on the rapper The Game, was made as part of a recent feud between the two rappers, which is said to have stemmed from a recent nightclub altercation.
Kass said using historical and current events as metaphors is part of the nature of rap music.
"I am a hip-hop artist. Hip-hop is like any other art form; nothing is sacred, nothing is off limits ... At other times, I myself, have been referenced - be it in a positive or negative light. That is part of the creative process and the nature of what rap music is. I in no way have, or have had, any ill will towards the late Steve Irwin," he said.
In response to the Herald's previous story exposing Kass's lyrics, Steve Irwin's manager, John Stainton, hit out at the rapper.
"I just find it a bit sad that people have to stoop to that," Mr Stainton said.
"It is disappointing. I can't understand the point of it. There are other references they can make that will put the point across.
"I just think it is a pity that people do have to use Steve or anyone who has died in tragic circumstances ... as a form of entertainment."
Kass responded to Mr Stainton in his letter, urging him to view the track as a whole, rather than focusing on one specific line.
"What strikes me as hypocritical is that in a six-minute song that literally starts out with gunshots the only thing that stood out in Mr Stainton's mind was a one-bar reference to a current event," he said.
"Mr Stainton doesn't seem to be the least bit concerned with other references that one could misconstrue as homophobic or misogynistic, let alone is he concerned with the potential violence in hip-hop or black-on-black violence. He only seems to be bothered by one line. I am just saying that consistency would be nice.
"If you aren't from the hip-hop culture and are not familiar with it then you are not qualified to judge it. Whether American or Australian, every human life is valuable; otherwise it makes it appear that Mr Stainton thinks that only one man's is."
Topic: Steve Irwin rap lyrics (Read 5152 times)