Vanessa Carlton Defends "A Thousand Miles" Sample on Rap Song "Who I Smoke"
Spinabenz, Whoppa Wit Da Choppa, Yungeen Ace and FastMoney Goon were criticized for the “violence” in their track.
“A Thousand Miles” singer Vanessa Carlton took to social media to defend Spinabenz, Whoppa Wit Da Choppa, Yungeen Ace and FastMoney Goon after they were criticized for sampling her song on a their collab entitled “Who I Smoke.”
The artist shared a strong message on social media to support the rappers and the use of her song, writing, “To the white folks that have expressed anger/shock over my approval of A Thousand Miles’ usage in the Spinabenz, Whoppa Wit Da Choppa, Yungeen Ace, & FastMoney Goon song Who I Smoke, I invite you to ask yourself why you feel this way & then read this,” and adding a link to an article from the McNair Scholars Research Journal called “Share Cropping Blackness: White Supremacy and the Hyper-Consumption of Black Popular Culture.”
Carlton further explained, “Popular songs accompanied by white violence or tales of white violence aren’t questioned. It’s considered visceral or cinematic,” attaching a clip from Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs that showed Mr. Blonde cutting off Marvin Nash’s ear with a straight razor. “Here we have Stuck in the Middle of you playing while a guy gets his ear cut off. Reservoir Dogs.”
Fans of the original Carlton song reportedly attacked “Who I Smoke” for creating such a “violent” track out of a seemingly romantic and innocent pop song. The actual cut clocks in at two-and-a-half minutes, and the accompanying music video sees the four artists enjoying a game of golf while rapping about how they’re willing to step up to the threats from their competitors.
Take a look at Vanessa Carlton’s tweets below and take a look at the “Who I Smoke” visual above.
To the white folks that have expressed anger/shock over my approval of A Thousand Miles’ usage in the Spinabenz, Whoppa Wit Da Choppa, Yungeen Ace, & FastMoney Goon song Who I Smoke, I invite you to ask yourself why you feel this way & then read this: https://t.co/CSP2a5XByJ
— 𝕍 𝕒 𝕟 𝕖 𝕤 𝕤 𝕒 ℂ 𝕒 𝕣 𝕝 𝕥 𝕠 𝕟 (@VanessaCarlton) May 23, 2021
Popular songs accompanied by white violence or tales of white violence aren’t questioned. It’s considered visceral or cinematic. Here we have Stuck in the Middle of you playing while a guy gets his ear cut off. Reservoir Dogs pic.twitter.com/2qv3M2xLN6
— 𝕍 𝕒 𝕟 𝕖 𝕤 𝕤 𝕒 ℂ 𝕒 𝕣 𝕝 𝕥 𝕠 𝕟 (@VanessaCarlton) May 24, 2021
Elsewhere in music, The Game hinted that new Kendrick Lamar is coming “real soon.”
