Chet Hanks, whose rap name is ‘Chet Haze’, was blasted by fans on Instagram for using the N-word in a recent posting about his latest track Juice.
The 24-year–old defended his use of the word, claiming that it should not have negative connotations related to race issues but instead signifies his identification with hip hop culture.
The young man, who is Caucasian, posted a video to explain his position on his remarks as well as a lengthy online screed.
Chet not only attempted to defend his appropriation of the word, via a revisionist argument, but also claimed it was his constitutional right.
In a recent Instagram post promoting his song juice – which also contains the N-word – Chet tagged a collaborator and called him ‘my n****’.
The use of the word compelled one onlline fan to write: ‘KEEP. THE. WORD. OUT. OF. YOUR MOUTH.’
While another commenter said: ‘You are so very racist, @Chethanx. You should really reconsider what you’re doing here. I have no doubt your parents find your racism adorable but the rest of the world does not. GROW UP.’
The young rapper responded by writing online: ‘If I say “f**k yall hatin a** n***az” it’s because that’s really how I felt at the time. And I don’t accept society getting to decide what ANYBODY can or can’t say. That’s something we call FREE SPEECH.’
‘Now I understand the older generation who grew up in the Jim Crowe era might have strong feelings against this. And that’s understandable… But what I’m saying is this is 2015.’
‘We have also reached a point where the word can no longer have a negative connotation,’ he went on to claim, ‘if we so choose. And who is to say only black people can use it?’
‘The way I see it, it’s a word that unifies the culture of HIP-HOP across ALL RACES, which is actually kind of a beautiful thing. It’s a word that can be used out of camaraderie and love, not just exclusively for black people.’
Chet recently engaged in a fierce social media feud against Howard Stern after being mocked by the shock jock.
Howard during an interview on March 24 with his Sirius Satellite Radio counterpart Rude Jude talked about Chet’s rapping career.
‘It irritates the s*** out of me to see someone take that culture and appropriate it. It’s like, come on, bro, you’re not from that. You learned how to talk from a video, dawg,’ Jude said.
‘I understand your point about Chet Haze. He’s stealing your black culture,’ joked Stern as Jude is white but grew up in a mostly black neighbourhood.The aspiring rapper, however, shot back by calling Stern’s remarks as ‘boring yuppie humor’.
Chet in November 2014 revealed via Instagram that was sober after going to rehab for drug and alcohol addiction.He is one of four children of Hollywood legend Tom Hanks, who also is father to 19-year-old son Truman with wife Rita Wilson.
Tom also is father to 37-year-old son Colin Hanks and 32-year-old Elizabeth Hanks from his former marriage to Samantha Lewes.
RIP his rap career
