Rawcus rocked the Internet when he released “White People Crazy.” The cleverly curated visual featured a masked Trap rapper celebrating all the crazy things he believes White people do on the daily. YouTube clips of caucasians lathered in self-inflicted ridiculousness were cobbled together in a fashion reminiscent of MTV’s Ridiculousness. It was enough for web commenters to ponder whether Rob Dyrdek is actually the man behind the dangling T-shirt. “Steve” left this comment in DX’s C-section:
“I wonder if it’s true it’s Rob Dyrdek. Sure sounded like him when he was interviewed on TMZ Live yesterday. I also read online it could be Lord Jamar. Who knows? Either way, he shouldn’t hide behind a towel. Own up and take responsibility for your words if you believe in them. I like the song by the way, not playing into this whole stupid debate going on, lol.”
“White People Crazy” broke huge, though. The song was viral within a week, popping up on all kinds of outlets all across the Internet. Rawcus was interviewed by TMZ and Hot 97. EBONY magazine dubbed track “Record Of The Year”… in JANUARY. Reportedly, both YouTube and iTunes pulled the song because of the racial conflict it incited—an unfortunate theme that would coincidentally dominate news cycles for most of 2014. “White People Crazy” was hailed and railed simultaneously. It was the rare the joint to equally offended and amuse all parties—partially because of its contentious critique of White culture, and partially because no one knew who’s lurking behind the cloak.
“I once hit a point and I was like, ‘It’s all about entertaining people. It’s entertainment,’ Rawcus shares in this DX exclusive. “I wanna mention so many artists right now and it’s like… that’s not really them. That’s just the face. They’re not really that person. It’s the entertainment industry, you gotta entertain people. And when everybody wonders who you are, they just can’t scratch that itch! They’re like, ‘I gotta get it,’ but they can’t get it though!”
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One year later and the mystery remains. Rawcus traipsed into #DXHQ for this conversation and we’re still not sure who’s wearing that T-shirt dangling across his face. Although he’s still not ready to reveal, we absolutely tried our best to find out. Peruse through this interview and see if you can answer the question: Who is Rawcus?
“White People Crazy” Controversy
HipHopDX: Take us through your thought process as you were writing the song “White People Crazy.”
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Rawcus: I really didn’t have to think much. It’s just right there in front of you, you know? I’m just like, “Yo, White people crazy!” [Rapping] It’s just inspiration. It’s our generation. What I do is I have a pad that has my best song ideas. I turned on this beat and opened the pad up and I was like, “It’s genius! It’s perfect! White people crazy!” [Rapping] And you know, it just went from there.
DX: Did you get a response from a lot of crazy White people after this song was played?
Rawcus: I did. Did you see the TMZ interview?
DX: I did.
Rawcus: That wasn’t a lie! I got some hate mail! I got some White people saying it was Nazism and then I got the KKK people. And then I had people who remade the song. I won’t say the name of the songs but people were making remakes in the opposite direction.
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DX: What did the KKK say?
Rawcus: It was just hate. I mean stuff that I don’t even wanna say because it’s so hateful I don’t even like that negative energy. There were death threats.
DX: The thing that I thought was so awesome about this song was that if you really listen to it and really listen to the lyrics, it’s like a race-less song.
Rawcus: It’s a thin line. It’s a very thin line. You gotta be careful.
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DX: You have a line that says, “White people crazy since they was baby gravy / I remember being in that womb like let me out I’m going crazy!”
Rawcus: We were all a little crazy when we were locked in there! You know, that don’t mean nothing but I’m glad you paid attention.
DX: That line sounds like it’s a White guy rapping the song.
Rawcus: I don’t know what you talkin’ about. [Laughs]
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DX: The White House reportedly released a statement in regards to the song and if I’m not mistaken it’s because you mentioned “Half Obama he’s crazy.” What was your reaction when the White House reached out to you about your song?
Rawcus: I was like, “Yo, Check the bank account. What’s it at right now because tomorrow we gonna be rich! We in now, we in!” It was scary, we didn’t expect it to go the opposite direction, we didn’t expect it to get flagged. It was such a crazy process! But when you have places like Huffington Post posting about it, with that alone you feel special. Then TMZ! Then you’re like ,”What the hell is going on?” When it hit the White House we was like, “Okay, we in now.”
iTunes even took down my EP, initially. Yeah you didn’t know that did you? They took that shit down so like, for the three days that I was popping I couldn’t make any money.
DX: Really?
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Rawcus: Yeah. I really wanted to point that one out, too.
DX: Why did they take it down?
Rawcus: I have no idea. I had to re-upload. So I probably lost like $10,000. I would of gone Billboard. We would have moved!
DX: So iTunes took it down. YouTube flagged it. Your money’s cut off… so you sort of got too popular, essentially.
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Rawcus: Not popular enough. I got too popular too fast in like a four day period. That all happened in like four days. Think about that: Four days change your life. That overnight sensation, that’s not a lie that happens. Boom! It just hits you.
DX: Did you know what you had in your hands when you made the song and put the video together?
Rawcus: I really wish I could tell more. Because when I’m really allowed to explain it all, it’ll make a lot more sense. I didn’t know what I had in my hands until I showed it to somebody who knows music and I told him it was me and he was like, “This is not you!” Then he’s like, “If you release this you’re gonna get like 50 million views you know that?” I said, “I don’t know what you talkin’ about.” He’s like, “No, you need to release this.” So we released it and four days later… It’s crazy how it happens.
Rawcus Explains Why He Wears A Mask
DX: Was that song made for the mixtape that just came out? Rawcus: Yeah it was.
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DX: Had you completed the mixtape beforehand?
Rawcus: [Turns to manager] Chris, can I explain a management situation? I can’t see your face. Yes or no?
Chris: No!
Rawcus: [Laughs]
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DX: Why the secrecy, though?
Rawcus: Because it’s fun! Ya’ll like, “This is fuckin’ nuts. He funny though but like what the fuck is this guy doing?” I see ya’ll looking at me, laughing all the time like, “This is so stupid,” but it’s beautiful, you know? It’s entertainment! I once hit a point and I was like, “It’s all about entertaining people. It’s entertainment.” I wanna mention so many artists right now and it’s like… that’s not really them. That’s just the face. They’re not really that person. It’s the entertainment industry, you gotta entertain people. And when everybody wonders who you are, they just can’t scratch that itch! They’re like, “I gotta get it,” but they can’t get it though!
DX: There’s an unexpected genius to [“White People Crazy”]. The song isn’t really about crazy White people when I hear it. When I hear that song, if feels like it’s more about crazy reactions to shit.
Rawcus: Controversy helps.
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DX: Am I wrong?
Rawcus: It is, that was all part of it. Let me put it like this: It was very well planned. Putting it together took a little bit of time, just comprehending, trying to get it. I didn’t even tell anybody about it. I did’t tell family. I didn’t tell friends, nobody. Then it happened.
DX: How did Black people respond to that song?
Rawcus: They loved it. Loved it. [Laughs] No hesitation in that answer. Most people loved it. You can’t hear it without laughing.
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DX: I saw a clip of you rocking a show. Do you perform often?
Rawcus: Not yet. I will be.
DX: How many shows have you done at this point? Rawcus: Just that one. [Laughs]
DX: So this is like, in full experimentation mode right now.
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Rawcus: I have a lot of other things happening behind this though that keeps me very busy.
DX: What other stuff do you have going on?
Rawcus: My real stuff, like me under here. Very busy guy, very busy.
DX: It sounds like the song came out, and then it was like, “Aight, let’s do all this other stuff now.” Is that right?
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Rawcus: Yeah. I had the whole tape done though. I had the whole project done. When I do something I do it 200%. So it was done. We just finished the second tape. We released the first one and we were on the second one already. You gotta put 100% into something.
Rawcus Recalls Jeezy’s The Recession
DX: Who are your favorite emcees? Who’s Rawcus listening to?
Rawcus: I guess you could say, Rawcus loves the streets. [Laughs] Everybody from Atlanta pretty much. I’m very influenced by Atlanta.
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DX: Is Rawcus a Gucci Mane fan?
Rawcus: Who don’t have a little bit of hard in ’em that don’t like Gucci? You gotta love Gucci at least somewhat. He’s gonna have at least one song you like. I do download the tapes though, I ain’t gonna lie to you.
DX: Are you from Atlanta?
Rawcus: No.
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DX: Where are you from?
Rawcus: I’m from Chicago.
DX: Are you into Drill music?
Rawcus: Drill music, meh.
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DX: Okay, so Rawcus likes the street music, anything from Atlanta, but is kind of indifferent on Drill?
Rawcus: It’s just the way it was created. Gotta have an influence and a niche market to go for initially.
DX: Alright, so Rawcus likes Atlanta street music. What is Rawcus’ favorite Atlanta street music album?
Rawcus: What was that Jeezy album in 2008?
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DX:The Recession.
Rawcus: Right. That was it. Was that 2010?
DX:The Recession came out when Obama was elected. They played “My President” the whole time in 2008.
Rawcus: Jeezy in general, big influence on both of me.
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DX: What would Rawcus say is the most important album to come out of Atlanta?
Rawcus:T.I. vs. T.I.P. or maybe Outkast’s ATLiens.
DX: I’ve been wanting to talk to you since January.
Rawcus: I would of loved to talk to you. I thought that you hated me when I read that article. I was like, “Man they hate me over there!” You know what you’re doing so. I would have loved to come here and talk to you but the universe sets things into play and how it’s supposed to happen.
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DX: Very true. I tried to write that article from what I believed was the place you were when you wrote that song.
Rawcus: Honestly, I thought you were White when you wrote it. At first I thought you were offended, but now I get it. It was by far the most unique article I had read on it.
DX: Well, the comment section hated me in that piece too! They were offended by what I said! This is your life forever now though, as long as you’re Rawcus. You realize that, right?
Rawcus: I love it. I have no problem with that. We talkin’ movie stuff too. It may evolve into something much further than I initially expected.
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DX: Is there any correlation to Uncle Ruckus from the Boondocks?
Rawcus: I didn’t even know who that was until after this was all created. I really didn’t. Because this name was created off of an acronym not off of a name.
DX: Are you going to tell us what R.A.W.C.U.S. stands for?
Rawcus: I can’t tell you! I told you I would tell ya’ll when everything was done. I can’t tell you or else it’ll give it all away. But you can figure it out.
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DX: How long did it take you to cut the video, or did you make that video yourself?
Rawcus: [Turns to his manager] I need some yes and no’s from you, man. [Laughs] I don’t even know what I’m allowed to say in certain situations. The video came together, let’s just say that.
DX: Alright, so we’ll get away from that one. The “Ain’t Ratchet Enough” video—how long did it take you cut that video, or did you put that video together?
Rawcus: Like three days. Those videos don’t take long to put together.
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DX: What’s the Google search like? Would you just type in “ratchet” on YouTube just find a bunch of ratchet stuff and put the video together?
Rawcus: Yeah.
DX: Did that work for “crazy white people”? If I were to type in, “crazy white people” in YouTube, does it just come up with White people doing a bunch of crazy stuff?
Rawcus: Yeah. You know how it is. You can just turn on Ridiculousness. That’s the world today, that’s just what it is. Everybody crazy!
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DX: I think of the anonymity as something that’s interesting when everyone wants to be a celebrity. In a sense you found a way to be a celebrity without actually putting yourself anywhere.
Rawcus: That’s a good point. It’s not really about that. I could entertain people and never tell ‘em who I am and I’d be happy. But I’m already somebody under here so it doesn’t matter. [Laughs]
How Rawcus Plans To Reveal His True Identity
Download Mixtape | Free Mixtapes Powered by DatPiff.com
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DX: Do you have a timeline for when you want the world to know more about Rawcus?
Rawcus: Yes, that’s really about how it all unfolds because I’m not really trying to use any of my resources to fund this. I don’t wanna use none of my connections. You gotta be careful.
DX: Are you signed somewhere or with a management team?
Rawcus: Not with a label though.
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DX: But with a management company?
Rawcus: That ends pretty soon if they don’t do something.
DX: So even Rawcus gets shelved?
Rawcus: It is what it is. When you deliver something like that and it takes the world by storm, people don’t know how to take it. You know how business is, man. They wanna play something somewhere and if they’re not sure if they can make money from it then they’re scared of it. Let’s say you shop around for something like “White People Crazy,” they think it’s a joke not realizing like, “Oh this dude’s got other music!” It’s a process.
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DX: What do people say to you in the comments sections of your videos?
Rawcus: People get it. People like laughing then they keep following because they think, “He’s funny!” I try and make everything unique, too. Did you see the last two videos?
DX: Absolutely.
Rawcus: The Lego video, I try and mix it up like I don’t want things to be plain. I want it to be something where people think, “Okay, he gonna keep delivering.” When it pops again, I just want everything to go with it because having one video when you pop off and nothing for an audience to attach to—that messes it up. You can’t pop off and not have a project out because then people will just think, “Oh that’s it.”
DX: How many views do you think you would of gotten had YouTube not…
Rawcus: 20 to 50 million views. Do you agree with that number and my assessment?
DX: I mean, you saw our article.
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Rawcus: I truly believe it would have. If that would of hit Europe… then White people would of went crazy. [Laughs]
Rawcus On RiFF RAFF, Wu-Tang Clan, Mike Brown & 9/11
DX: Let’s talk about the Plan-G mixtape. How would you describe it?
Rawcus: So the first mixtape I released was called Plan-G because all the other plans failed. [Laughs] So, Plan-G is basically “Plan-Gangster,” so a lot of the songs are just street bangers, man. I try and make every single song a potential hit. Since we had those interviews with TMZ and was on numerous radio stations, I was on Hot 97 and they made their own videos to it.
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We implemented that so you could experience it if you didn’t know it happened, you know? So it’s like, “Oh shit that happened?” Things like that just add so much validity to the situation. So that’s all in there, and there’s a part two because every plan has different parts, and I really have three parts ready.
DX: What does Rawcus think about RiFF RAFF?
Rawcus: He a cool guy! You know, he’s doing his thing. That’s a sneaky question though. [Laughs]
DX: Do you ever talk to him?
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Rawcus: I don’t know. [Laughs]
DX: Alright what does Rawcus think about Wu-Tang Clan and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony coming out with million dollar albums?
Rawcus: That’s happening?
DX: They’re making one copy of an album and they plan to sell them for over one million dollars.
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Rawcus: First off, that’s a smart publicity stunt. Second, it is that time where the juggernauts come back and take another swing at it and there’s nothing wrong with that. They earned their spot in history and they deserve another chance to make another spot in history. So I hope that they get it and add some more marks in their history stone.
DX: What does Rawcus think about T.I. and Floyd Mayweather fighting in a Fat Burger?
Rawcus: I wouldn’t say that that’s a fight but… I gotta watch my words right now but… if T.I. did catch that hit in there, they need to get in the ring! They need to get in the ring and I need to see that. I would pay to see that! It’s hard to want to pay for something but if I saw that I would pay good money, money I didn’t even have – I’d sell something I loved to see that shit!
DX: What does Rawcus think about skateboarding?
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Rawcus: Skateboarding. [Laughing] I fall right on my ass I ain’t messin’ with no skateboard! You sneaky though! [Laughs]
DX: What does Rawcus think of Jay-Z and Solange fighting in an elevator?
Rawcus: I think that they were having a lovely time. [Laughs] I don’t know what that was about. I wonder what that was about! Does anyone know what they were saying?
DX: There’s only hearsay.
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Rawcus: She was hitting him pretty hard, though. I don’t know what that was. There’s just so much running through my mind. She looked very upset but that’s just Solange, though. [Laughs]
DX: What does Rawcus think about ALS Ice Bucket Challenges?
Rawcus: I think that if every person who actually did it donated the money that they were supposed to, we could stop doing the challenge.
DX: Does Rawcus think that there should be an Ice Bucket Challenge for Mike Brown or Eric Garner?
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Rawcus: Yeah, there really should. There should be something like that. That’s a good idea. You have great questions. You know what you’re doing.
DX: What does Rawcus think about cable television? Does Rawcus have cable?
Rawcus: I’m not paying for that shit! I got the internet! I feel like they’re (cable providers) are pushing the wrong people—the people with no talent, no skills and those people become the richest people. I’m not gonna name any names but just look at these shows… I don’t want to be mean. It’s just, nobody really works for it. They just get a television show because they stupid. Then you make us stupid because we like to watch you be stupid. We stupid people to laugh at you stupid people. That’s stupid, you know? That’s what I think of cable television. Unless they give me a show. [Laughs]
DX: What does Rawcus think about all these different kind of wars happening in the Middle East?
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Rawcus: You wanna get political? Don’t go there, don’t go there. People dying… It’s our government, man. You know, then it’s all going to go back to 9/11 being fake. I watch too much YouTube, too many conspiracy videos.
DX: All the best ones are on YouTube.
Rawcus: All the best everything is on YouTube.
DX: Where was Rawcus when Tupac died?
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Rawcus: I don’t know man, I didn’t even know who Tupac was when Tupac died. I was too young, you know. But I do know where I was when 9/11 happened. Both very serious situations by the way.
DX: Where was Rawcus when 9/11 happened?
Rawcus: I was in school and the teachers, they all wheeled in the TVs. Then they put it on and we sat there, and none of the kids knew what was going on. It was just the teachers looking at the TV and all the kids were like, “What’s going on? Oh look that’s cool!” Like we were children. You don’t know any better. Then school got called out, I remember all of that because we got to get off from school.
DX: How many shirts is Rawcus wearing right now?
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Rawcus: Three shirts!
DX: Is that a T-shirt Rawcus is wearing over his face right now?
Rawcus: It’s a T-shirt, then a long sleeve t-shirt, then a T-shirt.
DX: I thought the part was great in the middle of the video when you break to, “Now, if you’ve got this right here, your friend stole this! Cuz it ain’t on the iTunes version! Alright, back to the song!” That was dope.
Rawcus: People just be stealing music now though with YouTube, everyone just stealing music. No one makes anybody purchase it anymore so no one respects music like they should anymore because they get it for free. It’s just different, you know. You gotta make them respect what they own, and they’re not if it’s free. That’s why nobody respects music anymore like they should.
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DX: You said you’re two people right?
Rawcus: Maybe.
DX: So how many hours of the day does Rawcus spend as Rawcus?
Rawcus: Only the hours when we have interviews. I section off my days. Everything is extremely strict, let’s put it like that. It’s very much like, “Well this needs to be done, and you only got X amount of time to do it.” So, it’s a lot. Imagine being two people.
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DX: Is that harder, or easier than having two wives?
Rawcus: One’s enough! I don’t wanna know what that be like! That’s a lot of work. Women are a lot of work and I don’t have too much time for women.
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