Written By: Kemi Ebun—When I first moved to the United States, I was part of a small community of children of Nigerian-American immigrants living in an urban jungle (read: ghetto) who, like me, were proudly Nigerian (only when it was considered cool to be from the “motherland”) but sought to assimilate into what we understood to be American culture; from our vantage point—a poor rough and tumble neighborhood—youth culture was defined by urban pop culture: hip-hop. Biggie Smalls and 2Pac reigned as kings and Lauryn Hill was our supreme queen. My traditional Nigerian mother wanted no part of hip-hop, but that did not stop me from being first to buy my bootleg CDs with the pocket change I could spare. One CD, Jay-Z’s The Blueprint, released in 2001, I will never forget. The album, which has been hailed as “ground-breaking” was just that to me, but for reasons entirely disconnected from the artistry of the album. For me, I can remember as clear as day when I was gathered with some friends listening to the album. When the track, Girls, Girls, Girls started playing, I remember shrieking to my friends, “He said ‘Miss Fufu!’” To which they responded, “That’s you, Miss Fufu!” That much I knew, but what exactly was Jay-Z saying about “African Chicks?” Find out in Excuse Me Jay-Z, I Don't Apologize For Liking Fufu.
(Photo Credits: FritzPhoto / iStockPhoto) (Model Used Solely For Illustrative Purposes)
