‘Cause baby girl got all the right weaponry
Mos Def on Ms. Fat Booty
Designer fabric, shoes, and accessories
Chinky eyes, sweet voice is f- with me mentally
How many people see the lyrics above and have a positive emotional connection with those words. If you’re like me, you can hear Mos Def singing the words.
It’s curious how the term “chinky” has been unabashedly used within hip-hop vocabulary without any hint of racist connotations. It always seemed to be the perfect descriptor. We just accepted it. Heck, I used to refer to myself as “the chinky-eyed Peter Parker” but that’s a story for another day.
Ticallion stallion, chinky–eye and snot-nosed
Method Man on Shadowboxin’
Again another classic line which we all know by heart. There are hundreds of songs across hip-hop, both old and new where “chinky” is used and it’s typically used with “eyed” or “eyes.” It’s as if the term has faded into the background despite the fact that we all remember the first time we’ve been called a “chink” whether we are of Chinese descent or not.
With the 50th anniversary of hip-hop here, let’s not fade into the background. It’s important that we celebrate and recognize the Asians who have influenced and contributed to hip-hop.
