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)
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5 comments:
Hi.
I can identify with you, because weirdly enough, my nickname is Fufu...and not because I like the food (I actually don't), but because my name is Ewurafua...and I got the nickname from my dad.
When Jay Z made that "Fufu" statement in his song, he wasn't talking about the food.
If you ever get a chance, you need to see Eddie Murphy's comedy show - RAW!
He initially made that Fufu joke...and the woman he referred to was called Mfufu.
Jay Z just played on the words Eddie used, hence the Eddie Murphy on the skull reference.
Great article!
Ok so this is really intesting because for years I thought that was a Jay-Z reference, and it turns out that it's really a reference to an Eddie Murphy joke. So the thing is, I might get flack for this but it needs to be said, no one was left unscathed in Jay Z's song. He went off on every kind of girl. I'm not a fan of his, and not because of this song along, but generally he just seems to put women down with the exception of his "high yellow broad" (his words, not mine). He's definitely toned it down more recently, but I have long since been over him.
Miss Femi, I can see how something like a statement like Jay-Z's even when it is in a song can affect you as a teenager, but as a grown woman, I cannot believe it took you until yet another summit to get over all of that foolishness. My dear, we cannot be defined by others.
This is a great issue, I have enjoyed all the articles. Keep it up Mimi.
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