Thanks to Kendrick Lamar and Drake, rap beefs are taking center stage. Beef comes from the same place in our culture—the dozens – but the history is so contentious even Black historians have battled about it.
Some say the dozens came about during enslavement when “defective” enslaved people were sold off by the dozen. Or as a means to help Black people survive the harsh realities of white terrorism and oppression. Others claim the dozens is a form of game that originated in Africa, where boys used it to reinforce the culture and address anxieties of growing up. But one thing is certain.
The trend spread in the rural Mississippi Delta and continued through the decades. The first time the dozens appeared in music was in 1921, when a Black vaudeville musician sang about not being “slipped in the dozens.” As Black music expanded, so did the way we battled each other on wax.
Rap beefs combined all the Blackest aspects of the dozens: rhyming wordplay, music, insults, public audiences, and emotional control. And it did something else for the culture, too.
It reminds us of our creativity, quick wit, and ability to survive in the worst circumstances with a flair that makes the world want to copy us. After all, our culture is so big, people fall in love with it and get stuck.