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Hip-Hop Mag Rates Rappers’ ‘Jew-Friendliness’

Cam’ron leads with five Stars of David

by
Ari M. Brostoff
November 10, 2009

The online hip-hop magazine XXL has known at least since May that there are Jewish rappers out there; now its editors have taken the almost ADL-ish step of ranking the “Jew-friendliness” of several non-Jewish artists on a scale of one to five Stars of David. Coming in first, with five Magen Davids, is Cam’ron, for creating a sitcom he describes as a “black Curb Your Enthusiasm” and referring to his fans as “yentas” in a music video. Asher Roth trails him with three stars, which he garnered for actually having a Jewish father and a Hebrew name. RZA gets two stars for appearing in Funny People alongside Seth Rogen and Adam Sandle, as does Soulja Boy, for the line “I just got a new deal, and I ain’t talking pickle” (because, says XXL, “pickles and money, what’s more Jewish than that?”). Erykah Badu’s former boyfriend Jay Electronica apparently sometimes goes as Jay ElectHanukkah and Jay ElectYarmulke, for which he receives a measly one star. And Shyne, who was recently deported to Belize, is pronounced “more Jewish than anyone else on this list” for sporting what appear to be tzitis. XXL misidentifies them as a tallis.

Ari M. Brostoff is Culture Editor at Jewish Currents.