"Mansions" by Matt Champion
Blog Post #1
Audio:
https://soundcloud.com/himattchampion/mansions
Lyrics:
https://genius.com/Matt-champion-mansions-lyrics
Matt Champion, a member of the Austin-based boyband BROCKHAMPTON, released "Mansions" as a single in January 2017, although it did not receive much publicity until relatively recently following the release of Harley, his debut solo mixtape. Whereas BROCKHAMPTON is generally perceived as a Hip Hop collective, their self-identification as a "boyband" feels appropriate within the context of this song. It resonates somewhere between an indie guitar ballad and an alternative pop groove. Throughout 2016-17 Champion has consistently produced vulnerable, thought-provoking lyrical content but primarily as a rapper. "Mansions" takes a slower, softer tone than most BROCKHAMPTON tracks which allows Champion to sing with a pop-R&B cadence.
He uses this musical device to vulnerably and melodically discuss his observation of Whiteness.
He seemingly addresses both white America and a specific white friend of his throughout the song. This can be noted in lines like "TV screen in your living room," "driving to your mansion," and "I'm glad you're not at home." In addition, each pre-chorus ends with the lines "I'm too dirty for the sidewalk, you're too clean for the South." This is more than likely referencing an individual known by Champions whereas the other lines are potentially more generalizable and ambiguous.
The first verse cogently presents an observation of a stereotypical suburban romanticization, referencing television consumption, playing loud music, and dreams of celebrity lifestyle. This depiction of suburbia is likely more relatable to younger audiences (I suppose the whole song is) although these phenomena have been heavily represented in popular American cinema for decades (e.g. Ferris Bueller's Day Off).
The following pre-chorus expresses hyperbole in "driving to your mansion," suggesting that houses in suburbia feel like mansions, which would make sense considering The Woodlands in Texas, where Champion grew up, is known for its notably large infrastructure (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woodlands,_Texas). Champions also separates himself from this white culture when he states "I'm too dirty for the sidewalk, you're too clean for the South." This symbolism of dirty and clean insinuates Champions does not feel part of the Whiteness; he, in his self-proclaimed dirtiness, is circumstantially discolored--differentiated. This metaphor is the first blatant reference to the issue of race.
The chorus exclaims, "these people are the same, these houses are the same," bringing his point home. He plays on the generic nuclear family, white and suburban, living the same ignorant lives, living in the same "mansions." He notes that as an outsider he is able to view the invisibility of Whiteness. Champion would also seem to have a friend within the white culture who brings him comfort in their observation and speculation of Whiteness. See "I'm glad I'm not alone, I'm glad you're not at home," that home being the aforementioned mansion.
In the second verse, Champion illustrates his perspective on a white upbringing and how people evolve with it. He maintains his "boujee" depiction of whiteness and his out-group identification.
Whereas the song's display of personal sentimentality is touching, it touches on a touchier topic: Whiteness and its inherent camouflage. In Robin DiAngelo's article White Fragility she describes Whiteness as an "...insulated environment of racial protection." She argues that this causes a delicate illusion of racial comfort that, when prodded, will fall apart resulting in white fragility. She also notes that white people often experience an "intense racial belonging" due to the majority of other people they interact with sharing their culture. This racial belonging is vastly generalized but still largely unnoticed by many of its benefactors. This depiction of Whiteness mirrors Champion's. DiAngelo also speaks on "psychic freedom," which greatly contributes to the invisibility of white culture and its counterposition to other cultures and races. Psychic freedom is experienced by whites in society while they are unconcerned about their race--race being a relevant topic only when people of color are present. If white people exist and interact as if they have no race they become blind to the racial divide; race feels ordinarily irrelevant. Champion is describing his observation and interaction with this phenomenon first hard. Although he has a very unique vantage point that has potential to complicate DiAngelo's argument. Matt Champion is the sole white rapper within BROCKHAMPTON and as a result spends significantly less of his time with white peers and/or interacting with white culture. That is not to say he is any less privileged or more aware, it just means it is easier for him to observe Whiteness from the outside. He doesn't agree with it; he doesn't want to be part of it; yet he feels lonely outside it. Granted, he always has the choice to fully engage but it does not align with his identity. He expresses that he does not want to contribute to this uniform social structure. So DiAngelo, what do you make of Matt Champion lacking racial belonging? If he can exist outside the culture is he granted the same psychic freedom? Is it even possible for him not to inherently contribute to Whiteness given his skin tone? Is the person he speaks to/about throughout the song really another person breaking the cycle or just a social comfort? Is he outro/introspective or just lonely? The song generally doesn't offer enough information to answer such questions well. However, it does potentially offer a confounding variable that is difficult to account for. Otherwise, one could argue Champion is generally ignorant and doesn't actually oppose white America; this thought is scarier because if the white majority is philosophically unable to oppose white America how will it ever progress? Perhaps the crucial question would be "can whites adequately deconstruct Whiteness, considering their life perspective, and if so, can the pitfalls of Whiteness (e.g. white fragility, white silence, white privilege, etc) be addressed by a white populous?" If we decide the answer is yes, Matt Champion's perspective may be quite helpful for many people stuck in the construct. If we decide the answer is no, is it not worth white people trying and how should whites approach socio-emotional issue's like Champion's? Regardless, Champion's expression of self is helpful in approaching these issues, that is assuming investigating concepts like these are not effectively arbitrary.
As a counterargument and a further complication we must ask if suburbia necessarily reflects Whiteness. Suburban population demographics quantitatively say yes; The Woodlands is 88.4% white and The Woodland High, where Champion attended high school, is 65.4% white (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woodlands_High_School)(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woodlands,_Texas). However, Lori Hutcherson notes, in her HuffPost article "What I Told My White Friend When He Asked For My Black Opinion on White Privilege," that her family lived in suburbia; they conformed to the norms of suburban living yet they contributed zero to the inherent Whiteness. In fact, they were discriminated against: neighborhood kids threw rocks into their backyard and pool but no one else's. This was one of many examples Hutcherson provides demonstrating white privilege and also Whiteness resulting in people not identifying racial issues, subtle or not. Her suburban upbringing and Harvard education was not at all reflective of Whiteness--in fact, Whiteness was made more apparent an issue to her, being a woman of color, rather than fading into the background. So perhaps drawing strong correlations between the suburbs and Whiteness is unfair. If this is the case, the song may not fully acknowledge the corollary racial issues but the cultural conflict is undeniably thought-provoking and, in this case, racially insightful.
Audio:
https://soundcloud.com/himattchampion/mansions
Lyrics:
https://genius.com/Matt-champion-mansions-lyrics
Matt Champion, a member of the Austin-based boyband BROCKHAMPTON, released "Mansions" as a single in January 2017, although it did not receive much publicity until relatively recently following the release of Harley, his debut solo mixtape. Whereas BROCKHAMPTON is generally perceived as a Hip Hop collective, their self-identification as a "boyband" feels appropriate within the context of this song. It resonates somewhere between an indie guitar ballad and an alternative pop groove. Throughout 2016-17 Champion has consistently produced vulnerable, thought-provoking lyrical content but primarily as a rapper. "Mansions" takes a slower, softer tone than most BROCKHAMPTON tracks which allows Champion to sing with a pop-R&B cadence.
He uses this musical device to vulnerably and melodically discuss his observation of Whiteness.
He seemingly addresses both white America and a specific white friend of his throughout the song. This can be noted in lines like "TV screen in your living room," "driving to your mansion," and "I'm glad you're not at home." In addition, each pre-chorus ends with the lines "I'm too dirty for the sidewalk, you're too clean for the South." This is more than likely referencing an individual known by Champions whereas the other lines are potentially more generalizable and ambiguous.
The first verse cogently presents an observation of a stereotypical suburban romanticization, referencing television consumption, playing loud music, and dreams of celebrity lifestyle. This depiction of suburbia is likely more relatable to younger audiences (I suppose the whole song is) although these phenomena have been heavily represented in popular American cinema for decades (e.g. Ferris Bueller's Day Off).
The following pre-chorus expresses hyperbole in "driving to your mansion," suggesting that houses in suburbia feel like mansions, which would make sense considering The Woodlands in Texas, where Champion grew up, is known for its notably large infrastructure (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woodlands,_Texas). Champions also separates himself from this white culture when he states "I'm too dirty for the sidewalk, you're too clean for the South." This symbolism of dirty and clean insinuates Champions does not feel part of the Whiteness; he, in his self-proclaimed dirtiness, is circumstantially discolored--differentiated. This metaphor is the first blatant reference to the issue of race.
The chorus exclaims, "these people are the same, these houses are the same," bringing his point home. He plays on the generic nuclear family, white and suburban, living the same ignorant lives, living in the same "mansions." He notes that as an outsider he is able to view the invisibility of Whiteness. Champion would also seem to have a friend within the white culture who brings him comfort in their observation and speculation of Whiteness. See "I'm glad I'm not alone, I'm glad you're not at home," that home being the aforementioned mansion.
In the second verse, Champion illustrates his perspective on a white upbringing and how people evolve with it. He maintains his "boujee" depiction of whiteness and his out-group identification.
Whereas the song's display of personal sentimentality is touching, it touches on a touchier topic: Whiteness and its inherent camouflage. In Robin DiAngelo's article White Fragility she describes Whiteness as an "...insulated environment of racial protection." She argues that this causes a delicate illusion of racial comfort that, when prodded, will fall apart resulting in white fragility. She also notes that white people often experience an "intense racial belonging" due to the majority of other people they interact with sharing their culture. This racial belonging is vastly generalized but still largely unnoticed by many of its benefactors. This depiction of Whiteness mirrors Champion's. DiAngelo also speaks on "psychic freedom," which greatly contributes to the invisibility of white culture and its counterposition to other cultures and races. Psychic freedom is experienced by whites in society while they are unconcerned about their race--race being a relevant topic only when people of color are present. If white people exist and interact as if they have no race they become blind to the racial divide; race feels ordinarily irrelevant. Champion is describing his observation and interaction with this phenomenon first hard. Although he has a very unique vantage point that has potential to complicate DiAngelo's argument. Matt Champion is the sole white rapper within BROCKHAMPTON and as a result spends significantly less of his time with white peers and/or interacting with white culture. That is not to say he is any less privileged or more aware, it just means it is easier for him to observe Whiteness from the outside. He doesn't agree with it; he doesn't want to be part of it; yet he feels lonely outside it. Granted, he always has the choice to fully engage but it does not align with his identity. He expresses that he does not want to contribute to this uniform social structure. So DiAngelo, what do you make of Matt Champion lacking racial belonging? If he can exist outside the culture is he granted the same psychic freedom? Is it even possible for him not to inherently contribute to Whiteness given his skin tone? Is the person he speaks to/about throughout the song really another person breaking the cycle or just a social comfort? Is he outro/introspective or just lonely? The song generally doesn't offer enough information to answer such questions well. However, it does potentially offer a confounding variable that is difficult to account for. Otherwise, one could argue Champion is generally ignorant and doesn't actually oppose white America; this thought is scarier because if the white majority is philosophically unable to oppose white America how will it ever progress? Perhaps the crucial question would be "can whites adequately deconstruct Whiteness, considering their life perspective, and if so, can the pitfalls of Whiteness (e.g. white fragility, white silence, white privilege, etc) be addressed by a white populous?" If we decide the answer is yes, Matt Champion's perspective may be quite helpful for many people stuck in the construct. If we decide the answer is no, is it not worth white people trying and how should whites approach socio-emotional issue's like Champion's? Regardless, Champion's expression of self is helpful in approaching these issues, that is assuming investigating concepts like these are not effectively arbitrary.
As a counterargument and a further complication we must ask if suburbia necessarily reflects Whiteness. Suburban population demographics quantitatively say yes; The Woodlands is 88.4% white and The Woodland High, where Champion attended high school, is 65.4% white (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woodlands_High_School)(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woodlands,_Texas). However, Lori Hutcherson notes, in her HuffPost article "What I Told My White Friend When He Asked For My Black Opinion on White Privilege," that her family lived in suburbia; they conformed to the norms of suburban living yet they contributed zero to the inherent Whiteness. In fact, they were discriminated against: neighborhood kids threw rocks into their backyard and pool but no one else's. This was one of many examples Hutcherson provides demonstrating white privilege and also Whiteness resulting in people not identifying racial issues, subtle or not. Her suburban upbringing and Harvard education was not at all reflective of Whiteness--in fact, Whiteness was made more apparent an issue to her, being a woman of color, rather than fading into the background. So perhaps drawing strong correlations between the suburbs and Whiteness is unfair. If this is the case, the song may not fully acknowledge the corollary racial issues but the cultural conflict is undeniably thought-provoking and, in this case, racially insightful.
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