Lil Dicky's Music Video "Freaky Friday" Shamelessly Promotes Racial Stereotypes

Lil Dicky's Music Video "Freaky Friday" Shamelessly Promotes Racial Stereotypes

The video for Rapper Lil Dicky's new single, "Freaky Friday," has caused a bit of controversy because of the clip's reliance on numerous racist tropes. 

To start the video off, it indulges in a racist conceit: Lil Dicky, holding a menu at a table with two other white guys, asks an apparently clueless Asian waiter what he should order.  “So I’m pretty torn between the General Tsao’s chicken and the chicken lo mein,” Lil Dicky says to the waiter. “What is your preference between the two?” The man warmly smiles, then simply says “yes” — clearly not understanding the rapper’s question.  This stereotype of Asian Americans infers that Asians  don't understand the English language and don't care enough to learn it.  Lil Dicky then gets stopped by a fan that prompts the rest of the music video’s “Freaky Friday” plot, and gets the song going. Lil Dicky turns to the TV on the restaurant wall, sees a shot of Chris Brown and exclaims how he’s not as cool as other hip-hop artists — how he doesn’t have the dance skills or “the sickest tattoos.” When he remarks that he wishes he could be someone else, the Asian waiter — who couldn’t understand the rapper’s English just a minute before — appears in the background as though he’s listening to Lil Dicky and understanding what he is saying. The waiter then turns to the TV and puts his arms in the air as if he is casting a "spell" on Lil Dicky and Chris Brown -- making it seem as if he is magic.

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At this point, it’s clear that the video is trying to address racial stereotypes on purpose. But one of the video’s problem is that it also talks about race in terms of black and white. At times, it’s also unclear whether the video is throwing shade at black stereotypes or reinforcing them.  This all starts with Lil Dicky waking up in Chris Brown’s bed full of women in underwear and eventually sings, “I got all these hoes in my DM. Hold up — holy shit, I got a kid.” He also questions whether he’s allowed to say the “N-word” but then ecstatically does so around town. This is showing the audience that black people are allowed to use the "N-word," and that white people (Lil Dicky) are not. 

When Chris Brown wakes up in Lil Dicky’s body, he celebrates white privileges. “Ain’t nobody judging cause I’m black or my controversial past — I’mma go see a movie and relax,” he says. It’s clear that Lil Dicky is trying to portray himself as someone who can talk about race — but in the “Freak Friday” video, that means only if you’re black.

With the racial stereotype of Asians in "Freaky Friday" it promotes that Asians are not white, they’re not black — they’re just the magical, spiritually enlightened and unable to speak English and have no need to learn it.  With the Black stereotypes it is making it out to be that Black people -- especially rappers -- are cooler and have more fame, and that white rappers are unnoticed and don't have the luxuries that famous black rappers have.  This music video and its racial stereotypes are not cute and not funny — it’s just racist.

Freaky Friday Music Video

Lil Dicky’s new single, “Freaky Friday,” has more than 4.5 million views on YouTube as of Friday, March 16, 2018. Lil Dicky/YouTube





Works Cited 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZla1ttZHaw
http://glittermagrocks.com/connect/2018/03/21/lil-dickys-new-music-video-has-some-fans-upset/