Peter Rosenberg

Ebro & Peter Rosenberg Debate 2Pac & Snoop’s “2 Of Americaz Most Wanted”

by

Hot 97’s Ebro In The Morning co-hosts Ebro, Laura Stylez, and Peter Rosenberg are working on a collaborative list of the top 50 Songs in hip-hop history by selecting 10 songs every Thursday until August 10th. Listeners will have the final say to narrow down the selections by voting on the Hot 97 app and website. Debating selections during a recent episode, Ebro picked Tupac’s 1996 hit single “2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted” featuring Snoop Dogg. Rosenberg adamantly disagreed with he nomination and the two went back and forth over the merits of the song.

“Never thought I’d see you throw away a pick like this,” said Rosenberg. From there, Ebro remarked: “The Tupac disrespect this week is gotta stop. It’s two days in a row. This record comes on today. It plays all the way through. It was huge when it happened. Tupac and Snoop. And Snoop was on trial at the time and he was in the courtroom. You even remember the visuals all these years later.”

Ebro, Laura Stylez, & Peter Rosenberg

NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 14: (L-R) Radio personalities Ebro, Laura Stylez, and Peter Rosenberg attend ‘Up Close And Personal With Rita Ora’ at SOB’s on September 14, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/Getty Images)

“2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted” released in promotion of 2Pac’s fourth studio album, All Eyez on Me. It incorporates an interpolation of Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five’s song “The Message.” It was also the last song performed at the House of Blues concert on July 4, 1996, which was the rapper’s last recorded performance before his death.

As for the other 2Pac disrespect Ebro mentioned, Rosenberg argued that the rapper was placed too high on Billboard and Vibe’s top 50 rappers list at number 4. Ebro was clearly offended by the opinion at the time. “What are you talking about bro?,” Ebro responded. “Bro wrote ‘Dear Mama’ and ‘Keep Ya Head Up’ and ‘Brenda’s Got A Baby,’ like full stories. One song is one story. It didn’t deviate from the topic at all, which is something that many of the greats have never been able to do in one song. They deviate for a punch line or they don’t stay on topic for the sake of swag or whatever they are trying to do. ‘Pac would do a whole song on one topic.”

The Debate

[Via]

Ebro Darden Apologizes For Calling Tinashe’s Name ‘Ghetto’ During Their Interview

by

R&B singer Tinashe and New York radio personality Ebro Darden are trending on Twitter after a video of their 2013 interview on his Hot 97 morning show resurfaced in which he teases her about her name. After Ebro asked Tinashe’s last name (it’s Kachingwe, by the way) and his co-host, Peter Rosenberg, supplied the answer, Ebro tried to joke about Tinashe’s “unusual” name — which comes from the Zimbabwean Shona language and means “We have God (or God is with us)” — somehow mashing together reckless colorism with an ignorant, classist statement.

“Can we point out how light-skinned she is with a ghetto-ass name?” Ebro wonders. Rosenberg checks him, telling him, “It’s not a ghetto name, it’s an African name.” Although he incorrectly states that it’s a Nigerian name, Tinashe clarifies that it’s Zimbabwean and gives them the definition. Ebro tries to explain himself, saying, “Sometimes these ghetto names are actually African.” Meanwhile, Tinashe merely smiles at Ebro in the clip on Twitter, which cuts off before her response. In the full interview, which is still on YouTube, she addresses the light skin comment, explaining that her father is from Zimbabwe, while her mom is white.

In posting the video, the user who resurfaced the clip pointed out the singer’s composure in the awkward moment but let’s be honest: She’s probably used to it. People say all kinds of wild things to kids who don’t just have generic or Biblical names and the question “what are you mixed with” gets lobbed at fairer-skinned Black people all the time. In fact, Tinashe herself imperfectly explained colorism during the run-up to her third studio album, Joyride, pointing out how her complexion often causes confusion from other people. Twitter, being Twitter, dragged her for the comment, but it looks like today, the tables have turned.

Users excoriated Ebro for his comments (it’s unclear whether they recognized how old the video is), while pointing out the obvious irony in them, given Ebro himself is a light-skinned Black man with African roots and an unusual name. For his part, he apologized for comments, saying, “Yea this was a terrible joke, we were using the name skit for people to learn her origins… love Tinashe that’s my homey still.” Obviously, he’s (mostly) grown from this era of confrontational journalism, although he also made Saweetie cry by dissing her freestyle a few years later. Hopefully, he’ll continue to learn and grow, as we all should, and find a way to balance his jokes with consideration, thoughtfulness, and empathy. You can watch the full interview above.

Ebro Darden Apologizes For Calling Tinashe’s Name ‘Ghetto’ During Their Interview

by

R&B singer Tinashe and New York radio personality Ebro Darden are trending on Twitter after a video of their 2013 interview on his Hot 97 morning show resurfaced in which he teases her about her name. After Ebro asked Tinashe’s last name (it’s Kachingwe, by the way) and his co-host, Peter Rosenberg, supplied the answer, Ebro tried to joke about Tinashe’s “unusual” name — which comes from the Zimbabwean Shona language and means “We have God (or God is with us)” — somehow mashing together reckless colorism with an ignorant, classist statement.

“Can we point out how light-skinned she is with a ghetto-ass name?” Ebro wonders. Rosenberg checks him, telling him, “It’s not a ghetto name, it’s an African name.” Although he incorrectly states that it’s a Nigerian name, Tinashe clarifies that it’s Zimbabwean and gives them the definition. Ebro tries to explain himself, saying, “Sometimes these ghetto names are actually African.” Meanwhile, Tinashe merely smiles at Ebro in the clip on Twitter, which cuts off before her response. In the full interview, which is still on YouTube, she addresses the light skin comment, explaining that her father is from Zimbabwe, while her mom is white.

In posting the video, the user who resurfaced the clip pointed out the singer’s composure in the awkward moment but let’s be honest: She’s probably used to it. People say all kinds of wild things to kids who don’t just have generic or Biblical names and the question “what are you mixed with” gets lobbed at fairer-skinned Black people all the time. In fact, Tinashe herself imperfectly explained colorism during the run-up to her third studio album, Joyride, pointing out how her complexion often causes confusion from other people. Twitter, being Twitter, dragged her for the comment, but it looks like today, the tables have turned.

Users excoriated Ebro for his comments (it’s unclear whether they recognized how old the video is), while pointing out the obvious irony in them, given Ebro himself is a light-skinned Black man with African roots and an unusual name. For his part, he apologized for comments, saying, “Yea this was a terrible joke, we were using the name skit for people to learn her origins… love Tinashe that’s my homey still.” Obviously, he’s (mostly) grown from this era of confrontational journalism, although he also made Saweetie cry by dissing her freestyle a few years later. Hopefully, he’ll continue to learn and grow, as we all should, and find a way to balance his jokes with consideration, thoughtfulness, and empathy. You can watch the full interview above.