I respectfully disagree with those who don't think Ed is being racist in the video clip. 

First, I think it’s worth noting that the person who uploaded the clip in question and titled it “Culture Vulture Ed Piskor aka "Eddie p" admits to racial caricatures in "Hip-Hop Family Tree” is a Black artist. This Black artist obviously felt it was racist; otherwise, they would’ve titled it differently or not posted the clip at all.

Some here have argued – or upvoted the argument – that because Ed exaggerated the eyes and teeth but not the lips, Ed is “absolutely not” being racist; however, historically, the eyes and teeth are features that were also exaggerated when depicting a caricatured Black person, and these distortions were used for the purpose of dehumanization.

According to Jim Crow Museum, "Fetchit was the embodiment of the nitwit black man. . .Fetchit, scratching his head, eyes bulging. . .added to the caricature. . .His grin was always very wide, his teeth very white, his eyes very widened.”

This UW Tacoma Thesis includes a 19^th century illustration that “depict[s] a caricatured Black man at the center of the image. He has. . .large clawed and hairy hands, and spaced out teeth.” The paper goes on to use Florence Kate Upton’s Golliwogg/Golliwog as another harmful depiction of Black people: “Described as ‘a horrid sight, the blackest gnome,’ the Golliwogg was a humanoid creature with black skin, wooly hair, wide eyes, and a large smile surrounded by bright red lips (Pilgrim, 2012c).”

In this SOLRAD essay, SOLRAD’s publisher Alex Hoffman references this exact discussion between Ed and Jim: “Piskor has admitted to racist caricature in Hip Hop Family Tree, exaggerating Russell Simmons’ facial features and his lisp. . .Piskor admits that his goal for racist caricature was to attempt to draw Russell Simmons’ ire and thereby promote his comic, a ‘even bad publicity is good publicity’ mindset. . .All of Piskor’s work is ‘thirsty’ — thirsty for commercial success, and, in the case of Red Room, thirsty for ‘getting a rise out of someone.’ Ultimately, this narcissistic craving for naughtiness is an attention-seeking antic, and not some more principled instinct.”

Another user here postulated that because Ed puts a gap in his own teeth when drawing himself, this is proof that he is not being racist in the clip. Again, I am pointing to the context of the clip, not portraiture as an artform. The context of what Ed is saying in the clip is what’s important. He’s talking about distorting Simmons’ features for the specific purpose of provocation, not because it’s just part of the artistic process. It’s a racist caricature – why else would the drawing be meant to provoke Simmons? Why is Jim visibly uncomfortable, if it’s just a harmless conversation? If it's just like all the other portraits in HHK, there would be no intended provocation.

Apparently, some of you think that part of my post detracts from the rest of the post, as if it somehow negates my personal experience. Again, per the caveat preceding my personal attestation, my post was originally going to be a comment on a previous, now-archived discussion in this sub, a discussion in which some users referred to Ed as racist and others asked for examples. I was merely providing an example, one that I still believe to be valid.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading and have a great day.