Grandmaster Caz Clarifies Comments On Latinos Being "Guests" In Hip-Hop

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Grandmaster Caz appears onstage at the "Biography: Bobby Brown" And "Origins Of Hip Hop" NYC premiere event on May 17, 2022 in New York City
Grandmaster Caz clears the air after referring to the Latin community as "guests" in hip-hop during a 2014 interview.

Grandmaster Caz is clearing the air after some old comments he made on VladTV resurfaced this week. It all began when Fat Joe opened up the dialogue surrounding the contributions of the Latin community to hip-hop. Though some pushed back against Joe's claims, he explained that the first hip-hop party in the Bronx was made up of Puerto Ricans and Black people.

 Rapper Grandmaster Caz attends the 4th Annual VH1 Hip Hop Honors ceremony at the Hammerstein Ballroom on October 4, 2007 in New York City. Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

During a 2014 interview, Caz reflected on Lord Jamar's comments about Eminem and white people being a guest in hip-hop. However, Caz also extended that sentiment to the Latinx community. "Puerto Ricans were playing Congos and tamales in the park while we was playin’ turntables,” he said at the time. “Alright, so they our guests.”

"Some of the first Latinos in Hip Hop were down with me. Disco Wiz. Charlie Chase. Joe Conzo, the man who took Hip Hop’s babies pictures. Prince Whipple Whip. All Latinos. All part of my crew," he said after acknowledging the controversy surrounding his comments.

"OK, so there’s no way I could talk about there not being a Latino presence in the culture of Hip Hop," he continued. "Now, I’ve stuck my foot in my mouth a couple of times on Vlad interviews and they probably caught an off-comment or something like that. But let me clear that up. For all my Latino brothers and sisters in Hip Hop, I’ve been an advocate since day one, so knock the bullshit off.”

Check the clip below. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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