The routine performance by Dave Blunts turned swiftly into a viral controversy when addressing a mostly white crowd; Blunts told the audience they had a “free N-word pass” and that they should use it. That moment, recently enshrined in a video with more than 1.5 million views on X (née Twitter), features Blunts chilling on a couch while performing a song. Holding a microphone before the audience, he smiles in that place where sarcasm and sincerity cross.
“I know in my music I tell them a lot of the words they say not to say or can’t say,” he sings to begin. “But I want the entire crowd to know, ya’ll right you come to my show, you get a free n-word pass… Will ya’ll say it with me on three, 1, 2, 3!”
The crowd erupted into cheers and then joined together in shouting the slur in unison as Blunts watched on a moment that felt less like a concert than an exercise in self-involved cluelessness. He followed it up with his “First Day Out The Hospital” song, totally unbothered by what happened.
Blunts soon shared the clip online, alongside the words “You Can’t Say That,” a post that reeks of sarcasm, if not an open invitation to authority. But if he believed that would soften the blow, the internet had other ideas.
Critics from a range of platforms have denounced the rapper, accusing him of weaponizing his platform to cloud racial lines that are not his to redefine. Some said the controversy illustrated the simmering tensions around non-Black fans using the N-word, particularly in Hip-Hop spaces where the edge of cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation tend to be tested and crossed much too easily.
While some have posited that Blunts’ invitation was an act of inclusivity (or defiance, perhaps), far more saw it as a reckless disregard for the painful history and burden that the word embodies. Aside from Blunts not releasing a statement, there is a chorus of social media backlash, which speaks volumes.
This isn’t new territory for Hip-Hop. In 2013, ScHoolboy Q said he was cool with white rap fans reciting his lyrics verbatim, including the N-word. But, in 2024, he recanted, saying that his position then was drug-fueled, and he doesn’t believe that now. Kendrick Lamar famously stopped a 2018 show when a white fan uttered the word during “M.A.A.D City,” reminding everyone that respect doesn’t stop at the stage.
So what about Dave Blunts? At the moment, he is in the eye of a cultural storm that he seems to have set off on purpose. Whether it was a gag, a test, or a massively ill-advised stab at crowd participation, those passes aren’t all his to give. And not every line is one we should cross, even in the service of art.
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