Does It Work Both Ways ?

Gary Owen is on BET as more than Katt Williams.

Before this past election - Bill Clinton was viewed by many as the Blackest white guy in America.
Cool enough to play the sax on Arsenio, game enough to handle a thick legged wife and at least one intern, street enough to smoke weed - and enough swagger to get away with it all.
But can white people also be "Too Black"?

Is Kim Kardasian thought of as acting Black for dating Reggie Bush and (like Ice T's girl Coco) possessing the body type desired by most Black men?

Or does it require being more 'hood like Kim from The Real Hoodrats of Atlanta?

Or can it be as simple as playing opposite a number of Black leads as has Julia Stiles?

Are any of these women considered "Black"?

Randy Moss's boy JayWill can almost get away with it.
A weed smokin' basketball player with a street attitude who speaks in Ebonics is usually assumed to be Black - but does this combination make number 55 "Black"?

The soulful voice and style of delivery of Joss Stone are not enough to pass the Black Test.

But what if one adds a relationship with Rick James?

Does Tina Marie get her Ghetto Pass?

Hall and Oats is one of those groups that anyone Black can name at least one or two of their songs.

During the height of their popularity - most radio stations geared toward Black listeners included many of their songs on their play lists.

But that was a different time.

Groups like The Doobie Brothers (With Michael McDonald), Steely Dan, Wild Cherry, Toto and others were commonplace on the Soul Charts.

These groups weren't trying to act Black - they were just playing the style of music that moved them most.

Later in the Eighties - British Soul Boys (Culture Club, Wham, Paul Young, etc.) incorporated the Motown influence into their acts to gain position on the U.K. and American charts.

I really don't need to mention these (i.e. Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love, or Art Of Noise - Moments Of Love) New Wave act's current popularity on the Slow Jams nights or Old School Lunch formats.

And I really don't need to mention David Bowie.

But none were considered as "Black".

Even Robin Thicke (Black wife and all) can't be called "Black".

So how does it work for Paul Wall?

Or Bubba Sparxx?

The Beastie Boys had one (or two) of the most seminal rap albums ever.

The Beasties were part of the first wave of commercial rappers and the Hip-Hop culture that it spawned.

The Beaties kicked it with Graffiti artists Zepher and Dondi White, chilled with the Rock Steady Crew, were part of the Motown-esque Def Jam label (Swatch Fresh Fest and all), and still manage to get old school dance floors boppin' whenever Paul Revere hits the ones and twos.

But the Beasties still managed to be white.

Is Eminem Black?

What about Matsyahu?

Jamiroquai is funky - but not Black (Although his Portuguese father might be able to trace some roots back to Moorish culture.).

Do white people have to add "Ghetto" to a skill set to be considered Black?

Can a white person be considered too Black because they easily fit within certain parameters of a learned Black culture?

Or do the same rules even apply?