History Main / PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy

* {{Lampshaded}} in ''[[ComicBook/FreedomFightersDC The Ray]]'':

The most common form of this is likely just trying to imitate a dialect. The most notorious form is middle class {{suburb|ia}}an white kids imitating the urban black culture. Note that it's the middle-class culture, not the race, that determines whether someone's a poser. You can be Asian, Native American, AmbiguouslyBrown, or even African American, and still not be able to imitate the urban culture. The end result of this usually sounds TotallyRadical to natives of said culture. These people are sometimes called "wiggers", a portmanteau of combining the words "white" (or "wannabe" since the person in question may not be white) and a certain racial slur that [[NWordPrivileges white people generally avoid using]] (except for these guys, often with hilarious consequences).

The most common form of this is likely just trying to imitate an accent. The most notorious form is middle class {{suburb|ia}}an white kids imitating the urban black culture. Note that it's the middle-class culture, not the race, that determines whether someone's a poser. You can be Asian, Native American, AmbiguouslyBrown, or even African American, and still not be able to imitate the urban culture. The end result of this usually sounds TotallyRadical to natives of said culture. These people are sometimes called "wiggers", a portmanteau of combining the words "white" (or "wannabe" since the person in question may not be white) and a certain racial slur that [[NWordPrivileges white people generally avoid using]] (except for these guys, often with hilarious consequences).

* Some music journalists use the semi-derogatory term "wigger slam" to refer to Slam DeathMetal bands, played by white guys who act and dress like black guys. {{Deathcore}} bands that don't embrace the "[[EmoTeen Scene]]" aesthetic are also known to display this (and get tagged with the term as a result. Given that the genre as a whole was originally descended from Slam and some subgenres maintain strong influence from it to this day, it's not surprising. Careful analysis of the vocals of many Slam bands has tended to reveal rap-like cadences underneath the death growls; Slam-influenced Deathcore bands frequently exhibit this as well, and it's become even more prominent with the rise of Nu-Deathcore.

* Some music journalists use the semi-derogatory term "wigger slam" to refer to Slam DeathMetal bands, played by white guys who act and dress like black guys. See also the {{Deathcore}} page. Careful analysis of the vocals of many Slam bands has also tended to reveal rap-like cadences underneath the death growls; Slam-influenced Deathcore bands frequently exhibit this as well, and it's become even more prominent with the rise of Nu-Deathcore.

* Political news host Ari Melber on Creator/{{MSNBC}} tends to quote lyrics from rap and hip-hop songs to highlight his points OncePerEpisode. Ari, as you might have guessed from his name, is Jewish, but unlike most of the examples here, he doesn't affect an accent or mannerism, and has cited from more obscure, non-mainstream songs, sometimes even giving context to the deeper meanings behind the lyrics, showing that he really does know and love this stuff.

* J-Roc from ''Series/TrailerParkBoys'' does this and legitimately thinks he is black, which the other park residents have all accepted by now. Hilariously, before he got into rap, [[DoNotCallMePaul Jamie]] used to dress and act ''extremely'' white... [[InvertedTrope and so did his actually black friend Tyler]] (who now goes by "Tyrone" or simply "T"). J-Roc briefly reverted back to being Jamie after suffering a HeroicBSOD when one of his favourite rappers told him he wasn't black. His mother made him feel better by telling him she dated a lot of black guys around the time he was conceived, so he is probably ''half''-black. Though she could have just been making it up.

* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'' had a bunch of them in episode 3.

* In ''Series/GirlFriends'', bi-racial Lynn's white adoptive sister is this, to the point where she criticizes Black women like Lynn and Joan for not being Black enough. She also thinks she has NWordPrivileges. She does not.

* ''Film/Zebrahead1992'': Zack is a white Jewish boy who talks like a black guy, listens to black musicians, and records rap music. Those traits combines with his friendship with Dee and romance with Nikki, who are both black, lead some of his classmates to accuse him of wanting to be black, although he says he's just being himself.

* Some music journalists use the semi-derogatory term "wigger slam" to refer to slam DeathMetal bands, played by white guys who act and dress like black guys. See also the DeathCore page.

* ''Film/{{Zebrahead}}'': Zack is a white Jewish boy who talks like a black guy, listens to black musicians, and records rap music. Those traits combines with his friendship with Dee and romance with Nikki, who are both black, lead some of his classmates to accuse him of wanting to be black, although he says he's just being himself.

The most common form of this is likely just trying to imitate an accent. The most notorious form is middle class {{suburb|ia}}an white kids imitating the urban black culture. Note that it's the middle-class culture, not the race, that determines whether someone's a poser. You can be Asian, Native American, AmbiguouslyBrown, or even African American, and still not be able to imitate the urban culture. The end result of this usually sounds TotallyRadical to natives of said culture. These people are sometimes called "wiggers", a portmanteau of combining the words "white" (or "wannabe" since the person in question may not be white) and a certain racial slur that [[NWordPrivileges white people generally avoid using]] (except for these guys, often with [[HilarityEnsues hilarious consequences]]).

-->'''Ray:''' We're ''Italian'', Robert. [[TheMafia "Whack" means something else to us!]]

* Music/JustinTimberlake, despite being raised in suburban Memphis, wore [[https://twitter.com/maddie_murr_/status/318929517584478209?s=21 corn rows]] and [[https://twitter.com/newbodymusic/status/1034908815651557376?s=21 durags]] during his Music/{{NSYNC}} days and uses [[https://twitter.com/net_twink/status/1238035535618134019?s=21 Black slang]] as well. His proximity to Black culture has been questioned in light of the unequal treatment he and Music/JanetJackson received in response to the 2004 Super Bowl mishap; while Justin apologized (after first bragging about it being planned), his career soared, while Janet was blacklisted by radio and Les Moonves. Justin has [[https://wifflegif.com/gifs/373711-jusitn-timberlake-kevin-hart-gif joked]] about the trope in 2011. But it didn’t help that his 2018 album ''Man of the Woods'' was marketed with [[https://twitter.com/intergalacticq/status/1154162651238404097?s=21 country aesthetics]], leading much of the press to mock him for [[https://theoutline.com/post/2839/justin-timberlake-man-of-the-woods-pivot “rebranding as a white man”]] after years of making R&B and hip hop-friendly music.

* At the beginning of ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'' episode "Remy Rides Again", Chester tried to sound "slang", much to A.J.'s annoyance. It ended when A.J. electrocuted Chester.

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible''; Drakken was known to do this on occasion, much to Shego's chagrin:

* Milk from ''WesternAnimation/LegendsOfChamberlainHeights'' is probably the walking incarnate of a white kid acting black. The only problem is that he’s [[NWordPrivileges unable to say the N-word]] without getting a DopeSlap by one of his friends.

* Phineas of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' tries to sound "street" in one episode by peppering his speech with the word [[GoshDangItToHeck dang]]. He comes off sounding more like a hillbilly than a gangsta. Ferb, on the other hand, raps pretty good considering the constraints of a Disney cartoon and the fact Ferb is usually TheSilentBob (it helps that his singing voice is provided by the show's musical director).
* Eric Cartman of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' [[DoubleSubversion double subverts]] this in "Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut" when he's trying to find his real father. He dresses in the outfit in the page image and tries using African-American slang (or at least his understanding of it). The subversion is that Cartman genuinely thinks he's half-black until Chef sets him straight.

* [[TropeNamers Named]] after the song "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" by Music/TheOffspring. It looks as though it's about race, but looking closer, it's clear the kid is just middle class and has no idea of the actual hip-hop and ghetto culture. Thus he looks like a total ass, more so in the music video where he flashes gang-banger signs to a black man and shows off his low-rider's hydraulic system to a pair of Mexicans who obviously shake their heads in consternation. Songwriter Dexter Holland summed up as a song about guys “from, like, Omaha, Nebraska[[note]]Nevermind that [[CriticalResearchFailure Omaha has its ghettos and gangs like any other major city]][[/note]], regular white-bread boys, but who act like they’re from Compton. It’s so fake and obvious that they’re trying to have an identity.”

* ''Literature/InGoldenWaters'' has Kevin [=MacDonald=], a [[LawEnforcementInc "debt collector"]] who calls himself Kashiro and idealizes {{samurai}} culture, using a {{katana|sAreJustBetter}} as his WeaponOfChoice.

[[folder:Fanfics]]

* Similarly, in ''WesternAnimation/TheHauntedWorldOfElSuperbeasto'', Velvet Von Black, who's lily-white and talks like a JiveTurkey, is voiced by Creator/RosarioDawson.

* Similarly, in ''WesternAnimation/TheHauntedWorldOfElSuperbeasto'', Velvet Von Black, who's lily-white and talks like a JiveTurkey, is voiced by Creator/RosarioDawson.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'': Jack Skellington's attempts to imitate Christmas celebrations are presented as a case of this, as he has absolutely no idea what those celebrations are actually about and [[TwistedChristmas filters them through the dark, creepy sensibilities of Halloween]] that he's familiar with. The result: [[CrappyHolidays he ruins Christmas]].

[[folder:Comedy]]
* ''Website/TheOnion'': [[https://www.theonion.com/tag/herbert-kornfeld Herbert Kornfeld, Accountz Reeceevin.]] Mourn ya till I join ya.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Commercials]]
* In a series of commercials for T-Mobile, a gang of these represent their fictional competitor, Poser Mobile, in an obvious TakeThat against the hip-hop-themed ads for Sprint's Boost Mobile prepaid service.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUwn4Ki9_ec One Holiday Inn Express commercial]] shows a shrimpy white guy in a button-down shirt and glasses carrying his dry cleaning home, only for a black youngster and his friends to pick on him by freestyling about how corny he looks. The white guy then hands one of them his dry cleaning and proceeds to [[MotorMouth rap circles around them for a good minute]], concluding that he could because he got a good night's sleep at Holiday Inn Express last night, leaving them all speechless.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

[[folder:Film]]

[[folder:New Media]]
* The source of the humor in [[http://bash.org/?739936 this]] bash.org quote.
* ...and [[http://www.qdb.us/55462 this one]] on qdb.us as well.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'' does this a number of times as well.
--> '''Walt''': "What? Don't people say Wazzup Dawg anymore?"\\
'''Jeremy''': "Dad, do us all a favor and talk like the middle-aged white guy you are."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In Website/TheOnion, a man goes to some pretty extreme lengths to avoid [[https://politics.theonion.com/man-attempts-to-assassinate-obama-but-not-because-hes-1819594896 looking racist]] while assassinating UsefulNotes/BarackObama.

* Music/MileyCyrus' "We Can't Stop" and her twerk-heavy performance of it at the 2013 Video Music Awards was considered by many to fit this trope.

* [[Music/LimpBizkit Fred Durst]] was considered this for a while, although he's gotten better.

* [[Music/TheLonelyIsland IT IS I,]] [[http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=Ras+Trent&aq=f&aql=&aqi=g2g-c1g2g-c1g1g-c1g2&oq= RAS TRENT!]] (There's even a part where he avoids trying to offend the ''actual'' Rastafari in the video.)
** On a meta level, it can be noted that the Lonely Island take great care to always refer to themselves as "fake rappers" to avoid this stereotype.

* Music/MCHammer got this reaction with the 1994 album ''The Funky Headhunter''. He actually was a black man who, much like Jennifer Lopez below, grew up in the ghetto (Oakland, California in his case), and behind the scenes, he had connections to genuine criminals. However, he had built his career as a clean-cut, goofball pop-rapper, and so the attempt to shift to a DarkerAndEdgier style and sound in order to jump onto the GangstaRap bandwagon was seen by many as a pose carried out [[WereStillRelevantDammit just to stay relevant]]. His career [[CreatorKiller tanked]] as a result.

* Phat from ''[[ComicBook/XForce X-Statix]]'' is the scion of a rich family who poses as a hood rat as a ploy to get into what was at the time X-Force. It worked ''fantastically''; evidently, none of his teammates ever suspected he wasn't actually born and raised in an impoverished inner city home. AngryBlackMan teammate the Spike has a problem with the Anarchist, an adopted black man raised by white parents, but not Phat.

-->"[[NiceShoes Nice kicks]], where'd you get the laces, from a telephone pole?"