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On the December 17 segment of The Breakfast Club, Rapper and DJ Paul Wall shared that he was unaware of his White ethnicity until it was pointed out to him.
“I didn’t know I [was] white, ‘til the white people told me I was white. Yeah, they was like, you white. Why you talking act like that? You white! And I’m like, what do you mean?” Paul told co-hosts Jess Hilarious, DJ Envy, and Charlamagne Tha God.
When Jess Hilarious asked when this was, Wall mentioned it was during his time in Houston, sometime during elementary and middle school.
“I mean, all my friends were Black or Mexican or Asian. I lived in a very diverse neighborhood, there was you know… there were White people there, but you know Mexican, Black, Vietnamese, Indian and all kind of… a lot of everything… You know, it was like you know, FBA. You know like Black but also kinda like immigrant Black,” Paul added.
FBA, which Paul mentioned, is an acronym for Foundational Black Americans. According to the official FBA site, they refer to the descendants of Black people in the USA who built the country from scratch and were survivors of slavery.
More about FBA in the wake of Paul Wall's revelation
According to the FBA website, Spanish colonizer Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón and 600 of his loyal soldiers brought enslaved Africans to the New World of North America in 1526. Later, the land they arrived in became known as the South Carolina/Georgia coast.
In a few years, the Black people began revolting, eventually forcing the Spanish to retreat from the region towards the Caribbean. Around then, the free Black people founded a local Native American community, which eventually became the foundation of FBA – building, resisting, persevering, and fighting for justice and equality.
Every year on December 24, Foundational Black Americans celebrate their holiday called Arutisuse, which represents all the values of the community. The word Arutisuse means “Arise” in the traditional FBA language, TUT.
The holiday season is significant for the FBA as it was during this time that many Black people escaped bondage and eventually rose to freedom. Around this time, an FBA special parade called Junkanoo also occurs. As per an Arutisuse custom, all Black people should exchange books that empower them and pay tribute to their ancestors.
The FBA has its own flag, with a fist in the middle, representing the uprising against white supremacy. The three white stars at the top, placed against a blue background, symbolize three ethnic groups that make up the FBA: the Black aboriginal people of North America, the Black explorers and traders who had contact with the Americas before Columbus, and the captives brought to the Western Hemisphere from Africa.
The olive branches on both sides represent the camaraderie and peace within the FBA, while the nine red stripes indicate significant rebellions in the community's history. Meanwhile, the red, white, and blue color scheme pays tribute to the FBA teen girl Grace Wisher, who was influential in crafting the current US flag.
Exploring Paul Wall’s recent ethnicity remark
On Tuesday’s episode of The Breakfast Club, Houston rapper Paul Wall discussed his latest solo album, Once Upon a Grind, apart from new grills, conspiracy theories, Swishahouse Music, and more.
However, his comments about his ethnicity have now gone viral. Paul Wall claimed he didn’t realize he was white until his classmates told him so. Around the 17-minute mark of the chat, he shared how he had a multi-ethnic friend group and lived in a diverse neighborhood, which never made him realize his race until much later.
"So, we got a great mixture of you know growing up in America, I guess," he explained.
Paul Wall also quipped that after finding out he was White, he “cried in the car” and went and asked his mother. However, later, she took a “DNA test” and discovered that she was “three percent” African-American. He also noted that he knew it wasn’t “enough for her to say the n-word.”
When asked whether he had ever taken a genealogy test himself, Paul Wall clarified that he hadn’t, as the “conspiracy theorist” in him had refused to get one.
Notably, during a 2023 appearance on The Clearly Culture Podcast, Paul Wall shared that he "took it as a challenge" to prove himself as a rapper despite not being mocked for his ethnicity.
Last year, during the halftime show of the NFL match between the Houston Texans and the Indianapolis Colts, Paul Wall performed with country musician Louis TheSinger. However, his accent, sideways parted hair, braces, and gray beard stirred up a conversation about his ethnic identity.
Once Upon a Grind is Paul Wall’s 15th album and has features from the likes of DJ Fresh, Slim Thug, Cartel Bo, Lil’ Keke, Eddie Coke, Crys Wall, Big Tonka, Z-Ro, Big K.R.I.T., Berner, Freeway, Rich the Factor, Termanology, and Young Al.
