From Cripple Clarence Lofton to Funky Diabetic Disability as a Name in Black Music

Disability titles have always been in Black music mostly in the Blues from many blind Blues musicians like blind Willie Johnson and in early Boogie Woogie piano player like Clarence Lofton known as Cripple Clarence Lofton and many others but other disabilities like many peg leg artists who were also Blues artists like Arthur Jackson, known as Peg Leg Sam, Joshua Barnes Howell, known as Peg Leg Howell but others were dancers like Clayton “Peg Leg” Bates and Henry “Crip” Heard.  We also had soul singer like Peg Leg Moffett with his 1967 song, The Shocker so it’s not shocking that this tradition of having a disability title in your name.  The most famous in Hip-Hop to carry on  this tradition probably by reality that his health disability forced him to realize his eating habits was Phife Dawg with his stage name told his disability, The Funky Diabetic.  Of course there is many Hip-Hop artists who also carry out this tradition of having a disability title in your name that are underground like Wheelchair Sports Camp and Blind Flury.

Let’s come back to the most famous Hip-Hop artist who turned his disability into a brand, his stage name that people know of, I’m talking about, The Funky Diabetic, aka Phife Dawg.  There are so many questions from a disability perspective to get into from the most mainstream like was this just a gimmick or was he making a statement to was this a disability identification or a reminder to himself to change his lifestyle?  All these questions will never be answered because Phife Dawg passed away on March 22/2016 from complications of diabetes.  However there needs to be more writings on this tradition of having a disability title in your name in Hip-Hop with a special focus on Phife Dawg, The Funky Diabetic!

R.I.P Phife Dawg, The Funky Diabetic!