The term “Mumble rap” invokes the same rhetoric used by white supremacists to stigmatize AAVE [African American Vernacular English] and leads to non-mainstream artists receiving backlash from the hip-hop community

The phonetic reduction found in Mumble Rap is rarely ever considered within the larger context of the phonetic reduction found in general language use or other forms of hip-hop. This hypocrisy maintains when acknowledging the parallels of the stigmatization of Mumble Rap by the hip-hop community and the stigmatization of AAVE by the mainstream English speaking community; due to the existing stigma against the beliefs and practices of a target group, the group's vocal production became considered falsely equivalent manifestations of the original stigma. Just as the hate and criticism toward African-Americans and their culture extended to criticism toward their language, the criticism toward this new generation of rappers and their ideologies extends toward their manner of vocal production. Consider the notion of a variant or dialect being considered incorrect. Such a value judgement implies the existence of a correct or accepted dialect: the aforementioned mainstream and standard dialects, often times dubbed Mainstream American English (MAE). It is the very nature of not complying with the institutionalized norms of MAE that appears to forge stigma. In other words, the state of being different from what is considered the norm is reason enough for stigmatization. This reactionary hatred toward the foreign is not one that is exclusive to language and vocal production, but rather one that is present in society itself [20]. Stigma originates and is placed on speakers of a variant before it is placed on the actual variant production itself. Historically, language has been used as a divisive tool, creating barriers in distinctions such as class, sex, gender, and race [18][20]. Those with the power and influence are able to maintain and affect those that lack in societal standing [18][20]. In the context of AAVE, many modern speakers have roots in the struggle for equality that they found in living in the United States. In America, from the onslaught of slavery to modern societal conflicts, speakers of AAVE have been considered secondary in society. Their culture and practices have been criticized, all the while being held in comparison to those of the dominant group, white Americans. The societal treatment of AAVE speakers is unfounded, as is the criticism of AAVE as incorrect. As the stigma against AAVE developed from the pre-existing stigma on AAVE speakers and their practices, the stigma against mumbling may have arisen from the existing stigma against young hip-hop artists and their practices. In this language stigmatization model, the dominant group's stigmatization of a minority group based on behavior and practice eventually causes the stigmatization of that minority group's language. At any given point there has existed 20 an old guard of hip-hop that does not understand the behaviors of the new guard, suggesting a power dynamic between the existing and rising artists. The old guard's disapproval of the new guard's actions may manifest in the criticism of vocal production with the disparaging label of Mumble Rap, just as the stigmatization of AAVE speakers manifests in the intolerance of AAVE and variants.