During much of the 19th century, Blackface minstrelsy was the most popular form of entertainment. Through their exaggerated appearance and actions, minstrels degradingly caricatured slaves and free blacks. More than mere entertainment, minstrelsy was an expression of white supremacy.
Today, hip-hop music is arguably the most popular form of entertainment. And even though hip-hop is a multi-faceted, vastly diverse form of expression, its mainstream "representatives" often employ the degrading methods of the minstrelsy. And if Blackface defined 19th century minstrelsy, Grillz define 21st century minstrelsy.