swinelord - macklemore and his struggle with white privilege lyrics
macklemore has just released a sequel to his highly acclaimed and controversial “white privilege,” a song which details his struggle with being a white rapper. in the original, he did the unheard of: he acknowledged that he is stealing culture. he brings many deep and creative lines like:
we still owe ’em 40 acres now we’ve stolen their 16 bars
he went into the history of white privilege, starting with elvis presley and rock to eminem and hip hop. recently, macklemore has been thrust in the spotlight with his hit songs “thrift shop” and “can’t hold us,” which only further brought the topic of white domination into the worldview. macklemore didn’t come from the ghetto, nor does he rap about guns, but he still argues against white appropriation. he has been put under fire from several rappers, notably by j. cole in his song “fire squad”:
same thing that my n-gga elvis did with rock n roll
justin timberlake, eminem and then macklemore
although this line was playful, cole stuck by his words. this comes before iggy azalea was nominated for four awards at the 2015 grammys, but still holds true. iggy has had numerous incidents with the black culture of hip hop, with ignorant tweets and an astounding general lack of awareness
macklemore and ryan lewis actually won the 2014 award for best rap album over kendrick lamar’s “good kid, m.a.a.d city,” which many (including macklemore) thought was the better act. both he and ryan were disappointed in this, and macklemore actually wrote this on his instagram shortly after winning:
“you got robbed. i wanted you to win. you should have. it’s weird and sucks that i robbed you. i was gonna say that during the speech. then the music started playing during my speech and i froze. anyway, you know what it is. congrats on this year and your music. appreciate you as an artist and as a friend. much love.”
most cringed at his ungratefulness and thought that he was giving a useless apology and making a scene. everyone knew that his presence at the grammys was cringe-worthy, but this was his “white privilege” coming around to bite him
even though cole and other rappers have sent shots at macklemore, they are all pretty much speaking the same language. the recent unarmed and controversial deaths of black people at the hands of police have further stirred the tension, with the list of white rappers slammed for ignoring the #blacklivesmatter movement, one of the latest being post malone when a video was leaked of him saying the n-word. mac miller is on the opposite side of the arguement with a pro-black comment that read “dear white people who listen to rap music: what have you done for the #blacklivesmatter movement?” this brings us to macklemore’s latest quoteable from his sequel into play:
am i in the outside looking in, or am i in the inside looking out?
is it my place to give my two cents?
or should i stand on the side and shut my mouth?
“no justice, no peace,” okay, i’m saying that
they’re chanting out, “black lives matter,” but i don’t say it back
is it okay for me to say? i don’t know, so i watch and stand
macklemore has paid tribute to trayvon martin already, and was actually a protestor for the michael brown case. so whether or not he really is “on the outside looking in” or not, he is still giving his two cents. so the real question: is macklemore the solution, or part of the problem?
instead of solving the problems facing hip hop today, he merely provides the proper questions. that way, he keeps some more controversy out of his music, but regardless, having the right questions is a good step in the right direction. if macklemore can use his “white privilege” to bring white privilege into the mainstream spotlight, than that at least spreads awareness. will this make white people less hesitant to “step up to the mic?” probably not. will white people stop selling more than black people? probably not. will this type of thinking help start a musical revolution of race? d-mn right
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