Russell Simmons said he understands why Macklemore did well at the Grammys Sunday (January 26), including winning Best Rap Album for The Heist, the Seattle rapper’s album with Ryan Lewis. But the Def Jam Recordings co-founder said that he thinks Kendrick Lamar is a better artist.
“Kendrick is absolutely a better rapper, and Macklemore had one of the most inspiring, socially conscious songs of the year and that is what did well for him,” Simmons said during an AMA yesterday (January 27), likely referring to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Same Love,” which was nominated for Song of the Year at the Grammys. “He’s a great rapper, but there is no evidence anywhere that he’s a better artist than Lamar.”
Nonetheless, Simmons says that he wished he could have been a part of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Same Love” single and that Macklemore has what he’s looking for in Hip Hop right now.
“Lyrics & social consciousness,” Simmons said. “Someone with lyrics & flow like Kendrick, with the social message of Macklemore. Poets should touch peoples’ hearts, and possessing that ability is what’s most important.”
Macklemore says that his four Grammy wins Sunday have both positive and negative aspects, including winning Best Rap Album over Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city.
“It’s the blessing and the curse, a little bit more the curse,” the Seattle rapper said during an interview with New York radio station Hot 97 that was published yesterday (January 27). “First and foremost, Kendrick [Lamar] is a friend of mine. He’s somebody that I love his music and, in my opinion, had the best Rap album of the year. And knowing how the Grammys usually go, I knew that there would be a great chance that we’d win that award and, in essence, rob Kendrick. That’s what happened tonight. It kind of sucks. I think we made a great album. I think that Kendrick made a better Rap album.”
RELATED: Macklemore Says He Had “An Unfair Advantage Due To Race” At The Grammys
everyone already knows that Blood Diamond Russ
Don’t fuck with Hanksta fool
Of course Kendrick Lamar is a better Raper than Macklemore …But can Kendrick sell more copies than Macklemore ? If Kendrick ever wants a Grammy he needs to tone his shit down study the white folks way of living and write something that makes the world chant… that’s what some people call sell out.
I call it selling..
PEACE!
Masta Hanksta
you do realize that you said rape-r right?? not rapper. Learn to spell, one letter clearly makes a difference. Your entire comment becomes reduced to nothing but idiocy because you can’t even compose one sentence without fucking up. If you want people to actually consider your comment, make it right, plain and simple, so it sounds like its coming from a voice and brain with an ounce of reason, and not a moronic, misinformed child. And even if your input was spelled correctly, your comment is just plain ignorant.
thanks for breaking it down for us captain obvious
Russell Simpleton can suck a fat dick as far as I’m concerned. We all know Macklemore is MILES ahead of Kenrdick Lamar. Mack’s music appeals to suburban white kids/people/soccer moms, but Kedricks’ appeals to mostly college kids, suburban white kids, and people in the hood. While both their demographics are somewhat similar, Mack has a slight edge over Ken, that being a song promoting same sex marriage. Kendrick, on the other hand, well he’s a psuedo intellectual and his lyrics aren’t really all that deep if you really take the time to think about it. Sure, he has an interchangeable & flexible delivery which makes him SOUND like he’s something special, but he’s really not. Kendrick is average at best, in terms of lyrics and delivery, but is much more diverse than Mack. Overall, Kendrick is the product of the hood; a good kid in a mad city, but the people have spoken. Mack took home 4 Grammy’s (and married 33 gay & straight couples),all while committing a Heist the world or Grammys won’t soon forget
I’ mnot even a fan but hes right, objectively, kendrick is 1000000x better than mack.
dis nicca named himself after a lesbian and a cop
Please stop using the N word.
i said nicca not nigga or nigg3r, get over it.
we’ll stop saying it when black people do.
we already know man..
no shit, we know.
everyone is better than Macklemore
chief keef isnt
riff raff isnt
I’d rather listen to chief keef or riff raff at least they’re fun
fun like a down syndrome kid riding the short bus to school erryday
even rick ross is better than cacklemore
No evidence? lol Macklemore outsold him. Out hyped him, and out hustled him. Kendrick may be more lyrical, but the grammy’s are about achievement, and even though Kendrick achieved as well, Macklemore did more with less and deserved to win. End of story.
“there is no evidence anywhere that hes a better artist than Lamar”
Keyword ARTIST, not product.
Why don’t all the monkeys kick the dude while he’s down. Kendrick may be the better rapper but Macklemore had the better year. Outsold and out-promoted Kendrick. Plus he did it with out the backing of Dr. Dre and his gay lover Jimmy Lovine. Straight up independent and he still outdid everyone. Show some fucking respect! Grammy’s don’t mean shit, but $$$$ do! And Macklemore made more that your favorite rapper. Black or White. So STFU!
Macklemore is the new 50 without the violence.
absurd statement
two Indie type rappers who crossed over to the pop music charts and blew up.
you could literally say that about any rapper then
chief keef, wiz, etc….
I think Kenthrick Lamar ith a better rapper than Macklemore I with people would thop and think about it
Faggotry in HipHop is “social commentary”? Same sex rap songs should be applauded and rewarded by white award committees?
What about Lupe Fiasco and his social commentary? If rappers started rapping about Knowledge of Self, economic empowerment, self reliance, and community activism they wouldn’t win no fuckin Grammy they would get dropped from their label.
Lupe lost to Lil Wayne because people just wanna keep saying lick my lollipop
white people don’t like faggots more than black people do. lol
you are an idiot
lil wayne and birdman kiss each other on the mouth and got a pass but black people are mad at a song about equality and gay rights…. they of all people should understand that, seeing how their ancestors were all slaves.
It’s not hard to agree with Russell on this one but its a blessing in disguise. Its gonna push Kendrick to grind harder and put out doper cuts. In turn Macklemore’s content will probably get more watered down and mainstreamed (as if he isn’t somewhat doing that already). At the end of the day, hip hop should be glad that Kendrick didn’t win, even though his work deserved it, because the Grammy’s shouldn’t dictate what’s hot. As soon as an artist is declared as the best, it goes to their head one way or another. Better to keep Kendrick hungry!!!!
Since when does hip hop look to the Grammys for recognition of who’s on top? Grammys are about who had the most success. More goes into success than talent. Just go down the top 10 singles on any given day to prove it. You’ll see strippers who just happen to sing, DJs with one hit club tracks, goofy clown rappers, generic country bands; this industry hasn’t been about real music or talent for decades. And people are bugging out cuz Kendrick didn’t win? You know what Kendrick won? Life. He wins. Lets move on.
Macklemore sold 11million singles… Kendrock sold 2 million
what more can I say
Macklemore has more fans… period
That’s what happens when you make pop music.
Both are wack but I was feeling macklemores shit more then Lamar
I don’t like neither of them but objectively, kendrick is the best rapper of this era.
After I heard MackleMoores White Privilege that was it for me, he can have them grammy’s simply because he overstands and to me he’s just smarter and the average rapper is as dumb as 2 grapes. Take the Hip-Hop from the ppl who abuses it and has it children twerking, please take and go far away so these rappers could face reality, they need to starve, no more record sales for you fools.. It’s time for the independents to rise, I don’t care what color you are, it’s ingenuity or nothing.. MackleMoore captivated the crowd like Tupac would’ve and I can’t do nothing but respect that, I heard every word he said and very few of Kendricks.. And Russell Simmons could take his opinion as shove it, because he was the one responsible for trying to destroy the self destruction movement by telling RunDMC and LL Cool J to not support the video and that’s why they were not in it because Mr. Simmons been down with the Killuminati.. #GTFOHWTBS MR. MY ADIDAS MAN..
glad to see hip hop defending lamar because of them racist boys at the grammy.
nobody is seeing kendrick right now
macklemore is imo the second best rapper after kendrick lamar.. for this generation
Kendrick got robbed, thx god msot people see this.
very few rappers could see kednrick tbh, he speaks the truth.
I agree with the hip hop indsutry, kednrick got ROBBED… he had by far the best album. fucking rammys, fucking racists
Q-Tip said it better on twitter, kendrick should have won and macklemore is a fraud.
Like ice cube said yesterday, macklemore is officially banned from the west coast.
No shit sherlock… macklemore is wack, of course kendrick is way better.
Soulja boy > macklemore
cacklemore too trash
cacklemore. I haven’t heard that one before. do you have any other original lines for us?
ya how about analmore you fucking faggot
Macklemore isn’t even top 5 of this gen
Like msot peopel are saying, macklemore deserves to die for winning with a 5/10 album
Mack isn’t THAT bad, sure he isn’t as great as kendrick, sure his album isn’t a classic like Kendrick’s album… but he isn’t trash
Macklemore is the worst artist of this era
Nah, that’d go to Chief Keef.
I think Kenthrick is better too but thop hating on Macklemore. He hath talent
there are plenty a lot worse than macklemroe. keef, drake, montana, current wayne etc.
I think Beanie Sigel is harder than Drake too
“lil wayne and birdman kiss each other on the mouth and got a pass but black people are mad at a song about equality and gay rights…. they of all people should understand that, seeing how their ancestors were all slaves.”
yeah two weirdos with multiple children by multiple women have a weird kiss fetish in their personal lives and the world moves on……two white rappers have a rap music video promoting gay marriage and they win Grammies and the world stops spinning.
a white homosexual even made the comment that all Black peoples ancestors were slaves and that equality based on skin color is the same as equality on fucking another man in the anus or two women licking each others vagina.
see what i mean? hes giving them a pass calling it a weird kiss fetish because he’s racist and bitter.
you cant tell me wayne and birdman are not flaming homos. the children are a cover up.
if lil wayne made same love the same racists would be praising him.
birdman is a fucking child predator/ pedophile/ homosexual but people are mad about a gay rights song LOLOLOL
“That’s what happens when you make pop music”
Well then I guess your Kendrick better get wise and do the same thing.
No way man, Kdot won’t sellout.
he had drake on his album. he is already on the way.
Rick ross > macklemore
if we’re talking about weight and cholesterol sure
I hate how people label Macklemore as a “pop artist.” Sure, his singles were pop-orientated, but if you listen to some of his other tracks, you’d see he has a different side to him. Just look up “Jimmy Iovine.” I may not agree with his stance on gay marriage, and K Dot should’v won, but Macklemore is talented. He just comes at the industry from another angle, and no, I don’t care if you like it. I honestly prefer Eminem, Hopsin, and those kinda rappers above him. But hey, I think his whole career is a giant misconception. The guy is shunning corporations, standing up for indie artists, and we treat him like crap because his viewpoints differ ours. If anything, we can at least be proud of his struggle to make it independently. But nahh, ya;ll can think what you want. Just hit me up when you get his success independently.
“and we treat him like crap because his viewpoints differ ours. If anything, ”
all while give lil wayne a pass for kissing men on the mouth and wearing girls pants
The thing is the GRAMMYS was never made for US (ppl of color) or to represent US. Recently Chuck D performed & was interviewed on the Arsenio Hall Show, where they showed clip of him the first time on that show as a young Chuck D & he stated in snippet that if we’re not careful, WE LOSE RAP LIKE WE LOST JAZZ. Chuck D also stated, that one time, RAP was the only voice that Blacks had to communicate with each other & the world because politically & socially that wasn’t happening. Suprisingly someone else who is echo-ing similar sentiments, yet in a more abrasive & controversial way is LORD JAMAR. I don’t agree with the way he is saying it but it’s basically the TRUTH. All forms of American Music (Rock N Roll, Blues, Jazz, Soul) which all came from the Blacks experience in America has all eventually been co-opted once corporate entities & the mainstream have been able to fully exploit it & ‘CASH-IN’ on it. So in other words, Blacks & other ppl of color will create a new artform of music (like they’ve done so many times before) that critics will cite as not being music (remember the early days of Rap?). But in the meantime, I think the best way we all can ‘KEEP RAP’ is to start getting our ‘rapfix’ from listening to & supporting the ‘underground’ & focus less on the the corporate-sponsored & most popular emcees. There are thousands upon thousands of DOPE emcees & crews out there who are staying true to the core values of the Hip Hop culture. If we support them with our interest, money, & support, more & more crews will focus on crafting better worthwhile timeless music!
I agree Hip-Hop needs to be revamped to be more lyrical again, but I also don’t think it’s right to say that only blacks can use it. Look at Eminem. I mean, if that were the case, Basketball would be a whites-only sport. I say get rid of all the twerking/sellout rappers, and promote the good underground guys. Continue to support guys like Hopsin and K Dot, and this genre will get back on its feet. I think this year will be a good one by the way, with a new Slaughterhouse, D12, Kendrick Lamar, Wu-Tang, and Hopsin album in the works, as well as several more artists. Most of ya’ll won’t like it, but Macklemore is also releasing a new album this year or the next, and yes I agree he “robbed Kendrick.” At least he acknowledges it. But I do think Hip-Hop needs to go back to it’s old lyrical and genius ways, but this time not bring in gang violence. Rap about violence sure, but we don’t want our favorites dying. That just means less music.
Maybe its just me, but I really don’t have too much of a problem with lyrics talking about violence. I mean, it is a real issue that people have to deal with, and part of hip hop is the authenticity, the view of all sides rather than just the positive. Nas, Outkast, Wu Tang, Raekwon, Run The Jewels and a bunch more are dropping albums this year that I am hyped for. (and Elzhi…)
On another note, I really never cared all that much for Hopsin. Not that he is bad, but he just doesn’t seem all that great to me.
hip-hop should just make their own awards show like country music did! the country music awards are a fucking huge thing now. with no many multi millionaire ceo’s in rap i don’t see why they couldn’t make it happen.
NEW RULES
Chuck D is a bitter rich old man who pretends to hate the very system that was so good to him. The Grammy’s award achievements, and Macklemore achieved more than Kendrick did. End of story.
^They tried that with The Source Awards back then. Problem was that it was during the peak of gangsta rap and too violent. They could do it now since gangsta rap is not as popular as it was.
@twoholla. I understand what you sayin, you know history repeats itself. We’ll just create some new sound and get it to pop off.
“and Macklemore achieved more than Kendrick did. End of story”
Macklemore said Kendrick had the better album and that he robbed him. Thats gotta count for something.
“The thing is the GRAMMYS was never made for US (ppl of color) or to represent US.”
neither were the oscars… things change. macklemore won because the album and songs were very popular not because he is white.
And chuck d is a legend and one of the best to do it. But why is there this ‘take it from us’ attitude when it comes to music. Genres aren’t owned by particular people. Should all the white kids who bought a hip hop album get their money back? Or is it okay to support it but not to want to be a part of it? Their argument is stupid.
No it took him that long to figure that out really, come on Russell everyone know that
“No way man, Kdot won’t sellout”
Aside from DMX, they all do.
no one gets into the rap game to stay broke and underground
some people can reach greater audiences without sacrificing their artistic integrity while others simply have none to being with
scarface
just before I saw the paycheck which was of $4299 , I have faith that…my… friends brother woz actualy erning money part time on-line. . there friends cousin haz done this 4 less than twenty two months and at present cleared the loans on their condo and bought a new Mercedes . visit this site right here… http://www.Fb39.Com
GOD DAMMIT WILL SOMEONE INTERESTING EVER COME TO MISSOURI FOR FUCK’S SAKE
big sean > macklemore
oh gawd
macklemore had the more successful album with more popular singles and did it independently…kendricks album was better but it shouldnt be a surprise mackelmore won
Well said.
You can’t say it’s better if it didn’t win.
Funny how everybody got a problem with Kendrick losing, except Kendrick himself.
“no one gets into the rap game to stay broke and underground”
True, everybody acts like Kendrick is above the usual clichs and he’s not.
You couldn’t be more wrong.
” I thought I wanted jewelry and cars, but as soon as I got a taste, I realized it wasn’t fulfillment. A thrill is being as creative as possible and supporting the people I love.”
“Macklemore said Kendrick had the better album and that he robbed him. Thats gotta count for something”
Do the see the grammy committee changing their minds?
they dont have to. the people know who had the best rap album of the year. thats why he went plat while your fav rapper didnt
What’s better than Macklemore?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0
Well the song In this comment for starters!