Stopping by Hot 97 for an in-depth conversation with Ebro and Peter Rosenberg about race and whiteness in Hip Hop and in the United States more generally, Macklemore opened up about his thoughts on the recent killings of young Black men at the hands of police and addressed his position in the public response. During the more than hour-long interview, The Heist emcee also retreaded the outcry over his winning a Grammy over Kendrick Lamar in the Best Rap Album category earlier this year and admitted his whiteness has granted him mainstream acceptance in Hip Hop and beyond.
Beginning with a reaction to the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, Macklemore wondered out-loud how he should position his public response.
“Eric Garner, Mike Brown, very sad situations,” he said. “Very, very sad situations. Situations that left so much frustration in me, watching these injustices again. It was one of those moments of, ‘How is this happening again right now?’ If there’s anything positive that has come out of their deaths, I believe it has brought attention to the injustices that have been plaguing America since the jump: racial profiling, corrupt judicial system, police brutality. These are things that now have attention. Now people are talking about these things which is great. People are mobilizing, I’ve been inspired by the mobilization.
“For me, as a white dude, as a white rapper, I’m like, ‘How do I participate in this conversation?'” he added. “How do I get involved on a level where I’m not coopting the movement or I’m not making it about me but also realizing the platform that I have and the reach that I have? And doing it in an authentic, genuine way. Race is uncomfortable to talk about, and white people, we can just turn off the T.V. when we’re sick of talking about race.”
Addressing his place in Hip Hop more specifically, Macklemore expanded on previous statements about his being a white rapper and said simply, “the privilege that exists in the music industry is just a greater symptom of the privilege that exists in America.”
“This is something I’ve talked about, I’ve thought about, I’ve talked about it, these are some things that have come up,” he started. “Why am I safe? Why can I cuss on a record, have a parental advisory sticker on the cover of my album, yet parents are still like, ‘You’re the only Rap I let my kids listen to?’ Why can I wear a hoodie and not be labeled a thug? Why can I sag my pants and not be labeled a gang-banger? Why am I on Ellen’s couch? Why am I on Good Morning America? If I was Black, what would my drug addiction look like? It would be twisted into something else, versus maybe like, ‘Get back on your feet!’ To me the music industry, the privilege that exists in the music industry is just a greater symptom of the privilege that exists in America. There’s no difference, this is just a byproduct. This is just an offbrand of what’s happening in America. People see me, they resonate with me, America’s predominantly white. There’s relatability. It took a long time for me to get to a point where I was noticed at all. I was an underground rapper for over a decade. But once we got that viral video, once we build up enough momentum organically through word-of-mouth, through the underground, it hit…I got put in that hero box. It’s because of privilege. It all boils down to privilege. White privilege is what I’m talking about.”
Watch the full interview below:
Oh shut the fuck up already and accept the money you are making. White privilege ain’t working for Yelawolf and Action Bronson. I don’t see they asses in mainstream.
Don’t be an idiot dude. You cannot place Yela and Action in the same category. Yela has more ambition of being mainstream than Action. If you really listen to their music, you will hear the difference.
@sendog i know its crazy..when a white person blows up after a struggle its ‘white privelage’ when ab lack person blows up its coming up from the struggle lol white ppl never get no credit for shit
even got this fuckin guy sayin some dumb shit like this..100 white rappers in teh game none blow up bc they arent gay like macklemore
Ah yes the apologetic white boy…..azalea banks must be thrilled…..everyone just stfu and make music
Yes, the apologetic White boy because unlike your punk ass, he can see the injustices.
The “injustices” of making mid-tier pop raps over inoffensive beats? He’s popular for the exact same reason Pharrell is, and I don’t see him citing “Kinda-Black-Kinda-Asian-Maybe” privilege. “Why am I on these talk shows?” I dunno, why is Mike Tyson? When Black Insecurity meets White Guilt, it’s a shameful thing.
You tryin way too hard man
you just embarrassed yourself, you just undermined your talent, you put out a decent album and your music was decent and your statement is basically telling us your music is garbage but since you are white people bought it, your a fucking idiot, congratulations you just lost the respect of a lot of your fans good luck with your second album doochebag
i didnt get that at all from what he said…
you stupid fuck! He was not undermining his talent. What he did was actually acknowledge that being White worked very well in his favour. This is something that Eminem addressed himself before. Open your fucking mind and stop thinking like you did not graduate from kindergarten.
Just put out black artists that don’t rap ’bout drugdealing and all that other ignorant shit, etc. Make sure they have successful careers and don’t rip them off.
That is how you give back to hiphop.
Not like Em…putting out stereotype rappers.
Not true. He just dont wanna be called out like Izzy. Hes creative and his music fits perfect into the mainstream. Thats the reason for the success.
He’s somebody who gives credit where it’s due and doesn’t act like he’s the first guy who spit conscious lyrics over a beat. He realizes that no matter what some people are always going to have a problem with him and all he can do is cultivate some sort of cultural awareness – however crude it may be – while trying to pursue what he obviously loves so much.
Off music alone I’m still not his biggest fan but he seems genuine and we need more of that in all pop culture.
exactly! mick jagger will tell you james brown is his hero, his bigoted base will stay silent about that. bob dylan performed and was on stage for mlk’s march on washington, they will NEVER admit that about their icon. mack ain’t stupid, why the album is called THE HEIST.
Don’t hate yourself so much, Mack!
I know I’m addressing a bunch of sheltered weirdos, but I know Mack. Dude was just as humble when he was a starving emcee and I’m glad he kept it 100 and was BUILDING when he let them put $ into his music instead of conforming. See, alotta YOU don’t recognize real, why you be cosigning that crass broad from au ’cause she gotta “hit”. He was out there walking for injustice, that nasty broad was saying they trolling her. You can’t understand what he’s saying & doing because of YOUR low IQ and level of experience. The new year is coming, make a resolution to wash YOURSELF from the ignorance you wade in.
word. these niggas just hating cuz hes white but mack put in his work in the underground. niggas is jus ignorant cuz all we give a fuck about is money and pussy
Then why aren’t there more white rappers, you stupid fuck? Why does he make everyone embarrassed to be a fan of him?
its bc hes tryna get accepted into hiphop..and he just has to stay in his lane it has nothing to do with white privelage..more has to do withi him image and stories fit perfect into 2k15 political white america.
“Why am I on Good Morning America? If I was Black, what would my drug addiction look like?” You’d look like Oprah, and your addiction was alcoholism. You’re not exactly DMX, you wear skinny jeans and talk about how you thought you used to be gay over acoustic guitars. What a fucking zilch.
This is sad. If you’re white and rap, you can’t express that you worked hard and made it, NO you have to say that it’s only because you’re white, that anything happened for you. Eminem only outshined canibus because he was white…? (Canibus was never as nice as Em), Action Bronson sounds like Ghostface? Ok, they sound similar but almost every rapper in the game sounds like someone they were a fan of growing up… It’s only a problem when white people get any light.. (mmm sounds like there is racism all across the board to me) I think that the only time racism is an issue is when a white person speaks out. Black people are THE MOST RACIST PEOPLE ON EARTH period. I’ve been raised around black people my whole life, they are racist against everyone and are the only people that can express that hate with no problems….
Macklemore is probably the WORST thing to happen in Music History .. Iggy is a byproduct of the damage that he started .. His “underground music” is literally a “heist” of Atmosphere .. His “Independent” story is a dressed up Strange Music .. His style is a corny jack of Yelawolf .. This is the same guy who stood for “Anti-Consumerism” while cashing in over $30 million last year from BRANDS .. Heinous individual and no matter what he says or does now, the Music will always be viewed through a corny, junky lens
you sound like an idiot.
Everything he says or does just comes off very ad hominem and scripted.
sounds genuine and humble to me
you will never hear an honest conversation like this on the breakfast club with those donkeys at power 105
OH WOW, THIS BOY GONE TOO MUCH OF THAT SEATTLE HASH.. I GIVE PROPS TO HIM FOR BEING A NOBODY AND COMING INTO THE GAME MAKING A STAMP WITH HIS POP HITS I RESPECT THAT, BUT TO HEAR HIS VIEWS ON THIS AND THAT NAH MAN IM GOOD GETTING HISTORICAL VIEWS AND POLITICAL BS FROM HIM. OVERALL HE IS AN AVG RAPPER, BUT KNOWS HOW TO MAKE HITS AND THAT IS THE BOTTOM LINE AS A MUSICIAN MAKE HITS ! #SHADYXV #SHADY
Your correct, the idea in music is to make HITS! Just make hits, collect money and repeat and fuck the critics.
this “JUST MAKE HITS” mentality is why the quality of albums went down the drain. and @ @SHADYKID your reppin the label who puts lyricism over almost everything so y u eve talkin bout hits? u know slaughterhouse dont make hits they just rap ill. and yelawolf got some songs that can hit but hes not that nice lyrically he just has a sick flow. if shady records wants to survive they need to find a new franchise player that can make hits or at least radio friendly records with good lyricism w/ punchlines comedy catchy flow cadences and catchy/decent hooks. they need a rookie QB to get the label poppin again. or a kurt warner type mc tucked away in a shitty job to come outta nowhere and win the super bowl.
He needs to realize that his audience is white because of the context of his rap. He doesn’t spit for a certain group or people, he makes music that he also relates too. He’s white and raps about what he knows and wants to talk about. He’s not the greatest artist and he comes off very pop but that’s because Ryan Lewis also with the jazzy pop beats. Dude knows his audience and where the money comes from and shouldn’t feel like he’s responsible to serve a certain audience. Just keep doing you and stick with it because he has huge fan base. When he starts to talk about contributing to the culture or taking from it, he’s going a bit far. Remember this, the audience dictates who’s popular, famous and who’s a hip-hop artist because without fans your just a dude rhyming in the kitchen. Iggy isn’t good but she’s popular because she’s a good looking white girl that raps and white kids/girls eat it up. The problem with this entire interview is that Macklemore sounds like a fucking prick trying to come off like, “I know my place, I’m the white guy that doesn’t want to ruffle the feathers.” Shut the f-ck up, you’re more popular then 90% of the rappers out there at the moment and you’ve toward the world and people love your music, don’t put yourself on the back burner to race. Eminem is on a different level because he’s looked at as one of the best emcee’s ever but at the same time he wouldn’t put himself on the backburner. In the end Macklemore comes off like he feels bad for making black music and still want’s to hang in the back of the room while still trying to get excepted.
You do realize in making your point that Macklemore is placating to the black audience, you’re references are 2 other white artists. Also, the Eminem connection really doesn’t hold weight either because Marshall developed his talent among some of the best MC’s in Detroit and has never, ever tried to act as if he was anything other than a trailer park white kid that can spit venom. Black men like myself respect white guys who are nice at what they do but never try to front and act black. That’s why Marshall gets respect. He’s Marshall. DO some research, Marshall has made similar statement in recordings and interviews about knowing other MC’s that are better than him, but he knows opportunities come to him because he is white. Macklemore gets more respect from me because he isn’t delusional enough to think he is on top commercially because he is a dope artists. Respectfully.
You’re not wrong but you’re not right. He comes off like “I want the accolades and love the fan support but most of all I want the black culture acceptance.” Do you know how dumb that sounds. As a music artist you only need the fans approval. Your surrounding peers acceptance is great but in the end it’s the audience you need to please because with no fans there’s no more career.
LMAO is has nothing to do with white privelago and more to do with your lyrical content and what you rap about..fuck is he talking about
if white privelage is an issue why isnt action bronson blowing up? MGK? rittz? theyre all nice as fuck but its not something corporate america with a gay agenda can use to shove down our throats
if a black rapper rapped about the soft shit macklemore does hes blwo up to..macklemore stop tryna show out for black ppl in rap n sit your ass down
You’re right, it’s 100% based on what the audience wants to hear and they don’t want to hear about the ghetto. Macklemore give’s the audience music they can relate too and the audience is white. He sounds like a b!tch that want’s to be excepted into the culture. Dude, you’ve sold over 5 million records and made over $10 Million dollars, your excepted by the people that matter, the fans.
thats exactly what mackelmore is doing..’oh maybe if i say some shit about white people ill be accepted by blacks’ corny shit
hiphop is literally the 1 thing in this world where maybe white priv. isnt a factor..sure it might of been for eminem but he acutally had skills..if being white was all that vanilla ice and beastie boys or cage would of sold more well before eminem
mackelmore is a dumbass who doesnt know what a race priv. is. if anything hiphop is black privelage turn on radio or go to any rap concert.. black, black black black….latino, white, black black black..
dont listen to his music much but i respect his honesty about white privilege and his indie grind
MGk, yelawolf, kreashawn, v-nasty, action bronson, Rittz, everlast, brother ali, EI-P and few others all all sitting back wondering where their white priv. is bc they aint seeing a bit of shine..well maybe action and eip.
oh right they didnt make a song about being gay for white america 2 eat up at its height of the convo. they dont make corny pop songs clearly made for white america rdy to blow up.. i can name 200 black rappers and singers who get more play than the above mentioned
name them u fkin idiot
Drake, kendrick, ilovemacmanon, jcole, rhianna, beyonce, chris brown, gunits been on lately, kanye, jayz, jason devough, migos, chief keef, future, 2 chainZ, ludacris,
Big sean, e-40, lil wayne, nicki minaj, john legend, rae shremmerd, bobby schmurda, ot genesis, yg, jreemiah, dj mustard, royce da 59, crooked i, joe buddens,
Usher, juicy j, trey song, homie quan, birdman, young thug, k michelle, augusta, i mean should i keep going??
But no lets trip bc eminem, mackelmore and iggys eating.
the fact that you can even name that many white rappers says a lot.
and thats another prob with black ppl yall always call someone successful a sell out or w.e they sell out bc their own ppl wont buy their shit when their still hungry
Look I aints no fan of Maklamore but just keep doin what you doin bro. No need to apolagize for being white. None of us have any say about what color skin we gonna have anyways, peace.
Macklemore is white and Jay Z is black. Hmmmmm
I don’t listen to much Macklemore but he is a genuine guy
If that was the case bubba sparks would have sold/Playboy
This interview is HILARIOUS .. What a Joke !! .. This is Entertainment and Macklemore is an ex-junkie Pop Artist who fits the mold of what Rolling Stone and the Labels know they can monetize .. Let’s look at the real “Heist” here .. the Underground music is a complete copy of Atmosphere .. the Style is a complete and corny version of Yelawolf .. Same Love was clearly an opportunistic marketing maneuver .. the “Independent” story with a Major Label Distribution Deal was completely false and really the pioneers of that are Rhymesayers and Strange Music .. the “Anti-Consumerism” stance was arguably the worst, since he obviously cashed in $30 million of checks from Dr. Pepper, Microsoft, Seahawks, Buffalo Jeans, Nike and so many more .. the Music is just Pop dressed as “Rap” .. Macklemore is likely the WORST thing to happen to the Music Industry EVER and Iggy is a byproduct of the damage he has already done and can never fix now .. ByeFelicia
your retarded. macklemore actually cares for hip hop
Never said he didn’t “care for hip hop” but he chose his path and it’s not a path that any true Hip Hop Head can Respect .. The path he chose is Pop and once you go down that path, you can’t ever gain that Respect — no matter what Music he puts out, what Artists he features to try and gain credibility — it will not work .. Also when he says “I didn’t go Pop. Pop came to me” — that’s a TECH N9NE quote .. Every ounce of his being is straight copy of someone else and given the machine behind him — they will act like he’s “innovative”
He may care about it. doesnt means hes a dope emcee tho…
Everybody in da game thats on the tube went pop. All of them
His point is true. However, he is still a part of hip-hop. He has that advantage, and we know for a fact his mainstream success is because of mostly white suppsupporters. But I as a black man still can enjoy his music. It is what it is.
exactly why i dont respect this dude! Hes not trying to create any ripples in the pond now that hes made it big. Not that he needs to, but if it happens it happens. Just another example of how music and society on a whole are being watered down and pussified.
Well, on The Language of My World (2005), he put out a song called “White Privilege” where he talked about the issue. His views haven’t changed because he made it big, the are just heard by a larger audience.
This is in response to the comment below mine.
hes experiences white priv bc hes a rich boy who grew up in the suburbs and fucked himself up doing drugs the white ppl who do struggle think hes a bitch for this comment
QUIT TALKING ABOUT IGGY AZALEA!!!!!!!! She is pure wackness and isn’t HIP-HOP!!!!!!!