People could hear a proverbial pin drop when Macklemore & Ryan Lewis bested Kendrick Lamar at the 2014 Grammy Awards in the Best Rap Album category. Macklemore made matters worse when he texted Kendrick “you got robbed” and posted the private message on Instagram, which he later admitted was a mistake.
Eight years later, the win continues to haunt the “Thrift Shop” rapper. Shortly after Jack Harlow’s latest solo single “First Class” landed at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, many wondered if his race played a role in his success.
Top Dawg Entertainment president Terrence “Punch” Henderson was one of them. On Tuesday (April 19), he dragged Macklemore into his argument as he tried to illustrate how much harder Black artists have to work to get to the top.
“It’s really crazy how exceptional we have to be as oppose to other folks,” he tweeted. “They just need a C+ average basically. If that. We really have to talk about it at some point.
“Kendrick is fine. He’s been going hard at a high level from 04-2018 as far as output. He can take as much time as he wants. But he’s also experienced C+ artist get more acclaim and opportunity than his A+ efforts. Look at his first Grammy experience.”
He added, “I guess I wasn’t really clear here because a lot of ppl missed the point. Racism. Systemic racism. That’s the point.”
While Jack Harlow certainly benefits from white privilege, TikTok had a hand in pushing “First Class” to the top. Built on a sample of Fergie and Ludacris’ 2007 chart-topping hit “Glamorous,” the song earned over 420,000 sales in its opening week and 54.6 million streams, marking the biggest streaming debut for a song since Drake, Future and Young Thug‘s “Way 2 Sexy” last September.
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“First Class” is set to land on Harlow‘s upcoming sophomore album Come Home The Kids Miss You, which is expected to arrive on May 6. The project includes the previously released “Nail Tech.”
As for Kendrick, he finally announced the title and release date of his forthcoming album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, five years after the Pulitzer Prize-winning album DAMN. The highly anticipated project is scheduled to drop on May 13.
Song is good. Black people underestimating someone’s music just because it’s by someone caucasian is racist too. Black people can be racists too. Punch is an old rug nonine cares about. The End.
Punch sounds shook over Jack Harlow. Maybe its rly that TDE fucked up and lost KL? Talk about a C+ average without him
TDE ain’t worth jack. No one cares about ab soul and jay rock because they aren’t entertaining. Jack pulls in numbers because he is. Idk what is so hard to understand with these lord jamars and punchs (punches? Lmao)
Facts!! Drama (whose half white) & Generation Now are winning. Mind you, this after the fact their marquee artist Uzi wanted to leave. He was GN main source of income. Then Dram’s ppl KY Engineering brought him a dope, lyrical white boy from Kentucky.
IN THE HISTORY OF RAP THERE HAVE BEEN LIKE 20 WHITE RAPPERS. ONE IS BIG AND RESPECTED. THE REST OUR CLOWNED WHILE KDOT HAS BEEN TOP 3 FOR 10 YEARS. RELAX LOL
As a solo artist Eminem is considered by many to be the goat. You also might want to look up the beastie boys.
It must be great to be white. They don’t even know what the word racism means. Meanwhile I learned in elementary school.
LOL the first thing bitter MFs do is play the race card.
C+ in whos eyes, yours?
Obviously someone likes it.
The Kids push whats hot right now, even though K Dot is a beast, I dont see him making music that these kids are gonna make TikToks too. BTW get some more artists over there and maybe get some diversity in music, AB and Jay aint gon cut it homie.
black people are the absolute most racist and homophobic people on this planet. literally everything has to be about race. hey you wanna stop racism? STOP FUCCCKIN BRINGING RACE UP IN EVERY CONVO. no one but you cares that your skin is dark.
Punch is still mad, all the blogs overlooked his Wu Tang knock off group ???
Yet white people are the ones who’ve enslaved every race at one point or the other but whatever helps you cope with your white guilt pussy
Yet that was a long time ago and nobody alive today has anything to do with that. Also black people sold other black people as slaves.
ya and? are you a slave? no ur not. stupid. stop complaining that wypipo is holdin u down.
If a black person comes up because of their skin color its called racial equity. If a white person comes up because of their skin color its called systematic racism. Such a double standard.
Agreed
Mainstream media has y’all too focused on skin colour. Politicians dividing us as Charles Barkley said
He has a point! He wouldn’t be number 1 if he wasn’t a pale skin. We have to stop giving white ppl platforms in our culture just bc they studied how to do a black dance or a little rap we get hype and give them more credit than they deserve, they pander us and we fall for it.. Black ppl can’t be racist it’s impossible! We created you all, we were first on the planet and will be the last. Europeans were created to help bring an end to the world bc they are cancer to everything they touch. We create they destroy it’s been this way since their beginning..
Meanwhile in Chicago a half a dozen black people seem to die almost every night from other black people. Stop acting like all black people are good people. And that’s just one example. Black people commit way toosny crimes and shootings to be talking that nonsense
Preach!!! What a damn joke, white people destroy everything? Stop destroying yourselves before blaming white people. Damn the racists are alive in these comments. Sad if you ask me
That’s racist brother… Lmao
Days of the black rappers is done they get somebody to study the moves and Swag til we all gone look at the killings the incarceration the beefs only real beef we saw between to white rappers was mgk vs Eminem and you saw how that turned out wake up black folks they forcing the gay agenda they allowing the violence in our music not theirs Its for real out here they Trying to get rid of US
America is majority white so makes sense more people will support a white artist. A mediocre white rapper will have more success than most black rappers
I agree with damn near most of what y’all saying but saying it’s impossible for a black person to be racist is a damn lie and u know it bruh!!! I’m a black man and my whole family pretty much hates everyone that ain’t black or brown!! Come to my family reunion this July you will hear the most outrageous racial shit ever!! So you buggin bruh!!
J cole half white
And that half-white side didn’t matter when the neighbors sent the feds to his house thinking he was running drugs ?♂️?
It seems like Punch is attacking Jack Harlow because he’s white. Obviously the masses are going to prefer First Class over many other rap songs. Songs that are more pop-influenced typically get more listens, it isn’t rocket science, and it has nothing to do with skin color. A lot of people want catchy tunes, not songs with creative lyricism and hard bars. Stop using hip hop heads as a sample for the entire population’s taste in music. Not everyone loves the straight raps as much. I do, but I get why a lot don’t.
macklemore busted his ass off for nine years before he hit it big but as for jack harlow he just shows up and expects the same credibility.
How many white rappers have a #1? Like 3? How many black rappers have gone #1? What predominantly (see entirely) black dominated music is the best selling music genre in the world? What are the demographics on the people that buy the music? Think about it.
Saying that hip hop is the best selling music genre is true, but misleading. It is best selling because it is oversaturated. The best hip hop artists are not selling more than the best pop artists. Kendrick has barely had a glimpse of Taylor’s career first week numbers. He will probably sell 500-800k which will put him in that range. Drake is the only one who is consistently on their level. Most of the best rappers don’t do big numbers. So I wouldn’t say hip hop is the best selling because Ed Sheeran, Adele, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and Lady Gaga are shitting on hip hop sales. And yes, it matters.
You defined mass appeal. Whether you, me or anyone for that matter likes it or not, it’s true.
Billboard has a good article on this if you care to Google it. Rap is now mainstream, and the most streamed, which is why you see hip-hop paired with everything from Denny’s commercial to car dealerships and hearing aid advertisements.
True that. Black people don’t support their own, but are quick to lash out. R&B now sounds like pop because black artists saw the numbers white artists were doing in pop and no major label will back a full R&B artist now. Demographics play a part. If you have the white demographic buying your music you’re likely to be more successful.
ISNT HE FROM GAME OF THRONES?
He’s not wrong. Harlow will probably win album of the year because his skin color and poppy image. Kendrick just spent 5 years on an album and will be bested by someone no one will care about in 3-4 years. Macklemore, G Eazy, Yelawolf, Post Malone all had their time and it went just as fast as it came. Same with Paul Wall and Mac Miller and even Bubba Sparxxx, point is though, Jack Harlow really is just average and he had to reuse a #1 single just to sell his C grade lyrics and flow since he can’t come up with another “Poppin” or what ever the fuck that song was. And he is the definition of a real industry plant. No one debuts with Da Baby, and then a Lil Wayne and Tori Lanez remix out of thin air who doesn’t have the major label corporate machine shoving it down our throats.
Know your info. Jack was originally signed to a label yrs back. He also has some connect to have high ended rappers or r&b singers because of being signed to DJ Drama’s label which is under Atlantic records and the fact that DJ Drama has those connects. I do agree with you though Kendrick will probably get bested by Harlow. Kendrick is by far the superior of the two in every aspect.
So what you said confirms dude above. He’s not independent at all and has had a bunch of label help for years.
Just looked it up and Kendrick has won 161 awards from 399 nominations. 14 Grammys. 2 rap album of the year Grammys for TPAB and DAMN. Damn was the only rap album to win a Pulitzer Prize. Macklemore definitely shouldn’t have won over GKMC. But I don’t think DAMN was the best rap album of 2017 either. There was a big backlash when Macklemore won, and the Grammys get it wrong all the time. In fact, if you look up “How many Grammys did Macklemore win?”, all you see are articles about why he shouldn’t have won over Kendrick. You also definitely won’t see the same type of comments under Kendricks social media posts as you will under Jack Harlow’s or Macklemore’s. You will see plenty of people calling him “goat” and “God” and all this stuff. And he hasn’t event released an album in 5 years. So I think he gets plenty of credit. He gets as much credit as any rapper I’ve ever seen. This outrage seems misplaced.
This is all the number one hiphop singles since 2020. Only white artist on that list are Jack Harlow. And artist like Eminem, Mac Miller, G-Eazy, MGK, Yelawolf, NF, Iggy Azalea, Token and probably a lot more white rappers has released singles during the last 3 years and none has reached number one. So what was Punches argument?
Travis Scott featuring Young Thug and M.I.A. – Franchise
24kGoldn featuring Iann Dior – Mood
DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch – Rockstar
Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé – Savage
Doja Cat featuring Nicki Minaj – Say So
Roddy Ricch – The Box
The Scotts, Travis Scott and Kid Cudi – The Scotts
Drake – Toosie Slide
6ix9ine and Nicki Minaj Trollz
Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion – WAP
Polo G – Rapstar
Cardi B – Up
Drake featuring Future and Young Thug – Way 2 Sexy
Drake – What’s Next
Lil Nas X – Montero (Call Me by Your Name)
Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow – Industry Baby
Jack Harlow – First Class
Sorry that list are very hard to read when i posted it.
…but I bet Punch doesnt mind that Kendricks concerts are attended by 90% white people. It is very simple: we gravitate towards all sorts of things and moreso things and people we can relate to. Jack Harlow is the guy in the crowd at a hiphop concert that knows how to rap. Thus, that same crowd he’s part of will fuck with him.