Like. My main problem with Macklemore and critiques of rap leveled by white people is that they are anti black as fuck. A large percentage of his fans despise rap music, and frequently don’t even consider it such. Macklemore is praised for being progressive and talking…
That’s not macklemore’s fault that’s the industry and music critics fault. He’s worked friggin hard to get where he got, he speaks his mind and his heart and just because he’s viewed a certain way by the public because of his race it shouldn’t mean your problem should be with him. I agree with what you’ve said about how unfairly weighted his praise is when compared to other rappers but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t done anything to deserve it and that doesn’t mean he’s not a voice for a lot of the things we believe in.
Except really not really? Saying that he worked hard is a moot point, because any musician who is a full time musician works fucking hard. Has he worked hard enough for people to be calling him the new face of hip hop? FUCK no.
Also, you seem to largely be missing the point. Macklemore is well aware of the image he has created, which relies on bifurcating the rap industry into those ignorant negroes over there who rap about bitches and 40s and drugs and himself. What the fuck else would he be doing with lines like “despite how lil wayne lives/it’s not conducive to being creative"? Why does he have an entire fucking song about how terrible lean is while we live in a world that glorifies the fucking 60s and psychadelic rock?
Lastly, you’re right. He is a voice. A single voice. A single voice who is not particularly gifted in this art form, and who isn’t saying anything new. So why then, does he receive so much praise and attention from every direction? Why rap about shit that has been rapped about before and consciously create an image of him as just spontaneously shucking the homophobic, materialistic conventions of the genre and speaking from his heart?
I’m not missing the point and you didn’t address my argument you just made other different arguments to seem like you where more right.
You said ‘my main problem with macklemore is that he and the rap critques levelled by white people are anti-black as fuck’ I submit that macklemore is not racist and fans not thinking that his music is rap (which you stated) does not make them racist. Not liking other rap doesn’t make them racist either. It just means they don’t like other rap. I can’t speak on the white levelled rap critiques whom you are most likely right about because I don’t know a lot about rap criqtues.
Your argument that macklemore is not progressive because other black and brown rappers aren’t praised as progressive isn’t true. The two aren’t mutually exclusive.
Your argument about music genres also has nothing to do with macklemore but the way history has treated and viewed sexism and homophobia in regards to the way music portrays it and black and brown peoples involvement in that. Not macklemore. History.
People will call him what they call him. If he embraces it he embraces it to make money so he can keep making music so he can keep saying things that are worthwhile on a global scale. Its what every artist (regardless of race) who has ever reached popularity has ever done throughout history. Make money = make music = have a voice for the people to hear.
You make this assumption with nothing but speculation – ‘Macklemore is well aware of the image he has created, which relies on bifurcating the rap industry into those ignorant negros over there who rap about bitches and 40s and drugs and himself’ that’s all it is. Your speculation, no fact.
You ask why he has a song that says one thing while the world glorifies another. Once again these these points are not mutually exclusive things and the world is not something he controls. One thing does not denote another.
He is a voice saying the same thing people have said for years and years. The right things. The things that need to be said and need to keep being said in any form possible for as long as possible because they are things that shouldn’t be forgotten. They are the things that should be repeated. Regardless of the race of the person repeating them.
Why rap about shit that had been rapped about before? Nothing is new in this world, everything is recycled art in one way or another. Everyone has sung and rapped about the same things they have sung and rapped about forever and they will keep going with or without macklemore. If he consciously creates an image its not through any form of racism, its not through exploitation of any industry (or if it is in your eyes then it’s the same exploitation every artist regardless of race uses in that industry. To say otherwise would practically be racist).
His uncles gay, there’s nothing spontaneous about the way he views homophobia. He’s battled with consumerism and the materialistic world and raps about it without hiding anything.
As I said before - you have a problem with the industry, you have a problem with the way black and brown people are viewed in terms of how they shaped music (and so you should be) but you shouldn’t use macklemore to champion all that’s wrong about the way the rap (and or rap critique) industry runs its business.
I didn’t reply earlier to make you mad. I’m sorry if it turned out that way. I’m not replying now to be a thorn in your side either. Just gotta say it cause I don’t want to see him used in this way.
Um, so, I don’t know how to tell you this, so I think I’m just going to say it.
I…
I don’t think you know how to read.
I’ve highlighted some key moments here that tip me off to this elaborate masquerade of yours, such as falsely attributing quotes to me (see bold 1) when what I said was in front of you the whole time, a failed distillation of my argument (bold 3: macklemore isn’t progressive because his music does not push the genre forward in any way. People have made better music talking about the things he talks about before he talked about them), and your oversimplification of something I said (bold 7: the simultaneous denouncing of black drug culture and glorification of white drug culture exists.)
Also. While we’re at it, you are not very smart and should stay out of conversations where you have no idea what you’re talking about (your words! see bold 2). You legitimately have an entire paragraph where you whine about speculation (bold 6) and imply that it invalidates what I’m saying, then go on to speculate (bold 1,8,9).
Also don’t come on my post like this is your fucking middle school speech and debate team. Don’t do stupid shit like imply throughout your whole post that reverse racism is a thing. It isn’t. Don’t do stupid shit like say that accusing macklemore of being racist, based on his image and the way he presents himself, is me discriminating against him. Don’t do dumb things like claim one minute that he does the bullshit that he does just to make money, and then lament about his many struggles with consumerism. Don’t be a fucking idiot and ADMIT THAT YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT and then spend numerous poorly written paragraphs stanning for some mediocre asshole with the worst haircut known to man.
http://www.englishforeveryone.org/Topics/Reading-Comprehension.htm
work through some of these then reread what I said
Cool glad we’re not in the same page have an awesome life.
sabellart
