Macklemore - White Privlege song / article on "indie rise"

[The Rapping Coffin]

you just wrote the words "you're one of the worst posters of all-time" and you're in your 40s. Get a grip.

[Cash Rulz]

Little black babies in the Bronx are somewhere crying.

LOL

It's probably because the child support money is late.

[Employee]

you just wrote the words "you're one of the worst posters of all-time" and you're in your 40s. Get a grip.

You are one of the worst posters of all-time and I am nowhere near forty, bruh (despite the images of me you are able to conjure while touching the underside of your shaft and reciting your favorite posts of mine).

You're definitely near forty (probably over) given your need to namedrop and furious desire to prove you have a life.

Very sad, bruh: VERY.

[sean]

ardy. i claim independent, but ada/wea also distributes my shit.
it's not that uncommon. it's the only way to get your shit into the smaller towns via best buy and target.
i wouldn't judge them on that.

http://www.roth.com/main/Page.aspx?PageID=7260

[Career Over Like Mike(NJJ)]

[ALASKA]

I read a lot of this, but towards the end I got all it is pretty much the same old argument that has been going on forever about real rap vs non-real rap, you can even go into the racial elements of it, but essentially it is an extension of that argument, mixed in with the cultural touchstones of racial tensions and whites coopting black culture.

for me the whole argument of real vs. non-real hip hop comes down to is this, the people that make "real" hip hop and scream about "real" hip hop are being intellectually dishonest for two reasons:

1. once you start making real hip hop, you have put yourself into a position of reaching a smaller audience, because most people dont give a shit about real hip hop (im not saying most hip hop fans, i am saying most people, most consumers, on a whole they really dont give a shit about any of the baggage that comes with the idea of real hip hop). Once you put yourself into that box, you need to accept the fact that you have embraced a fringe culture, if you are being honest you will see that what you do and what the world at large considers rap music are polar opposites.

2. you need the cats like this to justify your struggle. If you do not have the enemy of the sell-out or non-real artist that is making money hand over first and turning the national conversation on hip hop towards what they are doing you lost your high ground, your cause. It is why most real hip hop has a finite shelf life. I am not saying the other music is better, it is just more universal, they do not need real hip hop, but real hip hop needs them as much as they claim to want it gone real hip hop heads will always find the item of hatred they can turn their conversation too.

Real hip hop loves shit like this, because it is their justification, it is the straw man that gives them meaning and greater purpose and it is much easier than accepting that the art form you dedicated your lives to is some fringe shit for teenagers and people in their early 20s.

once you accept that they mean nothing to your world, that macklemore is essentially the black eyed peas, he made underground music for a decade with little success, decided to make some poppy shit and it took off. His success has nothing to do with real hip hop, and real hip hop has nothing to do with his success. he followed a formula old as time, a really easy to dance to beat, a catchy as fuck hook, and some real average rapping about some real non-threatening shit. His success is more a testament to the formulaic nature of pop music, and the fact that the vast majority of the population could give a fuck about how a sample is flipped or if you can rap good, as long as they can dance to it when they go out. The assumption that he is going to white wash hip hop is outlandish, if Em didnt do it there is no way in hell he can.

One of the primary reasons that Jazz and Rock n Roll were able to be white washed is that there was no real cultural connection for the majority of people. They only heard records, a few would get to go to clubs, it wasnt until the advent of TV that it was really able to become a white dominated form of music. Hip hop came up through the same mediums, but was never a white dominated genre, I dont think it ever will be. People will accept white artists, but if you look at the vast majority of successful artists, they are black. This doesnt mean the music isnt white washed to fit a certain sensibility, but on an artist level i dont see the major white domination playing out any time soon. especially as going forward the most interesting movements are coming from inner city scenes.

anyway. Thats just my two cents.

[Mindbender Futurama]

^^^ on point like bow and arrow equipment except I don't agree that "real hip hop" needs this to feast on. People either invent new ideas every year, or they recycle the old ones. That's it. All the finger pointing about authenticity remains irrelevant except to cats like Jaz and such, lol. There IS a racial reality to Macklemore and Mac Miller and Machine Gun Kelly and Kitty Pryde and Action Bronson and Iggy Azalea and a few other modern sensations blowing up... But it's certainly not some gimmick shit like Vanilla Ice or Miilkbone (who had mad skills) or Lil Wyte or Haystak (who also could rap) but used their whiteness as part of their marketing and promotion. Macklemore just uses it to get more executive meetings., not street cred or more authenticity points.

I went to a house party hosted by some traditional white folks a few weeks ago. The song "Thrift Shop" was played 4 times before 10:30 pm that night.

They drank and laughed along to the video like it was an Internet meme, not a rap song. Curious.

Sluggo, you don't count. You are the god of earth indie rap, you did it all before anyone judged anyone else

People study you and pretend you didnt pave the way for this type of independent international infiltration

[ardamus]

ardy. i claim independent, but ada/wea also distributes my shit.
it's not that uncommon. it's the only way to get your shit into the smaller towns via best buy and target.
i wouldn't judge them on that.

http://www.roth.com/main/Page.aspx?PageID=7260

respect on that.

i don't judge them on that. i honestly like Macklemore's stuff before linked with Ryan Lewis. its not bad, but i thought the production was personally better from what i've heard. aside from that, my point was it shows that on a major/commercial level, major labels will support indies in ways that the fans may not expect. thats all. no harm, no foul.

[Mindbender Futurama]

Yeah, I can't front. I listened to Macklemore last year a few times and didn't mind him.
Now that he's basically a pop star, I don't feel he needs my time

If he makes a song I like, I'll play it tho. I ain't a hater :stylesp:
This is his best song to me tho. His 'Ugly', if he were a Bubba Sparkxxx

[ALASKA]

I don't agree that "real hip hop" needs this to feast on.

I dont think it does either, i might not have made that clear, I think, when done well it is good enough to stand on its own, but I do think there is a strong contingent of people who claim real hip hop that use the more commercial elements as a rallying cry, and often times this will cross over into attacking artists making genuine hip hop who see any kind of success beyond the normal circles, or expand their sound beyond the traditional "idea" of what the sound should be.

[Career Over Like Mike(NJJ)]

Top 5 rap songs by saltines since 2000?

Haystak - Hell Naw



Y@k Ballz - Flossin'



Bubba Sparxxx - Lovely



South Coast Coalition w/ Lil' Boosie - Livin' What I'm Spittin'



Smut Peddlers - One By One (Revamped)

[Mindbender Futurama]

I don't agree that "real hip hop" needs this to feast on.

I dont think it does either, i might not have made that clear, I think, when done well it is good enough to stand on its own, but I do think there is a strong contingent of people who claim real hip hop that use the more commercial elements as a rallying cry, and often times this will cross over into attacking artists making genuine hip hop who see any kind of success beyond the normal circles, or expand their sound beyond the traditional "idea" of what the sound should be.

I can dig it.

[drizzle]

I don't agree that "real hip hop" needs this to feast on.

I dont think it does either, i might not have made that clear, I think, when done well it is good enough to stand on its own, but I do think there is a strong contingent of people who claim real hip hop that use the more commercial elements as a rallying cry, and often times this will cross over into attacking artists making genuine hip hop who see any kind of success beyond the normal circles, or expand their sound beyond the traditional "idea" of what the sound should be.

consider that the very term 'real hip-hop' implies a binary - without the existence of 'fake', 'real' has no meaning. otherwise it's a pointless adjective. so the term itself belies the antagonistic attitude that you described (very well) in the earlier post. good rap music doesn't need a straw man villain to exist, but 'real hip-hop' does.

[Employee]

a) He's a terrible rapper now by any measure (authentically shitty)

b) He doesn't rap like Josh Martinez anymore because he needs to pay rent

c) He is a "sell out" because he sold out his past/roots/whatever the fuck you want to call it for a paycheck; that shit is cool if you're like a new parent or a self-reformed former life failure, but as an artist it is the moment you should be abandoned by everyone. Old and new fans

[Larry2times]

If Macklemore, Mac Lethal & Mac Miller ever rap on the same song its gonna be impossible to get the smell of earnest wet dog out of rap music.

rap game Greg Behrendt

[Employee]

rap game Greg Behrendt

[dubs]

damn. i just youtubed mackle thrift shop. had no idea thats what i been hearing. and how much of a faggot he is.

[zombie]

how did macklemore get in mainstream radio/clubs/bars?

its so fucking strange

[dubs]

while listening to said song. my little brother asked me if it was nate dogg. SRS

[Dids]

There is like nothing strange about dude blowing up. A super catchy pop song and simple topical message songs? He might as well have been designed by committee.

[Pizon]

damn. i just youtubed mackle thrift shop. had no idea thats what i been hearing.

Explain.

[zombie]

There is like nothing strange about dude blowing up. A super catchy pop song and simple topical message songs? He might as well have been designed by committee.

simple topical message song?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA.

[Panama]

>>>>>>>>>>>> thrift shop

[ackbar]

>>>>>>>>>> thrift shop

[Employee]

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1 ... yan_lewis/

IAMA previous intern with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. AMA (self.IAmA)
submitted 5 hours ago* by mister_pjm
Last summer I interned with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis in Seattle. I have done a couple of AMAs in the past and they were pretty popular. I thought I would give some of you guys the opportunity to ask me anything and let me tell you about my experience.

[sean]

well then, since you brought it back up,
i'm pretty sure no one clicked the link i had previously posted in this thread.

:sadface:

[Employee]

[Employee]

[Verse 1]
Pulled into the parking lot, parked it
Zipped up my parka, joined the procession of marchers
In my head like, "Is this awkward, should I even be here marching?"
Thinking if they can't, how can I breathe?
Thinking that they chant, what do I sing?
I want to take a stance cause we are not free
And then I thought about it, we are not we
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 for 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
In front of a line of police that look the same as me
Only separated by a badge, a baton, a can of Mace, a mask
A shield, a gun with gloves and hands that gives an alibi
In case somebody dies behind a bullet that flies out of the 9
Takes another child's life on sight

[Hook]
Blood in the streets, no justice, no peace
No racist beliefs, no rest 'til we're free
There's blood in the streets, no justice, no peace
No racist beliefs, no rest 'til we're free

Blood in the streets, no justice, no peace
No racist beliefs, no rest 'til we're free
There's blood in the streets, no justice, no peace
No racist beliefs, no rest 'til we're free
(Ben, think about it)

[Verse 2]
You've exploited and stolen the music, the moment
The magic, the passion, the fashion, you toy with
The culture was never yours to make better
You're Miley, you're Elvis, you're Iggy Azalea
Fake and so plastic, you've heisted the magic
You've taken the drums and the accent you rapped in
You're branded "hip-hop", it's so fascist and backwards
That Grandmaster Flash'd go slap it, you bastard
All the money that you made
All the watered down pop bullshit version of the culture, pal
Go buy a big-ass lawn, go with your big-ass house
Get a big-ass fence, keep people out
It's all stubborn, anyway, can't you see that now?
There's no way for you to even that out
You can join the march, protest, scream and shout
Get on Twitter, hashtag and seem like you're down
But they see through it all, people believe you now
You said publicly, "Rest in peace, Mike Brown"
You speak about equality, but do you really mean it?
Are you marching for freedom, or when it's convenient?
Want people to like you, want to be accepted
That's probably why you are out here protesting
Don't think for a second you don't have incentive
Is this about you, well, then what's your intention?
What's the intention? What's the intention?

[Verse 3]
Psst, I totally get it, you're by yourself
And the last thing you want to do is take a picture
But seriously, my little girl loves you
She's always singing, "I'm gonna pop some tags"
I'm not kidding, my oldest, you even got him to go thrifting
And "One Love", oh, my God, that song – brilliant
Their aunt is gay, when that song came out
My son told his whole class he was actually proud
That's so cool, look what you're accomplishing
Even an old mom like me likes it cause it's positive
You're the only hip-hop that I let my kids listen to
Cause you get it, all that negative stuff isn't cool
Yeah, like all the guns and the drugs
The bitches and the hoes and the gangs and the thugs
Even the protest outside – so sad and so dumb
If a cop pulls you over, it's your fault if you run
Huh?

[Interlude: Multiple voices]
So, they feel that the police are discriminating against the, the black people? I have an advantage? Why? Cause I'm white? What? Haha. No. People nowadays are just pussies. Like, this is the generation to be offended by everything. Black Lives Matter thing is a reason to take arms up over perceived slights. I'm not prejudiced, I just–. 99% of the time across this country, the police are doing their job properly

[Verse 4]
Damn, a lot of opinions, a lot of confusion, a lot of resentment
Some of us scared, some of us defensive
And most of us aren't even paying attention
It seems like we're more concerned with being called racist
Than we actually are with racism
I've heard that silences are action and God knows that I've been passive
What if I actually read a article, actually had a dialogue
Actually looked at myself, actually got involved?
If I'm aware of my privilege and do nothing at all, I don't know
Hip-hop has always been political, yes
It's the reason why this music connects
So what the fuck has happened to my voice if I stay silent when black people are dying
Then I'm trying to be politically correct?
I can book a whole tour, sell out the tickets
Rap entrepreneur, built his own business
If I'm only in this for my own self-interest, not the culture that gave

[Philaflava]

when does this nightmare end?

[EMCEE DARTH MALEK]

shoulda known he'd follow the blueprint of upbeat joke song 1st single, cringeworthy political song 2nd single. gotta admit that this is significantly less corny than "same love" tho. anyway that moped song didn't really hit like thrift shop did (not getting much spin in the 6ix) so hopefully this superficial manifestation of guilt will die off too.