Post by Athans on Oct 30, 2014 8:42:19 GMT -6
A bit from my blog...
Drake Dissing Macklemore: Race, Culture, and the History of Hip-Hop
Since this blog is about culture as well as politics, I will take this opportunity to do a cultural bit. I am writing this bit in response to Drake dissing on Macklemore on the 2014 ESPYS the other night. In an attempt to sing, he said “Real talent doesn’t always win championships, like real music doesn’t always win Grammys.” with a photo of Macklemore holding a Grammy on the screen.
What I want you to take most from this, regardless of your race, is the perspective I have and why I have it. I want to address what Macklemore has done for someone like me, as well as the race implications and the history of hip-hop. This will also explain the reactions of the general, uninterested Americans.
Before I continue, I will back up about 10 years.
While I was in high school 2000-2004, I got into rap music for the first time. I was a big Eminem fan. Though I thought his song “Slim Shady” was stupid, I like most of his other stuff. I did not exactly care for the type of language or lyrics of many of his songs, but he did have good beats. What I really connected with was his emotion. I could feel his anger and his pain. I felt like he was rapping about SOMETHING.
There were other songs by other artists that I liked, but I particularly liked Ludacris. Him being in the 2 Fast 2 Furious certainly helped, but he was unique in his sound and style. Then of course there were guys I just could not stand, like Nelly.
After high school I joined the US Air Force. My first station was Germany. We did a lot of clubbing in Germany and American music was very popular at the clubs. They had the typical club music, stuff with a good beat, so naturally there was a lot of rap. I would say our unit, for the airmen at least, was about 50/50 black and white. So naturally, we always had the rap music blaring at the dorms. We would find the songs with the best base and have contests over who had the better sub.
After nearly two years of hard clubbing, I really started to dislike rap music. The lyrics were garbage. I felt like they just threw whatever words together when they got a good beat. I did not like the way the spoke about women and was just irritated that every song was about bling, hoes, and rims. I get it, you have money. I also thought it sent entirely the wrong message to young kids, especially young black kids. It glorified getting shot and blowing money, the opposite of what should be happening if we want real progress in this country. You can disagree with my view, but that is how I feel. Some people will probably say I am reading into it way too much, and that is possibly true, but it is the way my brain works. It all just got old and I made the conscious decision that was not going support rap music.
I turned into just a casual listener when it came to music. I went with without buying an album for years, with one exception…Taylor Swift. I love Taylor Swift. Admittedly it had a lot more to do with her looks than it did with her singing ability. But what I really liked about her was the image she gave off. Yes, she has silly boy issues, and that is really starting to get old, but I respected her song writing ability and the way she portrays herself. To this day you will never see a picture of her stumbling out of a bar, or dressing trashy. You will not find nipple slips or “leaked” nude pictures of her. She was the type of girl I would want a daughter to admire, not this Miley Cyrus crap.
Naturally, you know where this leads. The 2009 MTV VMAs. Kanye West runs up on stage and grabs the microphone from Taylor Swift. Barak Obama even called Kanye a “jackass.” It was continuous crap like this, Kanye constantly complaining while he and Diddy talk about what geniuses they are. It was all just a big eye-roll.
Moving forward a couple more years I heard this song on the radio, some guy rapping about shopping at a thrift shop. I rolled my eyes and changed the station. I thought “just another hip-hop song with stupid lyrics.” Later on I hear this song called “Same Love.” It caught my attention. I was like “finally, a rap song that was not brainless, a song with some meaning and a good message?” I had heard the name Macklemore, but did not know anything about him or what he looked like. I decided to look into who he was. I then learned that the song “Thrift Shop” was poking fun at traditional rap music.
Macklemore spoke to MTV News about the meaning of the song: “Rappers talk about, oh I buy this and I buy that, and I spend this much money and I make it rain, and this type of champagne and painting the club, and this is the kind of record that’s the exact opposite,” he explained. “It’s the polar opposite of it. It’s kind of standing for like let’s save some money, let’s keep some money away, let’s spend as little as possible and look as fresh as possible at the same time.” –Wikipedia
After finding that out, it made so much sense. He was poking fun at one of my big criticisms (right or wrong, it was simply my opinion) of rap music. Between that and “Same Love,” I became a Macklemore fan and was rooting for him at the Grammys.
As we know, Macklemore won Best Rap Album and all he got after that was heat which led to this deal at the ESPYS.
Let’s talk about Drake. I do not know much about Drake and I do not care. His name does keep popping up though. It seems like a lot of people do not like the guy. To me, he seems like Justin Bieber, just some spoiled pretty boy trying to act hard. Is he? Don’t know, don’t care. However, I was forced to watch him on the ESPYS. His singing sucked. He would not have made the top 10 on The Voice. Seth MacFarlane’s singing while hosting the Oscars made Drake look like a chump. I can see why MacFarlane has been nominated for a Grammy. Anyways, in Drake’s song, he says “real music doesn’t always win Grammys.”
First, it just seems like another bitter rapper (that is what I am told he is) that got his panties all up in a bunch, just like Kanye. I was not sure why he had so much hate, but it did APPEAR to be because of race, or possibly the stances he took. I feel like this is what the average American would see. The black guys are mad because the white guy won. I decided to Google some stuff to see what I could find. I Googled “macklemore won grammy because of race.” The top three results all offered different views and opinions. Here are the three links and the argument they are making…
allhiphop.com/2014/01/28/hip-hops-anger-over-macklemores-grammy-win-is-about-respect-not-race/
This article says that it is not about race, but respect. This article is about understanding the history and tradition of hip-hop music. It says that people are upset, not because of race, but because “The Establishment” does not recognize the works that should be. They argue that Kendrick Lamar’s album is simply better. They also point out that Macklemore even stated the award should have gone to Kendrick.
www.huffingtonpost.com/ryan-kristobak/macklemore-best-rap-album_b_4675856.html
This article, like the one above, talks about the Grammy voter’s lack of understanding of the genre and do not care to. It also points out that Macklemore being white probably played a role with the VOTERS. They favored him because he is white and because of this, Macklemore was not deserving of the Grammy. The article also says
“However, “The Heist” is still a fantastic record, and both Macklemore and K. Dot have done more amazing things for hip-hop over the past year and a half than the large majority of their peers. Macklemore is discussing issues like same-sex equality, a topic’s acceptance that is long overdue when it comes to hip-hop.”
Lastly, it makes it clear that Macklemore should not be blamed. He did not nominate himself, did not vote for himself, and he cannot help he is white. He even said Kendrick was robbed. If anyone deserves blame, it is the Recording Academy.
www.complex.com/music/2014/01/macklemore-white-privilege-grammy-best-rap-album
This final article does call it an issue of White Privilege. It also states the Eminem enjoyed the benefits of white privilege but acknowledges that Eminem was the best rapper alive. It also states that Macklemore and his fans do not deserve the hate they are getting.
So what is my opinion of it all? I must admit that I am not familiar with the history and tradition of hip-hop music. I know what I like, I know what I want to listen to, I know what believe is a good and bad influence and I know I agree more with “Thrift Shop” than the popular view. I know what I would prefer my kids to be fans of. For me, race plays no role. I became a fan after I heard the song “Same Love” and at that point I was already assuming Macklemore was black. I was surprised to find out he was not, but I should not have been, I mean Eminem is white. Like I said before, I also like Eminem, but that is because I connected and felt his emotion. Am I taking the history of hip-hop into consideration? No, just like I do not take the history of country music into consideration when listening to Taylor Swift. I read a lot of history, but not typically the history of music. I listen to music to relate. I also value good role models. But I do like a catchy tune or something you can dance to when in that setting.
If I were voter for the Grammys it would not be fair because I do not know who Kendrick Lamar is, but I do agree with what one of the other articles said…
“However, “The Heist” is still a fantastic record, and both Macklemore and K. Dot have done more amazing things for hip-hop over the past year and a half than the large majority of their peers. Macklemore is discussing issues like same-sex equality, a topic’s acceptance that is long overdue when it comes to hip-hop.”
I totally agree with this. The topics that Macklemore has brought up, including white privilege, are important. I feel Macklemore helps hip-hop as a whole. Macklemore made me start listening to some rap again and bought Eminem’s new CD and Nelly’s new CD. Remember, I said I hated Nelly? Not anymore. I like his new stuff. Because of the messages Macklemore brings and what he did for me, I would certainly have voted for him.
That is not to say that we do not have a problem with a bunch of old white guys voting for white guys, because I do not know. It certainly appears this may be a part of it, but I just stated why I would vote for Macklemore regardless of race, it has to do with hip-hop as a whole. But who is to say my views are correct? That is simply my view and opinion so it is possible those that voted for Macklemore are not just a bunch of biased racists.
One thing is certain…this is not Macklemore’s fault, unless you assume he has no business talking about same sex love or poking fun at the culture of rap music. Macklemore does not deserve to be dissed, especially by someone like Drake. Drake implies Macklemore does not do real music or have real talent? What a stupid suggestion. Where is the respect? I hope Drake’s rapping is better than his singing, because his singing blows.
As far as public perception, it does appear to have a race issue and it continues to make rappers look like jealous, bitter, cry babies. This was one of the things that turned me away from hip-hop, this smug, bitter attitude. Instead of saying “congratulations” you have Kanye jumping in and saying that Beyonce’s video was the best video of all times! I am not saying my view is right or wrong or trying to tell people how to conduct themselves, I am simply stating my observations and views based on my life. I hope this was thought provoking.
Drake Dissing Macklemore: Race, Culture, and the History of Hip-Hop
Since this blog is about culture as well as politics, I will take this opportunity to do a cultural bit. I am writing this bit in response to Drake dissing on Macklemore on the 2014 ESPYS the other night. In an attempt to sing, he said “Real talent doesn’t always win championships, like real music doesn’t always win Grammys.” with a photo of Macklemore holding a Grammy on the screen.
What I want you to take most from this, regardless of your race, is the perspective I have and why I have it. I want to address what Macklemore has done for someone like me, as well as the race implications and the history of hip-hop. This will also explain the reactions of the general, uninterested Americans.
Before I continue, I will back up about 10 years.
While I was in high school 2000-2004, I got into rap music for the first time. I was a big Eminem fan. Though I thought his song “Slim Shady” was stupid, I like most of his other stuff. I did not exactly care for the type of language or lyrics of many of his songs, but he did have good beats. What I really connected with was his emotion. I could feel his anger and his pain. I felt like he was rapping about SOMETHING.
There were other songs by other artists that I liked, but I particularly liked Ludacris. Him being in the 2 Fast 2 Furious certainly helped, but he was unique in his sound and style. Then of course there were guys I just could not stand, like Nelly.
After high school I joined the US Air Force. My first station was Germany. We did a lot of clubbing in Germany and American music was very popular at the clubs. They had the typical club music, stuff with a good beat, so naturally there was a lot of rap. I would say our unit, for the airmen at least, was about 50/50 black and white. So naturally, we always had the rap music blaring at the dorms. We would find the songs with the best base and have contests over who had the better sub.
After nearly two years of hard clubbing, I really started to dislike rap music. The lyrics were garbage. I felt like they just threw whatever words together when they got a good beat. I did not like the way the spoke about women and was just irritated that every song was about bling, hoes, and rims. I get it, you have money. I also thought it sent entirely the wrong message to young kids, especially young black kids. It glorified getting shot and blowing money, the opposite of what should be happening if we want real progress in this country. You can disagree with my view, but that is how I feel. Some people will probably say I am reading into it way too much, and that is possibly true, but it is the way my brain works. It all just got old and I made the conscious decision that was not going support rap music.
I turned into just a casual listener when it came to music. I went with without buying an album for years, with one exception…Taylor Swift. I love Taylor Swift. Admittedly it had a lot more to do with her looks than it did with her singing ability. But what I really liked about her was the image she gave off. Yes, she has silly boy issues, and that is really starting to get old, but I respected her song writing ability and the way she portrays herself. To this day you will never see a picture of her stumbling out of a bar, or dressing trashy. You will not find nipple slips or “leaked” nude pictures of her. She was the type of girl I would want a daughter to admire, not this Miley Cyrus crap.
Naturally, you know where this leads. The 2009 MTV VMAs. Kanye West runs up on stage and grabs the microphone from Taylor Swift. Barak Obama even called Kanye a “jackass.” It was continuous crap like this, Kanye constantly complaining while he and Diddy talk about what geniuses they are. It was all just a big eye-roll.
Moving forward a couple more years I heard this song on the radio, some guy rapping about shopping at a thrift shop. I rolled my eyes and changed the station. I thought “just another hip-hop song with stupid lyrics.” Later on I hear this song called “Same Love.” It caught my attention. I was like “finally, a rap song that was not brainless, a song with some meaning and a good message?” I had heard the name Macklemore, but did not know anything about him or what he looked like. I decided to look into who he was. I then learned that the song “Thrift Shop” was poking fun at traditional rap music.
Macklemore spoke to MTV News about the meaning of the song: “Rappers talk about, oh I buy this and I buy that, and I spend this much money and I make it rain, and this type of champagne and painting the club, and this is the kind of record that’s the exact opposite,” he explained. “It’s the polar opposite of it. It’s kind of standing for like let’s save some money, let’s keep some money away, let’s spend as little as possible and look as fresh as possible at the same time.” –Wikipedia
After finding that out, it made so much sense. He was poking fun at one of my big criticisms (right or wrong, it was simply my opinion) of rap music. Between that and “Same Love,” I became a Macklemore fan and was rooting for him at the Grammys.
As we know, Macklemore won Best Rap Album and all he got after that was heat which led to this deal at the ESPYS.
Let’s talk about Drake. I do not know much about Drake and I do not care. His name does keep popping up though. It seems like a lot of people do not like the guy. To me, he seems like Justin Bieber, just some spoiled pretty boy trying to act hard. Is he? Don’t know, don’t care. However, I was forced to watch him on the ESPYS. His singing sucked. He would not have made the top 10 on The Voice. Seth MacFarlane’s singing while hosting the Oscars made Drake look like a chump. I can see why MacFarlane has been nominated for a Grammy. Anyways, in Drake’s song, he says “real music doesn’t always win Grammys.”
First, it just seems like another bitter rapper (that is what I am told he is) that got his panties all up in a bunch, just like Kanye. I was not sure why he had so much hate, but it did APPEAR to be because of race, or possibly the stances he took. I feel like this is what the average American would see. The black guys are mad because the white guy won. I decided to Google some stuff to see what I could find. I Googled “macklemore won grammy because of race.” The top three results all offered different views and opinions. Here are the three links and the argument they are making…
allhiphop.com/2014/01/28/hip-hops-anger-over-macklemores-grammy-win-is-about-respect-not-race/
This article says that it is not about race, but respect. This article is about understanding the history and tradition of hip-hop music. It says that people are upset, not because of race, but because “The Establishment” does not recognize the works that should be. They argue that Kendrick Lamar’s album is simply better. They also point out that Macklemore even stated the award should have gone to Kendrick.
www.huffingtonpost.com/ryan-kristobak/macklemore-best-rap-album_b_4675856.html
This article, like the one above, talks about the Grammy voter’s lack of understanding of the genre and do not care to. It also points out that Macklemore being white probably played a role with the VOTERS. They favored him because he is white and because of this, Macklemore was not deserving of the Grammy. The article also says
“However, “The Heist” is still a fantastic record, and both Macklemore and K. Dot have done more amazing things for hip-hop over the past year and a half than the large majority of their peers. Macklemore is discussing issues like same-sex equality, a topic’s acceptance that is long overdue when it comes to hip-hop.”
Lastly, it makes it clear that Macklemore should not be blamed. He did not nominate himself, did not vote for himself, and he cannot help he is white. He even said Kendrick was robbed. If anyone deserves blame, it is the Recording Academy.
www.complex.com/music/2014/01/macklemore-white-privilege-grammy-best-rap-album
This final article does call it an issue of White Privilege. It also states the Eminem enjoyed the benefits of white privilege but acknowledges that Eminem was the best rapper alive. It also states that Macklemore and his fans do not deserve the hate they are getting.
So what is my opinion of it all? I must admit that I am not familiar with the history and tradition of hip-hop music. I know what I like, I know what I want to listen to, I know what believe is a good and bad influence and I know I agree more with “Thrift Shop” than the popular view. I know what I would prefer my kids to be fans of. For me, race plays no role. I became a fan after I heard the song “Same Love” and at that point I was already assuming Macklemore was black. I was surprised to find out he was not, but I should not have been, I mean Eminem is white. Like I said before, I also like Eminem, but that is because I connected and felt his emotion. Am I taking the history of hip-hop into consideration? No, just like I do not take the history of country music into consideration when listening to Taylor Swift. I read a lot of history, but not typically the history of music. I listen to music to relate. I also value good role models. But I do like a catchy tune or something you can dance to when in that setting.
If I were voter for the Grammys it would not be fair because I do not know who Kendrick Lamar is, but I do agree with what one of the other articles said…
“However, “The Heist” is still a fantastic record, and both Macklemore and K. Dot have done more amazing things for hip-hop over the past year and a half than the large majority of their peers. Macklemore is discussing issues like same-sex equality, a topic’s acceptance that is long overdue when it comes to hip-hop.”
I totally agree with this. The topics that Macklemore has brought up, including white privilege, are important. I feel Macklemore helps hip-hop as a whole. Macklemore made me start listening to some rap again and bought Eminem’s new CD and Nelly’s new CD. Remember, I said I hated Nelly? Not anymore. I like his new stuff. Because of the messages Macklemore brings and what he did for me, I would certainly have voted for him.
That is not to say that we do not have a problem with a bunch of old white guys voting for white guys, because I do not know. It certainly appears this may be a part of it, but I just stated why I would vote for Macklemore regardless of race, it has to do with hip-hop as a whole. But who is to say my views are correct? That is simply my view and opinion so it is possible those that voted for Macklemore are not just a bunch of biased racists.
One thing is certain…this is not Macklemore’s fault, unless you assume he has no business talking about same sex love or poking fun at the culture of rap music. Macklemore does not deserve to be dissed, especially by someone like Drake. Drake implies Macklemore does not do real music or have real talent? What a stupid suggestion. Where is the respect? I hope Drake’s rapping is better than his singing, because his singing blows.
As far as public perception, it does appear to have a race issue and it continues to make rappers look like jealous, bitter, cry babies. This was one of the things that turned me away from hip-hop, this smug, bitter attitude. Instead of saying “congratulations” you have Kanye jumping in and saying that Beyonce’s video was the best video of all times! I am not saying my view is right or wrong or trying to tell people how to conduct themselves, I am simply stating my observations and views based on my life. I hope this was thought provoking.