Song Lyrics: White Privilege (Macklemore)

Below is the lyrics of this very thoughtfully made song (White Privilege) by Macklemore, from his 2005 debut album, The Language Of My World.

Now nod your head and wake up.

I see so many people lost who really try to pretend
But am I just another white boy who has caught on to the trend
When I take a step to the mic is hiphop closer to the end?
'Cause when I go to shows the majority have white skin
They marketed the windmill, the air flair and head spin
And white rappers albums really get the most spins
The face of hip hop has changed a lot since Eminem
And if he's taking away black artists' profits I look just like him
Claimed a culture that wasn't mine, the way of the american
Hip hop is gentrified and where will all the people live
It's like the central district, beacon hill to the south end
Being pushed farther away because of what white people did, now
Where's my place in a music that's been taken by my race
Cultural appropriated by the white face
And we don't want to admit that this is existing
So scared to acknowledge the benefits of our white privilege
Cause it's human nature to want to be part of something different
Especially when your ancestors are European Christians
And most whites don't want to acknowledge this is occurring
Cause we got the best deal, the music without the burden
Of being black in a system that really wants you to rock
Cause all you need is a program and you can go and make hiphop
And we hate the mainstream cause we're the ones that took it
Now we listen to Aesop Rock and wear t-shirts that say Brooklyn
But it's not about black and white right
I mean good music is good music regardless of what you look like
But when you don't give them props isn't that selfish?
That's like saying rock was actually started by Elvis
So where does this leave me?
I feel like I pay dues but I'll always be a white MC
I give everything I have when I write a rhyme
But that doesn't change the fact that this culture's not mine
But I'm gonna be me so please be who you are
This is something that's effortless and shouldn't be hard
I said I'm gonna be me so please be who you are
But we still owe 'em 40 acres now we've stolen their 16 bars
Hiphop started off in a block that I've never been to
To counter act a struggle that I've never even been through
If I think I understand just because I flow too
That means I'm not keeping it true, nope
Hiphop started off in a block that I've never been to
To counter act a struggle that I've never even been through
If I think I understand just because I flow too
That means I'm not keeping it true, I'm not keeping it true
Now I don't rap about guns so they label me conscious
But I don't rap about guns cause I wasn't forced into the projects
See I was put in the position where I could chose my options
Blessed with the privilege that my parent's could send me to college
Now who's going to shows the kids on the block starving
Or the white people with dough that can relate to my content?
Marketed the music now adapted to the lifestyle
What happened to jazz and rock and roll is happening right now
Where's my place in the music that's been taken by the media
With white corperations controlling what their feeding ya
I brought up aesop rock but I'm not even dissing dude
We love hiphop and what do you think caucasians are listening to
And I speak freely when I write this
If a black emcee examined race there goes half their fan base, white kids
And this is so true. and we didn't even have to fight the system
We just went and picked up the microphone too
And we got good at it so we should be rapping
But only supporting them is like burning Jimmy and buying Clapton
Now Clapton's incredible. but no Jimmy no foundation
So here comes history and the cultural appropriation
White kids with do rags trying to practice their accents
From the suburbs to the upperclass mastering a language
But hiphop is not just memorizing words
It's rooted in authenticity something you literally can't learn
But I'm gonna be me so please be who you are
This is something that's effortless and shouldn't be hard
I said I'm gonna be me so please be who you are
But as I'm blessed with the privilege, they're still left with the scars

Hiphop started off in a block that I've never been to
To counter act a struggle that I've never even been through
If I think I understand just because I flow too
That means I'm not keeping it true, nope
Hiphop started off in a block that I've never been to
To counter act a struggle that I've never even been through
If I think I understand just because I flow too
That means I'm not keeping it true, I'm not keeping it true

Listen to the song here- White Privilege

Macklemore- White Privilege (Audio)

This song is from Macklemore's debut album (The Language of My World) which dropped in 2005, before he hooked up with his current producer, Ryan Lewis. I put this up because in recent times, people have made it seem like Macklemore is enjoying an overnight success which he got because he is white. Personally, I do not like his voice and delivery, but his lyrics are very intelligent, and they have made me overlook the parts of him I don't like. On this song, he explains white privilege in Hip Hop...he acknowledges it and gives props to the black people and their culture, but also says there is no reason why he shouldn't make hip hop music, as long as he is real about it. He doesn't rap about guns and drugs cos that was not part of his reality.

Download the track here- White Privilege

You can also check out the song lyrics here- White Privilege Song Lyrics

Drake Says Macklemore's Text to Kendrick After Grammy Win Was Unnecessary

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Drake said the text message Macklemore sent to Kendrick Lamar after winning the Best Rap Album award at this year's Garmmys was unnecessary. I also felt it was unnecessary, but I felt Mack sent it so as to reduce the hate he was gonna get in the Hip Hop scene. Every hip hop music listener believed Kendrick's 'Good Kid, Mad City' album was going to win in that category, and they were definitely going to hate on another one who wins other Kendrick...especially if that person is a white dude.



Below are Drake's words on the issue-
"I was like, 'You won. Why are you posting your text message? Just chill. Take your Win, and if you feel you didn't deserve it, go get better. Make better music. It felt cheap. It didn't feel genuine. Why do that? Why feel guilt? You think those guys would pay homage to you if they won?"



As i said earlier, I'm sure Macklemore sent the text to kendrick to reduce the hate that would come his way as a result of him winning the award. The truth is Macklemore won because he appeals to a larger audience than Kendrick, simple. Drake also speaks on this in the Rolling Stone interview.


"He made a brand of music that appealed to more people than me, Hov, Kanye and Kendrick. Whether people wanna say it's racial, or whether it's just the fact that he tapped into something we can't tap into. That's just how the cards fall. Own your shit."

In case you never got to see the text Macklemore sent to Kendrick after his win, peep it below-

Pusha T Speaks on Macklemore's Grammy Wins

As majority of people are still shooting down Macklemore for his success at the Grammy Awards, a few people in the music industry have come out to speak on how he really deserves the success coming his way. In a recent interview on Montreality, Pusha T spoke on Macklemore's crazy grind.

"I look at Kendrick. You know, I look at Jay Z. I look at the nominees. It was a wide spectrum. Macklemore, he won as well. People are sort of in an uproar about it. And I just think that's a personal opinion thing. I think Kendrick had the best album to fall within that timeframe, but it's cool. Macklemore won and I think Macklemore had one of the best grinds I think I've ever seen in music, so it's whatever. You can respect it from either way." 







Respect his grind...respect his hustle- this is what I always tell people. Macklemore did sell over a million copies of his album, and over 14 million copies of singles off the album. It wasn't the Grammys that gave him the sales, that happened before the awards...awards always come in recognition of work done. There happened to be over 14 million people that bought his music, and i call that success. I don't care whether I like someone's music or not, I respect the hustle. I am not saying The Heist was a better Hip Hop album than Kendrick's 'Good Kid, Mad City' album, no, It is not, but the Grammys have always been known to recognize the rapper with the most achievements. Even when Eminem said 'Fuck You' to the Grammy organizers in 2000, he still got a grammy award the next year because of his commercial achievements. I say that to say this- people need to stop saying Macklemore robbed Kendrick Lamar over that grammy; it is not like he connived with the organizers of the award to rob Kendrick. The Grammys have a criteria for giving out awards, and he fit right there, so he got it- Period!

Macklemore Tackles Grammy Win Over Kendrick Lamar

Everyone is still talking about the fact that Kendrick Lamar should have won 'Best Rap Album' award at the just concluded Grammy Awards. We all know Macklemore won because he is more popular and commercially successful, and that is basically what the people (Grammy organizers) that really don't know much about Hip Hop look out for. They just look out for who achieved the most in the set period (in 2013), and they vote for him. In a recent interview on Hot 97 radio interview, Macklemore broke down why he won over Kednrick.





“In terms of the people that are voting on those ballots, filling out those bubbles, we have an unfair advantage due to race, due to the fact we had huge radio success, due to the fact that our name was circulating more in a pocket in the industry of people filling out that ballot. This is not like a Rap Radar poll, like a 2DopeBoyz poll. This is not a Hot 97 poll. This is the Grammys. This is many different types of people. All different age groups filling out a ballot where they might not necessarily know the genre. What makes it awkward for me is the fact you never want to be the person that is robbing somebody else. I think if you look at what the Grammys are, I think that what people don’t understand is what the Grammys are a bunch of people that are on the Grammy committee or in the industry [that get] a ballot. I got a ballot this year. Now, as I’m filling out the ballot, I’m realizing I don’t know much outside of the genre of Hip Hop in terms of who should get what award. So I’m like, ‘I don’t really know about singer-songwriter or country music or whatever,' but people are filling out bubbles of genres that they don’t know about. And that’s the process of it.”



He said it all...I can't add anything more to this.

What's Your Opinion on Macklemore Winning 'Best Rap Album' at The Grammys? (2014)

The 56th Annual Grammy Awards was held in LA on Sunday, and there were a lot of surprises at the event. One of which was Macklemore & Ryan Lewis winning in the Best Rap Album category, with their The Hiest album; everyone believed Kendrick would get the award. Of cos I think Good Kid, Mad City was/is a phenomenal album, but I didn't think it would win the award. First of all, this the Grammy Awards we are talking about. A bunch of white guys that no little about Hip Hop are the ones making the decision, so it shouldn't be a surprise that Macklemore won that award. And I am not saying he won because he is white; I am saying he won because he was the most commercially successful (both with singles and album sales), and that is what the Grammy crew looks out for- popular music. Or should I add, safe popular music.

This is not taking anything away from Macklemore; he worked hard, and it is not only his color that gave him an advantage over Kendrick. His album had some nice concept songs, and a lot of positive message in it. If you don't like his kind of music, that is your business, but you can't say he is wac because he doesn't rap album drugs, guns, the hood, and girls. He raps about what he has been through, and I guess there are a lot of people in America that can relate to it. And it made his album sell over a million copies on an Independent label, with no machine behind him. And people should cut-out the talk about him making gay music being the only reason why he was so successful; Thrift Shop made him a star, and he had 'Can't Hold Us' as a second major single...he was already a big success for a full year before he released that video for 'Same Love.'






Back to whether I feel Kendrick was cheated at the Grammys...Yes, I feel he should have at least gotten one award, after being nominated 7 times. It almost feels like they deliberately did that to break him down Emotionally and Psychologically. The dude worked his butt off all through 2012 to 2013, and you recognize him by nominating him 7 times, but he doesn't take ONE award home? Come On!!? This is exactly what happened to India Arie like 10 years ago. I feel Kendrick's album was a very dope rap album, and it deserved to have won the award for Best Rap Album, but let's say the criteria used by The Grammy crew is commercial success and that put Macklemore over Kendrick, they could have at least given Kendrick the award for Best Rap Performance for Swimming Pools. This is just my opinion.

Macklemore Says He Would Not Have This Much Success If He Were Black

White rapper, Macklemore is currently enjoying a lot success with his musician partner and producer, Ryan Lewis. The duo released their album, The Heist last year October, and to date, it has sold 998,000. It is just 2,000 copies shy of platinum status, which it will attain next week. For musicians on an independent label, that is a huge achievement. Their mega hit, Thrift Shop has sold 6 million copies to date; Can't Hold Us (over 3 million sold) and Same Love (over a million sold) are also very successful singles from the duo. In a recent interview with Rolling Stones magazine, Macklemore revealed that he wouldn't have had this much success if he was black-

If you’re going to be a white dude and do this sh*t, I think you have to take some level of accountability… You have to acknowledge where the art came from, where it is today, how you’re benefiting from it. At the very least, just bringing up those points and acknowledging that, yes, I understand my privilege, I understand how it works for me in society, and how it works for me in 2013 with the success that The Heist has had… We made a great album, but I do think we have benefited from being white and the media grabbing on to something. A song like “Thrift Shop” was safe enough for the kids. It was like, “This is music that my mom likes and that I can like as a teenager,” and even though I’m cussing my ass off in the song, the fact that I’m a white guy, parents feel safe. They let their six-year-olds listen to it. I mean it’s just…it’s different. And would that success have been the same if I would have been a black dude? I think the answer is no.

That's the truth. I can remember Eminem saying something similar on his Eminem Show album, back in 2002. The fact is there are more white people in America; and also, there is the fact that more white people buy Cd's than black people. Black people might like some sort of music, and support it on the blogs, but on the release date, they would sit at their computers bumping the illegal download of the album, and waiting on the information of what the album would sell in its first week. So, the fact is that, if you can get white people to embrace you, then you would surely sell more albums.

Macklemore Says Kendrick Lamar Is One Of The Best Ever

In a recent interview, Thrift Shop rapper, Macklemore crowned Kendrick Lamar as one of the best rappers ever. Well, i think Kendrick is a dope rapper, and I think his "Good Kid, M.A.A.D City" album is damn near 5 mic standards (if you remove backseat freestyle from the album), but saying he is one of the best ever is a long shot. I just think it's too early, and not fair on some relatively new rappers that have been doing their thing consistently for 4-5 years.



Read his words below-


"He already is. If he dies tomorrow, [he's one of the best ever]. For one, he's got a sh*t ton more music. He's just prolific. He's got a studio in the bus and every time I see him I'm like, 'F*ck, I gotta step my game up.' He's always working. You can hear that." (Hot 97)









If he had said the best of his generation, I would still have been cool with that. Don't get me wrong, I am not one of those rap fans that have the mentality that no one can be better than Tupac and Biggie, I just believe it is good for a rapper to prove himself with at least two studio albums before he is placed on that pedestal. Even after Nas dropped Illmatic in 1994, he was still under the shadow of the Rakim comparison. People thought he was super dope, but it took him dropping a second album before he could be rated higher than just the second coming of Rakim. Give Kendrick time to prove his greatness, and not let all these over-hyping get to his head and kill his hunger.