Well I listened to the song and decided to waste my time writing a long ass post about it.
It's probably some of his best
rapping as far as rapping goes, but overall it's not a good song. It's alright I suppose, but then again it strikes me as something I'll never listen to again; I can think of all types of protest or serious songs I've heard and listened to tons of times because they work as
songs, not simply as protests or statements. This strikes me as a big idea that could have been done decently across an album, but instead is being dumped on one 9 minute and probably won't make the album.
My problem with Macklemore is that he seems far too obsessed with apologizing for his success, explaining it, and making decisions that seem calculated. This summer he released a song with Kool Moe Dee, Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz that seemed more like a pre-emptive "hey don't criticize me" than an authentic throwback song. Back in 2013 he made a big show of apologizing to the collective hip hop world because white 60 year old Grammy voters liked his album more than one of the best rap albums of the decade.
We all know what it is. There's a long tradition of white people being super impressed by fellow white people who do something that black people traditionally do. As if they view black talent in these fields as natural, they tend to hail white success stories as ones of hard work or overcoming odds/impediments, and thus more impressive. So Eminem borrows AZ's flow and suddenly becomes the greatest rapper of all time. Or Kenny G (or Dave Brubeck) plays some notes and becomes the greatest jazz musician. Or now Adele is the greatest soul singer.
I prefer how Eminem handled this. He acknowledged his privilege and even shit on some white people with White America, yet never seemed particularly apologetic. He kept it moving and didn't give a fuck what people said. Give me that over someone constantly apologizing for shit he can't control...
BTW I'll also say I don't think white people making hip hop is an issue of theft. It's art. The only thing I dislike are those who take something and then pretend like they created it. Eminem never did that; in fact, Em is a bigger hip hop head than anyone I know. Macklemore is a backpack rapper who acknowledges where his influences come from. Amy Winehouse was a legit jazz head who gave her influences plenty of shine. I don't think any of them are appropriating anything, or pretending to be something they're not.
On the flip side I know Kenny G has insinuated he created smooth jazz, and Iggy Azalea has argued "no one" has ever done what she's doing.
TLDR: If a white kid tells you Marshall Mathers LP is better than Illmatic, slap him. But if a white dude wants to deeply debate the merits of Wu Tang solo album rankings, dap him.
