25 Reasons Macklemore Winning Over Kendrick Lamar Is Complete BS

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Author’s Note: I didn’t actually watch the Grammys because award shows have a tendency to piss me off. But I always check for highlights and results…

….And the award for the best rap album went to who? OH HELL NO!

1. Because other than Same Love and Thrift Shop, how many of us actually know any other Macklemore tracks? (And if we’re being honest, it’s the beat that makes Thrift Shop because the rap is mediocre.)

2. Because let’s face it: 90% of Macklemore’s demographic are 12-year-old white girls from the suburbs.

3. Because Kendrick Lamar is saving hip hop from future Macklemores (and Drakes, to be perfectly honest.)

4. Because he is riding his White, heterosexual privileges to the bank and it got annoying real fast once you saw beyond the surface.

5. Because from a purely academic standpoint, it is actually amazing that people who identify as gay or queer, PoCs, and queer PoCs, have had the same message as Macklemore in popular culture for decades. And all of a sudden it is being recognized because a White, heterosexual male is saying it?

6. Because Macklemore is representative of everything that is wrong with the music industry – he is distracting people away from THE MUSIC, with THE PERFORMANCE.

7. Because the fact that there is even a comparison between Macklemore and Kendrick is nauseating. What next? Are we going to compare Taylor Swift’s vocals to Adele’s?

8. Because like it or not, his politics likely had something to do with the awards, and while that’s great and all, that should hardly be a substantiating factor for musical acclamation.

9. Because even if Kendrick didn’t win, Kanye and Jay-Z were on that list. Like are we actually on planet earth or is this an alternate version of hell?

10. Because Macklemore is that white guy with a little bit of talent in a particularly Black genre. And if the roles reversed, it would be 1000 times harder to receive that acclamation for such an ordinary artist.

11. Because if I hear somebody compare him to Eminem one more time, I am going to scream. Eminem doesn’t need to be the face of “White rappers.” Eminem is a rapper, period. He is one of the greatest; love him or hate him. Sit down with that comparison.

12. Because somehow Macklemore has FOUR Grammys, and Nas, DMX, and Snoop Dogg COMBINED do not have that total. (And yes, I stole that stat from Twitter and the fun fact is that the above mentioned artists actually have 0 Grammys each.)

13. Because the following text to Kendrick was cool and all but then showing it to the world to portray some kind of pretentious humility pretty much sums up Macklemore in one word: EXTRA.

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14. Because Kendrick is carrying hip hop on his back and preventing it from becoming a shittty genre that was honestly half way to imploding on itself with every other terrible dubstep beat ever made.

15. Because I have never met a single human being who is a legitimate fan of the hip hop genre and not solely that mainstream crack, who would choose Macklemore over Kendrick.

16. Because if we are now choosing what is good and quality work based solely on popularity, especially in the arts, then we as a society have truly lost our way.

17. Because WWPS….What Would Pac Say?

18. Because if the future of hip hop rests on Macklemore, we might as well all just quit now. No seriously, put on top 40 and let’s all just go the hell home.

19. Because the Grammys continues to certify that it is an establishment that doesn’t actually know anything about hip hop or rap. I mean if Nas of all people has not won one, there is hardly anything redeeming about this awards show.

20. Because choosing Macklemore over Kendrick is creating a history that hip hop fans will be regretting for decades.

21. Because even while we laud Macklemore for being hyper aware of his White privilege, that means nothing when he’s the one giving the thank you speech and getting the award. (Again, the greater focus must be on the consequences of acts, not the intentions.)

22. Because Kendrick Lamar’s style and lyrics are actually grounded in authentic and genuine nuance personal and political talk. Not just politically correct, politically safe, and popular, political talk, like Macklemore’s. Which if you think about the roots and history of hip hop and rap as a whole, it is a damn shame.

23. Because this prophetic article titled, “Macklemore, White Privilege, and Grammy For The Best Rap Album” sums it all up nicely.

24. Because Macklemore is just not that good people.

25. And lastly, because of that KENDRICK VERSE!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I am going to go and listen to that Kendrick Verse on repeat all damn day. And if anyone is in my mentions on Twitter talking about how I don’t appreciate what Macklemore is doing, or talking about his text to Kendrick last night, I will lose control. BYE.