My Conviction: A Look at Macklemore's "White Priviledge II"

I'll begin with a bit of a goof as an icebreaker to this more serious topic. (Which is in continuation from previous posts here and here).

"I uh...just want to apologize. Whether it's true or not, Joe shouldn't have yelled 'you ain't real hip-hop, bitch'. He's just passionate." pic.twitter.com/aUbZS0VrwX

— Ol' QWERTY Bastard (@TheDiLLon1) October 10, 2016

Macklemore is often seen as a lesser artist in parts of the Hip Hop world, but a case can certainly be made for his artistry. Being a white guy from Seattle, Macklemore stands out in an industry dominated by black artists. He recognizes his outlier status is not without conviction.

"This is not my culture to begin with. As much as I have honed my craft, I do believe that I need to know my place" said Macklemore in a 2014 interview with Rolling Stone's Jason Newman.

In the song White Privilege II, Macklemore reflects on his role not only as a white artist but as a white person when it comes to issues of race in today's America.



Macklemore begins the track by recalling a time attending a Black Lives Matter March. He's not sure what his place is; he cares deeply about the issue, but is he in a position to be a part of the movement?

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?

He shifts gears to discuss the bastardization of Hip Hop culture by the music industry; no doubt questioning if what he's doing and what he's creating has any similarities to the hypocrisy he curses in the verse.

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

Possibly the most convicting part of the song is the interlude featuring a skit wherein a mother approaches Macklemore in a coffee shop thanking him for the positive message in songs such as Same Love and Thrift Shop. She expresses her frustration with the negative messages in much of Hip Hop "like, all the guns and the drugs // The bitches and the hoes and the gangs and the thugs" Her frustration quickly turns toward the protest outside the coffee shop heard in the background of the track as a muted "Hands up, don't shoot!" over and over again.

"Even the protest outside, so sad, and so dumb
If a cop pulls you over, it's your fault if you run"

Macklemore is forced to consider his role in bringing Hip Hop to people with thoughts and opinions like the mother in the coffee shop. "America feels safe with my music in their systems" What has allowed him to become the voice of Hip Hop to the demographic of "white moms" and the like? "My success is the product of the same system that let off Darren Wilson, guilty" (I'll give you a hint, it's the title of the song).

In turn, what responsibility does he then have as the "white mom's" representative of Hip Hop? "So what the fuck has happened to my voice if I stay silent when black people are dying"

This song describes so many of the same feelings I feel as a white guy with conviction about the movement. What do I do? What do I say? These are not easy questions to answer, and the answers may vary based on who you ask, but it is important to keep asking those questions.

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

I don't know either, but hell if I'm going to stop trying to figure it out.