Interview: “White Privilege II” by Macklemore

Guest starring today we have Seattle born Macklemore. He is best known for his collaborations with producer Ryan Lewis, coming together as Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Together the duo have become unstoppable, by winning four Grammy's and countless of other awards. As well, they were the first in music history to have their singles reach the top charts. Some of their lead singles include “Can’t Hold Us” and “Thrift Shop”. The rapper’s ability to address current issues through his lyrics makes him stand different from others in the industry. Recently the duo released “White Privilege II” early from their album due later, as a follow up to “White Privilege” released in 2005. Macklemore was prepared for disapproval of the song, but that didn’t stop him from addressing racism. Here are four things he told us about the new song.

Welcome to HITS Magazine, Macklemore. Thank you for coming out tonight.

Thank you for having me.

So let’s talk about one of your newest releases, White Privilege II. A lot of controversial debate has surrounded the song as it came out. Can you tell us what inspired the creation of the piece?

Good question, I mean I get asked that a lot; the whole ‘what inspired you to write it”, etc. I’ve always been about speaking for the black community and #BlackLivesMatter, and acting as a voice for them since I have the platform for it. I’ve actually written many songs surrounding these issues, with this song being a sequel to my 2005 released “White Privilege”. I just feel like not enough people are addressing these matters, even though they’re happening right now and are relevant to us all. After the shooting of Mike Brown, I went to the Ferguson protests where I actually felt insecure, and got me thinkin about the controversy of being a ‘white supporter’ in a Black Lives Matter protest. Being of white race, its true that it’s easier not to get involved in racial injustice issues. But it’s really not, because it affects us all on a whole. The less people speak up, the less these situations progress. Even if the song might affect my touring and sales, a lot of it becomes irrelevant if I am not able to speak up about the truth about what is happening.

A lot of debate on social media has grown about Black culture appropriation. What is your view on this controversy?  

We know that hip-hop was used to voice issues about the Civil Rights Movement, which was where the genre grew from. As a white rapper, I have questioned my music as appropriating Black culture, and wondered if I am disrespecting the world of hip-hop by creating these pop-culture hits. I was debating on weather or not I should release this song, as many other white artists in the industry are benefiting by remodeling Black culture music styles by adding their ‘white point of view’. What I’m doing is the complete opposite. I am not looking for profit, but only using my platform as a way to bring attention to inequality. On the track there’s actual voices of black activists, and chants heard at the protests, so really I am only trying to spread awareness. Knowing that my music reaches so many people, I am able to surround these issues.

The song seems to centered around your experiences as a white rapper and white privelage, is that correct?

Most of the song is surrounded around personal experience, and I intentionally did that to show how just because of the race I’m born into determines the position I have in society. Having ‘white privilege’ brings upon safety, however to push against it helps a whole other community. As a white rapper, I have gained a perspective on these issues, as I am surrounded by many African-American’s in the industry. I was once silent about these matters as I felt that it wasn’t my place to step in, which I now believe was a ‘crime’. Because of racial barriers, whites and blacks are not able to support each other fully without their intentions being doubted, which limits our ability to unite. A message I want to put out is for people to check their motives frequently, and ask themselves if they’re protesting to fit in or out of love. For me, its all about promise to the movement, and committing to these issues. I am inspired by people who have committed a lot of time into creating change.

Do you see social media as a useful tool for spreading awareness to these issues?

Of course social media can be seen as good and bad. I do try to keep up with them, and do tweet a lot. But the line is drawn where people who feel like it’s trendy to be involved in these serious issues, and don’t have any actual desire to be part of the movement. People need to actually speak up instead of scrolling past these matters. As well, I see things frequently of fake headlines, biast-sources and tweets which are not based on facts. Many of these racial injustice situations can be misinterpreted due to lack of information, which leads to strong divisions of beliefs. Social media is great with creating hashtags for issues, but the relevancy of the hashtags lasts for about a week until a new one arises.

Thank you for your time, it was great hearing your personal story.

It was my pleasure.