Trajan
Veteran
Probably the least surprising aspect of the Grammy nominations announcement was the fact that rapper Macklemore is well on his way to a huge night at America's biggest music awards show. It's been clear for months that Macklemore was headed towards the Grammys – he and producer/collaborator Ryan Lewis were nominated for seven awards including best new artist, record of the year and album of the year.
At his core, Macklemore is a rapper, and a pretty good one at that. He's also a hard-working MC who has hustled for close to a decade to get where he is now, setting the stage for wildly successful (and rich) independent musicians going forward. However, thanks to anti-hip-hopposturing and shallow-minded generalizations, Macklemore is being used as an example of ground-breaking "civility" for rap. A pseudo-gentrification that undermines decades of artistry hip-hop culture has provided.
We're all familiar with the stigma surrounding rap music: misogyny, homophobia, violence and drugs. Young African-American men perpetuating the violent communities they grew up in by leading other African-American men to commit crimes they hear in lyrics. And, naturally, there is always a sector of the genre that offers nothing remotely positive to society, but hip-hop is a vast genre. For every Chief Keef promising to raise the murder rate with his new album, there's a thoughtful artist like Dee-1 donating his video budget to feed the homeless.
However, some are using the Macklemore story to paint a narrative of one singular example of rap's potential for positivity in a sea of endlessly destructive music. Take, for example, this article from the Dallas News website with the headline "Macklemore shows hip-hop doesn't need to be homophobic, violent in Dallas concert."
As well as the opening paragraph:
What if someone like Macklemore had hit it big 25 years ago? Would hip-hop have still become a genre marked by homophobia, violence and a mind-numbing obsession with weed, booze and bling? Probably. But watching Macklemore thrill 5,000 screaming fans Saturday night at Verizon Theatre left you hopeful that his kinder, more cerebral brand of hip-hop will flourish in the future.
This is a broad-brush reaction to Macklemore and his success. One that threatens to erase the progressive music that has always inundated rap music. Macklemore is the first non-homophobic, non-violent rapper in the same way that Elvis was a ground-breaking initiator of the Blues.
In fact, the first Grammy for Best Rap Performance ever given out went to DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince (you may know him as Will Smith) for their happy-go-lucky fun lyrics more than 20 years ago. Since then, while some mainstream rap has veered to the materialistic and misogynistic, there have always been successful rappers who have rallied against the vapid. Believe it or not, Kanye West's ultra-successful debut albumfeatured songs like "Jesus Walks" and "All Falls Down," which spoke out against materialism.
Still, Macklemore is getting unjust credit for being the "first" to make popular rap music with a message. "Oh, he doesn't insult the gay community? He doesn't demean women? He doesn't talk about shooting up the club? He must be the first of his kind!" Macklemore is unfortunately being turned into the rap Tim Tebow.
If you recall, Tim Tebow was an NFL phenomenon due to his college career, unconventional ability to win at the last minute and, most importantly, his insistence on relaying the message of his Christianity any chance he got. His rise was met with the same shortsighted praise, as the narrative surrounding his popularity was focused on his faith and the moral high ground, as if the NFL was a pit of ill repute and sexual assault cases.
Where the Macklemore-Tim Tebow comparison falls short is the fact that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are very good at what they do. The Heistfeatures great songs, catchy, radio-friendly hooks and Macklemore's patented thought-provoking lyrics. Unfortunately, Macklemore's message of acceptance and understanding is being drowned out. Instead, he's being used as a sign post to paint the rest of hip-hop as a wholly negative influence on society.
That's where the Grammys come in. The Grammys' history of interaction with hip-hop has always left something to be desired. The aforementioned Will Smith led a protest of the awards for not airing the Best Rap Performance announcement during the main show. Jay Z boycotted the show for years due to its lack of respect for hip-hop talent. In recent years, the Grammys have highlighted hip-hop as its main attraction, subtlely teasing as if rap acts will get their big Album of the Year moment, only to give the award to non-hip-hop acts. The closest rap has come to winning the coveted Album Of The Year award is Outkast, a hip-hop group from Atlanta won in 2004 for Speakerboxx/The Love Below, but one disc of the double-album was almost solely sung; there's never been a fully-rapped album to win the award.
If the Grammys were to give Macklemore Album of the Year, it would only bolster the crowd who wants to use Macklemore's image to criticize and demonize the rest of the rap community. Furthermore, The Heist isn't even the best rap album on the Album Of The Year list. Kendrick Lamar'sgood kid, m.A.A.d city is a transcendent listening experience, and one of the best rap debuts of all time. The album tells the tale of a day in Compton where socioeconomic factors, poor education, and peer pressure turn an honor roll student into a child lost in the street. Now, with Kendrick's clearly superior album in the same category as Macklemore's, the stage is set for a divided relationship between Macklemore, hip-hop traditionalists and those who want to use Macklemore as a symbol of anti-rap.
In the end, the victim in all of this is Macklemore, whose great messages are being manipulated by those who want to champion him while putting down an entire musical culture. So if he does in fact win, the joyous occasion will be overshadowed by the political back-and-forth between supporters of the award and traditional hip-hop fans who reject those sentiments. Macklemore doesn't deserve to have his message contorted in such a way, regardless of if he deserves to win a Grammy or not.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/15/macklemore-grammys-hip-hop-rap-stigma
don't compare this cac to timothy la gawd tebow
