In a recent radio interview with Hot 97’s Ebro Darden and Peter Rosenberg, US rapper Macklemore shared his thoughts on the touchy subject of race and white privilege in American culture, especially hip hop. Of course, pillar of modern-day race discussion Iggy Azalea was brought up, this time in reference to her latest Twitter spat with African American rapper Q-Tip.
Macklemore wouldn’t be drawn on his thoughts about Azalea’s reaction to Q-Tip’s attempts to explain the inextricable links between hip hop and Black American culture to the Aussie rapper, but expressed approval for Q-Tip’s history lesson. “That’s an OG breaking down truth,” said Macklemore. “I’m not getting into how she responded, but it’s important to listen. To be humble. This is a whole debate right here, but this is not my culture to begin with.”
Having come under fire earlier this year after sweeping all hip-hop categories at the Grammys, supposedly robbing Kendrick Lamar of the Best New Artist Award (which the rapper actually agreed with), Darden and Rosenberg were interested to hear Macklemore’s perspective on the race discussion as a successful caucasian rapper and hip-hop artist, and he had some pretty thoughtful things to say.
“As a white dude, as a white rapper, I’m like, how do I participate in this conversation?” he said. “How do I get involved on a level where I’m not co-opting the movement, where I’m not making it about me, but also realizing the platform that I have and the reach that I have? And doing it in an authentic, genuine way? It’s my privilege that I can be silent about this issue. And I’m tired of being silent about it. It is so imperative right now that we have this race conversation in America if we’re going to progress.”
It’s certainly not the first time that the rapper, who once said “I’m a white guy, parents feel safe”, has voiced his opinions on the matter, though it’s great to see him facing the issue head-on rather than getting defensive. Unlike some other blonde rappers we know. You can watch the full video below.
Watch: Great Race Debate with Macklemore on Ebro in the Morning
