“White Privilege II” is important and here’s why…
Friday morning, January 22, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis released a new song featuring Jamila Woods. “White Privilege II” instantly raised a heated discussion about expression of Macklemore’s inner conflicts when supporting #BlackLivesMatter movement and alike as well as dissing Iggy Azalea, comparing her to Elvis, and accusing about stealing the sound and accent that’s made her successful (“You’ve exploited and stolen the music, the moment, […] The culture was never yours to make better. You’re Miley, you’re Elvis, you’re Iggy Azalea. Fake and so plastic…”).
Iggy responded in since deleted tweet “He shouldn’t have spent the last three years having friendly convos and taking pictures together at events etc. if those were his feelings.” Numerous other Hip Hop artists and activists contributed to the discussion, including Talib Kweli who expressed his feelings about Azalea’s reaction in a very on-point tweet.
The fact @iggyazalea thinks Macklemore song was a diss to her, instead of actually listening, is proof of her privilege. Fuck Iggy Azalea.
— Talib Kweli Greene (@TalibKweli) styczeń 22, 2016
True story. I actually rooted for Iggy when she first came out. But she’s disrespected hip hop culture one too many times.
— Talib Kweli Greene (@TalibKweli) styczeń 22, 2016
But what we’re supposed to focus on is the important message Macklemore is sending to America – more specifically, to white Americans. He’s expressing his conflicts about the will to support racial equality and justice movements, while at the same time feeling that it is not a place to be for him (“Is it my place to give my two cents? Or should I stand on the side and shut my mouth”). I am under the impression that Macklemore uses this song to push people to think and talk and start acting differently. By no means does he treat it as a solution to a problem that America’s facing – “White Privilege II” isn’t the beginning of the racial discussion, but a milestone in moving forward.
Another issue worth mentioning is that the rapper doesn’t leave himself out of the equation – acknowledges the heritage of Hip Hop culture and points out how his own heritage gave him the advantage (“But the one thing the American dream fails to mention is I was many steps ahead to begin with […] America feels safe with my music in their systems”) simultaneously pointing out that this doesn’t necessarily mean a good thing (“White supremacy protects the privilege I hold. […] White supremacy is our country’s lineage, designed for us to be indifferent.”)
The track has only been out for a couple of days but raised some important questions. If you still haven’t heard Macklemore rapping over Jamila Woods’ chorus, you can do so here: