First off, I would like to state that this post is directly aimed at the last post in the Illuminati Roundtable section. Secondly, I would like to state that I am Native American, Scots-Irish, and Polish. So a White guy dominated the Best “Rap” category at the Grammy’s this year. Best song, performance, and album. Now we got the world of Hip-Hop all up in arms because a White man sits on the throne as the Best Rap artist in the country. So many statuses and articles, including the one I am addressing with this, are all up in arms about a White boy from Seattle bringing home the gramophones. Oh boo hoo, Kendrick Lamar should have won, Drake is more real, Jay- Z owned….Ummmm am I the only one who remembers back in the Hard-Knock Life days when Dash and Jay boycotted the Grammys for the same reasons they are now complaining about, when Hip-Hop was about community first, then profit?
Hip-Hop started out as a way for the oppressed to speak out against injustice. As much as everyone doesn’t want to admit it, Hip-Hop is Punk Rock that you can dance to. Now a days, with artists strictly looking for a label deal to sign, they forget about the roots of Hip-Hop. Standing on that corner waiting for a bus to come or their ride and beat-boxing or free styling in the cold. It never mattered who was around, nor did it matter what color their skin was. If you were down, then come join the circle, be prepared to be heckled if you f–k up. Not all this White versus Black bulls–t and that’s what it is, bulls–t. Are we forgetting that Macklemore did this, he won the highest honors in mainstream music, by being independent? Let that sink in …. …… ….. …… MACKLEMORE DOMINATED MAINSTREAM MUSIC BY BEING INDEPENDENT. Drake, Lil Wayne, Kendrick, Jay, Justin, Beyonce. All signed label deals, all sold their soul. Wait, wait, wait, I can hear the bigots now. “UH HE DID IT CAUSE HE’S WHITE.”
Wrong he made it independent through hard work and not compromising his principals. Also, Tech N9ne. Black man, part owner of the number one independent record label on the planet and made the Forbes list of wealthiest individuals. All this made possible through hard work and sticking to what you believe in. None of this sign a deal for 5-12% to split, f–k that. To quote Damon Dash, “They tried to give me the n—a deal.” Do the damn work yourself and do it properly. I can understand fans being disappointed that their favorite artists didn’t win. Understandable completely, but dropping the race card because a hard working, intelligent, hustling, independent artist won the gold is not needed and makes everyone who drops the card look like an idiot.
Yes, he preaches unity. Yes, he preaches sobriety. Yes, he preaches love. He also preaches about hate, addiction, depression. Macklemore makes music about his life. Everyday issues that he deals with, and right now I would like to ask everyone reading this a simple question. Regardless of the color of your skin or the god you pray to, can you relate to these issues? Go ahead, I’ll wait ….. …… ….. …… …… …… ……. ……. …….. …….. Yeah, thought so. And to address the question presented by Pooh on the previous post that I am addressing, if Kendrick would have made “Same Love” it would have had a bigger reaction. In the gay-hate filled land of Hip-Hop, to have a proud Black rapper come out and say, “Hey, what you stick in your own a** is your own business and that just because your gay doesn’t mean your evil” would’ve been huge! Amazing and huge, spectacular. And yes, he would have sold the same amount of units because the demographic is there no matter what.
No matter if you want to call it imitation or biting or mockery, an intelligent, independent, unsigned artist won the top three Grammys for Hip-Hop. A person who has dedicated his life to positive ways, unity of all aspects of life and general acceptance while remaining free from the confines of the mainstream music industry to do what he loves how he chooses to. Can Kendrick say that? Can Drake? Can Justin or even John Legend? No, they can’t. An independent artist came in and slapped down a fat old cock and told the music industry to suck it, swallow and facial. As I’m writing this sermon, two distinct items pop into my mind. The first being that Eminem is a very White rapper, if color was all that mattered in the Grammys why hasn’t he won every year? The second one I find hilarious and I am laughing as I type this. All this big uproar about White Macklemore beating out Black Kendrick, well um, what if Macklemore was Puerto Rican or Mexican or Chinese?
Sermon Concluded ~Biggz
