As he discusses the song in a new interview with Rolling Stone, the rapper makes it clear that he didn't mean to diss Iggy, Miley and Elvis Presley when he made references to them.
- Jan 26, 2016
AceShowbiz - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' "White Privilege II" caused quite a stir online following its release last week. The song ultimately led to Iggy Azalea and Talib Kweli's recent Twitter feud after numerous people misinterpreted it as a diss directed toward white artists often accused of appropriating black culture.
Macklemore has now explained some eyebrow-raising bars especially those in which he name-drops Iggy as well as Miley Cyrus and Elvis Presley. Speaking to Rolling Stone, he made it clear that he never planned to attack any of the entertainers with the track.
"For me, that second verse is unpacking. It's an unpacking moment of internalized criticism and self-doubt, and 'What have I done,' and letting the criticism infiltrate who I am. 'Why am I insecure at a protest?' " he told the site.
"And I think that people get put into boxes, and the conversation around cultural appropriation - I was at the forefront of that, rightfully so. And that conversation also included Miley Cyrus and Iggy Azalea, and that's why their names are on the record," he added.
A follow-up to "White Privilege" off Macklemore's 2005 solo album "The Language of My World", the new song came from the rapper's own confusion about his position while he joined a Seattle protest following the 2014 non-indictment of Darren Wilson, the white cop who killed an unarmed black teen named Mike Brown.
"It was the night of Darren Wilson's non-indictment, and I remember streaming it, watching the non-indictment, and feeling sick, physically sick, frustrated and angry. I got in my car, and I drove by these people assembled outside of the police precinct. I parked my car as the march was coming down the street, we proceeded to march all over Seattle... I was like, 'What is my place here? What am I doing? I feel this overwhelming sense of injustice in my bones and I don't know what to do about it, and I feel compelled to do something. How do I show up in an authentic way and be in solidarity?' " he recalled.
A veteran rapper whom he refused to name then convinced him to create the track and release it. "He sent me a DM on Twitter and then he called me, and he said, 'I see you, I see what you're doing,' " Macklemore said.
"He was very complimentary about the music we've made, and it led into him saying, 'You have a platform, but silence is an action, and right now, you're being silent. You're not saying anything about what's going on, and because you're a white rapper you have perspective and an insight onto these issues that you need to be speaking about. It's very important that you engage your audience,' " he continued.
