I’m digressing for a moment from the anti-racist pedagogy series to start another series that will eventually intersect with the pedagogy one. There are two aphorisms that I often share with my rap classes. The first—a question—appears in the title of this post: why Kendrick, why now? (The second, which I increasingly believe is connected to the first, is “Macklemore has made a career out of apologizing for Macklemore.”). Off we go…
At the 2014 Grammy Awards, rapper Macklemore and his producer, Ryan Lewis took home four awards, beating out recordings by Drake, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Eminem, and Kendrick Lamar. The Seattle duo’s album The Heist won Best Rap Album, and the hit single “Thrift Shop” won Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song. They were also named Best New Artist, a category in which Lamar was also nominated. Lamar’s critically acclaimed debut album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City earned seven nominations (the same number as Macklemore and Lewis), but Lamar walked away from the night empty-handed. After the show, Macklemore texted Lamar and posted the text to his Instagram account:
You got robbed. I wanted you to win. You should have. It’s weird and sucks that I robbed you. I was gonna say that during the speech. Then the music started playing during my speech and I froze.
Anyway, you know what it is. Congrats on this year and your music.
Appreciate you as an artist and as a friend. Much Love.
In the comments to his post, he clarified that Lamar deserved the award for Best Rap Album, and that he was “just giving GKMC its proper respect.”
Drake, who was nominated for five awards that night (and lost them to Macklemore and Lewis), said the message was “wack as fuck”:
It felt cheap. It didn’t feel genuine. Why do that? Why feel guilt? [. . .] He made a brand of music that appealed to more people than me, Hov [Jay-Z], Kanye, and Kendrick. Whether people wanna say it’s racial, or whether it’s just the fact that he tapped into something we can’t tap into. [. . .] To just name Kendrick? That shit made me feel funny. No, in that case, you robbed everybody. We all need text messages!
Drake’s response touches on two important aspects of Macklemore’s win. First, he suggests that Macklemore and Lewis won because they’re white. Throughout its history—with a few notable exceptions—rap music has been dominated by black male performers; however, the role that white desire plays in shaping rap’s mainstream image is often understated. Macklemore’s win thus made the quiet part loud. Second, why did Macklemore single out Kendrick and not the other nominees? Jay-Z and Kanye West had solidified their legendary statuses by that point, and although Drake represents the next generation, he was well on his way to establishing his credentials as one of rap’s great artists. Perhaps it was because both Macklemore and Lamar had their debut albums nominated? They were fresh faces in a sea of experienced artists?