Macklemore stated publicly that Kendrick’s Gppd Kid Mad City was the most deserving of the award telling The Source, “In terms of [that category], I think it should go to Kendrick… We obviously had massive success on commercial radio, and I think that, in ways, The Heist was a bigger album, but Kendrick has a better rap album.”
Hip Hop fans still wonder why Macklemore wasn’t man enough to say that during his acceptance speech. He instead opted to do it after the Grammys. Most of the attention has focused on Macklemore being a white rapper as the cause for the blowup. However, many insist, it had nothing to do with the color of Macklemore’s skin and everything to do with the quality of his product.
Hip Hop Weekly Writer, Juan Benzino was to quick to clarify the whole issue:
“For some reason, there are people that want to display core rap fans as racist for not embracing Macklemore’s triumph on Grammy night. Those same people clearly do not understand the history of Hip Hop. While the culture was started by Black and Latino youth in the 1970′s, it has long incorporated participants of every race and nationality.
You can just look at a superstar like Eminem as a prime example. Eminem gets his fair share of hate, but he is also well-respected by many rap purists. You can even go back to the Beastie Boys and MC Serch, or currently look at artists like Mac Miller, Alchemist, Necro, or El-P.
Plus, the Hip Hop community includes hosts of white journalists, visual artists, DJs, and producers (including the legendary Rick Rubin) that have greatly contributed to the culture. Even Macklemore has been championed for years. He was selected as one of XXL magazine’s freshman class members in 2012.”.
It’s true that Hip Hop has never discriminated against race. Many fans feel that“The Establishment of top music awards” still doesn’t respect the art form enough to actually give credit to the works that deserve to be recognized.
Macklemore had an amazing year. His album went platinum. he had two number one singles on the Billboard charts. They reached a level of success that should be celebrated and rewarded, but the question at hand is: Did they release the best rap album of the year?
Most followers of rap music, both the press and the fans, would most likely say no. It’s not a stretch to assume Hip Hop listeners think that honor should have gone to Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d. city. K. Dot’s major label debut is arguably one of the greatest albums of any genre over the last several years. Music critics hailed it as a masterpiece evidenced by its Metacritic.com rating of 91/100 (Macklemore’s The Heist’s rating is 74/100).
So if good kid, m.A.A.d city was the favorite to win Best Rap Album based on critical acclaim, support from rap fans, and a fellow nominee calling for its victory, why didn’t it win?
One excuse has been because Macklemore is a more mainstream artist. Well, Kendrick’s album sold nearly as many copies as Macklemore’s: 1,143,000 to 1,269,000. Kendrick has videos on YouTube with over 20 million views, and he also appeared on US magazine covers for GQ and ESPN.
Not to mention he was clearly well-known enough to garner 7 Grammy nominations including Album of the Year, so it would seem Grammy members were aware of who he is. And if it was just about name recognition, wouldn’t Jay Z, Kanye West, or Drake have taken home the award? They are all more famous than both Kendrick and Macklemore and each already have at least one Best Rap Album Grammy win.
There’s no way to really tell why the Grammys decided to award Macklemore with the title of best rap album of the year. Some say it could have been that the left leaning Academy decided to honor Macklemore’s pro-gay marriage stance. It could have been inside industry politics. Who knows? Whatever the reason, it was not because Macklemore had the better body of work which should have been the only criteria that truly mattered.
So Hip Hop fans have beef with the Grammys. Some of the greatest rap representatives like Public Enemy, Nas, 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Run DMC were completely ignored by the Grammys. Only two hip hop albums have ever won the Grammy for Album of the year.
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