Thomas MacDonald (born September 21, 1988) is a Canadian rapper, songwriter, and former

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. MacDonald first rose to prominence with the release of his song "Dear Rappers". His songs "

Fake Woke "Fake Woke" is a song written, produced, and performed by Canadian rapper Tom MacDonald. It was self-released as a single on January 29, 2021. A music video for the song, directed by his girlfriend and fellow musician Nova Rockafeller, was re ...

", "Snowflakes", and "Brainwashed" all appeared on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 2021.

Life and career

MacDonald grew up in

Mission, British Columbia Mission is a city in the Lower Mainland of the province of British Columbia, Canada. It was originally incorporated as a district municipality in 1892, growing to include additional villages and rural areas over the years, adding the original T ...

and

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anch ...

, . He later worked as a professional wrestler under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projectin ...

Allstar. MacDonald struggled with

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

throughout much of his life, and in 2017, had a "bad breakdown" that prompted him to begin rehabilitation. MacDonald started rapping at age 18, and first rose to fame after releasing the single "Dear Rappers" in February 2018. His song "Straight White Male", which was written about MacDonald's belief that straight white men are being demonized, was criticized on social media for its subject matter. In September 2019, MacDonald released the single "Cloned Rappers", on which he rapped that the

Illuminati The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on 1 ...

are cloning rappers and disposing of the originals. In late 2019, MacDonald was scheduled to be a supporting act for

Falling in Reverse Falling in Reverse is an American rock band based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that formed in 2008 by lead vocalist Ronnie Radke while he was incarcerated. The band's original name was "From Behind These Walls", but it was quickly renamed to Falling ...

's Episode IV Tour before it was canceled. In 2020, he released 20 singles, including "White Trash", "Sellout", "Best Rapper Ever", "Cancer", and "Angels". In March 2020, MacDonald released the single "Coronavirus", which was written about the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. In January 2021, MacDonald released the single "

", which debuted at number 96 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. After

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

released a series of

NFT A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain, and that is used to certify authenticity and ownership. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the b ...

s as part of his "Shady Con" event with Nifty Gateway, MacDonald purchased one—an Eminem-produced instrumental called "Stan's Revenge"—for $100,000. MacDonald used the instrumental to create his song "Dear Slim", released in May 2021. The song's accompanying music video paid homage to the music video for Eminem's 2000 song " Stan". In June 2021, he released "Snowflakes", which debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 71. The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

featured

political commentator A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport). Origins The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...

Blaire White as a background dancer. His single "Brainwashed", released in August 2021, peaked at number 89 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Influences

MacDonald has cited

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are c ...

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped de ...

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage presence. ...

Tupac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

, Aerosmith, and

The Offspring The Offspring is an American rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland, lead gui ...

as musical influences. His music often discusses controversial social and political topics in the United States.

Public image

Writing for ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or Habit (psychology), habit generally considered immorality, immoral, sinful, crime, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refe ...

'', Drew Millard described MacDonald as "turgid", and wrote that he rose to fame by "taking the undercooked platitudes of the

Intellectual Dark Web The intellectual dark web (IDW) is a label which has been applied to some commentators who oppose what they regard as the dominance of identity politics, political correctness, and cancel culture in higher education and the news media within Wes ...

and filtering them into songs", adding that he "can feel like an unstoppable force of reactionary dumbness". Ariana Thompson of '' Inked'' described MacDonald as "one of the most divisive personas hip hop has ever seen" and wrote that his

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, autho ...

fanbase "cling onto every word he utter .

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

EPs

Compilations

Singles

As lead artist

As a featured artist

Notes

References

External links

*
Official YouTube channel
* {{DEFAULTSORT:MacDonald, Tom 1988 births Living people Canadian male rappers Canadian YouTubers Musicians from British Columbia People from Mission, British Columbia YouTube channels launched in 2014 21st-century Canadian rappers 21st-century Canadian male musicians Canadian male songwriters Conservative media in Canada