White Privilege II
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"White Privilege II" is a song by American
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
duo
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were an American Hip hop music, hip hop duo from Seattle, Seattle, Washington, formed in 2009 by rapper MacklemoreTrust, Gary (2013)Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 'Can't Hold Us' Makes Hot 100 History, ''Billboard (magazine), B ...
from their second album ''
This Unruly Mess I've Made ''This Unruly Mess I've Made'' is the second and final studio album by American hip hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. It was released on February 26, 2016, by Macklemore LLC and Alternative Distribution Alliance. Following the success of the duo's ...
'' (2016). The song, a sequel to
Macklemore Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage name Macklemore ( ; formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper. A native of Seattle, Washington, he started his career in 2000 as an independent artist rele ...
's solo song "White Privilege" from his first album ''The Language of My World'' (2005), discusses
white privilege White privilege, or white skin privilege, is the Social privilege, societal privilege that benefits white people over Person of color, non-white people in some societies, particularly if they are otherwise under the same social, political, or ...
and the
social movement A social movement is either a loosely or carefully organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a Social issue, social or Political movement, political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to re ...
associated with
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...
. According to the duo, "this song is the outcome of an ongoing dialogue with musicians, activists, and teachers within our community in Seattle and beyond. Their work and engagement was essential to the creative process." The song's lyrics span around nine minutes and 1,300 words. One of the project's collaborators is Chicago singer Jamila Woods, whose voice is featured on the track. "White Privilege II" was released as promotional single on January 22, 2016.


Themes

The song comments on the impunity with which white police in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
are free to take black lives, with "a shield, a gun with gloves and hands that gives an alibi." Arguing his success is "the product of the same system that let off Darren Wilson," a police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown, Macklemore raps that, "one thing the American dream fails to mention, is that I was many steps ahead to begin with". The song also samples a line from a woman who dismisses the concept of white privilege, "you're saying that I have an advantage, why? Because I'm white? coffs and laughsWhat? No."


Song structure

Forrest Wickman, writing for ''Slate'', analyzes the song as having multiple sections that often bear a different critical viewpoint (narrator) from Macklemore himself. "The biggest mistake early reactions to the song have made, pretty consistently, is assuming that everything Macklemore raps is in his own voice." The first verse in his own voice, where Macklemore raps about his struggle to find his place in the protest movement, conscious that his commercial success in hip-hop is at least partially a product of white privilege. In the second verse, according to Wickman, the song "zooms out to give a larger perspective," with Macklemore first delivering the case against himself, in the voice of his critics. He then turns his self-consciousness about
cultural appropriation Cultural appropriation is the adoption of an element or elements of one culture or cultural identity, identity by members of another culture or identity in a manner perceived as inappropriate or unacknowledged. Such a controversy typically ari ...
to other white performers, rapping, "we take all we want from black culture, but will we show up for black lives?" He names the performers
Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...
,
Iggy Azalea Amethyst Amelia Kelly (born 7 June 1990), known professionally as Iggy Azalea ( ), is an Australian rapper. Born in Sydney, Azalea moved to the United States at the age of 16 in order to pursue a career in music. She earned public recognition ...
, and
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
as having "exploited and stolen the music, the moment / the magic, the passion, the fashion you toyed with / the culture was never yours to make better." He seems to put special attention on Iggy Azalea, rapping, "fake and so plastic, you've heisted the magic / you've taken the drums and the accent you rapped in / you're branded hip-hop; it's so fascist and backwards / That
Grandmaster Flash Joseph Robert Saddler (born January 1, 1958), known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is a Barbadian-American musician and DJ. He created a DJ technique called the Quick Mix Theory. This technique serviced the break-dancer and the rapper by el ...
'd go slap it". Wickman writes that the "many, many headlines" that construe this verse as being a "callout" or a "slam" are missing "the larger point, which is that his real target here is himself." He observes that the line supposedly accusing Azalea of "heisting the magic," is really a self-criticism: ''The Heist'' was Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' debut album. Meera Jagannathan of the ''
New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...
'' noted that Iggy Azalea was blindsided, tweeting a fan, "he shouldn't have spent the last three years having friendly convos and taking pictures together at events, etc. if those were his feelings." Wickman argues Iggy Azalea seems to have "missed the point," echoing a protest chant sampled in the song, ''"It's not about you!"'' The third verse by Wickman's same analysis, "whips the camera around, to turn it on Macklemore's more ignorant fans," taking on the voice of a white mom "who asks to take a selfie with Macklemore, praising him at the expense of the rest of hip-hop, which she backhandedly slanders." In this verse, as Black Lives Matter protesters chant outside, the "mom" tells Macklemore:
You're the only hip hop I let my kids listen to, because you get it. All that negative stuff isn't cool. Like all the guns and the drugs, the bitches and hoes, and the gangs and the thugs, even the protest outside, so sad and so dumb – if the cop pulls you over, it's your fault if you run!
Wickman notes the "irony" with which many fans initially seemed to endorse the mom's comments literally on song interpretation site
Genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for the future, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...
, with such annotations as, "Macklemore makes positive hip-hop and doesn't romanticize bad behavior like most rappers do." The section concludes with samples from white critics of the Black Lives Matter movement, skeptical of the concept of
white privilege White privilege, or white skin privilege, is the Social privilege, societal privilege that benefits white people over Person of color, non-white people in some societies, particularly if they are otherwise under the same social, political, or ...
and believing that they live in a post-racial America. The fourth verse resumes in with Macklemore as narrator, followed by quotes from Black Lives Matter supporters, including a critique of the hashtag
All Lives Matter All Lives Matter is a slogan that emerged as a negative response to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, initially popularized on social media following the police killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner in 2014. The phrase has been widel ...
using a metaphor: "if there's a subdivision and a house is on fire...the fire department wouldn't show up and put water on all the houses because all houses matter, they would show up and turn on their water on the house that was burning because that's the house that needs help the most." The song then ends with Jamila Woods singing, "Your silence is a luxury. Hip-hop is not a luxury. What I got for me, it is for me? What we made, we made to set us free." Woods' line is a reference to black feminist poet
Audre Lorde Audre Lorde ( ; born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, professor, philosopher, Intersectional feminism, intersectional feminist, poet and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "Bl ...
's essay "Poetry Is Not a Luxury."


Critical reception

Spencer Kornhaber, a reviewer for ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...
'', called the song "both a statement—don't just be aware of racism, speak up about it—and a demonstration...Macklemore is practicing what he preaches, as he preaches it. He also spotlights the voices of actual black activists. Who could attack him for that? I can't. This is a brave song." However, he also criticizes the song for not using enough subtle artistry to convey his message, "forgoing metaphor or ambiguity or impressionism." In his review, Wickman said that "White Privilege II" is not "a great song, but as a think piece it's not terrible...the best thing Macklemore does is giving Black Lives Matter protesters (along with up-and-coming singer Jamila Woods) the last word." Kris Ex of ''
Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...
'' called the song a "mess", saying that it's "too much to work as hit and not enough to work as a piece of
agitprop Agitprop (; from , portmanteau of ''agitatsiya'', "agitation" and ''propaganda'', "propaganda") refers to an intentional, vigorous promulgation of ideas. The term originated in the Soviet Union where it referred to popular media, such as literatu ...
." Ex also noted two types of critiques about the song on social media: critiques making references to white savior syndrome, and critiques asserting that Macklemore's widespread recognition for the song was a type of recognition that rappers of color rapping about the same topic have received comparably little attention for, an ironic example of white privilege. Gyasi Ross, a Native American rapper, lawyer, activist, and author, responded to Macklemore's song by releasing a track called "White Privilege 3", in which he criticized the song for ostensibly critiquing white privilege while simultaneously not letting minority artists speak. Ross commented, "You're trying to help, but honestly you're not. We can speak for ourselves. Pass the mic."


Chart performance

On the first day of its release on January 22, "White Privilege II" reached the #1 position on Billboard + Twitter Trending 140, a chart which ranks songs by how often they are mentioned on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
.


References

{{Black Lives Matter 2016 singles 2016 songs Macklemore songs Ryan Lewis songs Political rap songs Race-related controversies in music Sequel songs Songs about white people Songs about racism and xenophobia Songs written by Budo (musician) Songs written by Macklemore Songs written by Ryan Lewis Songs written by Symbolyc One White privilege Works about White Americans