This is an astonishingly good criticism of Macklemore.

"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura) 01/22/2016 at 16:13 • Filed to: None

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(Moderators: I hope I haven’t broken any rules by sharing this here to call attention to it.)

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 01/22/2016 at 16:21

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SPORTS!

Ash78, voting early and often > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 01/22/2016 at 16:23

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I’m not a huge hip-hop fan, but I still think The Heist is probably in the top 10 hip-hop albums of all time. Whatever. I like the sort-of-nerdcore flow of Macklemore, Beastie Boys, Eminem, and others who can ONLY really pull it off that way BECAUSE they’re white.

I didn’t even realize there was such a huge mass of Maclemore hatred in the world.

Berang > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 01/22/2016 at 16:27

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Is there any commercially successful, industry awarded “artist” who is good these days.

they-will-know-my-velocity > Ash78, voting early and often 01/22/2016 at 16:27

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Agreed. Childish Gambino and Macklemore actually have interesting music. Kendrick Lamar is also in there somewhere, with his black contact lenses.

As opposed to the the dizzying blur of TWO-CHAINS (I always scream his name) and the occasional Kanye album.

DrJohannVegas > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 01/22/2016 at 16:29

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The top comment and Greg Howard’s response are pretty good, too. I mean, I am, on average, a big fan of Greg’s work. On soccer, on racial issues, and on life in general, I think he does his topics real justice. Glad he got to write this one.

Edit: I should say that I don’t think Mack is as bad as Greg portrays him to be in this article. But, the general argument that the apology rings a bit hollow is spot on.

Blondude > they-will-know-my-velocity 01/22/2016 at 16:31

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TWOOOOCHAAIIIIIINS

Kailand09 > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 01/22/2016 at 17:08

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This has to be the dumbest thing I’ve seen on oppo in a long time.

nermal > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 01/22/2016 at 17:30

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I reluctantly skimmed the article while listening to the song.

This song is what you need to play for people when they ask you why #Trump2016 is a thing. In order to have a happy, balanced middle ground, you need to have equal weight on the far left and far right side of the scale.

The music isn’t bad for what it is, the lyrical content makes him sound like a weenie though. Not a fan of that.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > DrJohannVegas 01/22/2016 at 17:37

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@Dr. Vegas: I appreciate your reply. I don’t need to listen to a note of Mackelmore’s music to appreciate a well crafted criticism. I always pay attention to your comments when I see them, and you have affirmed my take on the piece.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Berang 01/22/2016 at 17:39

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Kim Kardashian?

DrJohannVegas > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 01/22/2016 at 17:42

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O.C.: Good to hear from you! Picked up some records yesterday, including a John Zorn album , and thought of a musicLock post with a bit of ribbing. On Macklemore: If I had to describe his style in one word, it would be one which shows up a bunch in that article: earnest. But, earnestness is not necessarily a good thing. Just ask P.J. O’Rourke.

Short-throw Granny Shifter is 2 #blessed 2b stressed > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 01/22/2016 at 17:57

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Mackelmore may be a rapper, but he’s not Hip Hop. It’s a lifestyle, and someone his age, with his background and style cannot be hip hop.

Textured Soy Protein > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 01/22/2016 at 18:00

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The only problem with that article is it uses Drake as an example of a good rapper, and Drake is a terrible rapper. I hate Drake so much. His voice is so annoying.

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > Ash78, voting early and often 01/22/2016 at 18:09

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If you want a dorky white guy, go with Paul Barman or something

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 01/22/2016 at 18:10

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I agree heartily with this critique. As some of the comments pointed out, El-P is probably the best example of what a white rapper should be

PushToStart > they-will-know-my-velocity 01/22/2016 at 18:24

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+1 for Childish Gambino. Camp is too good.

samssun > nermal 01/22/2016 at 18:30

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Just read the lyrics and didn't know whether to laugh or shake my head. This country has a terminal case of white guilt.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > DrJohannVegas 01/22/2016 at 18:58

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I’ve done a tiny bit of exploring of John Zorn and he has an astonishing spectrum of musicality.

Here’s an aside: What do you think of David Bowie’s “Blackstar” song and accompanying video?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Short-throw Granny Shifter is 2 #blessed 2b stressed 01/22/2016 at 18:59

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Can a White guy be genuinely hip hop? I don’t know; I’m just asking.

Desu-San-Desu > Ash78, voting early and often 01/22/2016 at 19:01

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Agreed. I like Macklemore because he feels very unique in a wash of very homogenized club-hits that is what modern hip-hop, by and large, has become. Some of his stuff is morally heavy-handed, some of it is so upbeat that it can be a bit obnoxious and some of it is “damn, that’s hot!” levels of hard-hitting (‘Jimmy Iovine’ comes to mind), but no matter what, I never have to worry about confusing Macklemore’s songs with those of anyone else. What he has done that is special is make a form of individualized rap that is not vampiric of ‘black’ stylings but also doesn’t rely on inclusion into an ‘acceptably-white’ genre of rap like M.C. Chris and Schaffer the Darklord do with Nerdcore.

Are there better rappers out there, who are also white/not black, on a pure skill basis, both lyrically and verbally? Yes- Yelawolf and Slug/Atmosphere are great examples on very different ends of the spectrum of tonality, context, and technique. Eminem, while very inconsistent and very much a vicious dichotomy over the course of his own career, is also respected as a master wordsmith and verbalist of renowned physicality and has had an influence on the culture that cannot be denied.

At the end of the day, though, who do I think is the most accepted non-black rapper? My personal opinion gives that honor to Slug, from Atmosphere. Why? Because out of everybody I listed, and more, he is the only hip-hop or rap artist I have ever shared with friends and acquaintances where the question of his race or comment on his race has never, not even once, come up. His music exists and is experienced entirely on its own, regardless of his race. That, in my opinion, is a gold star indicator of a true talent in the community.

Short-throw Granny Shifter is 2 #blessed 2b stressed > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 01/22/2016 at 19:08

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Not in 2016, IMO. Beastie boys were hip hop tho.

Spoon II > Textured Soy Protein 01/24/2016 at 15:15

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Drake has the lyrical flow of a stuttering duck. I’m not quite sure how he became so popular

Ash78, voting early and often > Desu-San-Desu 01/25/2016 at 09:28

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Thanks for the post, gonna go check him out.

And yes, some of Macklemore’s heavyhandedness is a little annoying. He got all that applause for “Same Love” which I found to be a pretty weak, almost forced song for political reasons. It’s like the record company said “Come on, you and Ryan have 30 minutes to come up with an LGBT support song, now hurry!”

Desu-San-Desu > Ash78, voting early and often 01/25/2016 at 09:37

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Do yourself a favor and start here if you’re checking out Atmosphere:

That flow. That flute. That back-beat. That bass line. That ending.

Damn, man. Just...damn.