Macklemore addressed the topic of race in hip-hop playing a factor in the incredible amount of success he's been receiving recently. He spoke to Rolling Stone magazine about the sensitive topic and kept it real, acknowledging that he doesn't feel as though he'd be as famous or successful with "Thrift Shop" and "Can't Hold Us" if he were a black artist.
"If you're going to be a white dude and do this sh*t, I think you have to take some level of accountability... You have to acknowledge where the art came from, where it is today, how you're benefiting from it. At the very least, just bringing up those points and acknowledging that, yes, I understand my privilege, I understand how it works for me in society, and how it works for me in 2013 with the success that The Heist has had... We made a great album, but I do think we have benefited from being white and the media grabbing on to something. A song like 'Thrift Shop' was safe enough for the kids. It was like, 'This is music that my mom likes and that I can like as a teenager,' and even though I'm cussing my as* off in the song, the fact that I'm a white guy, parents feel safe. They let their six-year-olds listen to it. I mean it's just...it's different. And would that success have been the same if I would have been a black dude? I think the answer is no."
Source: allhiphop.com
