It would be through the relationship built during that workshop that I was asked by Ben this fall to weigh in on a new song he was working on around white supremacy and his role as a white artist in hip-hop. All the money that you made //
We are also at a crucial moment where it’s very important for Asian-Americans to identify and defy the pervasive anti-blackness that is frequently embedded in our families and communities. When a diverse range of people experience a piece of music or art together, this art has the potential to embody the antithesis of a racist power structure. The fire department wouldn't show up and start putting water on all the houses because all houses matter. Even an old mom like me likes it, cause it's positive
As a company (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis LLC), we are committed to a long-term investment of our time, resources, finances and creative capacities towards supporting black-led organizing and anti-racist education & discourse. Follow @genius on Twitter for updates What I got for me, it is for me Then, maybe, we will have at least one more pair of hands to do just a little more lifting. — See, more people nowadays are just pussies. There's blood in the streets, no justice, no peace We want to dress like, walk like, talk like, dance like, yet we just stand by
That's so cool, look what you're accomplishing My skin matches the hero, likeness, the image Am I in the outside looking in, or am I in the inside looking out?
What we made, we made to set us free
The questions I hope that each listener, in particular white listeners, will leave with are the questions that guided this collaboration: Where is your heart? As a black member of hip-hop culture, I had (and in some ways still have) my reservations. — You should not have done that. You may not always “get it right,” but it’s important to stay humble and stay learning. The idea of “whiteness” is rooted in settler colonialism and slavery. Thinking if they can't, how can I breathe? White Privilege II Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. I first met Ben one year ago when he attended a community based Undoing Racism session with members of Youth Undoing Institutional Racism in Seattle, WA. For nearly a year we met off and on—Ben playing me the latest iteration and me critiquing and giving feedback. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Macklemore talked about his internal struggle over whether or not to write this song, It’s easier, as a white person, to be silent about racial injustice. Blood in the streets, no justice, no peace It starts with education, and recognizing where in your life you’re able to apply your privilege. I feel this song can drastically change the landscape of the conversation. The fire department wouldn't show up and start putting water on all the houses because all houses matter. That's probably why you are out here protesting It continues with deep self-examination of what we have internalized in this white supremacist society and how denial and confusion helps keep racism in place. No racist beliefs, no rest 'til we're free Your brand of hip-hop, it's so fascist and backwards You speak about equality, but do you really mean it? — White racist. The messages we receive as white people are often absorbed unconsciously. So, here we are now—the song is completed and released. — 'Black Lives Matter' thing is a reason to take arms up over perceived slights. There's blood in the streets, no justice, no peace "Hands up? If I'm aware of my privilege and do nothing at all, I don't know "Hands up? ", You've exploited and stolen the music, the moment, Fake and so plastic, you've heisted the magic, You've taken the drums and the accent you rapped in, Go buy a big-ass lawn, go with your big-ass house, You can join the march, protest, scream and shout, You said publicly, "Rest in peace, Mike Brown". I wanted to do what I could to get this message out in a way that was the most constructive but also the most musically interesting. A shield, a gun with gloves and hands that gives an alibi They would show up and they would turn their water on the house that was burning because that's the house that needs the help the most. A follow up to the original “White Privilege” released back in 2005, this song analyzes a variety of racial issues from various perspectives, relying on specific references to the contemporary racial and political climate. When Ben and Ryan asked me to come in and talk about what they were working on, and as I began to understand the content, scope and gravity of the statement they were attempting to make, my first thought was, "What's the intention?" [])), +((!+[]+(!![])+!![]+!![]+!![]+!![]+!![]+!![]+[])+(!+[]+(!![])+!![])+(!+[]+(!![])+!![]+!![]+!![]+!![]+!![]+!![])+(!+[]-(!![]))+(!+[]+(!![])+!![]+!![])+(+!![])+(!+[]+(!![])+!![]+!![]+!![]+!![])+(!+[]+(!![])+!![]+!![])+(+!![]))/+((!+[]+(!![])-[]+[])+(!+[]-(!![]))+(!+[]+(!![])-[])+(!+[]+(!![])+!![]+!![]+!![]+!![])+(!+[]+(!![])+!![]+!![]+!![]+!![]+!![]+!![])+(!+[]+(!![])+!![]+!![]+!![]+!![]+!![])+(!+[]+(!![])+!![]+!![])+(!+[]+(!![])-[])+(+!! They're chanting out, "Black Lives Matter," but I don't say it back Anti-racist white organizer with the People's Institute for Survival and Beyond, Seattle European Dissent and the Black Prisoners Caucus. I think white people who want to take positive action should start to asset map. This process was a deep one: over a year, we engaged in hundreds of hours of conversation, composition, revision and experiment. Huh? Working with Jamila was a profound joy: her thoughtfulness and creativity made this song immeasurably stronger. — ('Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter.') White Privilege II Lyrics. It also means talking to other white people – your family, friends, and networks – about these issues. Of the watered-down, pop-bullshit version of the culture, pal How can you utilize your assets to create real impact for Black liberation? I always approach writing from a place of love, not a passive love but an active love – an I’m-gonna-tell-you-when-you’re-messing-up-because-I-love-you kinda love. Why the fuck would you do that? Hollis, Ben and I talked for nearly three hours about BLM, Seattle, hip-hop, intersectionality, and ending white supremacy. Only separated by a badge, a baton, a can of Mace, a mask, In case somebody dies behind a bullet that flies out of the 9, Blood in the streets, no justice, no peace. So what the fuck has happened to my voice if I stay silent when black people are dying "Pssst, I totally get it, you're by yourself As a company (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis LLC), we are committed to a long-term investment of our time, resources, finances and creative capacities towards supporting black-led organizing and anti-racist education & discourse. That’s not an opinion or a political position. My success is the product of the same system that let off Darren Wilson – guilty Silence is Betrayal. I think first and foremost, white people have to commit themselves to learning how they became “white,” to read books and study history. No racist beliefs, no rest 'til we're free Sitting in his Cadillac on Broadway I listened to the first iteration of the song. Throughout this session we wrestled with dynamics of systemic poverty, the historical construction of race and racism in the United States, contemporary manifestations of structural and systemic racism, internalized racial oppression and anti-racist organizing. There's no way for you to even that out [])). It’s a fact.
Looks like the site is more popular than we thought! You've taken the drums and the accent you rapped in In the winter of 2014, after the non-indictment of Darren Wilson, Hollis Wong-Wear hit me up saying, “Macklemore (Ben) would like to meet with you (and other BLM activists/organizers) about the Black Lives Matter movement in Seattle.” My initial reaction was, “Why?” Like many black members of the hip-hop community I have a rather critical analysis of Macklemore and white supremacy in hip-hop—an art form and culture birthed out of the struggles and ingenuity of black people.
Your silence is a luxury, hip-hop is not a luxury This song is by no means the end of anything. I truly believe that "White Privilege II" will create something unprecedented in the discussion of race and racism in the American context, addressing long festered wounds in the psyche of our nation. Than we actually are with racism — White racist. It's all stolen, anyway, can't you see that now? Most of all, I hope that folks listen to each other. I want to move matters to the heart. Don't shoot!" — Wow. [Macklemore] I want to move it past social media alone. We're going to send you on your way in just a sec. His blatantly racist beliefs motivated him to kill in cold blood, yet I also recognize that Roof had bought into a common ideology in this country: blaming individuals for our problems, not systems and institutions. Attend an Undoing Racism training or Freedom School in your city, financially support the Black Lives Matter movement in your community or research and join a collective of white people seeking to organize against racism in your region. Is it my place to give my two cents? I think about the tragedy in South Carolina where Dylan Roof killed nine black people as they worshipped in their church.
[Verse 2] The struggle for Asian-American rights and representation in this country was and continues to be significantly informed by the black liberation movement. As a non-black person of color, I need to hold the nuance of having the lived reality of being racialized and marginalized in white supremacy, but also recognizing the distinct differences in how my identity is privileged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erse 1] In case somebody dies behind a bullet that flies out of the 9 Don't shoot!" This profound shift in my awareness and understanding propelled me to dedicate the last twenty years of my life to anti-racist organizing and education. You can join the march, protest, scream and shout I found the song to be a sober and sincere reflection of Ben’s commitment to wrestle with the complexities and contradictions of being a white artist in a Black cultural art form born out of resistance to racism. Whatever you do, you must do something.
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he song “White Privilege 2” is a direct call to action and critical engagement especially to listeners and fans who are white. I participated in this record because I believe strongly in the mission behind it. Rap entrepreneur, built his own business — 'Black Lives Matter' thing is a reason to take arms up over perceived slights. Featuring Jamila Woods. Is this about you, well, then what's your intention?