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Macklemore Takes A Stand For Black Lives Matter, Even If It Costs Him Fans

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 03:25 PST, Oct 24, 2016

Macklemore is one of the more prominent musicians who has been composing songs to vehemently protest against the hate crimes directed towards African Americans. In collaboration with Ryan Lewis, Macklemore has produced an extremely confrontational song titled “White Privilege II” in support of the Black Lives Matter social movement that aims to raise its voice against racial violence and brutalities against African Americans.

“White Privilege II” features on This Unruly Mess I’ve Made and is a sequel to “White Privilege,” Macklemore’s previous song from his 2005 album The Language of My World. The idea for writing such a confrontational song came to Macklemore after 18-year-old African-American Michael Brown was fatally shot by a white police officer in Missouri.

Earlier, Eric Garner, another African American, was allegedly strangled by a police officer while being arrested. Even though the accused police officers were cleared of the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, the African-American community continues to organize silent protests as part of Black Lives Matter.

During one of the protests in Seattle, a veteran hip-hop artist urged Macklemore to produce songs to broaden the movement’s focus. On the advice of the elderly artist, Macklemore decided to lend his voice to the movement by channeling his views through songs like “White Privilege II.”

By producing confrontational songs, Macklemore hopes to engage white Americans and invite them to play a major role in resolving this issue.

Many people hold the opinion that Macklemore has taken a huge risk in composing and releasing “White Privilege II,” because the song is entirely different from traditional hip-hop songs that are traditionally directed to the commercial market. Instead, this song serves as a whiplash to Macklemore’s white American fans who prefer to remain silent about the injustices of our racist society.

Earlier, Zach Quillen, Macklemore’s manager, speculated that the song could well alienate some of the singer’s fans. However, Macklemore’s popularity has remained unaffected, as demonstrated by the great number of fans who still attend Macklemore’s concerts today.

Macklemore has not only influenced ordinary American citizens, but he’s also managed to charm many celebrities. According to Perez Hilton, actor Charlie Sheen celebrated his 51st birthday by taking his daughters Loa and Sam to watch Macklemore concerts in Seattle and Las Vegas.

Macklemore’s activism can be indirectly attributed to the recovery meetings he’s been attending since he made the decision to break free from drug addiction and alcohol abuse. Although he has now conquered his addictions, Macklemore has fought a bitter battle against substance abuse. According to Rolling Stone, Macklemore spoke about how his academic performance at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn was affected by his alcoholism.

“I wasted an entire summer getting drunk and high and not making art, and I had to make up a lie to my parents, that the air conditioner leaked on my artwork and I had to throw it away.”

Even today, Macklemore attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, because it’s these interactions that have made the “Thrift Shop” singer realize he’ll be able to cope with his addiction if he’s more concerned with other people’s problems instead of continuously pondering his own. Today, Macklemore is reportedly working with Barack Obama on a documentary to discuss his personal experiences in coping with drug addiction.

Part of Macklemore’s success can be attributed to his wife, Tricia Davis, a former nurse who has loyally stood by his side during his addiction struggles. Tricia, who is the tour manager for the hip-hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, has always been very supportive of her husband.

Even after the birth of Sloane, Macklemore and Tricia’s baby girl, Tricia continues to join Macklemore on his international tours. According to Celebrity Baby Scoop, Tricia and Macklemore recently shared a Snapchat photo of Sloane, who was accompanying her parents on the Singapore leg of the “This Unruly Mess I’ve Made World Tour.”

[Featured Image by Glenn Hunt/Getty Images]

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