Macklemore has spoken out about being a white rapper in the hip-hop genre, saying he and fellow rapper Eminem are simply “guests” in the genre.
Posting a video snippet of his interview with the daily news show, CBS Mornings, the NO BAD DAYS hitmaker was asked by host Nate Burleson how he looks at being a white rapper in a predominantly black genre.
“I think it is true [that I’m the guest in hip-hop]. It is true and I agree,” Macklemore replied.
“If you look at the origin of where hip-hop came from and what was happening in New York City and what was happening in the Bronx. And the way that Black people and people of colour been treated historically from the jump, this music was birth out of oppression.”
“Hip-Hop is inclusive so there’s always been an open door to a certain extent…but I’m a guest, Em’s [Eminem] a guest,” he continued.
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“Doesn’t matter how good we get. Doesn’t matter how great Eminem is. We’re guests in the culture. A hundred per cent.”
He added, “And that’s not to say that I don’t belong here… I absolutely belong here. But you still have to realise this is not your house. You’re a guest, take Your shoes off and help with some dishes.”
The Detroit native rapped in the track: “And as far as Lord Jamar, you better leave me the hell alone/Or I’ll show you an Elvis clone/Walk up in this house you own/Brush my pelvic bone/Use your telephone and go fetch me the remote/Put my feet up and just make myself at home.”
Em would later acknowledge in an interview on KXNG Crooked’s show Crook’s Corner that he agrees that he’s a guest in hip-hop.
“That’s the funny thing. I don’t know if I got a chance to say this yet. The funny s**t is, with the whole beef of a certain person, I never said I wasn’t a guest,” he said.
“I’m absolutely a guest. I never said I wasn’t. I never said I was king of anything, right?”
Em continued, “I don’t want to be the king of hip-hop. Who the f**k is the king of hip-hop?”
“Is there a king of hip-hop? People would say, ‘Just because you sell the most records doesn’t mean you’re the best. Even though you can rap 40 million syllables doesn’t mean you’re the best.’ I care more about rhyming the syllables. I care more about the craft than any of the other stuff.”