Rap Music's Role in Addressing Racism and Privilege

Racism in different perspectives Throughout history, rap music has been a voice for an artist to express their beliefs and address world issues. I 'm an 18-year-old African-American Male who was raised in a middle-class family. Music has always been an important way for me to express myself like many other teenagers. It is common to hear rappers take a standpoint on a controversial topic, such as racism, wealth inequality, and violence, and speak about it. With the increase of police brutality and the growth in the Black Lives Matter movement, rappers and other phenomenon’s have gravitated towards addressing this topic. Most recently, Macklemore released a single, which explained the story of being at a Black Lives Matter protest in his

According to Wikipedia, “white privilege is a term for societal privileges that benefit people identified as white in Western countries, beyond what is commonly experienced by non-white people under the same social, political, or economic circumstance”. In this song Macklemore expresses the importance on race and how white privilege affects people in different ways. Because Macklemore and other white people accept the fact that white privilege benefits them, it is difficult for them to speak about racial issues and discrimination. Many whites tend to have a Sporadic feeling of an unspoken guilt. “White Privilege II”, share the perspective of white people who’re acclimated with the black movements while also addressing the racial issues within our society and encouraging both races to work

This eight-minute song by Macklemore holds a substantial amount of content which is evident in his verses. Throughout the song there’re many lines which are meaningful but towards the end he says, “If I 'm aware of my privilege and do nothing at all, I don 't know/Hip-hop has always been political, yes/It 's the reason why this music connects/So what the fuck has happened to my voice if I stay silent when black people are dying/Then I 'm trying to be politically correct?” (Lines 82-88). Going back to what hip-hop originally means, Macklemore expresses the idea that hip-hop is closely linked wit the black community and it has always been the genre of music known for addressing issues around the world, especially in urban neighborhoods. Macklemore admits that although he’s white he is connected with the black community because of his ties within hip-hop, therefore he refuses to sugar coat his lyrics simply because it might be addressing him as well. In this verse Macklemore is also expressing the idea that if he is truly trying to be politically correct, he needs to honestly explain the racial issues or he’ll just be part of the problem. “White privilege is a set of advantages and/or immunities that white people benefit from on a daily basis beyond those common to all others. White privilege can exist without white people 's conscious knowledge of its presence and