Macklemore Took a College Seminar on Race Before His New Album
Prior to the release of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ latest album, This Unruly Mess I’ve Made, the rapper and producer decided to clean up their thoughts and opinions on race relations. In a new Billboard cover story, the duo reveals that they took “what was essentially a college seminar on race” in between their breakout debut LP The Heist and their latest full-length.
The catalyst for the seminar was the 2014 death of Michael Brown and the protests in Ferguson, Mo. following officer Darren Wilson’s non-indictment. “The night of the nonindictment was the biggest one in terms of realizing I had been silent [about racism] out of fear,” Macklemore says. “I had been silent out of not wanting to mess up, out of a fear of saying the wrong thing. If I said the wrong thing, that would be a bigger story than me supporting it.”
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