Music

High school turns down Macklemore performance and $10,000 music grant

by Jesse Locke

Macklemore has committed plenty of musical crimes along with some truly tasteless costume choices (and no, that isn’t limited to the time he hit the stage dressed like a cartoonish Jewish stereotype). His biggest hit “Thrift Shop” might start with the line “Walk into the club like what up, I got a big c**k” but he’s also promoted “human rights for everybody, there is no difference” on the equality anthem “Same Love.” So should the parents of California’s Aliso Niguel High School be cheered or jeered for turning down a performance from the Seattle rapper? The students definitely think the latter.

Following complaints from parents and administration that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis “promote misogyny and drug use” the school declined the opportunity for a live performance with a prize that came complete with a $10,000 boost for their music program. A recent Reddit thread, Change.org petition and #bringbackmack twitter campaign make their case that the duo’s lyrics are actually fairly G-rated. Read an impassioned post from one of the students below:

There’s a silver lining to this story, as the decision has now been reversed. Read an update via Reddit that sounds like the most level-headed response of all.

Update: Our high school administration revoked their previous decision to decline the prize. As a result we will receive the $10k grant and a presentation on the music industry from Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

I would like to thank the reddit communities of /r/music and /r/hiphopheads for any support given for my school.

Now I can go back to not liking Macklemore.