After this year's Grammys, rapper Macklemore -- who defeated critical favorite Kendrick Lamar in the rap categories -- publicly posted his apology to Lamar on Instagram, noting "You got robbed. I wanted you to win." And a fellow nominee has now spoken out, calling Macklemore "wack as f--k."
Quoted in the new issue of Rolling Stone, Drake -- who was nominated alongside Lamar, Jay Z, Kanye West and winner Macklemore in the best rap album category -- had tough words for the white rapper from Seattle.
"I was like, 'You won. Why are you posting your text message? Just chill. Take your W, and if you feel you didn't deserve it, go get better — make better music. It felt cheap. It didn't feel genuine. Why do that? Why feel guilt? You think those guys would pay homage to you if they won?"
Salon's Brittney Cooper has previously written that Macklemore's apology was useless, and noted that "anyone who listened to Macklemore’s album over against Kendrick Lamar’s 'Good Kid, Maad City' knows exactly what I mean."
It sounds as though Drake might agree. The "Nothing Was the Same" star told Rolling Stone that Macklemore's Grammy wins had nothing to do with merit: "He made a brand of music that appealed to more people than me, Hov, Kanye, and Kendrick. Whether people wanna say it's racial, or whether it's just the fact that he tapped into something we can't tap into." The great unspoken is not merely racial, but that Drake, Jay Z, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar are doing great work within hip-hop, whereas Macklemore has, in hits like "Same Love" and "Thrift Shop," positioned himself as a savior figure come in to cure hip-hop of homophobia and perceived "materialism."
Drake also noted that he deserved an apology as much as Lamar: "To name just Kendrick? That s--t made me feel funny." For as each Grammy voter Macklemore made happy, it's a fair bet that there are several more hip-hop fans he's made feel funny, or worse.
The new issue of Rolling Stone is on stands Friday.
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