He’s got $20 and a possible feud in his pocket. “Thrift Shop” rapper Macklemore calls out and disses stars such as Miley Cyrus and Iggy Azalea for cultural appropriation in “White Privilege II,” his latest single with collaborator Ryan Lewis. Naturally, the “Pretty Girls” rapper in none too pleased.
In the 8-minute song, Macklemore, 32, raps: “You’ve exploited and stolen the music, the moment, the magic, the passion, the fashion, you toy with / The culture was never, yours to make better / You’re Miley, you’re Elvis, you’re Iggy Azalea.”
A curious fan asked Australia native Azalea, 25, about her reaction to the track, which dropped on Thursday, January 21. “He shouldn’t have spent the last 3 yrs having friendly convos and taking pictures together at events etc if those were his feelings,” she tweeted on Friday. (Indeed, the two rappers have been photographed together at various red carpet events.)
Macklemore also alludes to Azalea’s confirmed plastic surgery in a follow-up verse. “Fake and so plastic, you’ve heisted the magic,” he raps of the female artist. “You’ve taken the drums and the accent you rapped in / You’re branded ‘hip-hop,’ it’s so fascist and backwards.”
The controversial songstress — who’s been called out repeatedly for cultural appropriation — has a history of lashing out against her industry foes, including Erykah Badu, Azealia Banks and Nicki Minaj.
However, on Friday, she appeared to take the high road.
“You shouldn’t give a f–k,” one person advised Azalea, who responded: “Trust me, I don’t. lol.”
Another praised her for overlooking Macklemore’s diss. “People are going to like whoever they want so, let them,” she replied with a smiley face.
Macklemore and Lewis’ second studio album, This Unruly Mess I’ve Made, drops February 26.
