"Thrift Shop," "Can't Hold Us," "Downtown"; these are the funky pop songs we've come to love and expect from Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Loaded with catchy lyrics and fast beats, we find ourselves blurting out verses blindly, not caring what they mean or what the song is about.

However, White Privilege II has none of this; it's 8 minutes long, filled with audio interviews, and follows the introspection of a white man in the search for black justice and peace in the wake of white supremacy that has allowed Darren Wilson to walk free. The song itself is "uncomfortable " and is supposed to be as Ben Haggerty (aka Macklemore) explains in an NPR interview. He understands his audience, a majority of which are white, and addresses their place as allies of Black Lives Matter and role in white privilege. By using his platform as a white rapper, Macklemore uses his own white privilege to raise a discussion about white privilege in our society that allows him to be advantaged over minorities, especially black people.

"The DIY underdog, so independent
But the one thing the American dream fails to mention
Is I was many steps ahead to begin with"

In a sense, this is how Macklemore addresses his role in appropriating black culture. He recognizes that he as a white rapper has, "exploited and stolen the music" and that "The culture was never [his] to make better." Though the song itself has good intentions, like all songs made for a cause or charity, Macklemore's audience base is subject to overlook the hard truths evident in the song and shift focus to minute details like so-called dissing Iggy Azalea and Miley Cyrus. This takes aways from the message that as a white artist in hip-hop, Macklemore benefits from a system that erases the disenfranchisement of black folk in order for white people to feel comfortable. He further elaborates on his intentions, "And that's not to say that Iggy Azalea shouldn't rap, or that I shouldn't rap, but there's a certain amount of accountability that I think is important if you are going to participate in the culture."

Macklemore's White Privilege II is about addressing a white audience in an uncomfortable way, in a way that gets the message across and is not twisted to a fun pop song, which emphasizes rhythm and not the message. It's supposed to call out white people for their inability to engage in the Black Lives Matter movement without necessarily yelling at them. It's meant to be dialogue, a view of opinions and the sequence of events and conversation that are difficult to imagine and have. I encourage all of you to listen and facilitate your own dialogue with friends and family on race and racial issues.