White Privilege II

[Verse 1] Pulled into the parking lot, parked it Zipped up my parka, joined the procession of marchers In my head like, "Is this awkward? Should I even be here marching?" Thinking if they can't, how can I breathe? Thinking that they chant, what do I sing? I want to take a stance 'cause we are not free And then I thought about it, we are not "we" Am I in the outside looking in, or am I in the inside looking out? Is it my place to give my two cents? Or should I stand on the side and shut my mouth? "No justice, no peace," okay, I'm saying that They're chanting out, "Black Lives Matter," but I don't say it back Is it okay for me to say? I don't know, so I watch and stand In front of a line of police that look the same as me Only separated by a badge, a baton, a can of Mace, a mask A shield, a gun with gloves and hands that gives an alibi In case somebody dies behind a bullet that flies out of the 9 Takes another child's life on sight, bam! *Gunshot* [Hook] Blood in the streets, no justice, no peace No racist beliefs, no rest 'til we're free There's blood in the streets, no justice, no peace No racist beliefs, no rest 'til we're free Blood in the streets, no justice, no peace No racist beliefs, no rest 'til we're free There's blood in the streets, no justice, no peace No racist beliefs, no rest 'til we're free Blood in the streets, no justice, no peace No racist beliefs, no rest 'til we're free There's blood in the streets, no justice, no peace No racist beliefs, no rest 'til we're free [Interlude 1] [Macklemore, speaking over voices] "Oh, what are you doing Ben? What are you doing here?" [Various indistinct male voices] "Probably shouldn't be here, you have white supremacy, don't fuckin' come here. — Culture Vulture! — ('Black Lives Matter,' say it.) — Wow. — ('Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter.') — You should not have done that. Why the fuck would you do that? — (What are you doing here?) — You always react. Just let it go, man. — White racist. — It's the Grammys!" [Macklemore] "Ben, think about it." [Verse 2] 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 Fake and so plastic, you've heisted the magic You've taken the drums and the accent you rapped in Your brand of hip-hop, it's so fascist and backwards That Grandmaster Flash'd go slap it, you bastard All the money that you made Of the watered-down, pop-bullshit version of the culture, pal Go buy a big-ass lawn, go with your big-ass house Get a big-ass fence, keep people out It's all stolen, anyway, can't you see that now? There's no way for you to even that out You can join the march, protest, scream and shout Get on Twitter, hashtag, and seem like you're down But they see through it all, people believe you now? You said publicly, "Rest in peace, Mike Brown" You speak about equality, but do you really mean it? Are you marching for freedom, or when it's convenient? Want people to like you, want to be accepted That's probably why you are out here protesting Don't think for a second you don't have incentive Is this about you, well, then what's your intention? What's the intention? What's the intention? [Interlude 2: Protesters] "Hands up? Don't shoot!" "Hands up? Don't shoot!" "Hands up? Don't shoot!" "Hands up? Don't shoot!" "Hands up? Don't shoot!" "Hands up? Don't shoot!" "Hands up? Don't shoot!" "Hands up? Don't shoot!" "Hands up? Don't shoot!" "Hands up? Don't shoot!" "Hands up? Don't shoot!" "Hands up? Don't shoot!" "Hands up? Don't shoot!" "Hands up? Don't shoot!" [Verse 3] "Pssst, I totally get it, you're by yourself And the last thing you wanna do is take a picture But seriously, my little girl loves you She's always singing, 'I'm gonna pop some tags' I'm not kidding, my oldest, you even got him to go thrifting And 'One Love,' oh my God, that song, brilliant Their aunt is gay, when that song came out My son told his whole class he was actually proud That's so cool, look what you're accomplishing Even an old mom like me likes it, 'cause it's positive You're the only hip-hop that I let my kids listen to 'Cause you get it, all that negative stuff it isn't cool" Yeah? "Yeah, like, all the guns and the drugs The bitches and the hoes and the gangs and the thugs Even the protest outside, so sad, and so dumb If a cop pulls you over, it's your fault if you run" Huh? [Interlude 3: Various male and female voices] "So, they feel that the police are discriminating against the... the black people? — I have an advantage? Why? 'Cause I'm white? (laughs) What? (laughs) No. — See, more people nowadays are just pussies. Like, this is the generation to be offended by everything. — 'Black Lives Matter' thing is a reason to take arms up over perceived slights. — I'm not prejudiced, I just... — 99% of the time, across this country, the police are doing their job properly." [Verse 4] Damn, a lot of opinions, a lot of confusion, a lot of resentment Some of us scared, some of us defensive And most of us aren't even paying attention It seems like we're more concerned with being called racist Than we actually are with racism I've heard that silences are action and God knows that I've been passive What if I actually read a article, actually had a dialogue Actually looked at myself, actually got involved? If I'm aware of my privilege and do nothing at all, I don't know Hip-hop has always been political, yes It's the reason why this music connects So what the fuck has happened to my voice if I stay silent when black people are dying And I'm trying to be politically correct? I can book a whole tour, sell out the tickets Rap entrepreneur, built his own business If I'm only in this for my own self-interest Not the culture that gave me a voice to begin with And this isn't authentic, it is just a gimmick The DIY underdog, so independent But the one thing the American dream fails to mention Is I was many steps ahead to begin with My skin matches the hero, likeness, the image America feels safe with my music in their systems And it suited me perfect, the role, I fulfilled it And if I'm the hero, you know who gets cast as the villain White supremacy isn't just a white dude in Idaho White supremacy protects the privilege I hold White supremacy is the soil, the foundation, the cement and the flag that flies outside of my home White supremacy is our country's lineage, designed for us to be indifferent My success is the product of the same system that let off Darren Wilson – guilty We wanna dress like, walk like, talk like, dance like, yet we just stand by We take all we want from black culture, but will we show up for black lives? We wanna dress like, walk like, talk like, dance like, yet we just stand by We take all we want from black culture, but will we show up for black lives? [Interlude 4: Various male and female voices] "Black Lives Matter, to use an analogy, is like if... if there was a subdivision and a house was on fire. The fire department wouldn't show up and start putting water on all the houses because all houses matter. They would show up and they would turn their water on the house that was burning because that's the house that needs the help the most. — My generation's taken on the torch of a very age-old fight for black liberation, but also liberation for everyone. Injustice anywhere is still injustice everywhere. — The best thing white people can do is talk to each other, having those very difficult, very painful conversations with your parents, with your family members. — I think one of the critical questions for white people in this society is, 'What are you willing to risk? What are you willing to sacrifice to create a more just society?'" [Outro: Jamila Woods] Your silence is a luxury, hip-hop is not a luxury Your silence is a luxury, hip-hop is not a luxury Your silence is a luxury, hip-hop is not a luxury Your silence is a luxury, hip-hop is not a luxury What I got for me, it is for me What we made, we made to set us free What I got for me, it is for me What we made, we made to set us free What I got for me, it is for me What we made, we made to set us free [Click here to learn more about the making of "White Privilege II"]