avatar darko 'my friend ben'

Shots Fired! Avatar Darko Checks Macklemore

Avatar Darko touches on local taboo in his new record ‘My Friend Ben’. In recent months it appears that numerous local rappers believe Macklemore hasn’t given back to the local music community enough.

Controversy aside, this is ultimately a different and dope record from Avatar.

Darko is far from him complaining about not receiving help from Mack himself.  He addresses something that I often hear about in closed circles and that few decide to ever speak on in public. Avatar Darko might just be the only person to speak on this little issue outside of Twitter rants from other artists.

“Think he scared to be himself, really masked by his ego, it’s evident in the way he treats his people.” Avatar Darko

Av doesn’t just call out Macklemore about the music community, he touches on his giving back to the community in general. Macklemore is a white rapper who has addressed white privilege in his own music, but has he truly done that much for the community who supported him for so long?

My feelings on the topic are mixed.

On one hand, I don’t think Macklemore owes anyone any sort of hand out.  Simply making it to the level he has attained has given Seattle major shine in the spotlight. Mack has put numerous producers, engineers, writers, and singers on platinum records that may have never reached that level on their own. Dude even brought Raz Simone along for part of his tour and has been instrumental in building the Hip-Hop Artist Residency Program for the youth.

On the other hand, I personally haven’t witnessed Macklemore do a ton for the Seattle hip-hop scene.  Take a look through his songs and you’ll notice he is lacking features with other local artists on his records. Back when Eighty4 Fly was prime to blow up, Macklemore featured  him on The Heist album. You would think this was a great thing for the scene right? Wrong.  Eighty4’s verse was cut from the song and his voice was pitched up on the hook. It’s details like this that are cutting back the overall potential impact of Macklemore’s legacy.

At the end of the day Macklemore doesn’t owe anyone shit. He climbed from local backpack to rapper to international pop star in our back yard and has provided opportunities for artists, engineers, producers, and singers alike.

But there is always that thought that more could be done.

How do you feel about this?  Do you feel Macklemore has supported the local hip-hop scene?

If you’re digging this record make sure to check out the rest of Avatar Darko’s new album below.  My Beautiful Ugly Truth features a sound we haven’t really heard from Av before.  Avatar has never lack in the bar department but this record is a little more ‘real’ if you feel me.  Check out the difference between this record and Av’s more hype anthems.

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