January 30, 2024
Rapper Tom MacDonald’s new song, “Facts” featuring conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, has taken the political blogosphere and the music charts by storm. The reason why is obvious; curiosity compels us to find out what dorky Ben Shapiro sounds like rapping.
Shapiro, who probably personifies the polar opposite of the essence of hip-hop more than any other human being on the planet, did not disappoint. His verse revealed a robotic-sounding flow delivering pun-heavy wordplay complete with nerdy references and political call-outs. Both cringe-worthy and catchy, it was hilariously on-brand and all in good fun on his part.
The song appears to be a huge success as a publicity stunt and cash grab. There is of course nothing wrong with that in itself. Tom MacDonald’s name recognition will increase and that means he is set up to spread his music and message to a larger audience. But what is that message exactly?
Tom MacDonald has made a name for himself as an independent rapper focusing on political and socially-conscious subject matter. He promotes his independence from traditional labels, his uniqueness, and his “outsider” status as part of his persona. While other rappers are beholden to larger forces that push them towards promoting obscenity and sin in their music, as the argument goes, MacDonald is free to choose to talk about more positive topics. He also fancies himself a bridge between often conflicting worlds. He is a white man in a black man’s game. He is a promoter of some “older,” traditionally conservative values and perspectives (relative to today’s Left), yet he looks like a younger punker with braids, tattoos and piercings. He dabbles in partisan politics but can take the “view from above” objective approach to highlight hyprocisy and issue valid criticism of both “sides” of a debate. He often talks about needing to unify the “us” (We the People) against a powerful common enemy “them” (the government, corporations, warmongers, social engineers, etc).
“Facts” is a song that could perhaps be described as MacDonald’s “jump the shark” moment if he continues down the same path from here. If you analyze the lyrics and identify the essential message, it contradicts principles repeatedly emphasized in the his previous work and arguably serves the selfish purposes of the “they” MacDonald identified as an enemy in several other songs. This is not to say that his previous work is all firmly rested on rock-solid foundations – it’s not – and he has sort of gone “both ways” for years. But the success of this song and the collaboration with who is arguably the poster boy for the modern American mainstream “Right” makes it difficult to continue to see MacDonald as anything but another artist capitalizing off of divisive partisanship in the game “they” organized and run.
While addressing the content of “Facts,” we will also consider three examples from previous MacDonald songs for context. The songs are “Brainwashed,” “Clown World,” and “Fake Woke.”
“Brainwashed” is about propaganda from powerful interests being strategically deployed to keep the populace divided and fighting amongst themselves about trivial differences rather than focusing on addressing common larger problems. Here is an excerpt from the song:
“Let’s just have the conversation
Not every liberal is dumb, not all Republicans are racist
The government wants everybody fighting with their neighbors
‘Cause they know that if we get along, we’ll probably go against ’em…They can’t stop us, ’cause we’re ready to fight
Try to brainwash us, but we won’t let freedom die
The whole world’s brainwashed
(Everybody pick a team, start a riot in the streets)
The whole world’s brainwashed
(It’s us against them, it ain’t you against me)”
The song goes on to state several steps of situational design that are meant to “separate” people based on certain characteristics and beliefs and these divisions are then used by their employers to “take control.” This of course implies a nefarious intent and rests on the assumption that we ought not be misled in such a way. It is based on a notion that we are of equal worth and dignity and if we apply logic and abide by moral principle and ethical action, we can avoid such a fate by coming together and discussing differences logically. This is of course true. Why, then, in “Facts” does MacDonald abandon this acknowledgment instead seemingly playing right into the divisive hands of those that want to dehumanize and disrespect the opposition? Don’t get it twisted, this is in no way an argument that all critics must “play nice” with their opposition or their detractors, on the contrary, the best criticism is often the harshest. But when you go from “I completely disagree and I think your positions are harmful and wrong and here is why” to “I don’t care if I offend you, I was put here to upset you…I hope I offend you…I’m the man who don’t respect you,” you kind of shut down discussion and are no longer playing the role of the enlightened alarm-ringer trying to wake people up. You become a cog in the machine you claim to hate.
It is not like MacDonald does not recognize this. In his song “Clown World,” he laments;
“You worried ’bout leaving a better planet for our kids
How ’bout leaving better kids for our planet
Entire generation offended at everything
Getting mad that a human thinks all lives matter
We don’t need black or white or left or right
What we need is common sense, we need balance
We’re all in the same boat, why you tryna make holes?
If they sink, we sink, this is madness…We won’t always agree, no
I don’t hate all police, no
I don’t think that the system’s racist
I just think the system hates people
I think fighting violence with more violence is what they want
Viruses and riots, people dying, we won’t stay home
Black lives matter, all lives matter, what’s all this division for?
It’s modern segregation, this is setting up a civil war”
You know what is really bad at stopping a “civil war?” Taunting the opposition with childish tactics that they themselves also employ. I had to cringe while listening to “Facts” when I heard;
“You mad, you mad, you mad
I guess it’s cool to be the victim, well, I’ma be the man
You sad, you sad, you sad
You just try to get attention, being triggered’s all you have
You mad, you mad, you mad
You blame everybody else for every problem that you can
You sad, you sad, you sad
I will never say I’m sorry, I ain’t taking nothing back”
This is the pot calling the kettle black. MacDonald is employing the “you mad” format favored by many on the political Left to mock his opposition for what essentially he complained about happening to him in the first verse of the song. He played the victim. He is acting triggered. He is clearly looking for attention by repeating all this in song after song. This is not to say there isn’t some truth in how he and others are mistreated in the mainstream media, by the government, by institutions, etc. However, “but they did it first” is a line every parent in the world rejects as an excuse from their children. We should not buy it here. All this type of mockery does is fuel the hatred that pushes us closer to that civil war MacDonald previously warned about.
This leads into discussion of another eye-roll-worthy part of “Facts” insofar as it indicates a shift for MacDonald away from his previous orientation towards a more partisan one that tends to fester in the stagnant scummy surface-level pettiness that can be more easily manipulated by “them.” It is found in the refrain line, “I ask myself, “What would Ben do?”” Really? It seems odd to look for guidance on action in this regard from a partisan at one of the poles in the dichotomy, especially when he is clearly capitalizing off of the fight. Sticking with “What would Jesus do?” is a better criteria for judgment, both in general and regarding how to deal with your enemies.
Blasphemy aside, a Ben Shapiro feature on a Tom MacDonald track is reminiscent of a verse on the song, “Fake Woke,”
“We use violence to get peace and wonder why it isn’t working
That’s like sleeping with a football team to try and be a virgin
Politicians are for sale, and someone always makes the purchase
But you and I cannot afford it, our democracy is worthless
If a man has mental illness, call him crazy, say it silently
When country’s going crazy, we accept it as society
…Censoring the facts turns our children into idiots
They claim it’s for our safety, I’ll tell you what it really is
Removing information that empowers all the citizens
The truth doesn’t damage points of view that are legitimate
They’re tryna change amen to a-men and women
How’d we let ’em make praying a microaggression?
Instead of asking God for the strength to keep winning
We cheat to get ahead, and then we ask Him for forgiveness”
Piggybacking off these lyrics, emulating Shaprio to lessen division in society is sort of like using violence to obtain peace. While Shapiro may be properly oriented on most social and economic issues Conservatives care about and can articulate his positions well, his place in the zeitgeist and his tactics can be a dangerous guide if not questioned. One need look no further than his clearly biased and close-minded stance in support of the State of Israel, including their hardliners, and the on-going destruction and death in Gaza at the hands of the IDF for an example of this danger. It is every bit as fallacious and as wicked as some of the Leftist-oriented causes he rightly denounces.
What is missing in all these cases is what was properly identified as necessary by MacDonald in some of the other songs mentioned here; a respect for the worth/dignity of others, basic decency and tolerance of other perspectives, identification of universal principles, and thorough discussion to identify where misunderstandings occur. To paraphrase MacDonald, so many people too often cheat to get ahead and then ask Him for forgiveness instead of asking God for the strength to endure while seeking a just outcome. The evil forces MacDonald warns his audience about take advantage of this weakness. Hopefully, MacDonald does not fall victim to it himself.