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Kevork Djansezian, Getty ImagesMacklemore and Ryan Lewis‘ four Grammy wins on Sunday night (Jan. 26) were met with both praise and criticism. And although everyone had their opinions, especially regarding the duo’s Best Rap Album win over Kendrick Lamar, Macklemore has finally stepped forward to clear the air.
“It’s the blessing and the curse, a little bit more the curse,” the Seattle native told New York City’s ‘Hot 97 Morning Show’ over the phone yesterday (Jan. 27). “First and foremost, Kendrick [Lamar] is a friend of mine. He’s somebody that I love his music and, in my opinion, had the best rap album of the year. And knowing how the Grammys usually go, I knew that there would be a great chance that we’d win that award and, in essence, rob Kendrick. That’s what happened tonight. It kind of sucks. I think we made a great album. I think that Kendrick made a better rap album, and that’s what it is.”
When asked about whether or not he thought his win was “racial,” ‘The Heist’ creator said that he doesn’t like being the person who was “robbing somebody else.”
He went on to explain how the Grammy voting process works. Due to the hit songs he created — ‘Thrift Shop’ and ‘Can’t Hold Us’ — and his name being out there in the mainstream, that was a big factor in why he beat Lamar in the Best Rap Album category.
“I think if you look at what the Grammys are, I think that what people don’t understand is what the Grammys are a bunch of people that are on the Grammy committee or in the industry [that get] a ballot. I got a ballot this year. Now, as I’m filling out the ballot, I’m realizing I don’t know much outside of the genre of Hip Hop in terms of who should get what award. So I’m like, ‘I don’t really know about singer-songwriter or country music or whatever,’ but people are filling out bubbles of genres that they don’t know about. And that’s the process of it.”
He continued, “In terms of the people that are voting on those ballots, filling out those bubbles, we have an unfair advantage due to race, due to the fact we had huge radio success, due to the fact that our name was circulating more in a pocket in the industry of people filling out that ballot. This is not like a Rap Radar poll, like a 2DopeBoyz poll. This is not a Hot 97 poll. This is the Grammys. This is many different types of people. All different age groups filling out a ballot where they might not necessarily know the genre.”
Check out the full interview with Macklemore below.
Next: Best Dressed at 2014 Grammy Awards
Listen to the Hot 97 Morning Show’s Interview with Macklemore
