The great hip-hop divide: Macklemore and Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy showdown

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A line has been drawn in the sand ahead of the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, which air on CBS tonight at 8 p.m.

On one side of the divide there’s independent-turned-top-40 darlings, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, the Seattle duo that crossed over into the mainstream and dominated the Billboard charts with their debut album, The Heist.

On the other end there’s Compton emcee and Dr. Dre protegé, Kendrick Lamar, whose good kid m.A.A.d. city album was overwhelmingly praised by critics for its conceptual creativity and lyrical brilliance.

Both artists are nominated for seven Grammys a piece, including four categories where they will face off head-to-head: ‘Best New Artist,’ ‘Best Rap Performance,’ ‘Best Rap Album’ and ‘Album of the Year.’

And although this Sunday will undoubtedly be a historic night for hip-hop as a whole, music fans, pundits and artists can’t help but debate over which emcee they think will take home the most hardware.

While there’s no denying that Macklemore does indeed rap on his records, many question his authenticity as a hip-hop artist because of the pop-y nature of his music and the demographic of the listeners who have become fans of his work.  In fact, in a recent report by the Associated Press, an unnamed source revealed that the “Thrift Shop” duo was almost removed from the rap categories altogether because of the large amount of airplay they’ve received on pop and top-40 radio stations.

Saying that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis make rap music for people who don’t typically enjoy rap is not only a fair statement but, in most cases, probably very accurate. Conversely, though nowhere near as commercially successful, Lamar is largely viewed as hip-hop’s golden child—a ‘rapper’s rapper’ who is respected and loved by hip-hop purists and almost every rap authority in the industry.

Unquestionably, because of his ‘traditional rap’ sound and extraordinary lyricism, the majority of hip-hop fans are rooting for Lamar on Sunday—including Macklemore.  In The Source’s ‘Man of the Year’ issue, which Macklemore took top honors, the “Same Love” rapper spoke on his peer and the ‘Best Rap Album’ category, saying:

“…we’re up against Kendrick, who made a phenomenal album. If we win a Grammy for Best Rap Album, hip-hop is going to be heated. In terms of [that category], I think it should go to Kendrick. He’s family. TDE is family, and I understand why hip-hop would feel like Kendrick got robbed [if he didn’t win].”

Naturally, many media outlets are examining this clash of the titans and, unfortunately, making it about something it’s not—race. Fans of both acts aren’t rooting for or against anyone because of skin color. That isn’t the case here. Artistic credibility, album sales, reach, chart success and the overall quality and impact of the respective albums are the key players in this conversation.

Additionally, there’s a bigger picture that should be looked at and appreciated going into Sunday’s award ceremony.

This year two rap acts are not only nominated, but have a strong chance to take home awards in the biggest categories at the Grammys, including AOTY. It has been 10 years since Outkast won that award for their double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below and 15 since Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill became the first rap album receive that honor.

Music fans should expect Lamar to win the award for ‘Rap Album of the Year,’ but for neither act to take home AOTY. Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories, pushed by the Pharrell-assisted “Get Lucky,” was an impressive comeback by the robotic duo and is probably the leading horse in that race.

Still, there’s always a chance for a surprise.

While there’s certainly nothing wrong with a healthy debate, the fact that hip-hop’s presence will be so strong this year is something that should be celebrated by Kendrick Lamar and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ fans alike. Whoever has the bigger night, at the end of the day, the genre of hip-hop walks away a huge winner, which is something we can all revel in.

Brandon Neasman is a freelance writer who has penned articles for both national and regional publications, including usweekly.com and the Hard Rock Hotel’s Las Vegas magazine. A graduate from Florida A&M University, Brandon is an editor at mostlyjunkfood.com and a graphic designer for the Gannett Company, Inc. You can follow him on Twitter at @Bnease.