Hey, Alexa! Play Fake Woke by Tom MacDonald. Oh, wait! Turn it down because being censored in a free country is #trending.
Friday, January 29 brought the release of L.A.-based Canadian rapper Tom MacDonald’s new hit Fake Woke. In less than a week there's been a large uproar of fans thinking the song is cash but, of course, an online mob wants him canceled.
MacDonald took a nearly three year hiatus since his last video so this song was certainly under the radar. But, without a record label, a distribution network or a manager, MacDonald reached over 3 million views on YouTube in less than four days. The song also reached number one on the U.S. iTunes charts for all genres. Everyone should stream it now while it’s still available for play.
After the song circulated, Fox News reporter Carley Shimkus was quick to interview MacDonald on his “rails against cancel culture and censorship.” The transparency and confidence he stated in the interview is refreshing. MacDonald said, “This song is about screaming my truth at the top of my lungs and sort of - there's this performative wokeness that’s going on in society today. And I think it was just important to point some fingers at the hypocrisy and the way that the world is changing. Not for the better.”
MacDonald’s lyrics are simply a statement of how he feels about America. He hasn’t chosen a specific political side but because he isn’t a clear far lefty, his opinions strike controversy.
But the system wants adults to sit down and shut up
Cancel culture runs the world now, the planet went crazy
Label everything we say as homophobic or racist
If you're white then you're privileged, guilty by association
(...)
Censorship's an issue 'cause they choose what they erase
There's a difference between hate speech and speech that you hate
I think Black Lives Matter was the stupidest name
When the system's screwing everyone exactly the same
(...)
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
MacDonald further clarified his disregard for cancel culture through the censorship anthem in the interview with Fox News.
I know who I am. My friends and my family know who I am. My fans know who I am. If I see something on TV, I change the channel. If I'm reading something I don't like, I close the book. Like, I don't try to call the radio station and call and call the people who are on TV names and try to cancel them or call the publishing company that published the book that I don't like and get the author cancelled.
MacDonald’s song was undeniably successful but backlash still hit him when people became triggered at his honest lyrics. The Fox News segment pointed out what one Twitter cop said, “If someone listens to Tom Macdonald cut them off completely” and another one replied with “if u like tom macdonald u gotta be racist.”
But, the ricochet of MacDonald’s truth bombs have reached both sides of the media. The Blaze's Glenn Beck urged Twitter followers to “See it while you can! My guess is the same kind of people that made up a new rule so you could only buy one share of GameStop at a time, will make this disappear too. Remember ‘it’s art’ and art doesn’t get censored. Tom MacDonald - #FakeWoke.”
Beck isn’t wrong. Even MacDonald’s song about cancel culture garners a threat to be canceled as well.
It’s ironic that MacDonald’s rap song about cancel culture could result in just that. But the fact that he shouted his opinion with this risk in mind shows that he’s one of the few voices of reason left.
