Drake Calls Macklemore's Apology 'Wack'

Drake's vocal stylings may come off mellow, but his interview soundbytes can get plenty harsh. In this month's Rolling Stone, the rapper-cum-crooner chose to weigh in on one of music's most recent controversies: Macklemore's rambling apology text to Kendrick Lamar for "robbing" him of the Best Rap Album Grammy. Specifically, Drake wanted to inform us he thought the apology was "wack as fuck."

"I was like, 'You won. Why are you posting your text message? Just chill," he told the magazine. "Take your W, and if you feel you didn't deserve it, go get better — make better music."

Still, this righteous snark may have a more personal motive. Drake followed up his call-out with an aside about Macklemore's choice to address his apology to Lamar alone: "To name just Kendrick? That shit made me feel funny. No, in that case, you robbed everybody. We all need text messages!"

What about Drake, huh, Macklemore? Did you not also rob him? Did his smooth vocal stylings not also deserve trophies upon trophies? The man was on Degrassi, fer chrissakes! What more must he do?! And yet, despite coming off sufficiently butthurt, Drake comes around to an interesting point in rationalizing the "Thrift Shop" singer's win:

This is how the world works: He made a brand of music that appealed to more people than me, Hov, Kanye, and Kendrick. Whether people wanna say it's racial, or whether it's just the fact that he tapped into something we can't tap into. That's just how the cards fall. Own your shit.

Of course, whether Macklemore actually appeals to "more people" than, say, Kendrick, is debatable — see: the insta-backlash from all corners of the Internet following his win. Rather, Drake's comments provide yet another reminder that award shows like this are far from representative of popular taste. Whether it comes down to issues of race, as he suggests, or the tenor of social causes addressed, or consumer money spent on downloads — or all of the above — this is indeed how the world works, at least in Grammyland, where winners are identified by their ability to play well in the most commercial markets.

Ultimately, Instagrammed or not, Macklemore's concession was bound to come off as empty, if only because Grammys are increasingly meaningless awards. To truly own his shit, so to speak, he should have just sat down and accepted his trophy for what it was: a pat on the back from Team Palatable.

And, of course, he also should have texted Drake.

Image: Getty Images