Most people who have heard the music of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis would probably agree that it’s largely inoffensive. Well, thematically, at least. (There may be some debate about the quality.) However, a high school in California has come down hard against songs about wearing your granddad’s clothes and putting your hands up like the ceiling can’t hold you by declaring that Macklemore, his weirdly popular hairstyle, and whatever Ryan Lewis contributes are not welcome in its hallowed halls. That may seem like an arbitrary thing to declare, but the school in question—Aliso Niguel High School in Aliso Viejo, California—actually won a contest recently to get Macklemore (and Ryan Lewis!) to perform at the school, give a speech of some kind, and then present a $10,000 grant to its arts program.
Apparently, though, some uptight parents (who have probably never once put their hands up like the ceiling can’t hold them) complained that rap music—and by extension Macklemore—promotes “drug use and misogyny.” That’s according to a student named Quinn Darling who posted about the situation on Instagram, explaining that the school administration made its decision based on “outdated evidence” and is failing to see the positive gay-rights and anti-drug messages in Macklemore’s music.
News of this eventually made its way to Macklemore himself, who tweeted that it’s “disappointing.” No word on how Ryan Lewis feels about it, but we imagine he feels the same as Macklemore but a bit out of focus and further in the background.
The bright-eyed students of Aliso Niguel High School have also set up a Change.org petition, presumably because they’re not jaded enough yet to realize that those don’t normally do anything. Ah, the follies of youth.
Anyway, old-fashioned stereotypes about what rap music is like aside, we think it’s pretty easy to see this issue from the administration’s perspective. After all, it’s not like schools across the country are having their budgets slashed, forcing them to remove arts-related classes entirely. That $10,000 grant would probably just go to waste, what with all of the students eager to learn nothing but what will be specifically asked of them on standardized tests.
UPDATE: According to The Orange County Register, Aliso Niguel’s Macklemore concert/speech/appearance from Ryan Lewis is back on, provided that any students who wish to attend bring a permission slip signed by a parent. The school’s principal released a statement explaining that this compromise was reached after “careful consideration of varying viewpoints on all aides of the issue,” which we think is a pretty solid way to make a decision. Also, Aliso Niguel will no longer be forfeiting that $10,000 grant, which probably greased a few wheels on its own.
[via MTV]