Inserting an agenda into art is nothing new. Whether political, sociological or even about the state of love, artists have communicated their beliefs through artistic media for years. Yet, in the past few years, it seems people with agendas have turned to art to spew their ideologies for agenda’s sake rather than for art’s sake. I want to make it clear that while someone with an agenda can turn to art, and it can be a great pairing, some exclusively have an agenda and are not interested in the art whatsoever.
Tom MacDonald is the prime example of what I’m trying to grab at. A Canadian conservative rapper who is obsessed with the U.S., MacDonald should sound hilarious. However, he’s anything but a joke. MacDonald uses his platform to popularize a subgenre of hip-hop called “MAGA Rap,” which he pioneered. The actual backing tracks that Tom MacDonald raps over are often horrible and amateurish. This is because MacDonald only wants to push an agenda that borders between propaganda and hate speech.
So, what is this “agenda”? In short, it’s the same ideologies many on the right flank have been trying to sell people for years: that being “woke” makes you the enemy, that President Donald Trump is restoring “American values,” that cancel culture can’t “cancel” him and that being a Christian in the U.S. is just about the best thing you can be. Now, all these ideas could be any Tom MacDonald song, but that’s not what makes MacDonald such a presence in the conservative mainstream.
MacDonald’s biggest draw has been bringing in similarly “canceled” conservatives to help emphasize his point. His features include the likes of Roseanne Barr on the song “Daddy’s Home,” which sounds like a joke, but it isn’t. The lyrics feature MacDonald rapping about the return of Trump to the White House. Barr was fired from ABC for a racist remark she made on Twitter and now spends her time recalling this moment by rapping about how she can’t be canceled by the “woke mob.” Ben Shapiro, a radical right-wing host for the Daily Wire, is featured on the track “FACTS,” a reference to his famous quote, “Facts don’t care about your feelings.” The track sees Shapiro fat-shaming Lizzo and stating he’s on television, an ironic remark for a song titled “FACTS,” considering he hosts an online podcast and is not featured on live television. Lastly, frequent collaborator Adam Calhoun, another “MAGA Rap” rapper shows up for MacDonald, specifically on their collaborative album, “The Brave 2.”
By prioritizing an agenda, MacDonald loses everything else. At no time does his music stand out for creativity alone; he uses shock lyrics and ridiculous features to get him coverage. There should also be careful consideration about how hip-hop was born and has evolved. MacDonald’s hatred of all things “woke” goes against the genre itself, which started and continues to be left-leaning. I want to circle back to the idea of putting an agenda in art and ask again: Can it work? I can name hundreds of artists where it did work, but it seems for MacDonald and his counterparts, the art falls flat because they only want to sell a message. MacDonald’s work leaves a great big question: If someone’s art is the end to a mean, is it art? And if so, at what point does art become nothing more than meaningless propaganda?
