On Sunday night white rapper Macklemore opened the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards performing his new single 'Downtown' featuring cameo appearances by rap pioneers Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee and Grandmaster Caz.
During the performance social media lit up with viewers accusing Macklemore and MTV of cultural appropriation.
Fellow rap pioneer Big Daddy Kane comes to Macklemore's defense….
In a post on Instagram that has since been deleted Big Daddy Kane writes,
"REAL TALK!!! I don't see one artist in the game that put Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee or Grandmaster Caz on their new song or let them perform on the VMA's (Including Me) but people wanna have a problem with @macklemore for paying homage to them? We don't acknowledge our own & get mad when another color does. Now if one of them passes, then we wanna post s*** about them, say RIP & get t-shirts with their picture. FOH!!!!!!! Learn about your history & preserve it now. If not, SHUT THE F*** UP!!! To me this is about real pioneers getting recognition in today's society."
