In 2005 Macklemore released "White Privilege," where he expressed his discomfort over being a white hip-hop artist, playing to mostly white people at his shows, while doing music largely associated with black culture: "The face of hip-hop has changed a lot since Eminem / and if he's taking away from black artists' profits, I look just like him."

Today he and Ryan Lewis released the sequel, featuring singer Jamila Woods. "White Privilege" is twice as long at nearly nine minutes, while showing how matters have complicated considerably over the past decade. “You’ve exploited and stolen the music, the moment / The magic, the passion, the fashion, you toy with," he raps — a lyric addressed to himself. "The culture was never yours to make better/ You’re Miley, you’re Elvis, you’re Iggy Azalea.”

In between Macklemore's lyrics about Black Lives Matter and the often young lives lost to necessitate the movement, "White Privilege II" incorporates sound bites from those who don't believe racism in the United States exists and those who have spoken out tirelessly to show that it does.

Like Brad Paisley's 2013 song "Accidental Racist" featuring LL Cool J, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' "White Privilege" also takes place in part at a Starbucks. Macklemore voices an "old mom" who doesn't allow their kids to listen to hip-hop besides his, and tells him, "If a cop pulls you over, it's your fault if you run." Above anyone else, this new song is for those people.