CNN's Cuomo Extols Rapper Macklemore Pro-LGBT 'Social Consciousness'
CNN's Chris Cuomo sang the praises of hip-hop artist Macklemore on Monday's New Day for his pro-LGBT agenda "Same Love" track, and for his part in the mass wedding ceremony at the Grammy Awards on Sunday: "I think you got to give it to Macklemore, because he's really inserted social consciousness back into rap, and that's a very welcome thing to a lot of people."
Correspondent Nischelle Turner also played up the rapper's participation in the "star-studded wedding seen around the world...officiated by Queen Latifah and Madonna acting as maid of honor," and spotlighted a clip of the Grammy winner underlining the left-wing social message of his recording: [MP3 audio available here; video below]
MACKLEMORE: I think that this is a very unique opportunity to sing our song about tolerance and acceptance and equal rights to – to the masses.
Turner led her report about the Grammys with the mass wedding portion of the music awards show. The CNN journalist pointed out that "Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, who took home four Grammy awards, provided their hit song, 'Same Love,' as a backdrop for the ceremony" before playing the "tolerance and acceptance" soundbite from the lyricist.
Near the end of the segment, anchor Kate Bolduan marveled over singer Pink's "high-flying act," which Turner had mentioned earlier: "Pink – my God, is she in good shape! I want to talk about that." Cuomo replied with his superlative about Macklemore:
CHRIS CUOMO: She [Pink] was impressive, but I got – I think you got to give it to Macklemore, because he's really inserted social consciousness back into rap, and that's a very welcome thing to a lot of people-
BOLDUAN: He is so good-
CUOMO: It's got that great line in one of his songs: 'change the game; don't let the game change you.'
CNN has a history of giving active support to homosexual activist groups, so Cuomo's remarks should come as no surprise.
The transcript of the Nischelle Turner segment from Monday's New Day on CNN, including the Bolduan/Cuomo exchange:
KATE BOLDUAN: It was a star-studded night in Los Angeles, with the music industry's best on hand for the 56th Grammy Awards. It was a big night, also, for the helmeted duo of Daft Punk, and rappers Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. And it was also a big night to remember for Beatles fans, with the group's two surviving members on hand to receive a very special honor.
CNN's Nischelle Turner was there, and joining us now from Los Angeles – another very sleepless night for you, but quite a night for music fans.
NISCHELLE TURNER: Oh, yeah, Kate. You know, I hope you can hear me this morning, because right next door, Diddy is having this big Grammy party that's still going on, and it's really loud out there. So, I'm going to talk a little bit louder than I normally do, so you guys can hear me.
Yeah, indeed, there were some awards given out last night, but undoubtedly – you know, the Grammys are all about the performances. They're about those out-of-the-box collaborations and those music moments. And, of course, last night's show had a little bit of it all.
TURNER (voice-over): The 56th Grammy Awards kicked off with music's power couple, Beyonce and Jay-Z; and ended with the marriage of 33 couples – including same-sex couples – in a star-studded wedding seen around the world-
MACKLEMORE, HIP-HOP ARTIST: It's a moment-
RYAN LEWIS: Two legends-
MACKLEMORE: It's a moment.
QUEEN LATIFAH (from Grammy Awards): We are gathered here-
TURNER: Officiated by Queen Latifah and Madonna acting as maid of honor. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, who took home four Grammy awards, provided their hit song, 'Same Love,' as a backdrop for the ceremony.
MACKLEMORE: I think that this is a very unique opportunity to sing our song about tolerance and acceptance and equal rights to – to the masses.
TURNER: The best new artist winners had some competition. Newcomer 17- year-old Lorde stepped into the spotlight with a performance of 'Royals' – then took home best song for the tune. Pink soared above the crowd in a high-flying act showing off her flexibility and powerful vocals in what was, once again, an over-the-top performance. Imagine Dragons' electrifying act with Kendrick Lamar had Taylor Swift out of her chair, and the Twitter-verse buzzing.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN 1: Actually, the Grammys approached us, and they said that Kendrick [Lamar] had asked to perform with us. And so, we were already-
UNIDENTIFIED MAN 2: Blown away.
TURNER: It wasn't all about new artists. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr rocked the night with their anticipated reunion. But it was truly a 'lucky' night for Daft Punk, who gave an all-star performance of their winning hit 'Get Lucky,' alongside Pharrell Williams and Stevie Wonder.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 1 (off-camera, from Grammy Awards): 'Random Access Memories'
TURNER: The electronic duo took home five Grammys, including the biggest trophy of the night, Album of the Year.
TURNER (on-camera): And the robots cleaned up last night – yes, they did. You know, the Twitter-verse was all a flutter with people talking about the performances and the show itself.
The performers from the show themselves were talking about it, too. Trent Reznor [of Nine Inch Nails] Tweeted an 'F.U.' to the Grammy's for cutting their finale short, and said that he thought it was disrespectful. And Macklemore posted an Instagram of the text that he sent to Kendrick Lamar after the show. He said that Kendrick should have won best rap album, instead of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis for 'The Heist.' Macklemore said that he believed Kendrick Lamar was robbed, and that he was going to say it during his acceptance speech, but the music started playing and he froze.
So, Kate, there were lots of moments last night. I know we're going to talk about it throughout the morning. I definitely have my favorites. I did think there were some interesting moments as well. So, we can talk about that. (laughs) We can talk about that, too.
BOLDUAN: There always are interesting moments when it comes to the Grammys. That's for sure. Pink – my God, is she in good shape! I want to talk about that. We'll talk about that.
TURNER: And she was singing live and doing all that. Come on; come on-
BOLDUAN: I know, I know-
CHRIS CUOMO: She was impressive, but I got – I think you got to give it to Macklemore, because he's really inserted social consciousness back into rap, and that's a very welcome thing to a lot of people-
BOLDUAN: He is so good-
CUOMO: It's got that great line in one of his songs: 'change the game; don't let the game change you.'
— Matthew Balan is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Matthew Balan on Twitter.
