Thomas MacDonald (born September 21, 1988)[1] is a Canadian rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and former professional wrestler. He is best-known for his right-wing lyrics and fanbase[2] and his music has been characterized as "MAGA rap", a Trumpist subgenre of political hip hop.[3][4][5]
He first rose to prominence with the release of his 2017 debut single "Dear Rappers". His 2021 single "Fake Woke" marked his first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100. "Facts", his 2024 single with political commentator Ben Shapiro, debuted and peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 42 on the Canadian Hot 100, though only appeared on the charts for a single week.[6]
Early and personal life
MacDonald lived in British Columbia and Alberta.[7] He later worked as a professional wrestler under the ring name Allstar.[8] MacDonald struggled with alcoholism for much of his life and in 2017 had a "bad breakdown" that prompted him to begin rehabilitation.[7] Fellow Canadian rapper Nova Rockafeller, who frequently collaborates and films his music videos, has been his girlfriend since 2017, often collaborating under the name GFBF.[9]
Career
MacDonald started rapping at age 18, and first rose to fame after releasing the single "Dear Rappers" in February 2018.[7][10] His song "Straight White Male", which was written about MacDonald's belief that straight white men are being demonized, was criticized on social media for its subject matter.[11] In September 2019, MacDonald released the single "Cloned Rappers", in which he rapped that the Illuminati are cloning rappers and disposing of the originals.[12][13] In late 2019, MacDonald was scheduled to be a supporting act for Falling in Reverse's Episode IV Tour before it was cancelled.[14] In 2020, he released 20 singles, including "White Trash", "Sellout", "Best Rapper Ever", "Cancer", and "Angels".[15] In March 2020, MacDonald released the single "Coronavirus", which was written about the COVID-19 pandemic.[16]
In January 2021, MacDonald released the single "Fake Woke", which debuted at number 96 on the Billboard Hot 100.[17] After Eminem released a series of NFTs as part of his "Shady Con" event with Nifty Gateway, MacDonald purchased one—an Eminem-produced instrumental called "Stan's Revenge"—for $100,000.[18][19] MacDonald used the instrumental to create his song "Dear Slim", released in May 2021. The song's accompanying music video paid homage to the music video for Eminem's 2000 song "Stan".[20][21] In June 2021, he released "Snowflakes", which debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 71.[22] The music video featured political commentator Blaire White as a background dancer.[23] His single "Brainwashed", released in August 2021, peaked at number 89 on the Billboard Hot 100.[24]
In 2022, MacDonald collaborated with Adam Calhoun to release an album, The Brave. It was the best-selling album of the week in the U.S. upon its release in March 2022, having sold 16,000 copies in the U.S. that week.[25] MacDonald collaborated with Calhoun again in 2023 to release the song "American Flags", which reached number two on the Digital Songs chart in the US,[26] and number eight in Canada.[27] In September 2023, MacDonald and Calhoun released the album, The Brave II.[28][29][better source needed]
MacDonald has created a significant online presence among right-wingers, becoming one of the most prominent figures in the "MAGA rap" scene.[33] Writing for Vice, Drew Millard described MacDonald as "turgid", and wrote that he rose to fame by "taking the undercooked platitudes of the Intellectual Dark Web and filtering them into songs", adding that he "can feel like an unstoppable force of reactionary dumbness".[21] Ariana Thompson of Inked described MacDonald as "one of the most divisive personas hip hop has ever seen" and wrote that his right-wing fanbase "cling[s] onto every word he utter[s]".[34] In a Rolling Stone profile, MacDonald said he wants to "show people I'm not just some brainwashed right-wing zombie."[35] For the Dallas Observer, Garrett Gravley criticized his songs as "white victim complex anthems" and wrote that they gave him "status among zoomer Trump supporters as an oracle of sorts".[16]
^"People So Stupid" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but peaked at number 9 on the Digital Song Sales chart.[81]
^"People So Stupid" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 5 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart.[82]
^"No Lives Matter" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but peaked at number 25 on the Digital Song Sales chart.[87]
^"No Lives Matter" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 4 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart.[88]
^"Best Rapper Ever" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but peaked at number 38 on the Digital Song Sales chart.[91]
^"Best Rapper Ever" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 7 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart.[92]
^"Cancelled" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but peaked at number 13 on the Digital Song Sales chart.[95]
^"Cancelled" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 7 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart.[96]
^"Clown World" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but peaked at number 11 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[97]
^"No Good Bastards" did not enter on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Digital Songs Sales chart.[98]
^'No Good Bastards" did not enter on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 4 on the Rap Digital Songs Sales chart.[99]
^"Church" did not enter on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Digital Songs Sales chart.[100]
^"Church" did not enter on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 4 on the Rap Digital Songs Sales chart.[101]
^"Heart Emojis" did not enter on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 4 on the Rap Digital Songs Sales chart.[102]
^"Dear Slim" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but peaked at number 10 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[103]
^"Dear Slim" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 5 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Songs Sales chart.[104]
^"Don't Look Down" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 4 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Songs Sales chart.[105]
^"Withdrawals" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 14 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Songs Sales chart.[106]
^"America" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but peaked at number 20 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[107]
^"America" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Songs Sales chart.[108]
^"Balloons" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but peaked at number 8 on the Digital Song Sales chart.[109]
^"Balloons" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart.[110]
^"Naked" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but peaked at number 35 on the Digital Song Sales chart.[111]
^"Naked" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 4 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart.[112]
^"New World Order" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but peaked at number 6 on the Digital Song Sales chart.[113]
^"New World Order" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart.[114]
^"The System" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but peaked at number 9 on the Digital Song Sales chart.[115]
^"The System" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 4 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart.[116]
^"Scars" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but peaked at number 9 on the Digital Song Sales chart.[117]
^"People So Stupid" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 5 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart.[118]
^"Names" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but peaked at number 5 on the Digital Song Sales chart.[119]
^"Names" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 2 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart.[120]
^"End of the World" featuring John Rich has not been included on any album to date. However, "End of the World" sung exclusively by Tom MacDonald is on Renegade as Track 6.[122]
^"American Flags" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but peaked at number four on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart,[124] and No. 2 on the Digital Songs chart.[26]
^"Your America" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but reached at number 9 on the Digital Songs chart.[125]
^"Your America" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but reached number 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart.[126]
^"Propaganda" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 15 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart.[134]
Greenberg, Courtney (December 30, 2022). "Anti-woke Canadian rapper tops music charts with his controversial message". The Chatham Daily News. Retrieved November 24, 2024. Rapper Tom MacDonald, who grew up in Alberta and British Columbia, is known for his anti-woke, anti-government stance — and has amassed a right-wing fanbase for his bold lyrics — is rising to the top of mainstream music charts.
"The Tom MacDonald Interview". Inked. March 2, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2024. Once right-wingers caught wind of MacDonald's persona, it didn't take long for them to cling onto every word he uttered ... We live in a world where right wing opinions are ... permeating every aspect of our lives, including the world of hip-hop.
Knopper, Steve (August 15, 2022). "Can Conservative Music Hit the Right Commercial Notes?". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2024. MacDonald, 33, a California-based pro-wrestler-turned-rapper, has spent the last few years making DIY streaming hits that are popular among Fox News viewers and right-wing YouTube commenters.
^Baragona, Justin (January 26, 2024). "Ben Shapiro Is a Rapper Now Because That's What 2024 Deserves". The Daily Beast. Retrieved October 5, 2024. Shapiro, the founder of right-wing media empire The Daily Wire, teamed up with MAGA rapper Tom MacDonald—yes, MAGA rap is a real genre—on the lib-owning track 'Facts,' which debuted Friday.
^Skopic, Alex (November 29, 2023). "A Brief Cultural History of the White Rapper". Current Affairs. Retrieved October 5, 2024. Forgiato Blow might be the first MAGA rapper... But their king is Tom MacDonald. MacDonald is by far the most popular figure in this wretched subgenre...
