Tom MacDonald (rapper)

Thomas MacDonald (born September 21, 1988) is a Canadian rapper and singer. Known for his extensive tattoos and political lyrics, his rhetoric has been described as right-wing and anti-establishment, with heavy criticism of "woke" culture.

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 Ben Shapiro, peaked at number 16 on the US chart, and number 42 on the Canadian Hot 100. In July 2024, 12 hours after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, MacDonald's single "You Missed" took the top spot on US iTunes charts.

Early life
MacDonald lived in British Columbia and Alberta. He later worked as a professional wrestler under the ring name Allstar. MacDonald struggled with alcoholism throughout much of his life, and in 2017, had a "bad breakdown" that prompted him to begin rehabilitation.

Career
MacDonald started rapping at age 18, and first rose to fame after releasing the single "Dear Rappers" in February 2018. 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. In September 2019, MacDonald released the single "Cloned Rappers", on which he rapped that the Illuminati are cloning rappers and disposing of the originals. In late 2019, MacDonald was scheduled to be a supporting act for Falling in Reverse's Episode IV Tour before it was cancelled. In 2020, he released 20 singles, including "White Trash", "Sellout", "Best Rapper Ever", "Cancer", and "Angels". In March 2020, MacDonald released the single "Coronavirus", which was written about the COVID-19 pandemic.

In January 2021, MacDonald released the single "Fake Woke", which debuted at number 96 on the Billboard Hot 100. 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. 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". In June 2021, he released "Snowflakes", which debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 71. The music video featured political commentator Blaire White as a background dancer. His single "Brainwashed", released in August 2021, peaked at number 89 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 2022, MacDonald collaborated with Adam Calhoun to release an album, The Brave. This album became the best-selling album of the week upon its release in March 2022, having sold 16,000 copies in the U.S. that week. MacDonald collaborated with Calhoun again in 2023 to release the song "American Flags", which reached No. 2 on the Digital Songs chart in the US, and No. 8 in Canada. In September 2023, MacDonald and Calhoun released the album, The Brave II.

In January 2024, MacDonald collaborated with conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro to release the single "Facts".

Influences
MacDonald has cited the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Joe Cocker, Janis Joplin, Marilyn Manson, Tupac, Eminem, Aerosmith, GG Allin, Kanye West, and The Offspring as musical influences. His music often discusses controversial social and political topics in the United States.

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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". 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]". In a Rolling Stone profile, MacDonald said he wants to "show people I'm not just some brainwashed right-wing zombie." 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".

Rolling Stone praised MacDonald for his ability to build a fanbase without traditional resources like a PR team, label, or manager. MacDonald has created a significant online presence.