However, this is not the case. White artists are taking the styles and genres of African Americans and turning them into a mockery, and on top of all that, they are being rewarded for it. When it is said that they turn these styles into a mockery, it means that they change the style into something completely different from what it originally was. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are great examples of artists appropriating hip-hop. “During the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, artists Macklemore and Ryan Lewis won an award for Best Hip-Hop Video, beating out popular African-American hip hop artists. Two white men won an award for appropriating hip-hop. Hip hop originated from African Americans and it is not acceptable for two white artists to win an award for abusing the music of our culture” (Cadet). In hip hop, African American artists spoke about their plight as African American men and the difficulties growing up. However, these white artists won an award simply for taking the style and talking about something important. They don't talk about their situation because they don't have one comparable to that of African Americans. They do what musicians did in the past: they take the music from African Americans and then take away the color. “But we cannot blame individual white artists for the unfair way they are received by American audiences, for the way their interpretation of black cultures is