Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro and rapper Tom MacDonald hit the #1 overall spot on the iTunes charts just hours after releasing their song “Facts” on Friday.
“Facts” climbed the iTunes charts quickly after its release as Shapiro and MacDonald also started trending on X. The song, which goes after the establishment and mainstream media “sacred cows,” also hit the #1 spot on the hip-hop/rap chart, passing up top artists such as Megan Thee Stallion, Nicki Minaj, and Eminem. Shapiro and MacDonald’s “Facts” is “quotable verbal crossfire,” according to a press release from MacDonald.
“We’re now #1 overall on iTunes, too,” Shapiro posted. “On the way, we knocked off, among others, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Megan Thee Stallion, Nicki Minaj, Eminem, and Taylor Swift.” @IAMTOMMACDONALD and I have officially made hip-hop great again, as was always my lifelong dream.”
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 26, 2024
After becoming the #1 hip-hop/rap song in the U.S., Shapiro posted on X, “I just want to thank God, [Tom MacDonald], and my parents, who paid for 15 years of classical violin lessons so I could become the #1 rapper in America.”
I just want to thank God, @IAMTOMMACDONALD, and my parents, who paid for 15 years of classical violin lessons so I could become the #1 rapper in America. pic.twitter.com/rrMGzh5N7h
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 26, 2024
“As a longtime devotee of rap, becoming a rapper was the natural next step in my career trajectory,” Shapiro said. “So, when Tom asked if I wanted to collaborate on a song, I leapt at the chance. This was the moment I spent 20 years of classical violin training preparing for. For those who don’t appreciate my artistic stylings, all I can say is that they didn’t appreciate Bach properly in his own time, either.”
“I like to do things nobody else can do,” MacDonald said after releasing “Facts.” “Not everybody can get Ben Shapiro on a track. For someone who had never recorded a rap song before, he got in the studio and nailed it. We’ve both criticized the status quo of hip-hop, so it made sense. There is a good intention at the heart of ‘Facts.’ There is light.”
The collaborative effort between Shapiro and MacDonald came as a shock to many who had just watched Shapiro’s recent interview with podcaster Lex Fridman, during which he argued that rap was not really music — but that he could potentially be convinced otherwise.
.@lexfridman asks @benshapiro and @TheOmniLiberal if rap music is bad
Ben: Absolutely. pic.twitter.com/n22FbYiT8I
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) January 23, 2024
Virginia Kruta contributed to this report.