Tom MacDonald

Tom MacDonald Biography by TiVo Staff The Brave A controversial firebrand, Los Angeles-based rapper Tom MacDonald has reached millions of like-minded fans with his politically charged lyrics and outspoken attitude. Emerging in the early 2010s as a streaming video personality, he earned recognition in the middle of the decade; intentionally confrontational and striving for profundity, tracks such as "Dear Rappers," "Whiteboy," and "No Lives Matter" earned him a devoted following and plenty of criticism. Fiercely independent, he self-released the late-2010s albums Deathreats and Ghostories, courting both controversy and curiosity with each new release. By the early 2020s, he had scored a trio of hits on the U.S. singles chart, while also making his first appearance on the U.S. and Canadian album charts with his Adam Calhoun collaboration The Brave, followed by Renegade and The Revolution in 2022. The Brave II reunited MacDonald and Calhoun in 2023 and the following year he collaborated with political commentator Ben Shapiro on "Facts," before pairing with Nova Rockafeller for Wild Ones and paying tribute to Charlie Kirk with 2025's "Charlie." Hailing from Edmonton, Alberta, MacDonald got his start in the entertainment business as a professional wrestler in his native Canada. At the close of the 2000s, he switched his focus to rap, taking inspiration from artists such as 2Pac and Marilyn Manson. His debut full-length, LeeAnn's Son, arrived in 2014, with additional mixtapes and efforts following. At this point, his style was defined by vaguely trap-adjacent production and lyrical content that stuck to the standard partying, sex, and drugs material. However, by the late 2010s, he switched up his approach, adopting an image that spoke to a core audience attracted to his politically incorrect lyrics and underdog status. Going on the offense, he took aim at everything from other emcees and the rap game ("Dear Rappers," "Exposure," "Sad Rappers") to society ("Everybody Hates Me") and contemporary culture ("Politically Incorrect"). On 2019's "Straight White Male," he rapped, "I'm not a racist/I like Hispanics and Negroes and Natives and Asians," racking up as many views and streams as outraged headlines. Audience in hand, he continued with "If I Was Black," an alternate-universe examination wherein MacDonald wondered how difficult life would be if he wasn't born white. In 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, he released the self-serious "Coronavirus," which dug into conspiracy theories involving the government and the media, generating another hit with his fans. Additional tracks like "People So Stupid" and "Fake Woke" were streamed in the millions. That latter track joined "Snowflakes" and "Brainwashed" as MacDonald's first appearances on the Billboard Hot 100, which all occurred in 2021. The following year, he teamed with American country-rapper Adam Calhoun for The Brave, his first effort to hit the U.S. and Canadian album charts. Two more records arrived in November 2022 with Renegade and The Revolution; the former spawned the singles "Sheeple" (which hit 33 on Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart) and "Fighter" (which hit 14 on the Hot Digital Songs chart). In 2023, MacDonald collaborated with John Rich for the song "End of the World" and re-teamed with Calhoun for The Brave II. The album hit 62 on the Billboard 200. MacDonald kicked off 2024 with "Facts" a collaboration with conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro. More singles like "God Mode" and "You Missed" followed throughout the year. He also joined forces with Nova Rockafeller for the 2024's Wild Ones and returned in 2025, hitting the Hot 100 with "Charile," a single dedicated to the memory of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.