Songfacts®:

• "Facts," released on January 26, 2024, is one of Tom MacDonald's most controversial and discussed songs. It features Ben Shapiro, a conservative political commentator, and tackles various social and political issues head-on. The title is a reference to Shapiro's catchprase, "facts don't care about your feelings."
• Throughout the track, MacDonald takes a stance against woke ideology. He hits on various conservative and anti-woke talking points, taking shots at gender pronouns, gay rights, political correctness, cancel culture, and the "defund the police" slogan.
• Shapiro, who'd previously slammed rap as not being art, steps into the ring with a 16-bar contribution. His lyrical shots are aimed at other rappers, including Nicki Minaj and Cardi B. Shapiro says his haters blow their cash on strippers and cars, predicting they'll eventually end up behind bars.
• This ain't rap, this ain't money, cars, and clothes
  We ain't sellin' drugs, we ain't gonna overdose
  We ain't pushing guns and promoting stripper poles
  We won't turn your sons into thugs or your daughters into hoes
  
  In the pre-chorus, MacDonald rejects the glorification of harmful behavior often pushed in rap tunes.
  
  "In our song, in the pre-chorus, we talked about not promoting guns, not promoting drugs, we talked about not turning people's sons into thugs and their daughters into hoes," MacDonald explained during an appearance on Shapiro's The Ben Shapiro Show podcast. "We sort of spoke out against what the status quo in hip-hop is, and for some reason we're treated - we're living in some sort of upside-down, backwards freak show - and it just seems like the most destructive material [is promoted]."
  
  "Hip-hop is full of a lot of destructive material; the promotion of violence, the romanticizing of mental health and prescription drugs recreationally," he added. "It seems like those things tend to get the most mainstream attention and then anything that speaks out against that, especially in our case, has been suppressed."
• "Facts" quickly became a viral sensation, generating millions of views and sparking heated debates online. Supporters praised the song for its boldness and honesty, applauding its willingness to challenge mainstream narratives. Critics condemned it as offensive, inflammatory, and out of touch, accusing MacDonald and Shapiro of spreading misinformation and promoting harmful stereotypes. Some labeled the song as alt-right propaganda, while others defended it as simply expressing dissenting opinions.
• "Facts" clocked 5 million views on YouTube in its first night and topped the US. iTunes sales chart. However, MacDonald accused YouTube in a video posted online on January 28, 2024 of suppressing "Facts" by keeping it in the second slot on the platform's trending songs even though it garnered more views and comments than the leading song, Megan Thee Stallion's "Hiss."
  
  "We're outperforming her in every metric," MacDonald elaborated the following day. "And the further we get in the lead - we're stuck at #2. They're not allowing us to pass Megan and hit that #1 spot."
• Nicki Minaj tweeted her congratulations to Shapiro for topping the US iTunes sales chart, comparing it to her 2010 single "Roman's Revenge."
  
  "I just listened to it, Ben Shapiro. not bad. Congrats on #1. But it def sounds like Roman's Revenge when the beat first came in... I don't know."