Millions Of Views And Fiercely Independent. Inside The Mind Of Tom MacDonald.

Few artists loathe the music industry quite like Tom MacDonald.

The rebel rapper takes glee in taunting labels on his social media platforms. He recently posted a troll video in front of Sony Music headquarters, name-checking industry pariahs like R. Kelly and P. Diddy with a broad grin on his face.

And despite repeatedly crashing the Billboard music charts he’s refused to go corporate for a bigger promotional wallop.

MacDonald is solo to the core, with an assist from his girlfriend/video director Nova Rockafeller. No managers. No publicists. Just the music and his sizable social media flock.

The mind behind “Fake Woke,” “Snowflakes” and “American Flags” still felt influenced by mainstream superstars, from their branding efforts to songs that purport to dig deeper into their personal lives.

Screenshot: YouTube/Tom MacDonald “Facts” feat. Ben Shapiro

“As an independent artist, we’re all watching what the biggest artists in the world are doing and what they sound like,” he says. “Even if you’re somebody like me who detests the major label system, you’re taking information in. You’re being indoctrinated … they must know what’s best.”

It took a while to shake free from that thinking, something he accomplished on his latest album.

“Proud to Be a Problem” finds the Canadian native opening up about his life in ways he never did before.

“I’ve never really been good with processing my emotions and explaining the way I’m feeling to other people… it’s the reason why I make music,” the California-based musician says.

Screenshot: YouTube.com/Tom MacDonald.

Time and maturity have let him tap into something vital and deeply personal, witness tracks like “Hell & Back.”

I’ve been called a loser since first day of 2nd grade
I’ve been an alcoholic with one foot inside the grave
And I’ve been brave enough to say that I’m afraid I’m not okay
And I don’t know if I’ll survive another day

Other tracks, like “Man in the Sky,” merge MacDonald’s protest-singer DNA with heartfelt pleas for empathy. He’s an imperfect vessel in an imperfect world.

The musician’s flaws, like his signature tattoos, are visible to all. So are his successes.

His post-election song “Goodbye Joe” gave him his fourth number-one ranking on Billboard’s Digital Song Sales chart, following “Fake Woke,” “Ghost” and “You Missed.”

His YouTube channel boasts 5 million subscribers and most videos eclipse the million-view mark in days, not weeks.

MacDonald, whose recent pairings include songs with Roseanne Barr (“Daddy’s Home”) and The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro (“Facts”), sounds a little different on the new album. He isn’t giving up on rap, but the newer material offers a rootsy feel, brimming with acoustic guitars.

Screenshot: YouTube.com/Tom MacDonald.

That singing style hearkens back to his earliest days as a musician. He remembers riding in the car with his father as a boy when he came up with a jingle for Ford.

“[My Dad] was bewildered … where did that come from?” MacDonald recalls.

He started writing music more often, but he felt he didn’t have the classic rock voice, a la Robert Plant or Joe Cocker, to execute the material. “I had to do something else. I was writing poetry, a primitive form of rap. That’s how the rap thing started,” he says.

“Problem” found him more confident in his singing, allowing him to expand his sound in the process.

“I know where my boundaries are and what I’m capable of singing on a song … if I don’t do it right now I won’t have a good enough excuse to give it a good shot [later],” he says.

Fans can pick up “Proud to Be a Problem” at MacDonald’s official web site, HangoverGangOfficial.com. That’s part of his indie approach, lashing out at a streaming landscape that pays little to participating artists.

“I have such a big chip on my shoulder for the music industry,” he says, recalling a brush with a major label earlier in his career that ended in rejection. “I’ve done enough for these streaming platforms.”

“A big part of the reason I put the singles on streaming is we keep going to no. 1 on Billboard [charts] … it’s a giant f***ing middle finger to the music industry,” he says.

Screenshot: Instagram/@TomMacDonaldOfficial

That solo spirit extends beyond the music on “Problem.” He designed the merchandise around the released, mailed signed LP copies of it to fans personally and oversaw every part of the production.

“It hasn’t been touched by Hollywood. That’s the way I want it,” he says.

He shared his feelings about sending out signed copies of “Proud to Be a Problem” to fans on his Instagram account:

I gotta tell y’all – people didn’t care about me for most of my life. I was one of the forgotten people whose voice was drown out by the noise of the world. Every single day I’m shocked that you guys care about me enough to want my album and my signature. I’m shocked…but I’m thrilled. I felt like a “nobody” for so long that every day I wake up expecting to be forgotten again. Every day that y’all remember me, you prove me wrong. And you absolutely make my day. No one should ever feel like a nobody. But it happens.

That personal connection reflects being a music fan growing up in Canada. He fondly remembers lining up at the local record store and waiting for the newest albums to go on sale.

“When you got that album .. you felt like you might be one of the only people in the world who had it,” he says. “You could hold on to it, a physical product … That’s the way I want my music to be experienced.”

Record labels still reach out to MacDonald about potential deals, and he sometimes will listen to the conversation. Then, he’ll share his reactions on Instagram.

“I’ve been trolling these people for years and years,” he says. “I’d rather roll around on broken glass [than sign onto a label].”

Screenshot: YouTube.com/Tom MacDonald.

MacDonald leveraged new media and a collective mistrust of the mainstream to power his music career. Somewhere a fledgling singer/songwriter might want to follow in his shoes, avoiding corporate overlords to make music on their terms.

MacDonald has some clichéd but honest advice for the next generation of indie musicians.

“Just be yourself … there’s always gonna be a better producer, a better rapper, a better singer. You’re the only person on earth who can do you better than anybody else,” he says. “The entire world is fake and bulls*** and disingenuous. The best way to cut through all that noise is to be honest and scream your truth at the top of your lungs … people gravitate towards the truth and what’s real.”

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Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of HollywoodInToto.com. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at HollywoodInToto.com.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.