Rantz: Seattle rapper Macklemore embarrassing on Sesame Street

Seattle rapper Macklemore gave his hit song, “Thrift Shop,” a little twist for a performance on Sesame Street.

“I’m gonna pop some trash, only got seven bags in my trash can,” Oscar the Grouch sings along with the rapper and other Sesame Street characters.

The song, which usually comes with some bleeps for radio play, has been made child-friendly with the hook, “This is gross and awesome.”

While it may be for the kids, KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz isn’t sure about what this kind of parody does for the rapper’s reputation.

“It’s really embarrassing,” says Rantz. “How do you have any street cred whatsoever after doing something like this?”

To be fair, Rantz says it is pretty difficult to transform a rap song laden with profanity into a child-friendly version. But he wonders if the effort is even worth what it does to the rapper’s profile.

“Would Kanye do this? Would Jay Z do this?” Rantz asks.