Macklemore

I know I'm jumping on the bandwagon a little late, but I have to write about about Macklemore. I was introduced to him about two months ago, and have been absolutely loving his work. (As a warning, he is fairly vulgar in his music, so I wouldn't recommend listening if that is not your cup of tea.) His rhymes, his flow, and his ideals set him apart from everyone else in the Hip-Hop scene right now. He set out from Seattle to make music he believes in, that makes you stop and think, and that makes you want to dance and laugh. Sometimes Macklemore makes absolutely no sense, such as in his song "Castles" where he talks about "unicorns and wizard sleeves", but sometimes he makes perfect sense, such as in his song "Wing$", where he talks about how consumerism has taken a hold of the American public and drives us to be wasteful. Even in his hit song, "Thrift Shop", Macklemore is trying to make a point about the uselessness of expensive clothes and the entire idea behind fashion. His line, "they be like oh, that Gucci that's hella tight, and I'm like 'yo, that's $50 for a t-shirt'", highlights this generation's obsession with following the latest trends and having "what's cool". Another fantastic song he does is called "Otherside", which discusses the effects rappers and their messages have on the people that listen to Hip-Hop. He pulls out personal experience with people he knew who died from drugs and alcohol  all because their idols did it and rapped about it being cool, giving the song power and provoking thought. The reason I love Macklemore is because of his passion and mission to get his thoughts about the world out there. He is driven to influence younger people in a positive way, and that is an admirable cause to push for.

Also, Macklemore has a great sense of humor. He has this odd obsession with the United Kingdom and his own junk (aka his penis), both of which he mentions often in his music. Another example of his humor is his song "And We Danced", which is filled with clever and witty lines to create an absolute blast of a song. He isn't afraid to be himself, and that is what makes him so genuine and hilarious. He also has a song about being Irish, even though he's from Seattle. It is all good and fun though, and part of Macklemore's massive appeal. And his music videos for his more humorous songs add to their hilarity with ridiculous costumes and outlandish story lines and settings.

Now, when talking about Macklemore, I must mention the spectacular and sick beats and instrumentals created by Ryan Lewis. His work helps to set the moods for all of Macklemore's songs and and gives power to the words that Macklemore spits and rhymes. I absolutely love playing his work in my car and dorm room, blasting it for everyone to hear.

Macklemore has taken off into the spotlight of the music scene, and I am excited to see what the future holds for him.