You may find it hard to believe that Macklemore was once a ramshamble everyman. But it’s true.
Ever since he dropped his debut album The Language of My World in 2005, Macklemore has presented himself as an earnest, funny, knucklehead regular white kid from beautiful, rainy, blunt-tastic Seattle. (Full disclosure: I am also a white guy from Seattle.)
He told us about about his medium-sized dick on “Penis Song,” and his inability to spit game on “The Club” (“Shoulda stayed home/ I get more chicks on MySpace”). He told us about the moment he fell in love with hip hop on “I Said Hey,” and the plight of the caucasian rapper on “White Privilege.”
Okay, so Macklemore didn’t exactly have to juug his way from poverty to the VIP lounge. But anyone who has actually listened to his full body of work would be hard-pressed to deny the aspirational overtones and populist themes that run throughout it.
As such, The Heist, his 2012 debut album with producer Ryan Lewis, is richly cathartic. Not simply because of the success it wrought, but because of the way it redeems and and even justifies Macklemore’s lengthy drug addiction. As he purges his sins on the penultimate confessional “Starting Over,” and then bathes in “sounds of the city on Capitol Hill” on the finale “Cowboy Boots”, there is a sense of closure and contentment, that spiritual balance has been restored to the universe. Macklemore rests on his laurels, and his story feels ready to be laid to rest. The End.
But “Thrift Shop" happened. “Thrift Shop” was two things. It was 1) a catchy song about stunting on a budget, and 2) a trebuchet that single-handedly launched Macklemore into the faraway realm of fame and fortune. The irony is pretty incredible when you think about it.
On Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ sophomore album This Unruly Mess I Made, Macklemore attempts to rehash the everyman ethos he’s cultivated on previous projects, this time from the unfamiliar perch of pariah/punchline/public enemy #1/your mom’s favorite rapper. Although scattered, the album ultimately takes the form of a quest to reestablish Macklemore’s hip hop credibility, one that showcases both his immense songwriting talents and his artistic flaws.
Excelllent Album, Second Album from this Grammy Winner
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