![]() ![]() With its quasi-humorous lyrics about cruising mopeds downtown, the track (and its video) screams, "THIS IS THE SONG THAT'S SORTA QUIRKY KINDA LIKE 'THRIFT SHOP.'" Not that there's anything wrong with that. And damn, they make downtown Spokane look gorgeous. And while the lyrics address downtown Seattle, the video is actually set in Spokane ( where Ryan Lewis grew up). (!) to create a pretty jubilant street party. "Growing Up" is a moving tribute to fatherhood with Ed Sheeran on the assist, but there's a vibrant Lewis production-powered party in here as well, with the throwback-loving "Buckshot" ("My city's known for garage flannel butt rock, and a buncha Sub Pop/I was on that buckshot!"), the swagger-fest "Brad Pitt's Cousin" ("My cat's more famous than you ever will be" after counting his pet's Twitter followers), and the golden-age banger "Downtown" (rap godfathers Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz, and Kool Moe Dee join an album where all the guests are utilized to their fullest) all equaling the infectious thrill of the previous LP's "Thrift Shop." The bookends are tracks that aim to be masterworks and fall just one step short, but everything in between is delightful, stunning, or both, making the album's title less than one-tenth apt, and Macklemore & Lewis both emo under-promisers and Grammy-worthy over-deliverers.Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's "Downtown": not a Petula Clark cover.Īfter essentially soft-launching a new album cycle with the release of the low-key personal tune "Growing Up (Sloane's Song)," Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have officially swaggered back onto the scene with the release of the video for the new single "Downtown." The exuberant clip melds retro style, motorcycle chariots, "Uptown Funk," old school hip-hop, and Ken Griffey, Jr. Ides" offers the empowering "I know the devil fancy me/But that don't mean the muthf*&ka get to dance with me," making that Grammy more deserved than ever. That said, the middle of the album is The Heist all over again, and maybe even better, as the significantly improved writer Macklemore displays on the masterful freestyle session "Need to Know," where he drops the excellent "I swear rapping make it easy to lie/But secrets don't make it easy to write." "Kevin," featuring a beautiful bridge from Leon Bridges, skillfully tackles the overprescription of drugs as it watches a friend die at the hands of big pharma addiction, while the sublime "St. In other words, the bookends of the album address what needs to be addressed, and the end user can endure, adore, or accept them with the option to skip on return visits. Downtown and growing up macklemore free#A mom/fan is even confronted in the song, and the lyrics bounce between the mindsets in a manner that's fascinating more than it is riveting. It's me, the M, the A-C, the K Sounding like a French pimp from back in the day I take her to Pend Oreille and I watch her skate I mean, water ski, ollie ollie oxen free I'm perusing down fourth and they watching me I do a handstand, the eagle lands on my seat Well hello, but baby, the kickstand ain't free Now do you or do you not wanna ride. Same can be said for the closing "White Privilege II," where the rapper does the numbers and wonders why his brand of love and understanding sells so well to the public but rarely gets a "yes" vote at the polls. It's big, bold, and will be considered cloying by anyone who bristles at Macklemore's emo-ish excuses for doing well, but its main fault is taking on too much and winding up too busy. ![]() ![]() Put the needle to the record and "Light Tunnels" featuring Mike Slap takes the listener on an elaborate, unrelatable journey through music award shows and the hypocrisy of fame. That platinum albatross started hanging off the duo early on, and Macklemore's declaration that Kendrick Lamar should have won the Grammy instead certainly foreshadowed how LP two, or three, was going to be "difficult," but Unruly is surprisingly good at dealing with guilt and expectations, exorcizing its demons in a way hardcore fans can enjoy, and casual listeners can avoid. Call it the "difficult" third album from Seattle's Macklemore, or the second LP from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, but however the discography is counted, This Unruly Mess I've Made is the release that follows the Grammy-winning, massively successful The Heist, the one that introduced this pop-rap rapper/producer duo to most of the world, meteoric rise and all. ![]()
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