Macklemore is raps saviour!

Mickolution

God forbid a rapper had an ego.

Boom_Bap

I'm not sure about the whole saviour bit, but Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are certainly a breath of fresh air. Good music, something to say, running the independent route and killing it. The Heist was one of the better albums of last year.
But there are many many many other dare I say 'wholesome' rappers out there that are doing the same thing but without the commercial success. Mainly because they are not going for a catchy hook, or with a 'club' beat. That's their decision and their direction. I'm sure that if they compromised their sound they have crafted to make it more appealing to the charts, they could easily be as successful as Macklemore. I am not saying that Macklemore has compromised anything, rather they have embraced how they want to make music.
Although Thrift Shop is pretty much a song about Macks love of thrift store shopping, the hook and the beat and the video are geared towards being appealing to a wide audience.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are making music that is catchy as well as having meaning which is their direction. And they are doing it in such a way that it's appreciated by the majority of hip hop fans.
They even just headlined the Paid Dues festival in the US which is one of the larger 'independent' hip hop festivals.

So I guess, they are not saviours, but more than welcome.

danbrosnan

Boom_Bap wrote: »

I'm not sure about the whole saviour bit, but Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are certainly a breath of fresh air. Good music, something to say, running the independent route and killing it. The Heist was one of the better albums of last year.
But there are many many many other dare I say 'wholesome' rappers out there that are doing the same thing but without the commercial success. Mainly because they are not going for a catchy hook, or with a 'club' beat. That's their decision and their direction. I'm sure that if they compromised their sound they have crafted to make it more appealing to the charts, they could easily be as successful as Macklemore. I am not saying that Macklemore has compromised anything, rather they have embraced how they want to make music.
Although Thrift Shop is pretty much a song about Macks love of thrift store shopping, the hook and the beat and the video are geared towards being appealing to a wide audience.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are making music that is catchy as well as having meaning which is their direction. And they are doing it in such a way that it's appreciated by the majority of hip hop fans.
They even just headlined the Paid Dues festival in the US which is one of the larger 'independent' hip hop festivals.

So I guess, they are not saviours, but more than welcome.

trust me all rappers musicians want the success that mackelmore has at the moment....

That's what they dream of....

I think you are not respecting of how hard it is to make a song like thrift shop....

Anyway look it just an opinion I have, I am a massive hip hop fan and I was getting a little sick of the whole thing...

Jimmy Iovine

Boom_Bap wrote: »

They even just headlined the Paid Dues festival in the US which is one of the larger 'independent' hip hop festivals.

I've read a few reviews of it. One of them had some things to say about Macklemore and Lewis. I feel a lot of it makes sense. Some will disagree.

He was playing on the main stage and his crowd was ****ing huge. Like, bigger than headliner Black Hippy. The guy has the one of the nation's most popular rap songs in years and is tighter with Ellen DeGeneres than Lil B. Yet, once Macklemore performed "Thrift Shop" -- way early -- his set felt deflated. The later songs were mostly of a slow tempo, and if you weren't already a converted fan, there wasn't much for you.

Sure, there were audience members who knew the words to "Same Love" and "Wing$," but most folks likely bemoaned his lack of edge or, as Jeff Weiss noted, the fact that his rhyme patters rip off Slug.

We don't think he was terrible, and he did a decent job of interacting with the audience, crowd-surfing and what not. But having him at Paid Dues didn't seem to fit. He's more suited to a solo show, not one where he's stealing fans from genuine rap legends like Scarface and Juicy J, who were performing on other stages.

http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2013/04/paid_dues_2013_review_san_manuel.php?page=3

Despite that I'd love to have been there. The line up was amazing. Maybe another year.

EDIT: It's difficult to tell if a review is correct or incorrect. You can really only tell if you witnessed it yourself. Freddie Gibbs was said to be the best performer in one review and an embarrassment in another. I'm not saying the above review is the view of everyone at it, but I can imagine that it is somewhat true.

floggg

danbrosnan wrote: »

What i agree with is that yes kayne west and jay z are serious rappers always have been, collage dropout was my favourite album for about two years, i played everywhere and anywhere, jay z's renegade in my top five favourite rap songs of all time, even though Eminem killed him and it a royce 5'9 track....

But i am sick to death of listening to the same **** from them, and theres ego's have outgrown there musical careers, i'm sorry but thats the truth... there heads are so big they find hard to go anywhere.... There is talk of kayne calling his next album "I AM GOD" i mean come on... And jay z still rapping about selling drugs even though his nearly 50, come on people have to agree...

This is why i said macklemore is raps savour, no ego, very good lyrics that mean something and wont have selling drugs, making money and ****ing ho's at the centre of there meaning...

So he's a white Phonte? Or a younger (inferior) Slug?

There are lots of rappers doing the same thing. Just not all of them get on Spin1038. The only thing new about him is that he managed to blow up on the radio from an indie label.

Oleg Luzhny

All this talk of egos...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6olL2rQwWwE

Oleg Luzhny

He was playing on the main stage and his crowd was ****ing huge. Like, bigger than headliner Black Hippy. The guy has the one of the nation's most popular rap songs in years and is tighter with Ellen DeGeneres than Lil B. Yet, once Macklemore performed "Thrift Shop" -- way early -- his set felt deflated. The later songs were mostly of a slow tempo, and if you weren't already a converted fan, there wasn't much for you.

Sure, there were audience members who knew the words to "Same Love" and "Wing$," but most folks likely bemoaned his lack of edge or, as Jeff Weiss noted, the fact that his rhyme patters rip off Slug.

We don't think he was terrible, and he did a decent job of interacting with the audience, crowd-surfing and what not. But having him at Paid Dues didn't seem to fit. He's more suited to a solo show, not one where he's stealing fans from genuine rap legends like Scarface and Juicy J, who were performing on other stages.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis played Paid Dues last year as well. They played Soundset in both 2011 and 2012. And they were at numerous Hip-Hop festivals around Europe last year as well, as they will be this summer too. I fail to see the writer's point. He seems to think that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis just popped up on the Paid Dues lineup because of their recent success, this is clearly incorrect. I'm sure he wasn't saying the same thing last year or the year before, when it wasn't as trendy to hate on the pair.

He also states that Macklemore & Ryan Lewis had the biggest crowd at the festival (But they still didn't "fit" at Paid Dues?!). This was because people wanted to see them. They weren't forced to go, just as they weren't forced to miss Scarface and Juicy J. If you want to see Scarface, you go see Scarface. It's quite simple. Yet Mr. Bell says that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis stole Scarface and Juicy J's fans.

The review isn't even that bad but what I will say is that you can find a mixed review for everything, a bad review for everything. And we wouldn't be talking about this review if it were a positive one. A lot of the time, reviewers try to be as cynical as possible to get a bit of attention etc.

I remember there was a negative review of Natty's "Man Like I" a few years ago. The guy reviewing the album, his points didn't make any sense, he was making all these strange comparisons. A few years later Natty met this journalist and the guy apologized. He actually really liked the album. He said that he was just trying to make a bit of a name for himself by writing a scathing review. Also, he said that it was the first review he had given for whatever publication it was and he wanted his first review to get some attention. I think it could've been for NME but I'm not sure. That's irrelevant though, you get my point.

Finally, the guy that wrote that Macklemore review is Max Bell. The same Max Bell that on January 22nd, 2013 wrote an article entitled "Lil B Is the Most Important Rapper of the Decade So Far". He wasn't joking either, as you can see for yourself here: http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2013/01/lil_b_most_important_rapper_decade.php

And I quote: "It now feels quite likely that, 20 years from now, folks will still be talking about Lil B and his influence."

danbrosnan

TweetMe!?! wrote: »

All this talk of egos...


I get your point, but where else will you get a rapper rapping about his ego like this...

Have i jumped on the macklemore band wagan??? Yes i have... but still i like his songs....

Oleg Luzhny

No, I wasn't really making any point.

I just posted "Ego" because I saw people talking about egos in a Macklemore thread, the song just popped into my head then. That's all.

danbrosnan

ah i know... no worries...

kingsenny

danbrosnan wrote: »

and one more thing i listened to new day on the 'watch my throne' album, actually i listened to the whole album and its a load of ****..

Jay z and kayne are gone to the ****ing dogs if you ask me..

Yeah this is probably the stupidest thing I've read in awhile. Watch The Throne is an amazing album and that's universally accepted. It's deeply complex and they don't only rap about money and bitches. They rap a lot about love, the struggles of black Americans, religioin. Kanye is one of the most complex rappers out there. You need to spend more time on rapgenius.com if you ask me.

As for Macklemore, he isn't half bad. Thrift Shop is terrible but he's got a few other good tracks. Although in terms of white rappers, I'd still rate Ash Roth higher. Roth was probably the closest to an Eminem I've seen. But tbh, discussion of white/black rappers is pointless. People like Em blurred the lines so discussions about colour is irrelevant.

Lastly, the fact that you think rap needs a saviour shows how little you know/repsect about the artists currently out there.

mufcboy1999

I'd agree watch the throne was an excellent album, one of the best in recent years and one of the best collab albums ever IMO from two rappers.

Listening to WTT live still sends chills down my spine , have it as a separate playlist on the iPod.

kingsenny

mufcboy1999 wrote: »

Listening to WTT live still sends chills down my spine , have it as a separate playlist on the iPod.

I get that watching the Niggaz in Paris video

(pause) lol

danbrosnan

Watch the throne a load of ****....

"I AM GOD" name of kaynes next album.... That says alot...

Jimmy Iovine

danbrosnan wrote: »

Watch the throne a load of ****....

"I AM GOD" name of kaynes next album.... That says alot...

One of the very few people who should have an issue with the album's name is Rakim. No one else.

Kylo Ren

danbrosnan wrote: »

Watch the throne a load of ****....

"I AM GOD" name of kaynes next album.... That says alot...

I thought it was 'Yeezus'?

Boom_Bap

I thought this was a thread about Macklemore, get it back on topic please

danbrosnan

kingsenny wrote: »

Lastly, the fact that you think rap needs a saviour shows how little you know/repsect about the artists currently out there.

And yes i do think rap needs a saviour.. i have been listening to rap since i was a young lad and the commercialism, marketing and bull**** that surrounds it now is sometimes sickening...

Macklemore has changed a lot of things in rap simply because he and his team have done it on there own which means they dont have big labels telling them what to do, how to sound and how to make an album...

He has brought rap back to simple concepts and everyday struggles, not drinking crystal and how much money they have, grandmaster flash and the furious five where the inventors, the message there first big single was all about everyday struggle, rap stars have let the money go to there heads big time....

danbrosnan

Boom_Bap wrote: »

I thought this was a thread about Macklemore, get it back on topic please

Obviously we talking about macklemore and rap...

sbsquarepants

danbrosnan wrote: »

Watch the throne...

Im sorry but i agree that when kayne west brought out "collage dropout" it was a classic... But it all gone to his head, i cant stomach him anymore, same with jayz....

Lets hope macklemore does not fall by this side... I honesty do think he gonna be a sensation...

Watch the throne is a brilliant album, Otis, No church in the wild and New day are all outstanding songs. Plus, the live show was excellent.

As for macklemore, i dont know about him being the saviour of anything but he's churned out a top notch album and he's doing the business without the usual studio hype bullshít - so you have to respect that. Best of luck to him i say.

danbrosnan

Keno 92 wrote: »

I thought it was 'Yeezus'?

Thats even worse...

Boom_Bap

I've deleted some posts about the age of posters. Please refrain from that type of talk.

danbrosnan

Boom_Bap wrote: »

I've deleted some posts about the age of posters. Please refrain from that type of talk.

Cheers...

Bobby Baccala

danbrosnan wrote: »

grandmaster flash and the furious five where the inventors, the message there first big single was all about everyday struggle, rap stars have let the money go to there heads big time....

Grandmaster flash and the furious 5 did not invent hip hop.

The only thing hip hop needs saving from is alleged fans like you saying things like that.

danbrosnan

In my opinion they did... they made it open to the world... its all opinions lads take it easy...

And yes rap does need saving... of course it does from the commercial monsters that it has created... what happened to good ol rap..

danbrosnan

P4DDY2K11 wrote: »

The only thing hip hop needs saving from is alleged fans like you saying things like that.

I am the fan that actually buys the cd and to make it worse i still buy the cd's.. i wanna buy them to see who produce the songs has the artist got anything to say, i wanna own that cd... i will buy every ok rapper there is just to study the album, i am a real fan, trust me...

Macklemore's album has been the most inspiring album in my opinion for a long long time... thats why i believe he is raps saviour, in my head at least...

sbsquarepants

I feel bad now - I pirate bayed it cos i liked the same love song!:)

Bobby Baccala

danbrosnan wrote: »

In my opinion they did... they made it open to the world... its all opinions lads take it easy...

That makes no sense though, you can't say something like that is your opinion, that's like me saying the sky is green in my opinion.

They didn't invent hip hop, the likes of the sugarhill gang made it into the mainstream before they did, which still doesn't make them the "inventors"

LUPE

danbrosnan wrote: »

In my opinion they did... they made it open to the world... its all opinions lads take it easy...

And yes rap does need saving... of course it does from the commercial monsters that it has created... what happened to good ol rap..

If you're looking for "good ol' rap" today, there are loads of artists doing that. A lot of older artists are still making good music, a lot of newer artists are making quality rap music.

Macklemore is neither of these. Not even close.

"Saviour of rap"?

Much as I enjoyed Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's album it's not one that I think will stand the test of time. And as far as calling him the savoir of rap, well for one, does rap need a savoir. And if so anyone who thinks that Macklemore is the best that rap has to offer really needs to listen to more music.

Rappers such as RA the Rugged Man and Homeboy Sandman are far superior rappers and would be more deserving of the acclaim that's being heaped upon Macklemore.