Good music makes you feel, great music makes you think.
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are a house hold name, tunes like ‘Thrift Shop’ and ‘Can’t Hold Us’ have made them so. But dig a little deeper and you will find that the pair are intelligent and thought provoking artists; they are more pertinent than their starry pop image suggest. Taboo subjects are openly tackled, the listener is forced to think about tough subjects such as same sex marriage and civil rights.
Macklemore’s ideals are laid bare for all to see, no aggression, no conversion: just his deepest thoughts and beliefs. ‘White Privilege II’ is the perfect example: the story of feeling out of place as a black man in an oppressive, white world is woven into Macklemore’s music, as his thoughts and feelings on civil rights become clear. I could quote most of the song’s lyrics because it’s so eloquently written, but here are just a few: “You speak about equality, but do you really mean it? Are you marching for freedom, or when it’s convenient?”, “And if I’m the hero, you know who gets cast as the villain”.
“Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are a house hold name, tunes like ‘Thrift Shop’ and ‘Can’t Hold Us’ have made them so. But dig a little deeper and you will find that the pair are intelligent and thought provoking artists; they are more pertinent than their starry pop image suggest”
I am too guilty of not paying attention, being passive and standing on the sidelines. But ‘White Privilege II’ makes you stand up and think, are you now going to do nothing or will you act? That is the question… “It seems like we’re more concerned with being called racist than we actually are with racism.”
The more commercially successful ‘Same Love’, is another example of why Macklemore and Ryan Lewis need to be adhered to and taken more seriously. The same sex marriage themed track was the used as part of the global campaign for gay rights and legalising same sex marriage. “It’s human rights for everyone, there is no difference!”
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are so much more than the fun of ‘Thrift Shop’. They are intelligent and though provoking artists that need to be paid more attention too.
‘White Privilege II’.