Macklemore shoots high with album #2

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are together one of the greatest independent artists of the 21st century. Their independently released album "The Heist" won the 2012 rap album of the year, while also being nominated for best overall album. This true indie album featured mega hits Thrift Shop, Can't Hold Us, and Same Love. Thrift Shop hit number 1 on the billboard top 100 and was the first independetly released song to reach number 1 in almost 20 years. To explain how amazing this is you have to understand how corrupt the music industry is. It is nearly impossible to be heard on a large scale without a record label taking high percentages of your money made. Yet every so often the people speak larger than the 1% and we shoot artists like Macklemore and Ryan Lewis into stardom. And that's exactly what happened in 2012. The biggest question is now how can Macklemore follow up such an expolosion? Well, by doing exactly what made him who he is today. Macklemore has always had a unique combination of making huge powerful songs to make a difference, yet diffusing the tension with complete Lonely Island style joke songs. And this is exactly what he continued doing with his brand new album "This Unruly Mess I Made". Here is a song by song review of the duos sophomore indie album.

Light Tunnels: A huge opening song that sets the tone for the entire album. The song is captivating lyric-wise as it follows Macklemore's struggle with his newly found fame and his first grammy appearance. The song has typical Ryan Lewis production featuring huge instrumentation and background noise. A call out to the business aspect of the music industry, Macklemore speaks of how fake these events are. It clearly is a moral battle as he enjoys being a part of these elite celebrities but yet he sees the major flaws and corruption leaving for a lyrical argument throughout the entire song.

Rating: 9/10, characteristic macklemore and ryan lewis yet captivatingly unique.

Downtown: The head single of the album featuring hip hop legends Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz, and Kool Moe Dee. The song is a groovy upbeat song holding a hint of a Thriftshop Blueprint with many more layers. Featuring a great hook from singer Eric Nally, the song is a true blend of classic hiphop, triumph, and groove, all the while remaining light and fun. I personally love this song, the lyrics are great, and Ryan Lewis's production is tasteful and funky. I prefer it to Thrift Shop and I think it was a strong first single.

Rating: 9/10, An extremely well written and catchy song.

Brad Pitt's Cousin: In my opinion, the worst track of the album. The song is another one of Macklemore's semi-joke songs and I usually quite enjoy them but this time was different. The song is catchy and reminds me a lot of "Crew Cuts". It features a couple great lyrics. I especially like it when Macklemore jokes about every white dude in America getting the Macklemore haircut. The song has a a couple decent parts from XP but in total I don't understand how this song made it to the final cut.

Rating: 4/10, I find this song to be weak, a couple redeeming lyrics but all in all a mediocre track.

Buckshot: The fourth song of the album lead by a bass hook and some og style rap. This track is another example of Macklemore collaberating with true hip hop artists (KRS-One in this case) to prove he is a part of the rap scene. The song is following a theme of vandalism which I personally think is great. Macklemore brings up how men in suit and ties are calling his music vandalism and how it is bad for business. This is another song focused lyrically on the corruption of the usic industry and rich record labels getting richer.

Rating: 7/10, Great lyrics, and a well written song. Good, borderline great, but defintely not exceptional.

Growing Up: This track is featuring award winning solo artist Ed Sheeran and his hook in the chorus is phenomenal. The track is happy and not trail blazing. It is a safe song as far as innovation goes but it's perfect for the lyrical concept of Macklemore's first child. The song follows Macklemore speaking to his newborn throughout his childs life and it is a heartwarmer.

Rating: 8/10, Safe but great. A feel good song and a smart collaberation with Ed Sheeran.

Kevin: One of the most powerful songs of the album. Kevin is an excellant track written about drug abuse. Both Ryan Lewis and Macklemore really brought their A-game to this song. I especially love the way Macklemore raps about things that matter such as drug addiction and Ryan Lewis could not of produced it in a better way. One of the best if not the best track of the album. Definetely give this song a listen.

Rating 10/10, The strongest song of the album, powerful and innovative.

St. Ides: The seventh song of the album featuring a catchy guitar hook that brings you back to 70s new wave. Typical Macklemore lyrics that make you think. The song is a filler and not one of the strongest songs of the album but one of those songs that doesn't have to grow on you. It's pleasant the first time.

Rating 8/10, Typical Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, nothing new, nothing exciting.

Need to Know: A song reflecting on the newly found fame of both Macklemore and Chance the Rapper. Chance's part is great and Macklemore's is perfectly fine as well. The lyrics are extremely okay but something about the way they deliver this song is enjoyable.

Rating 8/10, Average song, well written and good choice of collaberation.

Dance Off: The upcoming single of the album and a complete joke song. This song is hilarious and close to a lonely island song. This is Macklemore in his prime of joke songs except my only problem is that it is way to close to "And We Danced" from Macklemore's last EP before meeting Ryan. This track would get a 10/10 if it wasn't exactly like a prior song of his but I understand why he would remake something similar with his new found worldwide fame.

Rating 8/10, hilarious and catchy but too much like "And We Danced".

Let's Eat: Featuring XP once again like "Brad Pitt's Cousin" but this time they came out with a win. Another humerous cheesy song this time joking about eating way too much and unhealthy but not caring. This is a perfect example of a joke Macklemore song that is both funny and easy to listen to any time, not just to laugh. I especially love XP's chorus in this song. It's just so damn catchy and comical.

Rating 9/10, funny, and pleasant to listen to.

Bolo Tie: The third last song of the album and once again Macklemore is going much more OG Hip hop than he ever did on his last album. This song is not bad and just a real good rap song. Ryan Lewis was good, Macklemore was good, and the verse from rapper YG was quite good.

Rating 7/10, Classic hip hop and has a great vibe. Good filler song.

The Train: A mellow song but quite catchy. Macklemore rap/sings in the verses and it is relaxing to listen to. It's a great second last song. The chorus features Carla Morrison singing in Spanish which is cool and different but kind of takes away from the song. Macklemore's verses are a solid 10 out of 10 but the song seems to lose momentum ever so slightly everytime the chorus comes in.

Rating 8/10, Great verses and a decent chorus.

White Privilege II: A sequel to Macklemore's "White Privilege" in his solo EP back in 2000. The song is another political anthem focused on the recent protests of black lives matter. Macklemore has always been known to support all peoples rights and this song is a mix of being in favour for black lives and being mad at himself for being more famous then the black rappers who are underground. He raps about how he was many steps ahead to begin with and now he is put on a pedostal above the true hip hop artits. He feels guilt and anger and put it perfectly in to this song. Once again, both Macklemore and Ryan Lewis brought their A-games to this song and it a true example of Macklemore rapping about what matters.

Rating 10/10, A highlight of the album but slightly long although this was on purpose to properly display his point.

Overall album score: 9/10, A great album reaching the same musical, political, and comical heights as his first album "The Heist".

The Great: Kevin, White Privilege II, Dance Off, Let's Eat, Downtown

The Good: Light Tunnels, Need To Know, St. Ides

The Average: Bolo Tie, The Train, Buckshot, Growing Up

The Ugly: Brad Pitt's Cousin

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Macklemore/?fref=ts

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5BcAKTbp20cv7tC5VqPFoC

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