The new rap music of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

The talented Ben Haggerty, who calls himself Macklemore, languished on the outskirts of rap stardom for several years.  Those were probably difficult times. While rap music may seem easy to break into, I seem to come across lots of names of new rappers every day, it was not so for somebody like him. Not only were people wondering what a white boy from Seattle was doing with rap music, there were also many of them who thought of him as the new Vanilla Ice. Ouch! Ouch!

Some changes came about though after Macklemore met the DJ, music producer and photographer Ryan Lewis. Something clicked between Macklemore’s rapping and Lewis’s music that they were soon working together. One of the results of their collaboration became the No. 1 selling, Grammy-nominated and phenomenally-successful album The Heist. 

Now known as Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, the duo is considered one of pop music’s biggest acts. Nobody is saying anymore that Macklemore is another Vanilla Ice. Maybe one day he could even be another Eminem. But there are still some purists who think he should not be rapping at all.

OK, it is not really, not rapping at all. Macklemore is a natural with rap. He has something to say about money, fashion, same-sex marriage and other topics and he does it well. In fact, his style harks back to the early days when rap was about street stories and not the narcissistic musings prevalent today. Set to Lewis’ music, his poetry resulted in an excellent album with the hit singles Can’t Hold Us featuring Ray Dalton; Same Love with Mary Lambert and Thrift Shop with Wanz.

All that talk actually started when the duo won at the Grammy Awards last January. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis won trophies for Best New Artist of the Year; Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for Thrift Shop and Best Rap Album for The Heist. They were indies and not under a major label but they bested the likes of, hold your horses, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Drake, Kendrick Lamar and other big names. How could that have happened? The purists wondered. But it did. 

Maybe those who voted at the Grammys did not care if the rapper was white or not and thought it was about time rap became fun and amusing again. The Heist was all that. Besides, with several hit songs, the pair had begun selling out concerts and those who watched discovered that Macklemore is also an electrifying live performer. Check this out when he and Lewis come to town for a one-night only gig at the Mall of Asia Arena on March 16. 

 This is part of Macklemore and Lewis’ first world tour and they have a fun, energetic, party evening awaiting their Filipino fans. The show is presented by Viber and Visa. Tickets are available at all SM Tickets outlets, 470-2222 or online at .  Prices are Moshpit P5,940; Patron P4,770; VIP Standing P3,180; Lower Box A P3,500; and Lower Box B P2,650.

Meanwhile, as you look forward to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ coming visit, it might be a good idea to refresh your knowledge of their music by listening to The Heist. This is one of those albums where everything flows, where the rap and the music are so well-synchronized, it is almost like Macklemore is singing to a melody. The sound, the mix is also very well-done. It is obvious that these guys are artists who value their work and will never shortchange their audience.

Aside from the hits Thrift Shop, Can’t Hold Us and Same Love, there are also Wing$; White Walls feat. Schoolboy Q and Hollis; Ten Thousand Hours; Make The Money; Neon Cathedral feat. Allen Stone; BomBom with the Teaching; Jimmy Iovine with Ab-Soul; A Wake feat. Evan Roman; Gold with Eighty4 Fly; Starting Over with Ben Birdwell of Band of Horses and Cowboy Boots.

Billboard’s Top 200 list

Here now are the top-selling albums as per Billboard’s Top 200 list. Frozen, the motion picture soundtrack; The Outsiders by Eric Church; Cole Swindell by Cole Swindell; Now 49 by Various Artists; Beyonce by Beyoncé; Pure Heroine by Lorde; Prism by Katy Perry; Unorthodox Jukebox by Bruno Mars; Issues by Issues; Love Marriage & Divorce starring Toni Braxton and Babyface; Voices by Phantogram; Night Visions by Imagine Dragons; The Marshall Matters LP 2 by Eminem; Music Speaks by Candice Glover; Bangerz by Miley Cyrus; Love In The Future by John Legend; The 2014 Grammy Nominees by Various Artists; Bad Self Portrait by Lake Street Dive; Crash My Party by Luke Bryan; and Here’s To The Good Times by the Florida Georgia Line.

The hit songs in the Hot 100 chart are Happy by Pharrell Williams; Dark Horse by Katy Perry; Talk Dirty by Jason Derulo featuring 2 Chainz; All Of Me by John Legend; Drunk In Love by Beyonce; Pompeii by Bastille; Team by Lorde; Say Something by A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera; Counting Stars by OneRepublic; Timber by Pitbull featuring Kes$ha; Let Her Go by Passenger; Story Of My Life by One Direction; The Man by Aloe Blacc; The Monster by Eminem feat. Rihanna; Burn by Ellie Goulding; Show Me by Kid Ink feat. Chris Brown; Royals by Lorde; Let It Go by Idina Menzel; Demons by Imagine Dragons; and Wake Me Up! by Avicii.