Macklemore and Ryan Lewis coming to Manila

On March 16, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are coming to Manila as part of their Heist 2014 World Tour. The rap duo gained recognition with lyrics that go against the usual hip-hop swagger, delivering prose inspired by Macklemore ‘s roots, his tribe, the streets, and life instead of the usual girllz, swag, and party life.

They won four Grammy Awards last Jan, beating hip-hop giants Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West and Drake, and now they’re coming to our shores. Here are three reasons you shouldn’t miss their concert.

1. They seek to end discrimination. “If I was gay, I would think hip-hop hates me. Have you read the YouTube comments lately? ‘Man, that’s gay’ gets dropped on the daily,” says Macklemore on his pro-LGBT song Same Love. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s support for LGBT rights did not end there; the duo took a role in the You Can Play, a campaign that fights homophobia in sports, music and entertainment.

2. They teach us that going indie isn’t as miserable as most people assume.

Macklemore and Lewis have refused to sign with a record label and lose their artistic freedom and their vision for music.  The rap duo has been making music their own way, as they sang in the chart-topping Can’t Hold Us, which was about the acceptance of their music, particularly Thrift Shop which sold 967,000 copies as of August 2013, despite being I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T hustlers.

3. They are not ashamed to represent their roots — and we aren’t either. “My City’s filthy!” is Seattle slang popularized by Macklemore but before you raise your eyebrows questioning his respect for his city, the slang actually embodies the uniqueness of the Seattle — a city of awesome freshness, straight up, and no disputes. Why filthy? Macklemore said, “Not only do we use it in our everyday slang or vocabulary but it’s a word that we’re proud of. Like we own that. The word filthy is what we use on a daily basis to describe what’s good. And our city is filthy.” Reminds you of anything? Pinoy pride, perhaps?

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Tickets are available at all SM Tickets outlets, and online at www.smtickets.com or call 470-222. Ticket prices are: Moshpit, P5,940; Patron, P4,770; VIP Standing, P3,180; Lower Box A, P3,500, Lower Box B, P2,650.