Album Review: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ “This Unruly Mess I’ve Made”
Rap duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have just released their second independently produced studio album, titled “This Unruly Mess I’ve Made.” It’s already making some people talk due to the lyrical content of one song, “White Privilege II.”
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have come quite a ways since they first got together in 2008. Their first album, “The Heist,” released in 2012, was a breakthrough album that garnered them seven Grammy nominations and earned the duo four Grammys for Best New Artist, Best Rap Album, Best Rap Performance, and Best Rap Song. Most notably, their song “Thrift Store” ended up staying at the No. 1 position for six weeks according to The Billboard Hot 100 listing. Their single “Same Love” was performed during that same award-winning 2014 Grammy show with rapper Queen Latifah reading marriage vows for 33 couples in an emotional and historic show event. Prior to that Grammy moment, Dixie State University here in St. George was able to book them for a Spring Break concert in 2013 at Hansen Stadium, which was probably a lucky break for the campus since Macklemore and Ryan Lewis now play much larger venues with higher ticket prices.
Several songs from “This Unruly Mess I’ve Made,” along with “White Privilege II”, are the personal stories and insights that affect Macklemore (real name Ben Haggerty) directly. The single “Kevin,” featuring artist Leon Bridges, is about a friend who died of an overdose from prescription drugs in 2010. Macklemore tells of the pain of losing his friend and also of his anger at the medical industry for being so quick to prescribe pills that are a quick fix for any given ailment. It almost comes off like a gospel song, but it sounds more mournful than worshipful. “Buckshot,” featuring KRS-One and DJ Premier, is an homage to his earlier days as a teen tagger, dreaming big and hoping to make a name for himself. If you listen carefully, you can hear a bit of trumpet added to make it sound more dramatic.
“Downtown” is probably the funniest and most energetic song on this album. Featuring Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz, Kool Moe Dee, and Eric Nally, it has a sound that is a mixture of uptown funk and Vanilla Ice. Don’t get me wrong, I actually do like this song! I predict it will end up getting more air time as the weather gets warmer.
The sweetest and most endearing song on this whole album is “Growing Up,” featuring Ed Sheeran. While Macklemore does rap out this song, the beat is more one of a soul-infused lullaby. This was written about his newborn daughter and the hopes, fears, and expectations he is facing as a new father.
Despite its title, “White Privilege II” does not extol the perceived benefits of modern white society. This song is at least eight minutes long and discusses Macklemore’s thoughts, feelings, and concerns of the Black Lives Matter movement, the marches in Ferguson, and his position on where he fits into this. He asks about his position as an artist in the song: “Am I on the outside looking in, or am I on the inside looking out?”
While rap and hip-hop are not my favorite genres, I wasn’t too put off by this album. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis pack emotion into the words, don’t go too bass-heavy on the tracks, and allow the words to flow very smoothly. There is some easy piano mixed with the beats for “The Train” and “Need To Know.” I enjoy hearing the orchestral arrangement of violins infused in on “Light Tunnels,” because it tells me that this artist cares about sound as well as words. Let’s see if the rest of the music world will enjoy “This Unruly Mess I’ve Made” as much as I did!
