Macklemore and Ryan Lewis: Beyond thrift shopping

MANILA, Philippines - There’s usually more than meets the eye. Awards fever is upon us, and everyone is allowed to give their two cents worth on why one won and the other one didn’t. (Yes, I’m talking about #teamLeo.) But as with the Grammys and the Oscars, the one that brings home the golden bacon is the one that bears the right message. Such as slavery and hustlers.

On the music front, the Grammys are more relaxed and opt for more seemingly simple yet paradoxically profound material. Take Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ Thrift Shop. “I’m gonna pop some tags. Only got 20 dollars in my pocket. I — I — I’m hunting, looking for a come-up. This is f**king awesome.” They won the Grammy for Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Album, Best New Artist and they’re coming to Manila for a concert on March 16 at the SM MoA Arena.

In a radio interview for a morning show, Ryan spoke about being overwhelmed by all their triumphs during the past year. “If you even told me a year and a half ago that I would be nominated for and invited to even the Grammys or the VMAs, I a) would’ve never believed you and told you that you were an idiot and b) it would have been a huge surprise.”

You’d think that after the Grammys and the VMAs and all the other accolades for their work, all the success would go to their heads. I’ve seen other artists go from reachable to untouchable after one award. Not Ryan Lewis. “I think for us to even be invited and embraced, for the album to take off like it did, it was completely beyond what we ever expected. I think first and foremost, there’s gratefulness to even be involved in these events and it was crazy that we took home four Grammys. It’s crazy, all the different award shows, to be winning as independent artists who kind of did this whole thing ourselves, sort of on a budget.”

Beyond the budget, Ryan tells us what’s going on in their heads while in the audience watching these awards shows. “When it comes to awards, I’ve rarely ever been nominated for anything in my life and each and every time I hear the announcement about to come on, in my mind, I’m like ‘Please say my name. Please say my name. Oh God, help me please, say my name.’ And they never do.” But all that changed this year. “I was never somebody who was good at sports or bringing home trophies when I was a kid, so you know — it’s a whole new world and new experience.”

Of awards shows and artist collabs

It’s not all rap ‘n’ roll lifestyle for Lewis and Lemore, if that’s what you think. It’s hardcore hard work, Ryan tells us. “You get used to kind of the life of constant movement, exhaustion, and being in attendance and present and all of these different things, playing almost 300 shows throughout the course of last year, performing at different award shows, et cetera.”

How did it feel to win four Grammys? “I think that the Grammys, we had no idea what to expect and it was absolutely crazy to take home four, to be nominated for seven. On a simple level, we’re proud of the album that we did and proud of the tens of thousands of people that have been behind our whole movement and the music that we’ve made.“ Sometimes the best way is to not expect so you don’t get disappointed. Right, Leo fans? (That includes me.)

After the awards, it’s almost always sure that a lot of artists are knocking on their doors for collaborations. How are they treating this sudden surge of people who want to work with them? “Of course, there are tons of people that want whoever is really hot right now on their album. And I think that you can interchange out who that artist is. Ben is of course in super high demand to be on people’s projects and I’ve had a bit of that as well in terms of producing for other people for a variety of genres which has been cool.

“But we made an album that featured a lot of people that were completely unknown — people from Seattle, our hometown. So that was cool. I think when you have four platinum singles and all of them have hooks on people that were almost completely unknown before the album came out and all of them sold over a million copies, I think that’s special. I think it’s super unusual,” says Ryan, looking back at their recent success.

Beyond their current hits, Ryan looks forward to their next step. “It’s very cool when doors open to work with people that you’re familiar with — you love their work and the albums that they put out — but there’s also a whole part of me that doesn’t wanna lose the excitement of working with your friend down the street. So, going into the next project, it might be a balance of those two things. I think there are so many talented people from our own backyard that we aren’t necessarily anxious to run and get as many famous people as we can on new songs.”

Talking about Ben a.k.a. Macklemore

“I think what makes Ben, Macklemore, a very special MC is that he steps into songs wanting to write things that are honest. Wanting to tell his honest story, wanting to tell his own perspective. And I think his perspective wasn’t the cars and the girls and the clubs, I think it was pretty genuinely thrift shopping.” Ryan says about their refreshing anti-consumerist rap at the height of bling. “Making music has always been his way of staying balanced, his way of processing life — his side of the story.”

Same Love is something they call controversial: what is the real message behind the song? PhilstarSUPREME asked Ryan about the song that gave everyone goosebumps at the Grammys, what with Madonna and the 33 couples getting married live on air. “Same Love is a big song with bold statements. It’s obviously worldwide — a variety of cultures and perspectives on equality and gay rights. Ben came in with his own perspectives, with how he grew up. How he grew up in his neighborhood and his family, having two gay uncles. It’s for a massive amount of people. It’s a song that heavily speaks to a new generation of thinkers.

“And as I said, it goes far beyond the music and I think what’s unique for us is that we also run this whole operation so you can go past the music to merchandise to designing to music videos. We direct ourselves. All these different things that make up our identity are decisions we have to make together on a day-to-day basis.”

You’ll see the result of this eight-person operation very soon.

“It’s crazy. It’s a year we never could have imagined. It was a rollercoaster of a year to go through. And what better way to celebrate than to come over to you guys and play a show!” Ryan says, concluding our interview.

 I personally can’t wait — this is f**king awesome!

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More love at twitter.com/officialtimyap. On Instagram, too! #YAP4GRABS for prizes and Ticketworld for concert tickets.