The Passion of Christopher Pierznik

“A life lived for art is never a life wasted.”

Before last autumn, very few people had heard of Macklemore or his collaborator, Ryan Lewis. It wasn’t until “Thrift Shop” began racking up YouTube views that he really began getting noticed. While the song is now, nearly a year later, completely played out to the point of being cliché, when it dropped it was different and original, while also addressing a growing cultural trend within certain segments of the American population. The video for the song was cleverly self-aware – a hipster’s version of the late ‘90s Hype Williams hip-hop visuals, complete with Macklemore rocking a full-length Batman onesie with footies on the bottom – and completely different than every other hip-hop video.

Of course, the popularity and ubiquity of the song led to the inevitable backlash and an anti-Macklemore movement began to gain momentum.

This is understandable. The most popular song of the year, with over 6 million legal digital downloads and over 350 million views on YouTube, “Thrift Shop” was one of those songs that was so omnipresent that no one could escape it. Add to that another 2 million downloads for “Can’t Hold Us” and the fact that they are the first duo to have their first two singles reach the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 chart and it’s understandable if people are sick of Macklemore. I get that. What I don’t get, however, are the people that claim that he is a one- (or two-)hit wonder that was raised up primarily by the media and Internet commenters and will be gone in a year because he doesn’t have a career. Those people don’t know what they’re talking about.

Inevitably, the general public that is not deeply embedded in hip-hop will compare Macklemore to other white artists, most especially Eminem. This is unfair for so many reasons. In much the same vein that every white basketball player should not be compared to Larry Bird, every white guy with a microphone should not be compared to Slim Shady. It’s lazy and shows a lack of knowledge about the music. There are all sorts of talented white hip-hop artists and, here’s the dirty little secret, there have been for years. MC Serch, Evidence, Aesop Rock, Brother Ali, El-P, Cage, Bubba Sparxxx, Mac Miller, MGK, Action Bronson, Remedy, Yelawolf, and, oh by the way, the Beastie Boys, are just a few examples of white dudes that can rhyme. They’re not all MCs, but they’re all white.

Macklemore is both.

He’s white and he’s a true MC.

“This booth is my Vatican”

For years, there has been a civil war raging within the hip-hop genre. It takes on many forms – underground vs. mainstream; rap vs. hip-hop; rapper vs. MC; commercial vs. conscious – but, like in many artistic arenas, it is the divide between those that are successful but not respected and those that are respected but not successful. Rich Boy, Silkk The Shocker, and Soulja Boy fall into the former category while Skyzoo, O.C., and Pharaohe Monch occupy the latter. Some artists, like Jay-Z and Eminem, crossover and never look back, but keep their core artistic respect and critical acclaim. Others, like Warren G, crossover and then cross back, continuing to make music but never reaching the same success as before and causing people that don’t know how to Google things to text me questions like, “Hey, whatever happened to Memphis Bleek?”

Right now, Macklemore is in the same place that Jay-Z was in after “Hard Knock Life” and Nas was in after “If I Ruled the World.” He could go one of two ways. He could take the Jay route and build upon his success by making music that appeals to an increasingly wider audience until he becomes even more of a global superstar and every song is devoured by a rabid and (usually) loyal fan base. Or, he could follow in the footsteps of Nas by making music for himself, often creating songs that are clearly not intended for mass consumption, and risking releasing an album that doesn’t sell.

“And I speak for the people that share that struggle too/Like they got something bruised/My only rehabilitation was the sweat, tears, and blood when up in the booth”

Regardless of which route he takes, Macklemore has cemented his place in the rapper vs. MC debate. I chose to compare him to the two greatest artists of the past 15 years, arguably the two greatest ever, because they’re emcees. No matter what happens going forward, they will always be emcees. Many people prefer Reasonable Doubt-era Jay-Z over Magna Carta…Holy Grail-era Jay-Z, but only an idiot would claim that Jay is no longer an MC. An artist may mature, change, lose his hunger, and even lose the perspective he had at the start of his career, but an MC is an MC for life. Nas will never make another Illmatic, but he’s the same person that made that album and he always will be.

The same is true for Macklemore. His next project will undoubtedly bother someone – either the person that wants another “Thrift Shop” or the person that doesn’t. I’m interested to see what happens but, for now, let’s focus on the fact that he has all the qualities of a genuine MC:

- He’s independent. Although it no longer feels like it, hip-hop is rooted in independence. It was created by people that were making their own music in their neighborhoods that was unlike anything on the radio. Run-DMC broke through the glass ceiling and paved the way for it to be one of the most profitable genres in music, but it still keeps its independent spirit and Macklemore’s career is a direct outgrowth of that. He and Lewis reached #1 on the Billboard charts without a record deal, a truly remarkable feat.

- He has spent years honing his craft and building a fan base. He was featured on the cover of XXL as part of their 2012 Freshman Class. He learned how to get better by competeing in cyphers, the true sport of emcees. The first rhyme Rich Boy ever wrote became a hit song. That’s why you’ll never hear from him ever again. That’s why he’s a rapper, not an MC. Macklemore’s rhymes and style have evolved over the years. Just like Eminem’s Soul Intent and Infinite songs or GZA’s pre-Wu-Tang “Come Do Me,” Macklemore’s songs before linking up with Ryan Lewis are raw and often unimpressive. Open Your Eyes (2000) and The Language of My World (2005) both contain glimpses of the artist he would become long before he learned how to harness it. After hooking up with Ryan Lewis for The VS. EP in 2009, he shows his growth and improvement over the previous four years, particularly on “Otherside.” He would step it up again for The Heist.

“I’ma take your grandpa’s style”

- He has his own unique style, regardless of how it may be viewed by the hip-hop collective at large. He wears outfits never before seen in hip-hop. He sets trends rather than follow them.

- He’s respected by other MCs. He’s tight with Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q is on his album, and he recently mentioned that Raekwon asked him to get on a song with him. Real recognize real.

- He freestyles off the top of his head, a dying art form.

- He’s honest. Unlike so many of today’s rappers that claim to be living a life only a villain in a Michael Bay film could relate to, Macklemore lays bare his soul about a variety of topics, most notably his drug addiction and alcoholism. He’s also himself on records. He’s silly and self-deprecating, but still proud and competitive. Rather than trying to talk, dress, and act a certain way (i.e., “black”), he does his own thing in his own way. Yes, “Thrift Shop” is a catchy song, but it became such a big hit on YouTube because of its originality, which was only enhanced by the video.

- He has a flow. He doesn’t rely on ad-libs and backups to fill in the gaps of his rhymes.

- He knows his hip-hop history. On a platinum-selling single, he mentions both “Posse on Broadway,” and being raised by Wu-Tang. MCs know the history of hip-hop; rappers only know how to rhyme monosyllabic words. He was influenced by artists like Del the Funky Homosapien, Hieroglyphics, and others that only true hip-hop heads know about.

- He uses his microphone to try to incite change. Public Enemy took on sociopolitical issues, N.W.A took on corrupt police, and Nas took on the most inflammatory word in the English language. While Macklemore’s crusade of equal rights for gays (“Same Love”) is not as widely supported within hip-hop where homophobia still runs rampant, it shows that he’s not afraid to go against the grain and make music with a deeper message, even if it creates some detractors in the process.

- Finally, he made a great album. The Heist is not a perfect album. There are a few lackluster tracks and, including the bonus tracks, it’s a bit bloated. It’s not Paid in Full or It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back or Illmatic or Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, but it’s a great album. It gets better with each listen. It is layered and sounds better when played in its entirety in one sitting.

“They say it’s so refreshing to hear somebody on records/No guns, no drugs, no sex, just truth”

Personally, it speaks to me. When I listen to The Heist, it’s the first time that I’ve ever heard lyrics from an artist to whom I can relate. We were born and raised on opposite coasts, but there are things that he rhymes about that I’ve never heard before in hip-hop. On “Wing$,” he remembers thinking the air bubble on the bottom of his Nikes would help him fly through the air and how happy he was the moment he touched the net. I remember that vividly in my own life. Instead of artists like Mase, Cam’Ron, and Master P that were star basketball players and, if they so chose, possibly could have played in the NBA, kids like Macklemore and I were excited to touch the net. #White Of course, the song is about the plague of consumerism, an issue that is rampant throughout hip-hop. Between lyrics about clothes, cars, and jewelry, self-proclaimed sneaker heads that spend more money on kicks than they do on rent, or simply the issue of getting ridiculed for your outfit and footwear, Macklemore again goes against the grain of the majority within the culture. I’ve owned one pair of Jordans in my life. I love them. I find some sneakers out there to be beautiful, almost works of art, but I could never justify spending hundreds of dollars on them more than once and this always made me an anomaly in hip-hop.

One of the closest people in my life is gay and we would often discuss how he could reconcile enjoying Eminem’s music despite his use of certain offensive terms. We found it fascinating and hypocritical that Em would proclaim free speech and throw out every single slur…except the big one. We obviously knew why he did this, but it still didn’t change the fact that he was being disingenuous. Either you go all the way or you don’t. You can’t legitimately push half of a boundary. When I heard “Same Love,” I again felt a connection to an artist like never before. I questioned my own sexuality when I was younger, and I fully support equal rights, but this was the first time I ever heard it over a beat.

“So I stare into this paper instead of sitting at a cubicle/Take all the ugly shit inside and try to make it beautiful”

More than anything, I think I look at Macklemore as someone I could have been in a parallel universe. I never felt that way about Nas or Jadakiss or even Eminem. As much as I love their music, I could never fully identify with how they were raised and how they made their way into the genre and the culture. He didn’t start rhyming so that he could escape life on the streets or to avoid prison. He shunned a white collar existence to pursue his dream, something that I’m too cowardly to do myself. I made music and now I write, but both of those were always secondary to education and a traditional career in an office.

When I hear lyrics like, “A generation of kids choosing love over a desk,” and “If I’d have done it for the money, I’d have been a fucking lawyer,” I have conflicting feelings. I’m happy that he realized his dream and I love listening to an MC with whom I can identify beyond just lyrics, but I also begin wondering what would have happened if I would have cast aside everything to pursue my dreams and if I’m a sucker for sitting in a cubicle every day despite my relatively substantial salary.

Regardless of my own personal reactions, the fact is that one-hit wonders don’t inspire such thoughts. A song, or even an album, that captures the public’s attention for a short time before being pushed along by the waves of other elements of noise within the pop culture landscape is just a song or an album. It’s light and easy. Its creator(s) don’t deal with race, addiction, failure, heartbreak, and greed. Despite the apparent vapidity of “Thrift Shop” (and it’s much more of a cultural critique than most people realize), its author is much more than one catchy song that became a phenomenon. Whether the public realizes that remains to be seen but, in popular American music, depth is often dismissed.

Will Macklemore always be this big of a star? Probably not.

Will Macklemore always be an MC? Without a doubt.

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Christopher Pierznik is the author of No Talking at the Urinal, Sacrifice Fly, and The Hip-Hop 10. A former feature contributor and managing editor of I Hate JJ Redick, he has also written for XXL, Please Don’t Stare, Amusing My Bouche, Reading & Writing is for Dumb People, and others. He works in finance and spends his evenings changing diapers and drinking craft beer. He once applied to be a cast member on The Real World, but was rejected. You can like his Facebook page here or follow him on Twitter here.

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