Album Review: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - The Heist

This MC/production pair from Seattle, Washington, became the self-made success story of 2012. As Macklemore, aka Ben Haggerty, says on the engrossing industry state of affairs taster, Jimmy Iovine: “I'd rather be a starving artist than succeed at getting fucked.”

The freestyler has long held a velvet flow, his smooth verses bouncing with the athleticism of a prize fighter. However, after more than a decade in the game it wasn't until he connected with beat maker Lewis that things went sky high. And now, still doing everything their way, on their own terms, the duo have found their meal ticket, with The Heist charting around the world off the back of inescapable party single Thrift Shop. That track is a frivolous classic in the best possible way, but it's in no way indicative of this record. Jokes aside, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis offer the complete package. The lyrical content is at times smart and poignant, and at other points confident and funny, touching on topics ranging from homophobic slurs and safe sex, to pimping in a new Cadillac and sneaker thuggery. And thanks to the considerate way Lewis builds the walls around the rhymes, using everything from dancefloor synths and hand claps (Can't Hold Us) to piano movements and strings (Same Love), he succeeds in capturing the musical ideals that can be linked directly to the tales told.

The Heist is a pure hip hop record. It's positive, fun but also real. The storytelling is remarkably colourful and personal while managing to touch on societal issues that affect us all, and it's allowed a self-proclaimed “cold ass honky” to steal some thunder off rap's big players.