Duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis make gold with hit song without being chained to record label

An artist is more than just an individual or group.  An artist is the sound, image, but most importantly, the fans. Without the voices singing along and the hundreds of dollars spent on albums, merch, and concert tickets there would be no artist. And when one must rely solely on these fans to be successful they better make sure they give their all. One duo understands how far they’ve come because of their fans, and their hard work has paid off in the form of a No. 1 single and an album that recently went gold.

Based in Seattle, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have blown up in the past few months. There’s no way that you haven’t heard Macklemore smoothly rap about his 99 cent fur jacket from the “Thrift Shop” over the catchy beat Lewis created. However you feel about the song, it’s hard to deny the talent these two possess.

“Thrift Shop” is the lead single of their album “The Heist” which was released in October. It’s easy to hear that this album is not the typical hip-hop/rap album. All tracks were written by Macklemore and produced by Lewis. This means that every word, beat, and mix comes straight from the people that matter the most. Most importantly, they aren’t signed to any record label; there is no interference from anyone. The entire album was created through Macklemore and Lewis, and that shows through the quality of the songs.

Macklemore raps about a wide variety of subjects from marriage equality in “Same Love” to his drug and alcohol abuse in “Starting Over.” He even addresses the outrageous amount of money spent on shoes and how we are controlled by companies in “Wing$.”

In all of these songs it is evident that he means to get a message across; his words aren’t written just to follow a rhyme or an idea handed down to him. The words come from inside and his passion is so real that you can touch it.

The beats that accompany each song are so crucial and Macklemore’s words wouldn’t be as effective without them. Lewis has an ability to combine violins, trumpets, drums, and other synthesized beats together in a way that is truly unique. Every song has it’s own addictive quality to it and Lewis is the mastermind behind it all.

In the new single, “Can’t Hold Us,” Macklemore and Lewis address their fans’ hard work. He repeats that “labels out here/ now they can’t tell me nothin’” and stresses that he wants his fans to spread the music “across the country.” The words were truly upheld as “The Heist” has sold over 500,000 copies due to fans getting his name out there.

After seeing the two perform live there’s no denying how grateful the two are for their success. During the concert Macklemore repeatedly thanked the crowd for all we have done and rewarded us with amazing performances. They even hold an annual pizza party in Seattle to thank their local fans.

It’s crazy to think that all the success and fame the two have now happened without a huge record label, but it goes to show that a fancy deal has no hold over great music.