Don't Think Twice

Deluxe Edition Explicit digital booklet

Wow. WOW! I've been a fan of Macklemore since I first heard and saw him perform here in Eugene. I didn't know who he was when I met him at his merch table (he opened for Blue Scholars) but if I could go back to that night I'd at least give him a handshake and preferably a hug. His words, combined with the spectacular musical abilities of Ryan Lewis, are genius, and I don't use that word lightly. This might be one of those Joshua Tree albums of hip-hop.

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR "SAME LOVE"! I cry every time I see it or hear the song and I know for a fact I'm not alone. The end of the video will really get you. The video for "Wing$" re-defines music videos as an art form and is so good you'd think Scorsese made it. The message of anti-materialism is especially important when you consider that a large part of Macklemore's demographic is teenagers.

One of the amazing things about Macklemore and Ryan Lewis is how they can be so humorous and lighthearted in one song and so inspirational and deep in the next. The song "Thrift Shop" on this album is humorous and quite enjoyable (the video especially), but "Same Love" and "Ten Thousand Hours" and "Neon Cathedral" are so intensely inspirational and from the heart that they make you want to just hug the album. The latter, "Neon Cathedral," and also "Starting Over," really hit those of us who have dealt with addictions, and it's songs like that which give us inspiration and a drive to become better people; they connect us with the artists in a way that is rare, especially if one has listened only to radio hip-hop.

The first song, "Ten Thousand Hours," is largely about the almost spiritual satisfaction that comes from putting in the effort to learn something to the utmost and ignore the common desire to just settle for something easy. I'm a very ambitious, self-motivated person myself so I'm no stranger to that but the hook "Ten thousand hours felt like ten thousand hands / ten thousand hands, to carry me" really put it in a different perspective: every hour I've spent learning my craft isn't a struggle, it's a small, subtle push in the right direction. It's this way of looking at things and providing a beautifully loving perspective that makes Macklemore so unique. I'm a huge fan of Atmosphere (of course), especially their last three albums, but one of the things I like more about Macklemore and Ryan Lewis is that they mix humor and fun into their often heavy and serious songs.

PLEASE buy the album, don't download it. I am PROUD to support Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and every dollar they earn from their art, real art, is well-deserved and worth it.

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