The University of Idaho community has been buzzing for over a month now about what might be the biggest gig in Finalsfest history — Macklemore, who will rock the Kibbie Dome on May 3.
You can’t go anywhere without hearing ‘Thrift shop’ and as a Seattle-ite it’s getting annoying.
So if you love ‘Thrift shop’ here’s a list of Macklemore songs prior to ‘The Heist’ that you should give a try.
Church ft. Geologic of Blue Scholars
A common re-occuring theme in Macklemore’s music is religion. Not to praise it, not even to diss it, but to look at it objectively. In this track, Macklemore tells us why his religion is music, but how he respects the catholic culture he was raised with even if it’s not his way of life anymore.
The Magic
Want to get inside the head of how a young Macklemore wrote songs? This is an essential track off of his ‘Language of my World’ album. This is the classic track about a hip hop artist going through the ebbs and flows of life and how he translates those experiences into rhymes on the piece of paper.
The Club
Put in Moscow terms, this track is basically about what happens to 90 percent of us dudes who go to CJ’s on a Friday night with high expectations for the night. What people love about ‘Thrift shop’ is Macklemore’s sense of humor and how he puts it together with clever rhymes, flow and a non-satirical feel. This song delivers just as much, if not more, than Thrift shop.
B-Boy
“To my real hip hop heads, please stand up. Because the only people that can preserve the art is us.”
This is just one of the many statements and questions about the hip-hop culture overall that set Macklemore apart and made him different. It will answer why Macklemore built his own success and will probably surpass Tech n9ne as the most successful independent artist.
Otherside
Before ‘The Heist’ destroyed iTunes and Spotify charts, Ryan Lewis and Macklemore debuted together with the VS EP. Here Macklemore documents his own battles with substance abuse and relates his struggle to that of others. More importantly, he makes the listener think about how mainstream it is for hip-hop culture to glorify substance abuse.
Irish Celebration
Macklemore isn’t from Ireland, he’s from Capitol Hill. That didn’t stop him from paying homage to his heritage. It’s a track that all can relate to who are proud of their heritage.
At the Party
In order to understand the state of hip-hop today you must understand its history. Let professor Macklemore take you through the proud history of the culture from DJ Kool Herc to where we are today.
And we Danced
This is the first track that put Macklemore on the semi-mainstream path. The title is as self-explanatory as the lyrics, because everybody that bumps this track has a really, really, really good time.
Sean Kramer can be reached at [email protected]