Seattle superstars Macklemore & Ryan Lewis will take to the McDonald Theatre stage on Saturday, October 20. As the artists’ fame has taken a meteoric rise in the last year, the Eugene show is sold out. The only place you can buy tickets now is on Craigslist — and they are being marked up by about 200% by scalpers.
Seattle superstars Macklemore & Ryan Lewis will take to the McDonald Theatre stage on Saturday, October 20.
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis hail from Seattle, Washington. They are two separate and distinct artists who have collaborated on several musical endeavors in the last few years. Macklemore is a rapper — a white rapper, to be precise. I would not call attention to the fact of his whiteness were it not the subject of many of his raps. More important than his race, though, in my opinion, is his focus. Macklemore provides biting, spot-on social commentary, music industry jabs, and moving passages of poetry in his oft-termed “diary rap” style. He takes a genre known for bling, women, and cars and transforms it — almost effortlessly — into rhymes advocating same-sex marriage, anti-consumerism, and fighting addiction to oxycontin.
While Macklemore provides the lyrical mastery to the group, Ryan Lewis provides the musical mastery. And to be honest, as good as Macklemore’s raps are, Lewis by far steals the show in whatever the group does. Lewis’ productions are epic, employing scorching beats, ethereal strings, and angelic choirs. Should Lewis break out on his own, he could easily end up in the Producer VIP world where Timbaland and Kanye West currently reside. He is really that good. Lewis is also in the same company as Xaphoon Jones, the production wizard half of the rap group Chiddy Bang. They both are moving hip hop towards a “high pop art” feel, using both traditional, heavy-hitting rhythms as well as unique orchestrations and indie music sensibilities.
[Continue reading at Eugene Daily News.]
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