# Downtown (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis song)
"Downtown" is a 2015 single by the American hip-hop duo [Macklemore & Ryan Lewis](https://www.edgepedia.org/macklemore-and-ryan-lewis), released on August 27, 2015 as the lead single from their second collaborative album, *This Unruly Mess I've Made* (2016).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0003057135) • [2](https://music.apple.com/us/song/1083662060) The track features three pioneers of early hip-hop, [Melle Mel](https://www.edgepedia.org/melle-mel), Grandmaster Caz, and [Kool Moe Dee](https://www.edgepedia.org/kool-moe-dee), alongside Eric Nally, frontman of the rock band Foxy Shazam, who sings the chorus.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0003057135) • [3](https://www.thefader.com/2015/08/27/macklemore-ryan-lewis-downtown-vma-kool) The platinum-certified single reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold 1 million downloads.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0003057135) • [4](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2016/Billboard-2016-03-12.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | August 27, 2015; lead single from *This Unruly Mess I've Made* (2016)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0003057135) • [2](https://music.apple.com/us/song/1083662060) |
| Featured artists | Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz, Kool Moe Dee (rap pioneers) and Eric Nally of Foxy Shazam (chorus)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0003057135) |
| Chart and sales | No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100; 1 million downloads sold; platinum certification[4](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2016/Billboard-2016-03-12.pdf) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0003057135) |
| Music video | Shot in Spokane, Washington; the production shut down the city's central business district; directed by Jason Koenig, Ryan Lewis, and Ben Haggerty[3](https://www.thefader.com/2015/08/27/macklemore-ryan-lewis-downtown-vma-kool) • [5](https://www.noise11.com/news/new-macklemore-and-ryan-lewis-watch-downtown-video-20150901) |
| Awards | MTV Europe Music Award for Best Video, October 2015[6](https://www.nme.com/news/music/macklemore-10-1205564) |
| Production time | Worked on for about two years; Macklemore described the song as taking 18 months to complete[7](https://www.audiotechnology.com/features/mix-masters-jonathan-castelli-on-assembling-downtown) • [8](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-08/macklemore-responds-to-criticisms-he-is-a-culture-vulture/6758398) |
| Style | Evokes early hip-hop and '70s and early '80s funk, played almost entirely on live instruments with prominent sax, trumpet, tuned percussion, and piano[4](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2016/Billboard-2016-03-12.pdf) • [7](https://www.audiotechnology.com/features/mix-masters-jonathan-castelli-on-assembling-downtown) |
## Background and recording
The song was a long-running project. Mixer Jonathan Castelli recalled that [Ryan Lewis](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-lewis) told him the duo had been working on it for two years and needed fresh ears to finish it; [Macklemore](https://www.edgepedia.org/macklemore) later said in an interview that "Downtown took 18 months and a trio of hip hop icons to complete."[7](https://www.audiotechnology.com/features/mix-masters-jonathan-castelli-on-assembling-downtown) • [8](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-08/macklemore-responds-to-criticisms-he-is-a-culture-vulture/6758398) Macklemore argued that featuring Grandmaster Caz, Kool Moe Dee, and Melle Mel demonstrated his respect for the rappers who came before him.[8](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-08/macklemore-responds-to-criticisms-he-is-a-culture-vulture/6758398)
Eric Nally's involvement happened, by his account, almost by accident: Ryan Lewis was a [Foxy Shazam](https://www.edgepedia.org/foxy-shazam) fan, and Macklemore's trumpet player Josh "Budo" Karp had played shows with the band. When a singer was needed for the hook, Nally's name came up, and a cold call led to a recording session in Seattle.[9](https://shop.altpress.com/blogs/news/who_is_eric_nally_10_things_you_need_to_know_about_the_macklemore_collabora)
## Composition and mixing
The song is built from sharply contrasting sections. Its verses, which continue the anti-cool, thrift-shop sensibility by "geeking out on mopeds," feature Macklemore and the three guest rappers in completely different musical sections; the chorus, top-lined by Nally, does not arrive until almost the two-minute mark.[7](https://www.audiotechnology.com/features/mix-masters-jonathan-castelli-on-assembling-downtown) The track has echoes of both the '70s and the early '80s funk, and is almost entirely played on live instruments with prominent sax, trumpet, tuned percussion, and piano.[7](https://www.audiotechnology.com/features/mix-masters-jonathan-castelli-on-assembling-downtown) Billboard described it as a rollicking, five-minute-long track meant to evoke early hip-hop as well as '70s arena rock.[4](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2016/Billboard-2016-03-12.pdf)
**Mixing the song was unusually difficult.** Castelli said the material "sounded like four songs stitched together with transitions that made the sections sound completely different," with no effects and voices that were not cutting through; his task was to make it feel like one cohesive piece for radio.[7](https://www.audiotechnology.com/features/mix-masters-jonathan-castelli-on-assembling-downtown) His first mix was rejected by Lewis, who wanted a more natural, solid-state sound and told him to "go listen to Grandmaster Flash"; Castelli started over, and the mix ultimately took two weeks on a [Pro Tools](https://www.edgepedia.org/pro-tools) session of 112 tracks, built from stems of an original session of well over 200 tracks.[7](https://www.audiotechnology.com/features/mix-masters-jonathan-castelli-on-assembling-downtown) During a phone call, Castelli described the song to Lewis as the duo's response to "Uptown Funk," the [Mark Ronson](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-ronson) and [Bruno Mars](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruno-mars) pastiche of early '80s funk that dominated that summer; Lewis liked the framing.[7](https://www.audiotechnology.com/features/mix-masters-jonathan-castelli-on-assembling-downtown) Commentators drew the same comparison, noting that where Ronson and Mars aimed at early '80s funk, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis aimed at the old-school hip-hop of the same era.[10](https://archive.junkee.com/number-ones-navigating-the-bizarrely-inconsistent-race-relations-in-macklemore-ryan-lewis-downtown/66828)
## Music video
The video was directed by Jason Koenig, Ryan Lewis, and Ben Haggerty (Macklemore), and was shot in [Spokane, Washington](https://www.edgepedia.org/spokane-washington), where the production was large enough that the town's central business district was temporarily shut down during filming.[3](https://www.thefader.com/2015/08/27/macklemore-ryan-lewis-downtown-vma-kool) • [5](https://www.noise11.com/news/new-macklemore-and-ryan-lewis-watch-downtown-video-20150901) The full-scale production made way for street dancing, moped racing, and parades with giant balloon animals.[5](https://www.noise11.com/news/new-macklemore-and-ryan-lewis-watch-downtown-video-20150901) Grandmaster Caz, Kool Moe Dee, and Melle Mel all appear, dressed in kitschy '80s costumes.[3](https://www.thefader.com/2015/08/27/macklemore-ryan-lewis-downtown-vma-kool) • [11](https://www.inverse.com/article/5689-downtown-and-macklemore-s-attempts-to-stay-hip-hop) In the chorus sequence, Nally rides a chariot pulled by Royal Enfield motorcycles.[7](https://www.audiotechnology.com/features/mix-masters-jonathan-castelli-on-assembling-downtown) The official video on YouTube was published on August 27, 2015 and stood at 254,758,211 views with 1,300,000 likes at the time of the crawl.[12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGhoLcsr8GA)
## Performances and reception
The duo performed the song live for the first time at the 2015 [MTV Video Music Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/mtv-video-music-awards) on August 30, 2015, taking over [Downtown Los Angeles](https://www.edgepedia.org/downtown-los-angeles) for the performance.[3](https://www.thefader.com/2015/08/27/macklemore-ryan-lewis-downtown-vma-kool) • [13](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2015/08/macklemore-ryan-lewis-downtown-performance-vmas/) In October 2015, Macklemore and Lewis collected the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Video for the clip, accepting the prize in Rome.[6](https://www.nme.com/news/music/macklemore-10-1205564)
Commercially, the single was certified platinum and, per Billboard, hit No. 12 on the Hot 100 and sold 1 million downloads.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0003057135) • [4](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2016/Billboard-2016-03-12.pdf) In the United Kingdom it first charted on September 10, 2015.[14](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/macklemorelewisnallymel-downtown/) Critical response was mixed. Some writers treated the song as Macklemore's attempt to prove his hip-hop credentials by reaching back to the genre's roots, with the three legendary guests largely delivering a unison group vocal.[11](https://www.inverse.com/article/5689-downtown-and-macklemore-s-attempts-to-stay-hip-hop) Others noted the song's odd position in the duo's catalog: it had a decent run on the chart, but the album it led, *This Unruly Mess I've Made*, met commercial failure and critical indifference.[15](https://www.theringer.com/2017/09/25/music/macklemore-gemini-white-guilt-privilege) After promotion for the album ended, the duo began an extended hiatus.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0003057135)
## References
1. [Macklemore & Ryan Lewis — Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0003057135)
2. [Downtown (feat. Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz, Kool Moe Dee & Eric Nally), Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/song/1083662060)
3. [Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Channel Old-School Hip-Hop On "Downtown", The FADER](https://www.thefader.com/2015/08/27/macklemore-ryan-lewis-downtown-vma-kool)
4. [Billboard Magazine, March 12, 2016 issue](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2016/Billboard-2016-03-12.pdf)
5. [New Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Watch 'Downtown' #VIDEO, Noise11](https://www.noise11.com/news/new-macklemore-and-ryan-lewis-watch-downtown-video-20150901)
6. [Macklemore 'blown away' by MTV EMA success, NME](https://www.nme.com/news/music/macklemore-10-1205564)
7. [Mix Masters: Jonathan Castelli on Assembling Downtown, AudioTechnology](https://www.audiotechnology.com/features/mix-masters-jonathan-castelli-on-assembling-downtown)
8. [Macklemore responds to criticisms he is a 'culture vulture', ABC News](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-08/macklemore-responds-to-criticisms-he-is-a-culture-vulture/6758398)
9. [Who is Eric Nally? 10 things you need to know about the Macklemore collaborator, Alternative Press](https://shop.altpress.com/blogs/news/who_is_eric_nally_10_things_you_need_to_know_about_the_macklemore_collabora)
10. [Number Ones: Navigating The Bizarrely Inconsistent Race Relations In Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 'Downtown', Junkee](https://archive.junkee.com/number-ones-navigating-the-bizarrely-inconsistent-race-relations-in-macklemore-ryan-lewis-downtown/66828)
11. ['Downtown' and Macklemore's Attempts to Stay Hip-Hop, Inverse](https://www.inverse.com/article/5689-downtown-and-macklemore-s-attempts-to-stay-hip-hop)
12. [MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS - DOWNTOWN (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO), YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGhoLcsr8GA)
13. [Macklemore and Ryan Lewis Take Over 'Downtown' Los Angeles for the MTV VMAs, SPIN](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2015/08/macklemore-ryan-lewis-downtown-performance-vmas/)
14. [DOWNTOWN – MACKLEMORE/LEWIS/NALLY/MEL, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/macklemorelewisnallymel-downtown/)
15. [Macklemore Trades White Guilt for White Silence, The Ringer](https://www.theringer.com/2017/09/25/music/macklemore-gemini-white-guilt-privilege)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Pop, rock, and metal songs › Hip-hop songs › 2010s hip-hop songs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license