# Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
**Macklemore & Ryan Lewis** were an American hip hop duo from Seattle, Washington, consisting of rapper Ben Haggerty ([Macklemore](https://www.edgepedia.org/macklemore)) and producer [Ryan Lewis](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-lewis), formed in 2008 and best known for the self-released 2012 album *The Heist* and its chart-topping single "Thrift Shop".[1](https://www.grammy.com/artists/macklemore-ryan-lewis/17985/) At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in 2014 the duo won four awards, including Best New Artist and Best Rap Album, a result that drew sustained criticism because it placed them ahead of [Kendrick Lamar](https://www.edgepedia.org/kendrick-lamar).[2](https://www.grammy.com/news/video-and-the-grammy-went-to-macklemore-ryan-lewis/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | Formed in 2008 in Seattle; Lewis worked as Macklemore's photographer before becoming his DJ and producer[1](https://www.grammy.com/artists/macklemore-ryan-lewis/17985/) |
| Breakthrough | *The Heist* (2012), released independently, reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of the No. 1 single "Thrift Shop" featuring Wanz[2](https://www.grammy.com/news/video-and-the-grammy-went-to-macklemore-ryan-lewis/) |
| Sales | "Thrift Shop" sold 7 million copies and had drawn 417 million YouTube viewers by September 2013; the Guardian called the pair the biggest DIY success in 20 years[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/11/macklemore-ryan-lewis-review) |
| Grammy Awards | Four wins at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards (2014): Best New Artist, Best Rap Album, Best Rap Performance, and Best Rap Song, from seven nominations that year[2](https://www.grammy.com/news/video-and-the-grammy-went-to-macklemore-ryan-lewis/) • [4](https://www.grammy.com/news/grammy-rewind-watch-macklemore-ryan-lewis-win-best-new-artist-2014/) |
| Second album | *This Unruly Mess I've Made*, released February 26, 2016 on the Macklemore label; Metascore 59 from 17 critic reviews[5](https://www.metacritic.com/music/this-unruly-mess-ive-made/macklemore-ryan-lewis) |
| Signature themes | Consumerism ("Wings"), gay marriage ("Same Love"), drug addiction ("Otherside"), and white privilege ("White Privilege II")[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/11/macklemore-ryan-lewis-review) • [6](https://findresearcher.sdu.dk/ws/files/197231318/information_13_00010.pdf) |
## Formation and early work
In 2005 Haggerty put out his first solo album, *The Language of My World*, which made little impression beyond the [Pacific Northwest](https://www.edgepedia.org/pacific-northwest); a year later he started collaborating with the Seattle producer Ryan Lewis, whose polished pop instincts and gift for huge hooks complemented his rapping.[7](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/03/07/macklemore-the-hip-hop-villain) Before collaborating musically, Lewis had worked for Macklemore as a photographer.[1](https://www.grammy.com/artists/macklemore-ryan-lewis/17985/) Lewis, a University of Washington graduate, had established ties with Seattle's hip-hop community before the two crossed paths.[8](https://www.washington.edu/alumni/columns/pdf/columns_december_2013.pdf)
Lewis's production style evolved from the indie-pop sampling of the duo's early *Versus* EP toward a sound almost entirely reliant on live instrumentation, built on synths, horns, and keys.[9](https://www.rapreviews.com/2012/10/macklemore-ryan-lewis-the-heist/) AllMusic describes the pairing as an unlikely team-up of a witty Seattle rapper and an inventive DJ/producer whose blend of humorous hip-hop novelties, thoughtful social insight, and motivational anthems became a national phenomenon in the early 2010s.[10](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0003057135)
## The Heist and breakthrough
*The Heist*, the duo's debut studio album, appeared in 2012 and featured the No. 1 single "Thrift Shop".[1](https://www.grammy.com/artists/macklemore-ryan-lewis/17985/) The song, a bargain-hunter's satire of hip-hop's obsession with extravagant expense, sold 7 million copies and, by the Guardian's count, had drawn 417 million YouTube viewers by September 2013.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/11/macklemore-ryan-lewis-review) Its success led to the rediscovery of "Can't Hold Us", a relentlessly upbeat motivational anthem that also became a hit.[7](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/03/07/macklemore-the-hip-hop-villain) The album reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 despite being released independently.[2](https://www.grammy.com/news/video-and-the-grammy-went-to-macklemore-ryan-lewis/)
**Distribution and independence.** The duo released the album themselves but entered an unusual agreement with [Warner Music Group](https://www.edgepedia.org/warner-music-group), drawing on the label's promotional resources in exchange for a percentage of the album's sales.[7](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/03/07/macklemore-the-hip-hop-villain) *The Heist* contains no samples, and it carries a number of tracks offering social and political commentary.[11](https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/09/did-the-decline-of-sampling-cause-the-decline-of-political-hip-hop/279791/) The critic [Robert Christgau](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-christgau), longtime editor of the Village Voice's Consumer Guide, gave the self-released album a B+ and called "Same Love", with Mary Lambert, the best gay marriage song to date in any genre.[12](https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Macklemore+%26+Ryan+Lewis) In 2013 Billboard named Lewis its Producer of the Year.[13](https://encorespotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/seattle_symphony_may_2018_encore_arts_seattle.pdf)
## The 2014 Grammys and the backlash
At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, held January 26, 2014, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis won four awards: Best New Artist, Best Rap Album for *The Heist*, and Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for "Thrift Shop" featuring Wanz.[2](https://www.grammy.com/news/video-and-the-grammy-went-to-macklemore-ryan-lewis/) They had received seven nominations that year, including Album of the Year for *The Heist* and Song of the Year for "Same Love".[4](https://www.grammy.com/news/grammy-rewind-watch-macklemore-ryan-lewis-win-best-new-artist-2014/) The Best Rap Album result over Kendrick Lamar's *good kid, m.A.A.d city* was widely criticized as a snub; Time's coverage of the ceremony described the sweep of the rap categories as a move sure to annoy rap Twitter, and the question of whether *The Heist* belonged in the hip-hop categories had generated controversy between the general Grammy community and members of the rap community even before the show.[14](https://time.com/1894/the-2014-grammys-awards-show-best-worst-and-inbetween/) • [15](https://www.mpcaaca.org/_files/ugd/5a6d69_eb993e2f80074966a2f10c17c2f76dbe.pdf) After the ceremony Macklemore posted a picture of a text he had sent Lamar reading "It's weird and sucks that I robbed you"; fans found the gesture earnest, but for listeners who considered *The Heist* the work of an interloper, Macklemore became a villain.[7](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/03/07/macklemore-the-hip-hop-villain)
The duo also performed "Same Love" on the telecast with Madonna, Mary Lambert, Trombone Shorty, and [Queen Latifah](https://www.edgepedia.org/queen-latifah), a medley with Madonna's "Open Your Heart" that doubled as a live marriage ceremony for 33 couples.[2](https://www.grammy.com/news/video-and-the-grammy-went-to-macklemore-ryan-lewis/) "Same Love" had been the first song in the [Top 40](https://www.edgepedia.org/top-40) to explicitly endorse marriage equality, though some critics felt its advocacy crossed into self-appointed spokesmanship.[16](https://time.com/3929658/greg-holden-boys-in-the-street/)
## This Unruly Mess I've Made
The duo's second album, *This Unruly Mess I've Made*, was released on February 26, 2016 on the Macklemore label.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/music/this-unruly-mess-ive-made/macklemore-ryan-lewis) It debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with 51,000 copies sold in the week ending March 3, according to Nielsen Music.[17](https://musicpromotoday.com/resources/Billboard-2016-03-19.pdf) Guest appearances included [Anderson .Paak](https://www.edgepedia.org/anderson-paak), [Leon Bridges](https://www.edgepedia.org/leon-bridges), Chance the Rapper, DJ Premier, Idris Elba, KRS-One, Kool Moe Dee, and [Ed Sheeran](https://www.edgepedia.org/ed-sheeran).[5](https://www.metacritic.com/music/this-unruly-mess-ive-made/macklemore-ryan-lewis)
**Reception.** The album received mixed reviews, with a Metascore of 59 based on 17 critic reviews and a user score of 6.2 from 153 ratings.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/music/this-unruly-mess-ive-made/macklemore-ryan-lewis) Pitchfork described it as a blend of juvenile joke raps, inquisitive socially conscious raps, and diaristic contemplations of Macklemore's life, an attempt to prove the duo belonged in hip-hop culture.[18](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21504-this-unruly-mess-ive-made/) [The New Yorker](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-new-yorker)'s Hua Hsu, a staff writer at the magazine and author of the [Pulitzer Prize](https://www.edgepedia.org/pulitzer-prize)-winning memoir *Stay True*, described the album as split between pensive moments such as "White Privilege II" and cartoonish ones such as "Brad Pitt's Cousin".[7](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/03/07/macklemore-the-hip-hop-villain) Christgau graded it A−.[12](https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Macklemore+%26+Ryan+Lewis) A DJBooth feature argued that Lewis, who also handled the duo's videos, was the driving force of the creative enterprise and too often marginalized in a conversation that revolved around Macklemore.[19](https://djbooth.net/features/2016-03-02-ryan-lewis-production/)
**White Privilege II.** The nine-minute follow-up to Macklemore's 2005 song "White Privilege" was released on January 22, 2016 and considers the place of a well-meaning white artist in the age of [Black Lives Matter](https://www.edgepedia.org/black-lives-matter).[20](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/may/12/macklemore-ryan-lewis-systemic-racism-isnt-going-get-clicks) • [7](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/03/07/macklemore-the-hip-hop-villain) The duo launched whiteprivilege2.com with free downloads of the single and, as Macklemore & Ryan Lewis LLC, pledged long-term investment of time, resources, and finances to supporting black-led organizing and anti-racist education, naming organizations including Black Lives Matter, the People's Institute for Survival and Beyond, and Black Youth Project 100.[20](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/may/12/macklemore-ryan-lewis-systemic-racism-isnt-going-get-clicks) • [7](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/03/07/macklemore-the-hip-hop-villain) Reception was divided: the Los Angeles Times called the song so self-flagellating that it hurts, while the Washington Post judged it all politics and no art.[21](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-macklemore-white-privilege-ii-is-so-self-flagellant-that-it-hurts-20160122-story.html) • [22](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2016/01/25/macklemores-white-privilege-ii-is-all-politics-no-art/)
## Live shows and offstage work
The duo's concerts mixed comedy with confession. At the 2013 opening of their European tour at [Brixton Academy](https://www.edgepedia.org/brixton-academy), Macklemore detailed his drug addiction before delivering an a cappella "Otherside", and gave an impassioned pro-gay-marriage speech before "Same Love"; the Guardian called it not just a tremendous rap show but a pivotal one.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/11/macklemore-ryan-lewis-review) A 2016 Glasgow review noted his ability to move between cartoonish braggadocio, self-doubt, and progressive proselytizing without losing the arena audience.[23](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/apr/14/macklemore-ryan-lewis-review-hydro-glasgow)
Offstage, the pair started The 30/30 Project charity in 2014, after Lewis disclosed that his mother Julie had been living with AIDS/HIV for 30 years.[1](https://www.grammy.com/artists/macklemore-ryan-lewis/17985/) Through the M&RL Equity Fund they supported and partnered with dozens of organizations dedicated to racial and social justice.[13](https://encorespotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/seattle_symphony_may_2018_encore_arts_seattle.pdf) They later partnered with Seattle's MoPOP museum on a nonprofit youth music program for Seattle teens.[24](https://www.seattlepi.com/seattlenews/article/Macklemore-and-Ryan-Lewis-MoPOP-art-music-13405517.php)
## Later status
After *This Unruly Mess I've Made*, Macklemore released solo work, including the album *Gemini*, and the duo's catalog came to be treated as a closed chapter of a collaboration rather than an ongoing project.[25](https://www.metacritic.com/music/gemini/macklemore) The Grammy result over Kendrick Lamar remained a reference point in discussions of the awards: Time's 2020 Grammys preview opened its Best New Artist analysis by asking readers to remember when Macklemore & Ryan Lewis beat Kendrick Lamar.[26](https://time.com/5765634/grammys-predictions-2020/)
## References
1. [Macklemore & Ryan Lewis: Grammy Awards and Nominations, Recording Academy](https://www.grammy.com/artists/macklemore-ryan-lewis/17985/)
2. [And The GRAMMY Went To … Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Grammy.com](https://www.grammy.com/news/video-and-the-grammy-went-to-macklemore-ryan-lewis/)
3. [Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – review, The Guardian (11 September 2013)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/11/macklemore-ryan-lewis-review)
4. [GRAMMY Rewind: Watch Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Win Best New Artist In 2014, Grammy.com](https://www.grammy.com/news/grammy-rewind-watch-macklemore-ryan-lewis-win-best-new-artist-2014/)
5. [This Unruly Mess I've Made by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Reviews and Tracks, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/this-unruly-mess-ive-made/macklemore-ryan-lewis)
6. [Sentiment analysis of rap songs, University of Southern Denmark](https://findresearcher.sdu.dk/ws/files/197231318/information_13_00010.pdf)
7. [Macklemore, the Hip-Hop Villain, by Hua Hsu, The New Yorker (March 7, 2016)](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/03/07/macklemore-the-hip-hop-villain)
8. [University of Washington Columns, December 2013](https://www.washington.edu/alumni/columns/pdf/columns_december_2013.pdf)
9. [Macklemore & Ryan Lewis :: The Heist, RapReviews (October 2012)](https://www.rapreviews.com/2012/10/macklemore-ryan-lewis-the-heist/)
10. [Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Biography, Discography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0003057135)
11. [Did the Decline of Sampling Cause the Decline of Political Hip-Hop?, The Atlantic (2013)](https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/09/did-the-decline-of-sampling-cause-the-decline-of-political-hip-hop/279791/)
12. [Robert Christgau, Consumer Guide: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis](https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Macklemore+%26+Ryan+Lewis)
13. [Encore Arts Seattle, Seattle Symphony, May 2018](https://encorespotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/seattle_symphony_may_2018_encore_arts_seattle.pdf)
14. [The 2014 Grammys Awards Show: Best, Worst and Inbetween, TIME](https://time.com/1894/the-2014-grammys-awards-show-best-worst-and-inbetween/)
15. [#GrammysNotSoWhite, MPCA/ACA](https://www.mpcaaca.org/_files/ugd/5a6d69_eb993e2f80074966a2f10c17c2f76dbe.pdf)
16. [How Greg Holden Did Gay Acceptance Right on 'Boys in the Street', TIME (2015)](https://time.com/3929658/greg-holden-boys-in-the-street/)
17. [Billboard Magazine, March 19, 2016](https://musicpromotoday.com/resources/Billboard-2016-03-19.pdf)
18. [Macklemore / Ryan Lewis: This Unruly Mess I've Made Album Review, Pitchfork (2016)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21504-this-unruly-mess-ive-made/)
19. [Forget Macklemore, Let's Talk About Ryan Lewis' Production Genius, DJBooth (March 2, 2016)](https://djbooth.net/features/2016-03-02-ryan-lewis-production/)
20. [Macklemore and Ryan Lewis: 'Systemic racism isn't going to get clicks', The Guardian (12 May 2016)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/may/12/macklemore-ryan-lewis-systemic-racism-isnt-going-get-clicks)
21. [Reporter's Notebook: Macklemore's 'White Privilege II' is so self-flagellating that it hurts, Los Angeles Times (2016)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-macklemore-white-privilege-ii-is-so-self-flagellant-that-it-hurts-20160122-story.html)
22. [Macklemore's 'White Privilege II' is all politics, no art, The Washington Post (2016)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2016/01/25/macklemores-white-privilege-ii-is-all-politics-no-art/)
23. [Macklemore and Ryan Lewis review – broiling agitprop and goofball braggadocio, The Guardian (14 April 2016)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/apr/14/macklemore-ryan-lewis-review-hydro-glasgow)
24. [Macklemore and Ryan Lewis partner with MoPOP for youth arts program, Seattle Post-Intelligencer](https://www.seattlepi.com/seattlenews/article/Macklemore-and-Ryan-Lewis-MoPOP-art-music-13405517.php)
25. [Gemini by Macklemore Reviews and Tracks, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/gemini/macklemore)
26. [Who Will Win-and Who Should-at the 2020 Grammys, TIME (2020)](https://time.com/5765634/grammys-predictions-2020/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Ensembles and groups › Rock, pop, and metal bands › Musical duos, supergroups, and collaborative projects › Hip-hop and R&B duos*
*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