Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have been one of the indie hip-hop success stories of 2013, but the Seattle-based duo have had to endure a small backlash in the wake of their pop crossover hit “Thrift Shop.” Despite the acclaim that their debut album The Heist garnered in 2012, there are many who believe the duo to be no more than a white novelty act; a couple of pop-rappers getting over without a shred of authenticity.
“When a song like ‘Thrift Shop’ becomes a part of popular culture; soccer moms are bumping it and 5-year-olds are singing, ‘This is f–king awesome,’ it’s really easy to go in with a scalpel and dissect it and scrutinize the sh*t out of it,” Macklemore explained in a recent interview with XXL. “If it was somebody else who made the song, I’d probably do the same thing–particularly if it was two white dudes. But I still think ‘Thrift Shop’ is a really great record. I think that the beat’s slapping, I think that I’m rapping my a** off, and that it has a really catchy chorus; those things came together and made a record that crossed over to pop.”
Veteran hip-hop star, Method Man has voiced criticism of Macklemore. The latest rhymer to throw shots, albeit indirectly, is Odd Future member, Earl Sweatshirt. After hearing “Can’t Hold Us” on the radio, Earl issued a tweet that seemed to mock the song while asking his followers who was responsible for it.
“Also ahahah who the f–k is this rapping very fast on 90’s trance piano beat with this ‘ceilings cant hold us’ John Legend hook?” Earl tweeted this weekend. After he was informed that it was Macklemore, Earl seemed to give credit for the money he must be making off of the track.
“Macklemore is caked out as f–k,” Earl tweeted.
For his part, Macklemore RTed Earl’s comments without saying much in the way of a response.
“Lol,” was the only reply he gave to the supposed diss.
