Following their 2012 Grammy award winning debut album “The Heist”, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis inspire with their newly released album “This Unruly Mess I’ve Made.”

This highly anticipated hip hop album hopes to bring attention to racial issues and social injustices found in the world we live in today.

The duo originally released the chart topping single “Downtown”. This catchy song with a jazz flare was played on radios worldwide, making people want to sing and dance along. Similarly, about half of the new album is like this. Because the rap artists are facing such heavy topics throughout the album, they included hearty and upbeat songs as well as more sombre and serious ones.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis uniquely experiment with different sounds throughout the album. They harmonize with trumpets, chorale voices and even other artists to add a different sound, compared to albums before.

Trumpets and choral harmonies can be found in the songs “White Privilege”, “Buckshot”, “Kevin”, “Need to know” and of course “Downtown” to add a jazz twist to the songs and overall the album. The jazz rhythm, catchy lyrics and upbeat attitude in these songs leave listeners moving along.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis work together with artist Mike Slap, XP, DJ Premier, Ed Sheeran, Leon Bridges, Chance the Rapper, Carla Morrison and Jamila Woods to differentiate their album from other chart topping rap albums. Pairing up with artists allows for a variety of voices and ranges to be heard, which create an experience for those listening.

The hip hop artists also use the album as a media platform to bring attention to social issues within today’s society. The song “White Supremacy” for example is all about the unfair role and influence white people, especially white men have in the world today.
Overall, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis released an album that exceeded expectations, and will promote important causes for years to come.