Thrift shops are spectacular. Need a jazzy blazer? Go to a thrift shop. Need a bookshelf? Go to a thrift shop. Need a moose head to put up in your dorm room? You guessed it. Go to a thrift shop. For college students, thrift shops are as desirable as candy stores are to little kids. They have literally anything you can imagine, all for dirt cheap.
The best place for a last minute Halloween costume
On October 9th, Macklemore released his new album “The Heist” to the world. Almost immediately, the album climbed to number 2 on the Billboard 200 list behind only Mumford and Son’s “Babel.” One song of this album, appropriately titled “Thrift Shop”, captures the childhood wonder felt when inside a thrift shop. Throughout the music video, Macklemore parades around a thrift shop, cruises around town, and goes out clubbing late at night. In each scene, he’s sporting some type of ridiculous outfit. Whether in a giant fur coat, a sweater with a deer on it, or batman footsie-pajamas, Macklemore looks both funny and ridiculous. His personality allows him to pull off such craziness though, and when his ridiculous outfits go great with his ridiculous lyrics. Here’s just an excerpt of some of what he raps about:
Walk up to the club like, “What up, I got a big cock!”
Nah, I’m just pumped about some shit from the thrift shop
Ice on the fringe, it’s so damn frosty
That people like, “Damn! That’s a cold ass honkey.”
Rollin’ in, hella deep, headin’ to the mezzanine,
Dressed in all pink, ‘cept my gator shoes, those are green
Draped in a leopard mink, girls standin’ next to me
Probably shoulda washed this, smells like R. Kelly’s sheets
(Piiisssssss)
But shit, it was ninety-nine cents! (Bag it)
In classic Macklemore fashion, the song’s lyrics are both witty and catchy. In all his songs, the lyrics show how much fun Macklemore truly has making music. Most rappers today, such as Lil Wayne, Big Sean, and Tyga, all talk about making money and getting all the girls they want. Where’s the originality? Unlike the most famous rappers, Macklemore raps about whatever he wants. He enjoys doing what he wants and in turn gets the success he deserves.
Yeah, he’s that kind of artist.
Few hip-hop songs have caught my attention this year. “Thrift Shop” is a different story. In a world where literally every type of song has already been made, Macklemore continues to innovate. Who would have thought to make an upbeat song about thrifts shops featuring an elderly black man bellowing out a jazzy chorus? Of course Macklemore would be the first to think of it. The song is all around genius, and its nearly 9 million hits on YouTube speaks for itself.
Enjoy the song for yourself if you haven’t seen it yet.
I have never even listened to him! Maybe I would suggest throwing a few links up on your site so we could find him more easily. But hey, so many people like a certain type of music I can see where innovative new ideas have a hard time breaking through.
Macklemore is not necessarily a revolutionary, but rather a standout at his profession. He supports rhymes and structure that is focused on weaving a thought-provoking story rather than explaining what so many mainstream rappers talk about: sex, drugs, women, money, success, etc. I think MM is here to stay.