Joseph DeVaughn Reviews The Heist: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

Macklemore, I want my mind back!

Ever since I started listening to The Heist,  by rapper Macklemore, my mind has been owned by the wonderful music on the album. “Tonight is the night, we’ll fight till’ it’s over/ So we put our hands up like the ceiling can’t hold us,”  from “Can’t hold us.” plays in my head all day.

I don’t mind it, “Can’t hold us” is one of the best songs on the album. The hook is super catchy, the verses Macklemore gives us are fresh and new to the hip-hop/rap genre.

I know The Heist has been out since October 9, 2012, and I’m a little late on this, but I think it’s okay because I feel like people only know that one radio hit most artists have, and almost everyone knows Macklemore’s, “Thrift Shop.”

In my opinion, “Thrift Shop” is absolutely horrible. I’ll give it props for being catchy, but I don’t believe this song is a depiction of Macklemore’s true talent. It doesn’t come close to his other songs, like “Ten Thousand Hours,” “Same Love,” “Make the Money,” “Starting Over,” and “Victory Lap.” The other songs made on the album all songs have unparalleled meaning.

For instance, the song,  “Same Love” expresses the wrongfulness of the societal repression of homosexuality.  It also addresses the “stereotypes“ that people may have of gays. The theme of “Same Love” is that it doesn’t matter if a man loves a man, a woman loves a woman, or a man loves a woman, at the end of the day they’re in love, the same love as any other.

“Make the Money” is another track that stands apart from the rest. “Make the money, don’t let the money make you. Change the game, don’t let the game change you.” The title is a bit misleading because it seems like it’d be the typical rap song that’s all about making stacks of cash, but the lyrics of the hook expand on the meaning. He’s addressing the fact that rappers today are made by their money and worship cash like Soulja Boy, and Lil Wayne. He’s striving to to change the game, and not let the views of other rappers change the way he does things, which is from the heart.

The Heist could have never happened without the help of Ryan Lewis. Lewis is Macklemore’s close friend, producer, and album artwork designer.

     Overall,  The Heist is an amazing album. Probably one of the best rap CDs that has come out in the last ten years. Between the lyricism of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s smooth, instrumentals it makes for a great combination. I rarely find an album, from any artist, in any genre, that has good songs every song. With The Heist, I like every single song, besides “Thrift Shop.”  I feel like “Thrift Shop” doesn’t fit in with the albums serious side, nor does it show Macklemore’s real talent, but I guess every album needs to have some balance. I heavily urge people to buy this album and give it a chance, it’ll be worth your time, money, and thoughts.