Sleepless in Seattle? No problem.
On our Man Of The Year cover we find Macklemore standing defiant against all odds, which is indicative of his entire 2013 from start to finish. His now platinum-selling Grammy nominated album, The Heist, spawned several hit songs that sold a combined 13 million (and counting) units. The banner single, “Same Love,” was named both “Best Hip Hop Video” and “Best Video With a Social Message” at the MTV VMA’s, in addition to snagging the Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album trophy at the American Music Awards. For us at The Source, his personal integrity and rap skills made him our choice for 2013 Man Of The Year. Check out our in-depth cover story to fully understand the sincerity with which Macklemore discusses his mission and craft. Check out an excerpt of his exclusive interview with The Source’s own Kim Osorio.
What if you win the Grammy for Best Rap Album and Kanye spazzes and says it should have gone to someone else?
Then he’s got a point. [In the Best Rap Album category], we’re up against Kendrick, who made a phenomenal album. If we win a Grammy for Best Rap Album, Hip-Hop is going to be heated. In terms of [that category], I think it should go to Kendrick. He’s family. TDE is family, and I understand why Hip-Hop would feel like Kendrick got robbed [if he didn’t win]. I’m not trying to compare albums; I think you can make an argument for both. With that being said, I am a huge supporter of what Kendrick does. And because of that, I would love to win in a different category. We obviously had massive success on commercial radio, and I think that, in ways, The Heist was a bigger album, but Kendrick has a better rap album.
That’s interesting because you consider yourself a Hip-Hop artist who came out of the underground scene. Actually, you were an Unsigned Hype artist right here in The Source. Do you feel like all the mainstream success has affected your Hip-Hop credibility?
People are going to be skeptical. I’m a white dude from Seattle. People are rightfully skeptical of white people making Hip-Hop. They’re gonna say, “Let me hear him rap. Let me hear an interview.” Before we sold a million copies of the album, when it was just “Thrift Shop,” before it became massive, they were putting us in a box. The song almost got too big. People weren’t able to see the rest of the album for what it was. They put us in the one-hit wonder box. And they didn’t give the rest of the project room to live. People didn’t do their research. If you strip away the Kidz Bop remake and it getting played on every radio station, the very core of “Thrift Shop” is a Hip-Hop song. I’m rapping. I’m rapping, well. I’m spitting. The one-bar loop. The 808s. It was one of the more Hip-Hop-sounding songs on the album. It turned into something so big that the origin almost got lost. And because of that, it distracted people from the album and the content that was there.
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