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Because a lot can happen in almost four years.

Back in 2012 Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ music was inescapable. Whether you were rocking your grandma’s fur coat in the club to the infectious sax line of “Thrift Shop” or sobbing to the harrowing chorus of “Same Love,” you knew this one-part-ironic one-part-socially-conscious duo was a force to be reckoned with. But once all the Grammy business was done, the duo seemed to disappear into thin air before officially returning last summer with the promise of a new album. On February 26, the world will finally hear This Unruly Mess I’ve Made. And before we know whether these two have found the cure for Sophomore Album Syndrome, we’re retracing all the key steps the playful duo took to get from album one to album two.

 

They Toured the World 


What do you do after you’ve conquered the world’s radio stations with your sax-heavy bangers? You set off on a world tour to thank everyone who turned you into a star. That’s exactly what Macklemore and Ryan Lewis did in 2013, hitting all sorts of places from UK to Sweden. The tour’s colorful tiger-friendly poster is now a collectible item.

They Wrote a Song with Fences 


The duo’s fans learned to be patient as Macklemore and Ryan Lewis released only one song in 2014, and even that was simply a feature. They teamed up with the fellow Seattleite and an old friend, indie rocker Fences, who has worked with them on several occasions in the past. The new song was called “Arrows” and served as a lead single for Fences’ second album, Lesser Oceans. A bouncy collaboration was met with high praise in the US and Europe.

Macklemore Also Wrote a Song with Ed Sheeran


Ed Sheeran is no stranger when it comes to out-of-the-box collaborations. He had already made a special mix of "Same Love" with the duo and in August of 2015 he helped Macklemore record a laidback track “Growing Up” dedicated to the birth of rapper’s daughter. Even though the lyrics of this cute father-to-daughter number were strictly personal, the duo was keen on sharing it with the whole world…for free, as the song was given away on Macklemore’s website. “We didn’t want to do a big campaign or anything over the top with this. We just wanted to put out good music, directly to the people that have been here since the beginning,” they wrote in a note. Gotta love a generous dad.

They Released a Crowded “Downtown” Video


When you’re about to jump into a time machine, make sure you bring the coolest gang possible with you. For the "Downtown" video, the duo turned Spokane, WA into a town-sized thrift shop and made everyone sing along to their retro lead single off This Unruly Mess I've Made.
 

They Went Out on 'An Evening with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' Tour


As we learned from the video above, all it took for these two to get back on the road was one phone conversation. Unfortunately, Ryan had to let go his plans to become an acrobat (at least for now) as the tour saw the pair hitting smaller and more intimate venues across the country. They didn’t stop there: Once they’re done entertaining their fellow Americans, they set out on a new adventure across Europe. Plus they donated one euro from each ticket to several charity organizations.

They Raised Racial Issues in “White Privilege II”


Never a stranger when it comes to speaking about social issues, Macklemore finally recorded a follow-up to 2005’s “White Privilege” off his pre-Lewis debut album, The Language Of My World. Back in the day, he was name-checking Eminem and Elvis Presley and this time around he’s bringing Miley Cyrus and Iggy Azalea (who are both accused of cultural appropriation on a daily basis). GQ called the social injustices-bashing, nearly nine-minute-long track “the most Macklemore move Macklemore has ever pulled”, while most critics agreed that considering Macklemore’s status, it really doesn’t hurt that he’s rapping about the Black Lives Matter movement and raising all of these important social questions in the mainstream music world. Plus it features singer/poet Jamila Woods, who should definitely be on your radar this year.

They’re Self-Releasing the New Album


Part of what made the duo’s big break so unique was the fact they pretty much did it all by themselves, only allowing the big label to help push the singles’ releases and stayed true to their DIY ways with the recording and release of the newest record This Unruly Mess I’ve Made. The pair didn’t let all the success go to their heads and had to figure out a way to keep their creative flag flying high. “Being comfortable is what kills artist,” Macklemore proclaimed in the album’s trailer. Deciding the big city environment was too comfortable for them, they recorded the album in a small cabin in the middle of woods, leaving all the fancy hotel rooms and expensive recording studios behind. “Dance, cry, questions everything, laugh, scream, imagine, live,” Macklemore orders in the same trailer. Something tells us once the record is out, we have no option but to obey.

They Collaborated with Some Big Names for 'This Unruly Mess I've Made'

The duo has already helped singer-songwriter Mary Lambert become a proper star and This Unruly Mess I’ve Made has a brand-new batch of collaborators. Idris Elba and Californian rapper Anderson Paak will participate in the “Dance Off.” Young gospel and soul sensation Leon Bridges—who released his debut record, Coming Home, last year—will provide vocals to “Kevin,” while YG spices up “Bolo Tie.” And that's just the beginning...

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