Macklemore & Ryan Lewis: A Seattle State of Mind

Can you say, "Welcome to Seattle?"

Welcome to Seattle!

'I'm DJ Semtex, hip-hop DJ for BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra.

'Semtex.'

Right now, it's time for three hours of the sickest,

most hot, banging hip-hop around.

'This is day one of the Sepoy Seattle-based hip-hop duo

'Macklemore and Ryan Lewis on my show.

'I was there to interview them at one of their very early shows

'way back in 2012.

'You know what? Things didn't go exactly to plan.'

Mack... Mack Maine is going to be performing tonight with Ryan Lewis.

EERIE MUSIC

GUNSHOT

Did you just call me Mack Maine?

LAUGHTER

'Since then, they've gone on to become

'one of the biggest hip-hop acts in the world,

'selling millions of copies of their debut album, The Heist,

'winning Grammy awards, playing the biggest venues across the world

'and racking up over a billion video hits YouTube.

'What's most impressive is that they've done it

'all by themselves, done it independently, with no record deal,

'just their very own hand-picked team.

'So now I'm setting off to the US to visit the band

'in their hometown of Seattle.

'We're going to hang out in their private studio.

'We're going to sit down with Macklemore and Ryan.

'We're going to check out the sights and sounds of Seattle

'that inspire their music.'

Pacific Northwest!

'And meet the inspirational family behind one of the biggest

'independent successes the music industry has ever seen.

'This is the story of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis,

'A Seattle State Of Mind.'

VARIOUS VOICES: 'First memories of Seattle hip-hop was...

'I remember the Sit & Spin... Listening to Rap Attack...'

Just touched down in Seattle.

That's right, it's official, Semtex in Seattle,

it's the first time ever been here.

I'm here to see Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

I'm going to go to their complex, which...

They don't really invite a lot of people down there.

It's kind of an elusive place, it's very much under wraps,

so I'm going to make my way there,

but before I do that, I've got to go shopping.

RAPPING: 1995, the Division Series

Edgar's up to bat, bottom of the 11th inning

Got the whole town listening

Swung on and belted the words that started

Joey Cora rounds third

Here comes Griffey

The throw to the plate's not in time

My oh my, the Mariners win it Yes

Fireworks, they lit up that ceiling...

- Semtex! - Yo!

What's going on, man? You all right?

Welcome to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis headquarters.

This is where the magic happens.

That's the hat from Thrift Shop, right?

That is the hat from Thrift Shop.

This is our closet where we keep all the clothes we bring on tour,

those are the costumes.

This first one, as you probably recognise, is Sir Raven Bowie...

- Yeah. - ..in all its glory.

Does he wear that offstage, nights out, as well?

LAUGHING: Only on Thursdays.

This is a pinball machine that was given to us by a promoter

after we sold out three nights at KeyArena,

which was an amazing accomplishment.

That is the diving board that we used for the video Arrows,

that just dropped.

RAPPING: And I'm so tired

Swore that I wouldn't stare into the light

And guess who tried to

Shit, I'm blinded by this...

This is where the Rolling Stone cover shoot took place.

This is where it happened, if you feel that energy and aura.

And that must be the hard drive with the Arrows video on it, right?

Yes. 48 hours ago, this entire floor was littered

with mattresses and computers and staff,

trying to make sure that this video came out today,

so you guys came as we have now been able to finally clean it up.

- You guys want to see Ben and Ryan? - Yeah.

All right.

- Hey! - What's going on, man?

- Cool. - Good to see you, man.

- I like the sweatshirt! - Yo! Representing!

Brand-new!

DJ SEMTEX LAUGHS Went shopping straightaway.

You got the classic OG Mariners colourway with the pitchfork.

- Authentic. - I do this.

I do this! It's good to see you, man.

I'm a little bit aghast right now

because a lot of things have happened.

Two years ago, we met in an alley, I got your name wrong by accident.

Anyway...

Fast forward to two years later and we're in your own studio,

we're in your own complex, in your hometown.

How important is your hometown to your story?

The hometown is everything. The hometown...

is the foundation of it all.

Seattle.

Seattle is a special place - city, water, mountains,

it's like no other place in the world.

We are in the corner up here, we are secluded from LA,

we think that we're not like LA at all,

we think those are just people with plastic surgery

and, like, fake breasts

and we just think we're more legit than that.

# 10,000 hours

# Felt like 10,000 hands... #

To start making music from this region, there is not a guidebook

like there might be for someone in New York, or someone in other places.

This region, the Northwest, Seattle,

is so overlooked in terms of hip-hop music.

People hear Seattle, they immediately think Nirvana

and grunge music

and Starbucks and Boeing and Microsoft,

but the last thing that forever people thought about

was hip-hop music, so, to me,

I've always been so proud of the scene

and there is something very genuine and authentic

about the fan love here in the Northwest.

Like, one of the most pivotal parts of me and Ben's career

was three nights sold out at the Showbox as local artists.

That was big!

RAPPING: Eight people turn into sold-out shows in a minute

And I'm watching my pops in the back row grinning

With his glass up to my mom Toasting his Guinness...

Welcome to the Showbox. We're in beautiful downtown Seattle.

It's an iconic venue, the Showbox.

1,200 people, it's a big show.

When they did three sold-out shows here at the Showbox,

what were those shows like?

You could feel it, that it was just 100% devotion.

While he's rapping, everybody's going nuts

and between songs it's dead silent and he's basically preaching,

and Mix-a-Lot got on stage

and did this, like, ceremonial passing of the baton.

The reason why we are able to step on stage tonight

is because he paved the way and laid the foundation

for what this night is right now, and that is Sir Mix-a-Lot.

Then Mix-a-Lot said, you know, "You've got it now, so run with it

"and, basically, I was the big dog, but now you're the big dog."

The Prince of Seatown, Macklemore, I hand you this baton

and run, baby, run, man.

'There was the succession of rap royalty in Seattle.'

Seattle for life, y'all.

It just felt...felt like a moment.

'While I'm in town, I want to

'find out more about the Seattle hip-hop scene.

'I'm on my way to hook up

'with three of the hottest up-and-coming MCs.'

- What's going on, guys? - What's going on?

So, tell me about Seattle hip-hop.

Who was the first person you heard that rapped where you're from?

I just remember seeing Sir Mix-a-Lot, that's like the first person

I heard, you know, from the town.

HE RAPS: I like big butts and I cannot lie

You other brothers can't deny...

Yeah, it's a small city,

so we all really grew up in kind of the same area

and we all kick it with each other, you know,

so it's been a natural collaboration of everybody.

THEY RAP: Haters looking stupid throwing shade up on the sun

I want my gang Where you at?

I don't know any more

My whole buzz came through the body when she opened the door

And if you're down with the freak I'll be your man for the week

They're messing round behind your back...

We don't have, really, like an accent, you know,

anything distinguishing to...

You know, unless we say it, like, if you're someone from the east coast,

you know, with the accent, OK, he's from the east coast.

You're down south, but, you know... You kind of have to let it be known.

I'm from Seattle, not Cali, not Portland, I'm from Seattle.

THEY RAP: It's more gang, you bitch Now, where you at?

THEY LAUGH

- Huh? - Yeah.

NEWSREADER: Chad Butler, known as Pimp C,

died in a Los Angeles hotel room.

The LA County Coroner's office ruled the rapper's death accidental

and attributed it to a combination of...

SECOND NEWSREADER: ..apnoea and syrup and we know that syrup on the streets

- usually has codeine. - Absolutely.

We have a problem now with the cough syrup epidemic.

The point that it clicks for me personally...

Otherside was huge.

It was...the first song that we put out that got an immense reaction.

The first video we did together was a song called Otherside.

One of the most powerful songs I've ever heard.

Wake up, cold sweat, scratching, itching

Trying to escape the skin...

I mean, this was a person who went to rehab

and had been trying to get sober for a long time

and he was probably the first rapper to make a song not glorifying syrup

and so he shared his perspective on his own addiction.

In the beginning of the video, you see a group of teenagers

in the back of a car doing drugs, and that's how it started

and it was fun and it was relational and it was social, and very quickly

you see it deteriorate to this thing where he's in a room by himself.

I think his level of vulnerability on a record was really hard.

And trust me, it's not dope

To be 25 and moved back to your parents' basement...

So, for me as his producer,

I learned who Ben was, I think, through that song.

At what point were you like,

"All right, we need to focus and commit to making The Heist?"

The true beginning of The Heist... I mean, Can't Hold Us I made in 2007.

That caught my attention.

I discovered that track for myself and I was like, "This is dope!"

# So we throw our hands up... #

I got involved with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis by Ryan Lewis.

He hit me up on Facebook, had me come in the studio

and I met Ben and...

I just made a bunch of melodies and Ben was, like,

"Wait, do that again," and he instantly was like...

"Here, sing this," and I was like...

# Can we go back? This is the moment... #

And it happened like that, like snap.

# Can we go back?

# This is the moment

# Tonight is the night

# We'll fight till it's over

# So we put our hands up like this ceiling can't hold us

# Like this ceiling can't hold us

# Can we go back? This is... #

I was like, "What if I sing 'Macklemore'

"in, like, an operatic voice?"

So I was trying to, like, impress him and I was like...

# Mackle-e-e-e-e-more.... #

And he was like, "Yeah, we've got to keep that."

# Mackle-e-e-e-e-more.... #

Nearly overnight, boom, everything just blew up.

Every year, every month would just get better, bigger and crazier.

And it was insane.

DJ SEMTEX: Let's take it back to the beginning.

# Back in the days...

# I remember... #

Now, before the success that you've had, before The Heist,

how did you first meet Macklemore?

So, I found him on MySpace and friend-requested him,

in which he sent me a message, and for me,

at, like, 15 or 16 years old, I was like, "Whoa!"

I don't even know why I clicked on his profile,

but for some reason I did.

He wanted a beat, but more honestly,

he wanted this sample that I flipped.

Yeah, the drums weren't that tight.

HE LAUGHS

So we met up at my parents' house.

Ryan is like, "Hey, nice to meet you."

I was like, "This kid is so high on ADD medicine right now."

I just showed him photography, I showed him graphic design,

I showed him more beats.

He couldn't focus on one thing, he's showing me everything he does,

he's like, "I take pictures, I do video, I make beats,"

like, "This is my dog. Meet my cat."

I'm like, "This kid is crazy." And I had never met a kid like that.

'So, right now I'm on my way to the thrift shop

'to meet the singer behind one of Macklemore and Ryan's biggest hits,

'but you know what? I'm starving!'

# Off-black Cadillac, midnight drive

# Got that gas pedal Lean back, taking my time... #

As you can see,

I'm outside the big diner that was featured in the White Walls video.

Everybody who I've met in Seattle is saying,

"You've got to go here, you've got to get one of the burgers."

You're going to have to excuse me, I'm going to turn into a savage.

I'm about to demolish something right now.

# I got that off-black Cadillac, midnight drive... #

Hi. Yeah, yeah, I'm all good. Can I get a double cheeseburger and fries?

- Cheeseburger? - Yeah.

Thank you. Yeah, yeah. Dope, thanks a lot.

Tyres with the spokes on and the vogues too

Mustard and mayonnaise keeping the buns on 'em

My dog's hanging out the window I'm trying to blow my mind...

As cheeseburgers go, it's cool.

It's not knocking me out.

It's all right, though.

- You're not from Seattle, are you? - Not at all. I'm clearly not!

Wanz - singer, Thrift Shop.

# I'm gonna pop some tags

# Only got 20 in my pocket

# I'm hunting, looking for a come-up

# This is awesome... #

The hit record that you appeared on is called Thrift Shop.

What exactly is it about?

Ben always shopped at thrift shops

to find stuff that wasn't the typical look.

Headed to the mezzanine Dressed in all in pink

Except my gator shoes, those are green...

I do think that some of the shots from the video

came from this very store.

It was 99 cents!

It's not very hip-hop

to talk about buying second-hand clothes, is it?

Well, no. I mean...

I've never heard anyone do it before.

Right, but, you see, the thing is,

it takes a really creative person to take something like...

these, right?

And then find a shirt to match it, find a hat to match it,

find shoes to go with it.

You get creative and, I mean, that's the kind of artist he is.

I'mma take it grandpa style I'mma take it grandpa style

No, for real, ask your grandpa can I have his hand-me-downs?

- How old are you now? - I'll be 53 in October.

Thrift Shop was a big moment for you, a life-changing moment, right?

- Completely. - The song, the video...

How did that come about?

I was just doing my workaday thing, 8.00 to 4.30,

Monday through Friday, then all of a sudden, this happens.

# I look incredible... #

Then it was chance of a lifetime, everything I've ever dreamed of

since I was, you know, six, seven years old,

I'd always dreamed about touring

and I always dreamed about being on a big stage,

being an award shows, being on television shows.

# This is This is my song... #

And in the last year, it's because of Thrift Shop,

every single one of those things has happened.

# This is This is our song... #

The king of the thrift shop! WANZ!

I said to a record exec once, "How about Macklemore?"

And they were like, "No,

"because he has the wrong ideology for this industry.

I say this with humility. I don't say this cocky. I say this with honesty.

I think that we changed the ideology of the industry.

9am, West Coast time.

It will be your first opportunity

to pre-order the deluxe edition of The Heist.

It's only available at macklemoremerch.com.

'Being unsigned, for the guys, is history being made.'

No...huge artist is not signed. Everybody is signed.

There was a whole period of time that we were...

open to a record deal, but it just became more and more obvious

over time that we could do this and we wanted to do this.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis brought their own idea

that we've been doing this in-house for so long,

printing our own albums, our own T-shirts,

doing our own videos, doing our own graphic design,

we don't necessarily need your team or want your team.

They could pay for the best of the best of the best

and what they decided is they already have the best.

Owuor Arunga and Andrew Joslyn and Ray Dalton,

all these people have been there since the beginning.

The dancers - Anna is the same dancer that was dancing at the Showbox

in those sold-out shows seven years ago.

'First, it was like a team.

'We're all in the same team, you know. And it became family.

'We were in San Francisco last night'

and Mary just happened to be in LA,

she came down and she did Same Love with us for the first time in months.

Just to hear the grit in her voice gave me chicken skin

because it was like the family was back together again.

I mean, the first...two bars are

"When I was in third grade, I thought that I was gay."

When I was in the third grade I thought that I was gay

Cos I could draw, my uncle was and I kept my room straight

I told my mom...

You know, some people think you're gay because you said that.

There is like 25% of the population,

maybe 50% of the population, thinks I'm gay cos of that bar.

Em...

Who cares? I know my truth.

But those that like the same sex had the characteristics

The right-wing conservatives think it's a decision

And you can be cured with some treatment and religion

Man-made rewiring of a predisposition, playing God...

'I had a conversation with Ben

'and it was in one of the early stages of writing.

'He's like, "What do you think of the song?" I was like,'

"It pushes the boundaries of what I think and what I believe

"and it makes me question things and...

"it's absolutely going to cause a cultural wave."

And I asked him a question and I was like, "Is this your hill to die on?

"People are going to hate you for this.

"People are going to love you for this,

"but people are going to hate you for this."

# Even if I try

# Even if I wanted to

# My love, my love, my love She keeps me warm... #

When you were making that track, did you ever feel like, as an MC,

- that this might be a bad move? - Yeah, absolutely.

At the time, I had, like, Schoolboy Q on the record, Ab-Soul on the record,

I'm like, "What are they going to think, you know?

"Are they going to want to be on the album?"

Like, all of the hip-hop community could hate me for Same Love,

but if I put a song out there that helps people free some of this shit

that's in their heart or lessen some of the fear

and some of the hatred that we've been ingrained with in our society,

if a record can do that, that's far greater.

RAPPING: It's the same hate that's caused wars from religion

Gender to skin colour The complexion of your pigment

This same fight that led people to walk-outs and sit-ins...

'Same Love was literally political because of the climate at the time.

'I think a white straight person with that message in their mouth

'is powerful to a lot of white straight people'

who need to hear it from somebody who they can relate to.

It made me think differently about...

equality and about people. It changed my parents' point view.

It culturally shifted the dynamic of our entire nation.

# I'm not crying on Sundays I'm not crying on Sundays... #

'People deserve to be loved.'

# I'm not crying on Sundays

# I'm not crying on Sundays

# I'm not crying on Sundays

# I'm not crying on Sundays

# Love is kind. #

Since we were in the alley and I was Mack Maine, it has exploded and...

erm...I'm so grateful for it, man.

DJ SEMTEX: A lot of independent artists now, they use a new verb

and when you speak to them they're like,

"Yeah, I want to Macklemore the game." Dope, right?

- It's a verb. - It's a verb.

Yeah, it's... That's crazy.

I think that, hopefully, if anything, our story inspires other people

to tell the real version of themself,

not what they think people want to hear.

You know, whatever "Macklemoring the game" is,

I hope that that's what that represents.

More so than ever, you can make it in this game doing it by yourself -

have more creative control, make more money and be happier on your own.

# 10,000 hours

# Felt like 10,000 hands

# 10,000 hands, they carry me... #