Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are finally back, releasing new music and getting ready to hit the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, Aug. 30. The rapper and producer duo behind "Thrift Shop" and "Same Love" just announced that they are returning to the stage for the first time in months to perform live at the VMAs. Not only did they announce their return to the worldwide stage, Macklemore also dropped the music video for their newest single, "Downtown," this week, officially kicking off their return to the spotlight. The duo haven't released an album since 2012's The Heist, which won them four Grammys and propelled them to stardom. With a new single, and a performance at MTV's VMAs, a new record cannot be far behind, so, when is the new Macklemore album coming out?
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis have been clear: an album is coming by the end of 2015. Little else is known about the promised project, though. The album title, release date and track list remain mysteries. A recent profile of the duo from Complex stated that the album would be released sometime in the last three months of 2015, which could mean anywhere from a four-week wait to a three-month wait for fans. Fans can find solace in the fact that Macklemore seems confident that an album will be dropping before 2016. On Jan. 1, he promised fans on Twitter that he would be releasing a new album in 2015, and he has yet to take it back.
In the three year gap between The Heist and the release of their new music, Macklemore has been through a lot. Most notably, he relapsed in 2013, then recommitted to his sobriety after finding out his girlfriend, Tricia Davis, was pregnant. In May, they welcomed a baby girl named Sloane, and in June, they got married. According to Macklemore and Lewis, there wasn't much creativity in the studio when Macklemore relapsed. But, as soon as he began getting sober again, the music returned.
"The sobriety was the wake-up call that I needed. And, as it always works, the minute that I start actively seeking recovery — not just sobriety, but recovery — music is there. It always has been. Songs write themselves. My work ethic turns off-to-on in a second and I get happy again. I get grateful again," the rapper told Complex.
It's no surprise, then, that the first new music from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis since The Heist came in the form of a single dedicated to Macklemore's new daughter, released in early August. For "Growing Up," the duo's first new single in over a year, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis teamed up with Ed Sheeran to write a sweet song about Macklemore's journey into fatherhood.
But, lest fans think their new album will be full of odes to baby Sloane, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' just released new single, "Downtown," is much more of a return to the carefree, fun tone of "Thrift Shop." In fact, it's unclear whether or not "Growing Up" will be on their new album at all, and the group is rumored to be performing "Downtown" at the VMAs.
Fans can expect from at least one song on this new album that touches on cultural appropriation — a criticism often lobbed against Macklemore, a white rapper. Never one to shy away from the topic, Macklemore actually wrote a song titled "White Privilege" in 2004, but now, after his experiences in the spotlight, the rapper is ready to put a new spin on it.
"Fast-forward 10 years, my vantage point isn't pointing the finger at anyone else anymore. It's pointing the finger at myself. It was pointing the finger at myself then, too, questioning things. But it's different when — cultural appropriation and white privilege in regard to hip-hop — you're the example," he said in his Complex interview.
Most importantly, though, is the fact that Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are happy with the final product. "We did the best that we could do. I stand behind the music. I like the music. I enjoy it. I feel like I'm speaking my truth," Macklemore said.
Whenever Macklemore & Ryan Lewis decide to drop their new album, there's no doubt it will have people talking.
Images: Giphy
