It's the same audience who bought Nelly records a decade ago. It's standard-issue pop-rap crossover to me, made way easier for the American public because of Macklemore's race, but not limited to people who buy no other rap.
― intheblanks, Tuesday, 20 May 2014 20:49 (ten years ago) link
It's the same audience who bought Nelly records a decade ago.
how dare u
― smhphony orchestra (crüt), Tuesday, 20 May 2014 20:50 (ten years ago) link
Not a qualitative judgment; Nelly's way better.
― intheblanks, Tuesday, 20 May 2014 20:54 (ten years ago) link
also tho i think nelly was a genuine star w/african americans
― dollar rave club (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 20 May 2014 20:55 (ten years ago) link
cant find it now but either rev or whiney or someone posted a link to a twitter search of the words "macklemore" and "rap" and maybe the word "like" and it was tweet after tweet of white teens proclaiming that macklemore is the only rap music they liked
― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Tuesday, 20 May 2014 20:56 (ten years ago) link
Yeah, for sure re:Nelly. I guess here's what I mean, which I honestly don't feel like I'm expressing very well at all:
I actually think that race is a gigantic issue for Macklemore's success, but I think that psychoanalyzing his audience as something separate from the audience for the rest of American pop music is folly.
― intheblanks, Tuesday, 20 May 2014 20:58 (ten years ago) link
likewise Eminem and Beastie Boys were the only rappers played on rock radio when I was in high school
― anonanon, Tuesday, 20 May 2014 21:01 (ten years ago) link
only rappers played on rock radio
For an earlier example, see Run-DMC with Aerosmith.
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 20 May 2014 21:06 (ten years ago) link
Yeah, I'm just saying that dude's fan base is a fish-in-a-barrel on this thread, but the reality is that they're the fish all around you. Which isn't supposed to be a more comforting thought.
― intheblanks, Tuesday, 20 May 2014 21:07 (ten years ago) link
sorry for the pseudo-"haven't I blown your mind??" phrasing on that last one.
I just kind of feel all this "Reagan Democrat/music for white people who are afraid of rap" stuff understates the size of this guy's fan base.
this... is a huge fan base though? as evidenced by the success of Macklemore (welcome to Tautologies R Us)
― On-the-spot Dicespin (DJP), Tuesday, 20 May 2014 21:12 (ten years ago) link
Nelly and Macklemore comparison is off for the simple fact that Hip-hop and rap stations actually played Nelly. Macklemore's songs barely have a presence on radio-based rap charts.
― Greer, Tuesday, 20 May 2014 21:13 (ten years ago) link
welcome to Tautologies R Us
where you're guaranteed to go round and round w/your cart or your money back
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 20 May 2014 21:14 (ten years ago) link
xps
but run-dmc/aerosmith makes sense as like rock crossover, as did at least some of the beastie boys they played (sabotage, fight for your right)
playing eminem on the other hand was just so transparently not about the music's ostensible genre
― anonanon, Tuesday, 20 May 2014 21:14 (ten years ago) link
Yeah, I take back the Nelly thing, that was bogus, sorry about that.
― intheblanks, Tuesday, 20 May 2014 21:18 (ten years ago) link
DJP probably otm, probably should rethink before I go nuts posting again, sorry all.
― intheblanks, Tuesday, 20 May 2014 21:19 (ten years ago) link
eminem no longer gets played by rap radio either and hasn't for years and years
― rap steve gadd (D-40), Tuesday, 20 May 2014 21:40 (ten years ago) link
r.i.p. big man
― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Tuesday, 20 May 2014 21:43 (ten years ago) link
Macklemore should hook the Nelly crowd by joining Tim McGraw on his "Sundown Heaven Town Tour"
― smhphony orchestra (crüt), Tuesday, 20 May 2014 21:48 (ten years ago) link
i think there is definitely a lot of trying to define the macklemore audience as NOT LIKE ME in this thread because people dont like his music (and the unfortunate fact of his success). pretty basic distancing 101. which is not to say that he doesn't suck. and not to say that many of his fans probably suck (but find me an act that you couldn't say that about). but let's not go crazy here.
― socki (s1ocki), Tuesday, 20 May 2014 22:07 (ten years ago) link
if i was a macklemore fan, i'd swear ilx hates me
― grindie cindy (Whiney G. Weingarten), Tuesday, 20 May 2014 22:13 (ten years ago) link
lol
― intheblanks, Tuesday, 20 May 2014 22:14 (ten years ago) link
Every song of his I've heard is a smug, horrible, hateful thing. Fans of his are not real music fans as far as I'm concerned.
― ▴▲ ▴TH3CR()$BY$H()W▴▲ ▴ (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, 20 May 2014 22:17 (ten years ago) link
k
― °ㅇ๐ْ ° (gr8080), Tuesday, 20 May 2014 22:20 (ten years ago) link
The Heist [self-released, 2012]
The question isn't whether this Seattle alt-rapper is a cornball, it's whether he's so dumb he's a cornball or so brave he's a cornball. The answer is "Same Love," the best gay marriage song to date in any genre and as corny as it damn well oughta be. Sure there's too much "who I really was," too much "a life lived for art is never a life wasted." And though the co-billed Lewis is big and original for an alt-beatmaker, his percussion-oriented version of an E Street Band, strings-swell-to-big-finish aesthetic has its icky moments. But as someone who shares Macklemore's moral views if not his equation of sincerity with soul, I find only the alcoholic's confession "Neon Cathedral" too much, and that one's counteracted by the relapser's confession "Starting Over," just as "Sayin' 'That's poetry, it's so well-spoken,' stop it" counteracts his art talk. He's especially good on old cars and old clothes. B+
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 20 May 2014 22:21 (ten years ago) link
ha he's always excused well-meaning liberal garbage tho
― goole, Tuesday, 20 May 2014 22:26 (ten years ago) link
The couple black Macklemore fans I have met, I have questioned whether they are actual Don Lemon clones.
― The Reverend, Tuesday, 20 May 2014 22:31 (ten years ago) link
― goole, Tuesday, May 20, 2014 6:26 PM (18 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
he said, panicky
― socki (s1ocki), Tuesday, 20 May 2014 22:45 (ten years ago) link
it might have made sense if those same rock stations had also played run-dmc's "rock box" or "king of rock" once in a while, but i don't recall that ever happening. the only crossover rock stations cared about was crossing over to white faces on the album cover.
― fact checking cuz, Tuesday, 20 May 2014 23:10 (ten years ago) link
you guys are dumb mackelmore def has a demographic like all artists do to a certain extent but with him particularly hes had a p long career of building a hardcore grassroots audience that has is a v specific demo, then he got a few huge hits, I guess u cld call everyone who thinks thrift shop is good a macklemore "fan" its p obvs that they're not too committed, now if you look at the history of music charts just because you make some hits doesnt mean you then make hits forever sometimes you dont and you lose those casual fans, but if like macklemore you have those hardcore fans to fall back on thats good, even prob through your hits you've managed to pickup more hardcore fans of a similar type to yr previous hardcore fans, and fwiw he was not at all just some rando undie rapper before his hits he was doing p good for himself, my feeling is based on the kinda amateurish quality if his music that he will more likely be a flash in the pan nothing abt his music saying pro hit maker to me
― lag∞n, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 01:46 (ten years ago) link
Yeah, I definitely said he'd be famous forever, not that he'd have probably 2-3 more records as a "star" before fading a little, but still always being able to fill a respectable venue. I also called him a "moderately successful undie rapper," which as you pointed out is totally distinct from "he was doing p good for himself."
For what it's worth, the career trajectory I predict for dude is probably closest to, like, Mumford & Sons; not guaranteed famous forever, but not a quick Alanis Morissette-style fade from broad popularity. My feeling is based on my interactions with a ton of 21- to 24-year-olds in a random professional setting, many of whom were more than casual fans and were all about The Heist.
― intheblanks, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 02:14 (ten years ago) link
Hell, I may be wrong. Honestly kind of hope I am.
― intheblanks, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 02:15 (ten years ago) link
I think without the benefit of social media, Macklemore would've gone the way of Arrested Development or PM Dawn after his time in the spotlight. Now, though, he can stay in people's faces indefinitely.
― Johnny Fever, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 02:16 (ten years ago) link
predict 1st single from next album peaks at #22 next one fails to break the top 50, hes still oddly popular but no one notices
― lag∞n, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 02:19 (ten years ago) link
over two million people follow him on twitter, so someone likes him
― markers, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 02:21 (ten years ago) link
u guys need to find better metrics than twitter followers and 22 y/os at work imo
― lag∞n, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 02:24 (ten years ago) link
ok i'll do a survey
― markers, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 02:25 (ten years ago) link
i think there is definitely a lot of trying to define the macklemore audience as NOT LIKE ME in this thread because people dont like his music
― katsu kittens (contenderizer), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 02:26 (ten years ago) link
Yeah, but he's also way more popular than Arrested Development or PM Dawn ever were. He's had 4 top 15 hits off the same record. Totally possible that it's all driven by casual fans and there has only been a minor change in his core fanbase; I'm just predicting otherwise.
― intheblanks, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 02:26 (ten years ago) link
fair point on the coworkers thing. Just some anecdata to add to the stuff I just posted.
― intheblanks, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 02:27 (ten years ago) link
Who knows, maybe he'll Alanis, that'd be fine with me.
― intheblanks, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 02:28 (ten years ago) link
can we stop this is dumb i apologize for starting it this used to be a cool thread for making fun of maklemore before people started writing dissertations abt a good tweet and arguing abt the meaning of the word fan
― lag∞n, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 02:29 (ten years ago) link
yeah, fair point. sorry about that; I was totally the driver on both those things.
― intheblanks, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 02:30 (ten years ago) link
seems like only yesterday that he was performing in an anti-semitic costume in front of hundreds of cheering people
Yeah, but he's also way more popular than Arrested Development or PM Dawn ever were.
Probably true. I just used them as an example of posi-hiphop that people who say "I don't like rap, but..." generally gravitate towards. This guy's fame graph has bell curve all over it, though.
― Johnny Fever, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 02:31 (ten years ago) link
it's not just the thread that's the internet now, you want a joke you get a dissertation
― Now I Am Become Dracula (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 02:39 (ten years ago) link
when i try to open this whole thread chrome gives me a malware warning i feel like there's a joke here somewhere
― linda cardellini (zachlyon), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 02:42 (ten years ago) link
Mackleware
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 02:42 (ten years ago) link
Macklefee Security Center
― the glimmer man (Sufjan Grafton), Wednesday, 21 May 2014 02:44 (ten years ago) link
Now I Am Become Dracula (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned)Posted: May 21, 2014 at 2:39:06 AM
:( true
― lag∞n, Wednesday, 21 May 2014 02:45 (ten years ago) link