

How an unsigned rapper changed music - loso
http://silentattraction.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/how-an-unsigned-white-rapper-changed-music/
A link to the actual song since none is provided in the story. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK8mJJJvaes
======
ISL
Macklemore/Ryan Lewis have a lot in common with modern startups. If you know
Seattle, they have a small studio on Aurora. Software and shrewd attention to
quality put them where they are today. It's been fun to watch their rise; I
hope it continues to go so well.

(And, if Macklemore becomes mayor of Seattle in 2025, it'll be funny as hell.)

Pitch for their first album: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNXWOl81mBE>

Giving away tickets on Craigslist:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG30mzdOzoc>

Kickstarteresqe promo video: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGcm4lOr9CQ>

Jumping on the Tiny Desk at NPR: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrEJmvuKSwo>

~~~
gideon_b
Documentary filmed just before Thrift Shop blew up:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JErUzr8GSvU&t=10m14s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JErUzr8GSvU&t=10m14s)

That link skips to the point where Macklemore and Ryan Lewis explain why they
have stayed independent. They talk about record deals the _exact_ same way
startups talk about raising capital.

------
josefresco
I'm sorry to bring this into the discussion ( _ducks_ ), but does it really
matter that this guy is white? Is he the first _white_ , unsigned musician to
hit #1?

I get that "white" rappers for the hip-hop ignorant are somewhat of a novelty
but come on ... linkbait headline at it's worst IMHO.

~~~
jessedhillon
Pointing out that he's white is a nod to his status as a dark horse. He is one
of the least likely people to disrupt this genre/industry through success.
Simply by looking at the statistics of who becomes successful, chart-topping
rappers, we can see that it's very unlikely for a white guy to be successful
at this level.

~~~
halvsjur
Regarding color, I think you're at least a decade late. Eminem released The
Slim Shady LP in 1999. Then you got Beastie Boys, Aesop Rock, El-P,
Atmosphere, etc.

~~~
murki
By 1999 Beastie Boys had 5 LPs under their belt

~~~
halvsjur
Yeah, Beastie Boys are huge, but Eminem is a superstar.

------
nchlswu
No. The rap industry especially especially embraced blogs long before
Macklemore got his number 1 hit. In fact, now it's become routine for major
labels and artists to seed music and do releases through blogs. These same
blogs push unsigned hype and labels respond by signing these artists for a
major debut.

Drake is probably made the best use of the internet and blog to grow his stock
and ignite a bidding war among majors. Many people speculated that he could
remain independent and still be successful. He opted to sign to a major and
he's now a superstar. The relationship between artists and labels has shifted
for a long time.

From what I know, Macklemore made use of the internet in a way that's more or
less routine nowadays. I'm not going to take away from him hitting #1, but the
dynamics between a label and artists have been different for a long time

~~~
ryusage
You're right that his use of the internet wasn't new, but I think you're
seriously downplaying the significance of this.

The difference is, before now, the record companies could still say, "Sure,
that internet stuff might be really useful...but no one, in the history of
ever, has made a number one hit without the help of a label. You _need_ us."

Macklemore just became the first example that an independent musician can
point to and say, "He did it independently, and so can I." Who knows, maybe if
Drake had had that example, he wouldn't have signed that contract.

~~~
InclinedPlane
Indeed. The "don't you want to be REALLY rich and famous?" and "don't you want
to be heard on the radio?" FUD has been a pretty powerful selling point to up
and coming artists, I think.

The fact that there are so many examples of successful musicians doing it a
different way only helps at the point where someone is trying to counter-sell,
but for obvious reasons there aren't roving gangs of salesmen out there
pressuring artists to go it alone. In order to make a big dent in the nature
of the industry there needs to be a shift in the popular perception of how one
succeeds in the music industry, and this sort of thing can have a big impact
on that.

------
loso
In the past few years this has been happening a lot when it comes to rap. A
lot of artist have been powered by the internet, gain a big following, but
then they end up signing up to a major label. Drake, Soulja Boy, ASAP Rocky,
Odd Future, etc. So far this guy has signed to no one and was able to break
out the internet only sphere and get to the top of the charts.

I hope this happens more often. I am not anti corporate by a long shot but the
labels have gotten worse not better since the days of Napster. Doing it this
way an artist is able to make money but still avoid the dreaded 360 deal.

~~~
homosaur
OF's deal is way different than those others though, it was basically a 2
album deal and the label has to more or less stay away from what I understand.
Probably more like the deal Wu-Tang signed in the early 90's. Even though Wu-
Tang was technically signed to a label, the only rights the label had was
basically to make money off them because none of the rappers individually or
as groups were bound by the deal. Of course I may be misinformed.

~~~
loso
I agree with you about OF's deal being similar to Wu Tangs. My main point was
that in the end they did sign and on a side note I think they are a group that
really did not have to. I think they might have less buzz now than they did
when they were independent.

------
startupfounder
TRUE FANS!
[[http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/03/1000_true_fan...](http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/03/1000_true_fans.php)]

This song in really interesting in two ways.

It was most likely made for close to nothing with a laptop, Protools/Logic and
a mic. And secondly and more important the song is all about going thrift
shopping and being thrifty!

    
    
        I'm gonna pop some tags
        Only got twenty dollars in my pocket
        I - I - I'm hunting, looking for a come-up
        This is f[*]cking awesome
    

He can record a song for close to $0, he can connect with his 1,000+ true fans
directly for $0 and when someone torrents his songs he doesn't care because he
is so thrifty that an extra $20 when 1 out of 10,000 who listen to his song go
to his show he is syked.

~~~
ScottWhigham
_He can record a song for close to $0_

That's a lot of speculating for us to agree with you on. A laptop capable of
that costs $2000, the software is $200 (Logic) - $600 (Pro Tools). The
monitors, room, headphones, plugins, etc to create the sound is another
$2,000+ minimum.

The sound on that record is not what someone does is a bedroom w/ a laptop and
headphones - trust me. I'm sitting here listening on $3000 monitors in a well
treated recording studio and the sound is _killer_. You do not get crisp,
clear sound like that if you are mixing on headphones or crappy "speakers" in
an untreated room.

~~~
ynniv
Headphones go a long way, but according the to artist it was recorded and
mixed in a 500 sqft studio they built. Looks like acoustic foam on the walls,
a decent mic, monitors, protools, used rack equipment, etc. Probably close to
$5k, but nothing compared to a big label studio.

[ [http://blog.kexp.org/2012/07/19/macklemore-ryan-lewis-
releas...](http://blog.kexp.org/2012/07/19/macklemore-ryan-lewis-release-the-
heist-online-trailer/) ]

~~~
ScottWhigham
Nice - I dig that. But sorry - you're _way_ off on that estimate of $5000. I
see some stellar gear there - $2500 API channel strip, $3200 Tube Tech
compressor, $3500 Neumann U87 mic, $2000 laptop, $600 monitor, $4000 Neve
Portico EQs (I think), (2) Empirical Labs Distressors ($2000 ea). That's the
gear you see and that I recognize. There's probably another $500 in cabling,
$200 in stands, and I'd assume there's a desktop computer in there too ($2500
worth, I bet). And then there's the plugins you don't see - a reverb plugin,
for sure, along with more EQs and compression. Probably a mastering plugin
too. Call it $1500 worth of plugins. And the monitors - those look like Adam
A7xs which are $1500/pr. Oh and $200 worth of headphones. And the instruments
- no way that they have less than $1000 invested there. And the acoustic
treatment - not less than $300 but probably not more than $1000. And the other
things in there cost money too - studio desks are special b/c they can't
vibrate when loud noise/bass is present (so you aren't using a $100 craigslist
desk w/o some serious re-tooling). Studio racks (for the rack gear),
instrument stands, etc.

I lost count of the total but it's probably safe to say that the gear/room
pictured in that video is a multiple of $5000.

~~~
edwardunknown
They probably could have made this with an Apogee Mic and nobody would have
known the difference.

But now he can ebay all that hardware with a signature of authenticity or
something and probably make 200% of their money back.

I don't know why more bands don't do that, resell value on good mics is pretty
good. Use Kickstarter to buy some mics and preamps and sell them when you're
done!

~~~
ScottWhigham
That's just not true. In fact, I wouldn't agree with a single statement you
just made. An Apogee mic is good but there's a reason he used a $3500 mic +
$20,000 more in gear. For you to say that a $200 mic would have achieved the
same results is just utter crap. If that was the case, no one would use a
professional studio and, instead, would buy said $200 MiC and be done with it.

And wait - you think that his fans, the ones paying $0.99 for the song, are
going to pay $40,000 for his gear? Sheesh - I have to believe that you're just
talking to hear yourself talk at that point.

The resell value on mics is no different than anything else except in one
regard: it's much, much harder to tell fakes in mics, and it's much harder to
detect problems in mics than it is with other gear. With a guitar, it's easy -
does it play well, stay in tune, feel good, and have no scratchy pots? Then
it's good. With an amp, does it sound good? Is it loud? Any scratchy pots?
When you tap the tubes, are any microphonic? But with a mic - it's much
trickier. You pretty much have to send it to the manufacturer for them to tell
you whether it is "right".

That being said, buying and selling used microphones is the way to go for most
hobbyists. You can buy said Neumann U87 for $2500 used thus potentially saving
$1000. As long as it doesn't need to be reconditioned, you've done well.

~~~
tomflack
He didn't say "and achieve the same results" he said "and nobody could tell
the difference". I'm listening to the song on my macbook right now, there is
no way I could tell the difference on this thing, ditto to most people.

~~~
ScottWhigham
_He didn't say "and achieve the same results" he said "and nobody could tell
the difference"._

I'm sorry but I don't really understand the difference between the two. Can
you elaborate?

~~~
DanBC
swap out "nobody could" for "most people couldn't" and it makes more sense.

This guy is there with a good, expensive, microphone. He records it, putting
the signal through cables, pre-amps, amps, mixers, software of various types.
Eventually it gets encoded to whatever he's releasing his music as.

Someone downloads that.

Most people do not have monitors or studio quality headphones. Most people
have bog standard mass produced headphone drivers (I wouldn't be surprised to
learn that most of them are made in the same factory) - eg skull candy or
urbanears. And they're using a little mp3 device, or a phone, or their
computer. They might have been playing with the filters to give it more bass.

So, really, are those listeners going to tell the difference between a good
microphone and the Singstar microphones?

~~~
ynniv
_And they're using a little mp3 device, or a phone, or their computer._

Or they go to clubs, where a poorly mastered track will sound awful. Plus
people who really love music can tell, and those are the people who popularize
it. A poorly mastered track will be more irritating than exciting to them, and
they won't introduce it to their friend at the radio station, or put it on
their music blog, remix a club version, or play it at their next DJ gig.

Just because a low quality track might sound okay on the cheap equipment of
the masses doesn't mean it is socially capable of getting there. It needs to
have merit to make it.

------
dominicmauro
Lisa Loeb also did it. <http://www.merrimackhall.com/lisaloeb.html>

I winced when the guy hedged by saying "in modern history" — remembering this
doesn't make me that old.

~~~
robrenaud
When Lisa Loeb hit #1 in 1994, less than 50% of Americans approved of Black-
White marriages. Maybe 1994 really isn't modern.

[1] [http://www.gallup.com/poll/149390/record-high-approve-
black-...](http://www.gallup.com/poll/149390/record-high-approve-black-white-
marriages.aspx)

~~~
dominicmauro
Absolutely perfect.

------
jhowell
Too Short is the original hustler. Like his music or not, 50,000 records and
tapes SOLD (literally, not digital, send a link to a friend). That's not
counting copying, which a lot of people I knew did from the record or a
friends cassette tape. Takes guts to hop out on the block and get people to
listen to your music.

------
prof_hobart
IMO, this is the real threat that the record labels/RIAA etc have been
worrying about when they go on about piracy.

They've realised for some time that they have little to offer to artists these
days as far as promotion or distribution are concerned. So the only way that
they can attempt to stay relevant is to create a big bad guy (in the shape of
piracy) that can only be stopped by huge organisations with huge banks of
lawyers. Their repeated suing of fans has not really been to send a message to
the pirates - it's been to send a message to the artists - "Get rid of us, and
piracy will destroy you".

~~~
INTPenis
I don't think they have much to fear at all, they simply need to re-invent
themselves.

Artists are no longer driving from state to state with their trunk full of CDs
and tapes. They can now distribute on their websites. However, marketing is
still the same online as offline. The big bucks will still win in the long run
because they will have access to massive marketing deals.

Distribution is just one part of the game.

Now don't get me wrong, I am for free distribution of culture. I'm just
speaking my mind here.

~~~
vajrabum
A few years back I found all kinds of cool new music through the star ratings
of cover tunes on YouTube along with the number of viewers. Now I notice that
it's much harder to find the non-music industry covers, the stars are gone,
and you can only see the number of likes and dislikes when you click on the
video and it's a lot rarer for me to find something new and cooler just by
browsing and searching YouTube. The tradeoff is that we see many fewer
takedowns.

------
jmduke
This isn't new. This has been happening for a while.

Whether or not you love or hate the music, hip hop is one of the most
meritocratic facets of the music industry. Look at Kendrick Lamar, Drake,
Kanye West -- all people who got their starts on the blogosphere.

~~~
loso
While some of the rappers you mentioned were noticed in the blogosphere, the
point is that they didn't remain unsigned. That is a big difference. Drake did
not become a household name until signing with Cash Money.

Kanye West was actually the opposite. He was in the music business and had a
lot of connections for quite awhile before going solo. The internet just
helped to make him more popular as a solo artist.

~~~
RandallBrown
Well, Drake was pretty popular in Canada since he was an actor on the TV show
Degrassi.

~~~
loso
That is true. I forgot the Degrassi connection.

------
shaaaaawn
This guy is incredible! Actually rapping about things that matter. Seems
trivial but it's a huge undertaking. Applaud and support the effort. Will keep
buying

~~~
s1kx
"I'm hunting, looking for a come-up. This is f __*ing awesome."

So deep I can't even see you anymore.

On a serious note though, I don't need these lyrics to be deeply
philosophical, it rocks even rapping about grandpa's clothes.

~~~
nthitz
Try Same Love <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlVBg7_08n0>

------
duggieawesome
It's a great example of a community's positive impact on an individual, in
this case, Seattle's hiphop collective and Macklemore.

A lot of great artists are coming out the Northwest and I hope they'll earn
recognition they deserve.

------
gallamine
As a white middle-class male who never listens to rap (I was a classical nerd
in HS), I find _The Heist_ an enjoyable album. Go figure. It's available for
streaming on Spotify. I'd recommend a listen.

~~~
eshvk
If you enjoy it on Spotify, please consider buying the CD. The amount of money
independent artists make through spotify is pennies per month compared to the
money they would make if you bought the CD.

~~~
rwhitman
To use as wall decoration?

~~~
delinka
To support the artist. Dump the disc in the trash if you want.

~~~
rwhitman
Buying some useless plastic that goes in the trash in order to support an
artist is really flawed logic, and if a musician is still relying on that
method then they are setting themselves up for a sad, obviously losing battle.

You might as well donate to a kickstarter campaign, or buy a poster or
something. Go to the concerts. Anything. But this expectation that fans are
going to buy useless outdated junk in order to show their support is a
nostalgic pipe dream

~~~
cujo
I think you are being a bit dramatic. You can buy the digital download from
iTunes, Amazon, etc.

------
dailo10
Music video for Thrift Shop. Enjoy. :)

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK8mJJJvaes>

------
qeorge
Not sure of the exact timing, but I thought Crank That (Soulja Boy) was #1
before he got signed (after getting popular on YouTube/MySpace).

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soulja_Boy>

Drake comes to mind as well.

~~~
melvinmt
They're both not white, as the title of this post suggests.

------
rwhitman
There are a LOT of artists these days who are not on labels and doing quite
well. This guy may be the first to reach #1 on the charts but I think its a
stretch to suggest he single handedly changed the record industry

~~~
rkuykendall-com
An unsigned artist reaching #1 may single-handedly change the record industry.

------
thedangler
With a beat like that, any song would be #1.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK8mJJJvaes>

~~~
rjtavares
Awful rapper, but that beat is amazing... Reminds me of a slightly more trappy
Neptunes.

EDIT: Awful was maybe too much, sorry to the fans. I explain my opinion in a
later comment.

~~~
gallamine
Out of ignorant curiosity, what makes him awful (in the negative sense)?

~~~
rjtavares
Awful was too much. Should have said average. Also, I'm judging him from this
song only.

His main problem is the simple rhyme schemes. His lines are basically long
sentences that rhyme at the end. He also frequently makes long pauses (a
criminal offense in hiphop, IMO).

Allow me the use of a simple example to show you the difference between him
and an amazing MC (rhymes are marked as -):

> Macklemore:

I call that getting tricked by a business, that shirt's -hella dough-

And having the same one as six other people in this club is a -hella don't-

Peep game, come take a look through my -telescope-

Trying to get girls from a brand? Then you -hella won't-

> Nas:

It ain't hard to -tell-, I -excel- then -prevail-

The mic is contacted, I attract -clientele-

My mic check is -life or death-, breathing a -sniper's breath-

I exhale the yellow smoke of buddha through -righteous steps-

Deep like the -Shining-, sparkle like a -diamond-

Sneak a Uzi on the -island- in my army jacket -lining-

Hit the Earth like a comet –invasion-!

Nas is like the Afrocentric -Asian-, half-man, half--amazing-

Cause in my physical I can -express- through -song-

Delete -stress- like -Motrin-, then -extend- -strong-

I drink Moet with Medusa, give her shotguns in -hell-

From the -spliff- that I -lift- and -inhale-, it ain't hard to -tell-

\---

Also note the abundance of alliterations in Nas' quote.

EDIT: fixed formatting

EDIT2: couldn't resist doing the whole verse for Nas. Illmatic is so good...

~~~
mikeevans
Here's a pretty good YouTube video I've found that explains what separates the
great rappers from the average rappers.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miIxNCn-vjY>

~~~
jgj
That's, at best, one thing that can separate good writers from average
writers. Great rappers don't necessarily need to have complex rhyme schemes,
and a complex rhyme scheme does not a great rapper make. Neither does a
complex rhyme scheme alone make a great writer, as content and the use of
various literary devices come into play as well.

IMHO, the mark of a truly great rapper is the ability to become an instrument
on the track while still communicating a great deal in a small number of
words. Flow and presence are as important as lyrics and rhyme schemes, and a
great rapper is one who has at least 3 out of those 4 qualities at a high
level, with the 4th not bad enough to detract from the others.

------
finkin1
I'm curious how he was able to become so popular so quickly. What music blogs
promoted his album? Did he already have relationships with the blogs or did he
just submit his album like everyone else and the quality spoke for itself?

~~~
jmintz
He worked his arse off for years and had a huge following before this album
launched. This was his biggest song before The Heist was released:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWhx-CtPmBU> (story about addiction and his
struggle to overcome it). When The Heist launched he emailed/tweeted/blogged
his fans and got enough of a response to hit #1 on iTunes in <24 hrs. I saw
him perform about 3 years ago in Bellingham, Washington so this overnight
success story involved a lot of hard work to accomplish.

------
shaurz
I heard he's never negative.

------
tiredoffps
What I love about Macklemore is that he puts a lot of heart and soul into his
lyrics. It's something you see with Peyton Manning in football, Kobe Bryant in
BBall. You can just tell he loves what he does.

For example, in Make the Money is about following your passion, not for the
money but because you love what you do. With this mindset, the money will
come.

A lot of us in the tech/startup industry can relate to this. Follow the money
and most startups fail.

------
BeJoKo
I like to believe that there's always room at the top of any industry for
people who really have a superior talent. I have to say, their boot-strapped
scrappiness does give them a little special cred for me, but mostly, I just
love their music. Their song, "Thrift Shop" is a trifecta, great tune, great
lyrics, great social commentary.

Also, bonus points for their ability to describe odors. "Smells like R-Kelly's
Sheets."

------
leepowers
My ignorance may be showing, but this article seems a tad hyperbolic. As
mentioned by others Lisa Loeb also had a #1 (nearly 20 years ago!) while she
was unsigned. Is Macklemore really a harbinger of things to come? Or an
outlier, an aberration that appears once in a generation? I suppose time will
tell. But the article builds a mountain of expectations from the success of a
single artist.

~~~
thejsjunky
That's a fair point, I would note though that when Loeb hit #1 it was as part
of a movie soundtrack that (with all due respect to Loeb) she probably would
not have been included on if she wasn't friends with Ethan Hawke. She then
went out and got signed to release her debut album.

This isn't entirely unique, but I do think it's a product of changing
technology/culture which is interesting and novel in many ways.

------
nate
Love this guy. He's even got a song about Malcolm Gladwell and the 10,000
hours stuff (that I wrote about a bit ago.)

------
dougk16
Without "knowing" rap, and only listening to _The Heist_, he seems to border
more on a satirical Weird Al type of line, rather than being someone that true
rap fans would necessarily enjoy.

Regardless, it had a good message, delivered in a funny way, and I enjoyed it.
Happy to see this guy succeeding without help from the man.

~~~
scrumper
> true rap fans

Oh no, _please_ don't do that! :)

> Regardless, it had a good message, delivered in a funny way, and I enjoyed
> it.

All is forgiven; you're not trying to stir. If you like that kind of
cleverness and satire then you might enjoy DJ Format. It's older stuff, but
still fun.

~~~
dougk16
Heh, true, I should have said "true rap fans" and not true rap fans.

------
benhebert
How he changed music? Hardly. Maybe if they follow this up with something
substantial but as we've seen in electronic music... you can make hit music
and then the labels will sign you.

------
martswite
I like him, his style (to me) is very similar to that of recent music by
British artist Plan B, who I also happen to find brilliant.

------
bigdubs
what's facscinating, and this isn't really proof of anything, but has "Thrift
Shop" been getting terrestrial radio airplay?

I can't find it on <http://www.z100.com/iplaylist/playlist.html?net=1> (my
local pop radio station's playlist)

~~~
charliepark
As two datapoints ...

I first heard it on the local (terrestrial) pop radio station a few days ago.
I'm not sure when they started playing it, though. I e-mailed the YouTube
video to a friend in Atlanta, and she said that she'd heard it on her pop
radio station as well.

------
guitarhacks
Down-vote me but his music is commercial. I am saying this as a professional
musician. Even the pompous title says it all.. "unsigned white rapper changed
music industry". I do not understand how this post gets so many up-votes.
Listen to Damu the Fudgemunk for example, a young bright kid who does his
thing with Y Society.

------
thomasfrank09
Is it bad if I thought this article was going to be about Froggy Fresh?

------
afandian
This should really say "mainstream American commercial music".

------
thebiglebrewski
United Music Group?! How about Universal Music Group.

------
heshamfahim
he knew how to be different, he subconsciously used the lean methodology

Build, test and measure and maneuvered his way to climb the ladder to be #1

------
skylan_q
The beginning of the end of copyright. :)

------
abraininavat
From "Same Love"

"And God loves all his children it's somehow forgotten But we paraphrase a
book written 3,500 years ago"

The Bible doesn't really need paraphrasing or eye-squinting to be interpreted
as anti-gay, it's pretty clear in that point. I admire Mackelmore's overall
sentiment and courage, and I'm not saying it doesn't make sense for a
Christian to be anti-gay, but you can't make an uncomfortable part of the
legacy of your beliefs go away by pretending it's not there.

"Whatever god you believe in We come from the same one"

Tolerance and unity doesn't often quite extend to atheists, does it?

~~~
hayksaakian
As someone not religious, I think his point still works. That whatever you do
or don't believe, it applies to everyone, thus we all have the same greater
origin, be it once specific god or an evolutionary ancestor.

------
trentlott
Not Li'l B?

Terrible article.

------
neya
>How an unsigned _white_ rapper changed music

This is fucking racism. Why does it matter to you if the guy is
white/black/tall/short/smart/stupid/dick?

Well, fuck you linkbaits.

~~~
quasque
Who is it racist against?

~~~
aw3c2
Racism is not against someone. It just is.

