The video I found is "The Town" by Macklemore. Now there are two reasons why watching this video was an immediate breath of fresh air for the artist in me:
1.Macklemore. Unorthadox and although I know that his rhyming pattern and use of breath can annoy some, I find him instead to be an artist in the purest form. His rhyming pattern isn't built around a simple rhyming of two sentences following each other, its not conventional or straight forward, he's not looking for the word at the end of line a to rhyme with the last word of line b. This is why I feel like he's true in what he's writing. Uncompromising in his message, he values the story he tells and the poetry he's reciting more than the usual rhyming schemes that I feel jail many rappers. And I guess personally I've never had a huge problem with people who use their breaths a lot, I feel like it adds character and a type of dimensionality that isn't always heard in a straightforward delivery. Listening to Macklemore just reminds me of the poetry that led me to hip hop and how trapped I often feel by the bars of a song rather than writing spoken word. While I admit that not all of Macklemore's songs catch me, the ones that do strike something so deep for me as an artist.
2.The video. The first time I watched this video I was blown away. The camera action, smoothness, transitions, color, lighting, texture, all combine in a gorgeous way. (and I just can't get over that skyline)
Immediately after watching that video I followed up on other videos and his blog, and within the hour Macklemore had become solidified on my favorites list. The next video is a song he did after the death of Niehaus the Mariners announcer, that received a lot of media attention. His passion is so infectious and that third verse is the way a song should build. Its amazing, this video is a different producer and yet i'm floored by the visuals once again
The last video is one I just started watching recently. Again a different video producer and yet again I'm in love with the video. The texture is gritty yet highlights the different green shades in awesome ways. The water reflection shots are just cool and their irish clan marching and singing is just gangsta.
One thing that connects the videos for me is just how much they make Seattle seem so tight knit and homey. That's a testament to both Macklemore and his 3 incredible producers. Definitely makes me think of a change in scene which other songs haven't been able to do before.
Also make sure to check out the song Otherside, a song about his previous drug addiction. And after watching videos of his concerts I'm convinced that I've never heard another rapper sound so clear and smooth live.
His blog: www.bengalyucky.com
"This is what you make of it-we play to win, living, like we're under the lights of the stadium.
Fight until the day that God decides to wave us in. Until He waves us in."
Finding an artist/poet like Macklemore seriously gives me such joy. I know he'll be influencing the way I write soon and I'll be sounding a little more like him in some songs...but that's what great artists do right?
art is beautiful.
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