Analysis Of Otherside By Macklemore

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Mackle-More Than Just a Rapper
Macklemore is a rapper who is independent of a label, and gained fame in leaps and bounds when he reached the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with his debut single “Thrift Shop” and consequently “Can’t Hold Us,” not only being the first artist to reach the number one spot without a label since 1994, but also becoming the first artist to have their first two singles top the charts. Macklemore uses his unique position as a well renowned rapper to produce thought provoking lyrics that will be listened to by millions, without the common themes of hip hop music. Rap is commonly thought of as mindless lyrics and beats about women, drugs, and violence; however, Macklemore revolutionized this trend with the release of his debut album The Heist. But even before that he was releasing music that did not fit the cookie cutter formula of hip hop, most notable was the release of “Otherside.” Macklemore, through …show more content…

In “Otherside” Macklemore discusses his own interactions with drug culture and how his idol, Lil’ Wayne, influenced him to start sipping lean, a mixture of cough syrup, Sprite, and candy, so that he could rap just like him (Palmer 188). He talks about all the loss he has experienced at the hands of cough syrup and how rappers do not understand the influence they have over the people who listen to their music, and because hip hop culture is all about drugs, sex, and violence these are the actions that kids try to mimic in order to be more like their idol, or even just to make them better at rapping, “And he just wanted to act like them, he just wanted to rap like him, Us as rappers underestimate the power and the effects we have on these kids” (Macklemore, “Otherside”). He even points out that even if the drugs themselves are not physically harmful they kill inhibition, and keep you in a “groundhog day” state where every day is the

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