"For me, this is rarified air," Wansley said. Michael Wansely, better known now by his stage name, Wanz, is the man with the pipes behind "Thrift Shop." The endlessly friendly, 51-year-old breakout singer dreamed about a music career but gave up hope years ago and went to work for Microsoft. "And I remember one of the things he said was, 'A label would have messed this whole thing up.'" It was right when 'The Heist' had come out and like, you know, things were starting," Lewis said. "This huge label guy came to Montana for a show to meet us. In short, Macklemore has done nothing by the book. "And I think that's why people identify with it." "It takes soul searching, it takes using the paper and the pen and turning that into a form of therapy," Haggerty said.
Other tracks are eloquently-worded, first-person accounts of Haggerty's struggles with addiction, and a number of songs are about just plain "being yourself." Their song "Same Love" is an anthem to same sex marriage. Their mix of provocative lyrics and catchy rap verses over floor-thumping beats was a recipe they were told would never work, especially considering their subject matter. Yet, there they were, making music videos themselves and putting them on YouTube, with Lewis producing everything. Self-made is not the way the music industry works. "He's a mega-celebrity now."īefore his shot to fame, Haggerty said he and Lewis had "no money at all." "I think, particularly for Ben, life has completely changed," Lewis said. They have no record label and no agents - just Haggerty, Ryan Lewis and a dream.
And they are churning through the YouTube clicks - "Thrift Shop" has over 330 million views.Īll of their success has come in just a few months, and all of it is on their own. Their new song, "Can't Hold Us" has spent the past five weeks at No. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis remain at the top of the charts. The 29-year-old spent half of his life writing, performing and dreaming at local clubs in his beloved Seattle.Īfter the release of the band's debut album, "The Heist," last October, Macklemore is now on a grueling international tour, sprinkling in appearances on "Saturday Night Live" and the Billboard Music Awards - where Macklemore recently picked up another honor: Billboard's Top Rap Song. Macklemore is an overnight sensation, 14 years in the making. "Out of thousands of songs that I've written in my life, I never would have thought that 'Thrift Shop' would have been the one that took over," Haggerty said.
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