As a fan of underground music, all underground music, I have my eyes on Macklemore and I think you should too. Everyone has their eyes on him. He has been on top of the Billboard charts for weeks. As you all know I spend my time listening to punk rock and alt-country 95% of the time. But any underground music will get my attention. Maybe it is because I love seeing the underdog come up and claim victory, I feel I can always relate to that story myself.
For starters, he has no record label! Fuck Yes! He put out his album on his own. He is quite proud of that point and talks about it on his album, which he should be. He worked his ass off. Another point I love about him is the way he speaks his mind. He really speaks his mind, most of his lyrics touch on subjects that most people wouldn’t touch with a 10ft pole. One of the biggest points he touches on his homosexuality. Most rappers only bring it up as a “dis,” he want everybody to be treated equal. Yes, you heard me right. He put out his own album that went #1 and he speaks out against homophobia. Both of those things usually doesn’t get you much of a following, but he has way more than a following. Everyone has heard the “Thrift Shop” song, where he makes fun of other rappers that spend so much money on clothes and shoes.
Where does this play in to my normal punk rock and country? Well, almost all the artist we listen to are also 100% DIY. If Macklemore and do it on his own why can’t the bands we like do the same thing. We need to do our part and promote our favorite bands by posting videos and links, going to shows, and buying merch. We live in an era that we can make artists big, we just have to help them do the foot work as much as we can. I run a blog and have two internet radio shows, what do you do to help your music scene?
