Macklemore

Since performing at the Westword Music Showcase last summer, Macklemore’s stock has soared. His independently released album, The Heist, topped Billboard sales charts, and the album’s breakthrough single, “Thrift Shop,” surpassed “Somebody That I Used to Know,” Gotye’s virtually inescapable song from a few years ago, in number of streams, if that tells you anything. But while Macklemore just came to prominence within the past year, he’s been paying dues, and he’s far more than some novelty rapper. From 2005’s The Language of My World, the Seattle MC has proved himself thoughtful and eloquent, particularly on songs like “White Privilege,” in which he examines the white guilt that comes with being a rapper who’s not of color, and “Ego,” in which he takes an unflinching look at how arrogance can destroy everything and how nobody’s exempt from the envy that accompanies it, even him.