After taking a few years off to let the sudden fame sink (and perhaps capitalize further off it), Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are almost ready to release their sophomore effort. Today they've decided to unveil the album's title, cover art and release date.
The album is titled This Unruly Mess I’ve Made, and it's due out on February 26th. Macklemore penned an open letter with the album announcement, which puts the duo's hiatus into perspective-- "I couldn’t escape. I’d been escaping the whole time. I had to finally look. Look at the mess we had made. In all its lacquered glory and its tarnished failures. Stare at it. Understand it. And then leave. I was too comfortable. Being comfortable is what kills artists."
He goes on, "What I couldn’t find in a hotel room, on the road or in Seattle, I found in the middle of nowhere. No reception. Making music not because we had to, but because we got to. I had forgotten how to do that. Not being afraid of the platform we were standing on. Not creating from a place of “don’t fuck up” but creating from a place of “fuck it up”. Look at the mess. Not just the one we created, but the one that is the very fabric of our country. The mess we’re all living in. Stop being silent. Even if it’s not perfect, or politically correct, you have to speak up and you have to listen."
He gives an interesting perspective on his own success with The Heist, but for some reason I always sense this air of precociousness with everything Macklemore does. Or is that just me?
Anyways, the trailer is below, and the artwork (which seems reminiscent of the Drake-adopted hand-drawn prayer hand emoji?) above.
