Macklemore & Ryan Lewis-This Unruly Mess I’ve Made: too earnest and uptight

There are few rappers who get to pull thousands to their shows, and the huge success of Thrift Shop ensured that Macklemore and his producer sidekick Ryan Lewis were in this bracket. But there was always more to Ben Haggerty than that ode to vintage shopping, and This Unruly Mess I've Made catches his struggle between ensuring he remains a mainstream success and putting the heavy issues he really wants to discuss into the mix. The problem with the latter is that Macklemore is far too earnest and uptight for his own good when he's dealing with race (White Privilege II), fatherhood (Growing Up), addiction (Kevin) and being a white rapper (Light Tunnels). While Macklemore's heart is undoubtedly in the right place, he just doesn't have the clarity and heft here to back up the more weighty themes. macklemore.com