"Don't be a fuckboy and think that a logo's going to make you cool," is the core message Macklemore says he wanted to send with "Thrift Shop." Somehow, this massive hit is already 10 years old, and its music video is nearing the 2 billion views mark on YouTube. In this interview, he reflects on the song that launched his career into the stratosphere, saying it's "like the anti-flex."
The first time I heard it, I was driving in Los Angeles, futzing with the radio and tuned in mid-song. As a lifelong thrifting aficionado, I was immediately hooked ("this is fucking awesome"). When I stopped, I had to look up what I had just heard. That's when I found the music video which made the song even better. No lie, I'm personally responsible for at least 200 of those 2 billion views.
When you're low on cash and long on style, you're a pal of Macklemore. The 2012 smash by the Seattle rapper and his mate Ryan Lewis celebrated second-hand fashion choices like no song before it, and with the video rounding the corner towards 2 BILLION views in a decade, plenty of fans agreed. As part of our celebration of hip-hop's 50th anny, we connected with Mr. M for an in-person Footnotes interview explaining how this classic came together one day long ago in the Great Northwest. He told us about writing the track (which earned itself a GRAMMY) running amok in the Good Wills and vintage stores, getting that fit from a downtown Seattle tailor for Mr. WANZ, and the "anti-flex, don't follow the crowd" message of the vid. "Thrift Shop" is as fun to watch now as it was back in the day.
