I can’t lie, when I first listened to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ album The Heist, I was temporarily convinced that for some artists, maybe the message could outweigh the money. Songs like “Same Love” and “Make the Money” assured me that Macklemore had a different set of priorities, notably staying true to himself amid the “the fame, fortune and the mansion.” For a moment I believed that maybe an artist could be successful and still enlighten his listeners.
Welp, I was wrong.
After watching Macklemore and Lewis’ three-minute promo for NBA All-Star Weekend, featuring their song “Wing$,” all I can think about is the amount of money the NBA must have offered the duo to completely strip their song of its meaning and make it into a glitzy advertisement.
For anyone who watches this video without seeing the original, it will come off as undeniably fresh. It features a montage of cool basketball players, a cute children’s choir and Macklemore rapping atop a basketball hoop, looking like he’s having a ball (heh heh, get it?).
However, “Wing$,” which originally denounced the sneaker industry—and more broadly, materialism and brand names—now seems to promote the idea Macklemore was originally criticizing.
The original song delves into the rapper’s personal experiences as an adolescent, spending hundreds of dollars on shiny new sneakers. His lyrics hint at the consequence of wearing such coveted shoes, including his friend’s brother being murdered for his Air Jordan Fours.
The topic of basketball permeates through the song, which could explain why the NBA thought it would be appropriate for their advertisement. However, in the promo video, more than two minutes of the song was scrapped, most of which contained Macklemore’s most emotional verses. Additionally, the original music video (which, ironically, was funded by a Kickstarter campaign), presented a somber lesson to young kids about the cost of fitting in.
In it, Macklemore is seen rapping to a group of young kids, storybook in hand, saying, “These Nikes helped define me/ but I’m trying to take them off.”
For these reasons, the entire song is not suitable for any kind of advertisement, mostly because it criticizes the very work of branding and advertisements. Further, brands like Nike and Adidas are some of the NBA’s biggest sponsors. What kind of message is Macklemore sending now?
For me, there is much more to selling out than seeing one of my favorite indie artists gain commercial success. Heck, I was flipping excited when Macklemore’s single “Thrift Shop” became popular. But his decision to make this video simply shows that Macklemore is completely ditching the lesson of his song… for a new pair of sneakers. To me, that’s what selling out truly is.
Maybe I’m making too big of a deal about this. Actually, I probably am. But if you compare the two videos side by side, you too may feel the same emptiness I feel for the song, which is turned inside out.
Macklemore let me down. Even so, I will still dance to “Thrift Shop” the next time it plays at a party. Does that mean I’m a sell out too? I just can’t deny a catchy dance song, and it’s true, few people can deny a fat paycheck.
