Macklemore & Ryan Lewis: Grammy-Winning Hip-Hop Duo
urged latecomers to locate their seats In minutes the opening act would enter down the main aisle That first act was supposed to be rap artist Drake However just hours before the show was scheduled to air Drake canceled his appearance But the audience did not need to worry Another group stepped in to take Drake’s place The clock struck seven Stragglers scrambled to find a seat as the host rapper LL Cool J took the stage Dressed in a gray vest and black jacket and wearing a black beret LL Cool J proclaimed Great songs make the world go round 1 Then he kicked off the 2014 Grammy nominations by announcing the titles competing for Song of the Year The artists included veterans and newbies Pink Bruno Mars Katy Perry Lorde and Macklemore Ryan Lewis As LL Cool J announced each name a snippet of the nominated song played in the background The winning track would be announced at the Grammy Awards ceremony on January 26 2014 The applause was polite but what the crowd really wanted was to hear some music LL Cool J shouted into his microphone Are you ready 2 The audience roared back Then the doors to the 8 CONTEMPORARY LIVES MACKLEMORE RYAN LEWIS
hallway opened and the first act of the evening entered Macklemore Ryan Lewis This rap duo did not perform the song that had just earned them a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year Instead they sang the rafter-rocking hand-clapping foot-stomping number that NOMINATED 9 Artists submit songs to be considered for Grammys in a particular musical genre However a subcommittee decides whether a song belongs in that category For example if an artist submits a song in the country category the country subcommittee might decide the song is actually a rock n roll song and eliminate it from consideration for a country Grammy But the subcommittee does not have the final say A general committee made up of representatives of other genres reviews the final nominations from all subcommittees They can vote to override the subcommittee’s decision Although Haggerty and Lewis define themselves as rappers they were almost denied the chance to compete for a rap Grammy After two of their songs hit Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 list last year the rap subcommittee argued that since the pair’s music had so much success on mainstream radio they were actually a pop group However when the general committee listened to Macklemore Ryan Lewis’s album The Heist they determined it was definitely in the rap music category THE NOMINATION PROCESS
had catapulted to the top of the charts in 2013 Thrift Shop Ben Haggerty known by the stage name Macklemore strutted down the aisle He sported a brown jacket with a wide fur collar Clunky gold chains adorned his neck Ryan Lewis followed In contrast to Haggerty’s over-the-top outfit Lewis’s classy red suit resembled a business executive more than a rapper Fifty-one-year-old Seattle singer Michael Wansley known as Wanz came next He wore a flashy peach jacket over a royal blue shirt and sunglasses hid his eyes Kenyan-born trumpeter Owuor Arunga brought up the rear instrument in hand As the foursome moved toward the stage Haggerty leaped in the air several times as if he could barely contain his excitement People in the audience thrust shirts and scarves into his hands Haggerty waved them in the air and flung them into the crowd Lewis wielded his microphone like a baton working the crowd into a frenzy of excitement In a rumbling baritone Wanz belted out the hook line I’m gonna pop some tags Only got twenty dollars in my pocket 3 10 CONTEMPORARY LIVES MACKLEMORE RYAN LEWIS
On stage two racks of brightly colored shirts and dresses gave the set the flavor of a secondhand store Lewis positioned himself at the highest point of the stage and manned the DJ equipment Wanz danced and sang off to Haggerty’s side three female dancers dressed in black-and-white striped shirts gyrated around the stage Arunga’s trumpet was accompanied by a large brass and drum band The audience was on its feet throughout the performance singing along The performance of Macklemore Ryan Lewis was a dynamic way to kick off the nominations The duo’s dynamic performance had the audience on its feet at the Grammy Awards Nominations concert in December 2013 NOMINATED 11
