When Macklemore and Ryan Lewis released The Heist back in 2012, the pair took the internet by storm with fun singles like “Thrift Shop,” but also cemented their place in the hearts of fans with deeper cuts like “Wing$” and “Same Love.”
After winning the heavily-disputed 2014 Grammy for Rap Album of the Year (beating out Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid m.A.A.d City), the pair followed up The Heist with 2016’s The Unruly Mess I’ve Made, and subsequently disappeared for five years. Macklemore released Gemini in 2017, but the combination that made so much magic in 2012 and 2013 hadn’t been on wax together in half-a-decade.
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That is, until today.
Dropping “Next Year,” Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are finally reunited, and with the help of Windser, assure that 2022 will be better than 2021. Over production somewhat reminiscent of their previous efforts, but noticeably more mature than a record like “Can’t Hold Us,” the Seattle rapper spits about where he’s been the last couple of trips around the sun, and that he is ready to bounce back better than ever. Windser adds an indie-pop hook and fans are left with an overwhelmingly positive track about making next year better than the one we are currently in.
Quotable Lyrics
You better watch my bounce back
I’ma be the man in here
Glass to the sky like we tryna grab the chandelier
I’d like to take this opportunity and toast to me
For being exactly who I’m supposed to be