![]() ![]() I was going back to the city once a week to attend birthing class with Tricia. I was finally having fun in the studio for the first time in years. "5 months later we were recording in a remote cabin away from the density that is Seattle. When Tricia walked out of the bathroom, I knew. But in actuality the hypothetical 'dad' version of me looked completely different than the man whose heart was beating out of his chest on the carpet, praying to a god or spirit I hadn't talked to in months. I basically assumed that I'd have it all together. I held on to clear expectations of where I wanted to be in my career, my age, my level of self-care, and my maturity. "I've always had some make-believe image in my head of who I would be as a father. Scared of the process of staring at myself through a page and seeing something that I wasn't proud of. But I think back to that night: praying on the floor at 2 am as Tricia went to the bathroom to take a pregnancy test I'd just purchased from Walgreens. It would make for a far more polished and respectable story. As long as Macklemore is making music, the cool kids will be throwing spitballs at him, but with the success he’s found with a less-hip crowd, he probably couldn’t care less.Macklemore the story behind the song in a letter to his fans on his website: "I wish that I could say that I was in a 'better place" when I found out the news. Nope, he’s perfectly fine appealing to the audience who loves him for being the unabashed geek that he is. What we’ve learned from “Growing Up” is that Macklemore has no interest in going after the people who will never like him. He’s turned his uncoolness into something a lot of people can relate to. Macklemore is decidedly uncool, and that’s probably how it always will be. Likewise, if you saw Macklemore perform “Same Love” at the Grammys and thought “pfft, can you BELIEVE this guy?!” this song isn’t going to move the needle at all. If you’re favorite tracks on The Heist were the honest confessionals of “Neon Cathedral” and “Staring Over,” you’ll probably love this one. “Growing Up” is unlikely to change anyone’s opinion of Macklemore. That’s why, for many hip-hop heads, this song, among many of his others, will come across like (as Slate put it), a “masterclass in corniness.” Now, authenticity is generally valued in hip-hop, but not when it comes with such an immense dosage of syrup, no matter how organic that syrup might be (and, let’s be clear, Macklemore definitely gets his syrup from Trader Joe’s). No song in the Macklemore canon is more heart-on-sleeve-y than “Growing Up.” There’s not a trace of irony or detachment to be found anywhere on it. Macklemore is a dork, but that ends up being part of his appeal because, well, a lot of people (myself included) are dorks. Remember, for all the people who cringe at Marcus Mumford’s ultra-sincere wailing on tracks like “I Will Wait” or “White Blank Page,” there are thousands more who bought his albums because they felt he was speaking from the heart. To put it another way, he’s the Mumford & Sons of hip-hop.īut while that leads to a lot of disdain for Macklemore, it’s also the biggest reason people like him. He’s a little too sincere for his own good, sometimes. If you’ve ever wondered why so many people aim such a disproportionate amount of rage at Macklemore, well, part of it is because he somehow beat Kendrick, Kanye, Drake, and Jay Z for Best Rap Album at the 2014 Grammys, but a lot of it is because the guy just seems like a huge dork. Still, the song’s earnestness doesn’t make it any less corny, and vice versa.Īll of this is to say “Growing Up” is the quintessential Macklemore song. I mean, he tells his daughter to read The Alchemist and do yoga! I assume the part in which he tells her that fall is the best season because of the omnipresence of pumpkin-spice lattes from Starbucks was cut for time. It’s also one of the cheesiest songs I’ve ever head in my life. “Growing Up” is a heartwarming, tear-jerking work of a troubled man confronted with the prospect of being a parent, who is both delighted and frightened by this news. Depending on who you asked, the song was either a touching ode to new fatherhood, or it was the most schmaltzy, cornball song this side of “ Butterfly Kisses.” So, which side is right? The answer, counter-intuitive though it may seem, is both. Reaction to the single was decidedly mixed. After a lengthy sabbatical, Macklemore returned to the hip-hop fold on Wednesday with his new single “Growing Up (Sloan’s Song),” a collaboration with Ed Sheeran that discusses the birth of his daughter. ![]()
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