''This Unruly Mess I've Made'' is the second studio album by American hip hop duo

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are an American hip hop duo from Seattle, Washington, formed in 2008 by Macklemore, a rapper,Trust, Gary (2013)Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 'Can't Hold Us' Makes Hot 100 History, ''Billboard'', May 8, 2013. Retrieved January ...

. It was released on February 26, 2016, by Macklemore LLC and

Alternative Distribution Alliance Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) is a music distribution company owned by Warner Music Group, which represents the rights to various independent record labels. ADA provides "independent artist and label partners with access to the resource ...

. Following the success of the duo's hit album '' The Heist'' (2012), which earned them their first

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

wins, the duo delved into lyrical themes that tackle political and social issues, including

white privilege White privilege, or white skin privilege, is the societal privilege that benefits white people over non-white people in some societies, particularly if they are otherwise under the same social, political, or economic circumstances. With root ...

, fame and the scrutiny of the

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

and tabloids. The album was supported by three singles: "

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

" featuring

Eric Nally Foxy Shazam is an American rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio formed in 2004. , the band's lineup consists of lead vocalist Eric Nally, pianist Sky White, trumpeter and backing vocalist Alex Nauth, bassist Trigger Warning, guitarist Devin Williams ...

Melle Mel Melvin Glover (born May 15, 1961 in The Bronx), better known by his stage name Grandmaster Melle Mel (or simply Melle Mel) () is an American hip hop recording artist who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furi ...

, Kool Moe Dee and

Grandmaster Caz Curtis Brown (born April 18, 1960), better known by the stage name Grandmaster Caz or Casanova Fly, is an American rapper, songwriter, and DJ. He was a member of the hip hop group The Cold Crush Brothers from 1979 to the mid-1980s. He is best kno ...

and "

Dance Off "Dance Off" is a song by American hip hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring British actor and musician Idris Elba and fellow American musician Anderson .Paak, released in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and selected European cou ...

" featuring

Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor.

and Anderson .Paak, along with " White Privilege II" featuring Jamila Woods, which was released as the album's promotional single.

Background

Following the success of

Macklemore Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage name Macklemore ( ; (formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper and songwriter. A native of Seattle, Washington, he has collaborated with producer Ryan Lewi ...

and

Ryan Lewis Ryan Scott Lewis (born March 25, 1988) is an American record producer, DJ, videographer, photographer, graphic designer, music video director, rapper, and songwriter. Along with producing his own album, ''Instrumentals'', Lewis produced the alb ...

' debut album '' The Heist'' (2012), Macklemore revealed the album cover artwork for their follow-up album, titled ''This Unruly Mess I've Made'', on January 15, 2016, on his

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

post. The album was self-released on February 26, 2016. He also revealed on the trailer for their album on his official website, which features himself discussing about how their album was created and their inspiration for making the new music.

Singles

The duo's lead single for ''This Unruly Mess I've Made'', titled "

", was released on August 27, 2015. The song was produced by Ryan Lewis, who co-wrote it with Macklemore. The duo collaborated with artists including Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee and Grandmaster Caz on this track. The music video for "Downtown" featuring Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee and Grandmaster Caz, was also released on August 27, 2015. The album's second single, "

", was released on February 25, 2016, in Australia, New Zealand and selected countries of Europe. The song was not released in the United States. The song contains a dialogue from actor

Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor.

and a

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...

from American recording artist Anderson .Paak. The music video for "Dance Off" featuring Idris Elba was released on May 17, 2016. " Brad Pitt's Cousin" was released as the album's third single on April 12, 2016, also in Australia and New Zealand. The song features guest vocals from

Xperience Tyler Andrews (born February 21, 1984), better known by his stage name Xperience, is an American hip hop recording artist from Detroit, Michigan, who is currently based in Seattle, Washington. He is a member of the hip hop group Oldominion an ...

Promotional singles

"Growing Up (Sloane's Song)" featuring Ed Sheeran, was released on August 5, 2015. The previously- leaked track, " White Privilege II" featuring Jamila Woods, was released on January 22, 2016.

Other songs

On February 24, 2016, the music video was released for "Kevin" featuring Leon Bridges.

Release

In the weeks and months of predating the album's release, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis shared three songs from the album such as "Downtown" featuring Kool Moe Dee,

and

, "Growing Up (Sloane's Song)" featuring

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...

, and "Kevin" featuring Leon Bridges.

Critical reception

''This Unruly Mess I've Made'' has received generally mixed reviews from music critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the score currently has a score of 59 out of 100 based on 17 reviews. Jeremy Gordon of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' gave the album a 5.1 out of 10, describing it as "an occasionally inspiring, often corny rap album made for winning Grammy nominations and waking the hearts of the unwoken." Louis Pattison of '' NME'' said, "It's equal parts witty and serious, poppy and knotty, cracking wise one minute, then demanding you sit quietly and listen carefully through some complicated soul-searching." Writing for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', Mark Seliger said of the album, "On ''Unruly Mess'', Macklemore's confrontational side returns..." Ray Rahman of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' gave the album a grade of B−, saying, "''Unruly Mess'' sees him embracing his role as a social justice champion, sent to expand the minds of his (mainly young, white, suburban) audiences."

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 4 on the ''Billboard'' 200, with 61,000 album-equivalent units; it sold 51,000 copies in its first week in the United States. The album debuted at number one on the US

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated ...

. The album dropped to number 31 in its second week on the ''Billboard'' 200 and left the chart entirely after its seventh.

Track listing

;Notes * signifies an additional producer. * signifies a co-producer.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

;Footnotes ;Sources

External links

* {{Authority control 2016 albums Macklemore albums Ryan Lewis albums Self-released albums Albums produced by Ryan Lewis Albums produced by Budo (musician) Albums produced by Cardiak