After three and a half years, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis finally released another album after their success with The Heist, coming out with This Unruly Mess I’ve Made.

The duo won a Grammy for best rap album with The Heist in 2014, leading people to set their expectations high for anything that followed. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis stacked up the awards since then, receiving 14, include the 2014 Grammy for best new artist and best rap song for “Thrift Shop.” Since their release of The Heist, the two kept quiet, until a couple months ago when they released their new single, “Downtown.” After that, people anticipated an album to follow, and finally got it last Friday.

This Unruly Mess I’ve Made opens with “Light Tunnels,” illustrating Macklemore’s experience of receiving one of his awards and describes what goes on behind the scenes of award shows. The rest of the album includes a song about “Brad Pitt’s Cousin,” a perfect tune to challenge a friend to a dance off (“Dance Off”), an emotional song about his friend’s death (“Kevin”), and one exclaiming the truth about rappers’ motives (“Need to Know”).

Features further enhance Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s new album. They brought in popular artists and rappers including Ed Sheeran, Chance the Rapper, YG, and Leon Bridges. Each feature adds a nice and unique touch to the songs, making them all different in an interesting way. The album includes diverse songs from slow, emotional tunes about where he started, to upbeat, “turnt” songs to get people on their feet.

Ryan Lewis’s position in the duo continues to be the most overlooked part of the two. Despite Macklemore being the voice and lyricist, Ryan Lewis deals with the actual beats and music to each song. If one really listens, they can notice the intricate sounds and beats during the songs.

Overall, This Unruly Mess I’ve Made took me by surprise and enhanced my respect for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Hopefully this time they release their next album in less than three and a half years.
The Chant’s Grade: A