For the 4th week in a row, the #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 is “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz. It’s also currently the #1 download on Amazon MP3 Top 100. The song is about… frugality? …buying clothes from Goodwill? …how paying $50 for a brand-name t-shirt is stupid? From Wikipedia:
Macklemore spoke to MTV News about the meaning of the song: “Rappers talk about, oh I buy this and I buy that, and I spend this much money and I make it rain, and this type of champagne and painting the club, and this is the kind of record that’s the exact opposite,” he explained. “It’s the polar opposite of it. It’s kind of standing for like let’s save some money, let’s keep some money away, let’s spend as little as possible and look as fresh as possible at the same time.”
Here’s the YouTube version (some explicit NSFW lyrics!) and also a link to the clean version. Is this a sign? Or is it just a catchy beat like Gangnam style?
They be like, “Oh, that Gucci – that’s hella tight.”
I’m like, “Yo – that’s fifty dollars for a T-shirt.”
Limited edition, let’s do some simple addition
Fifty dollars for a T-shirt – that’s just some ignorant ****
I call that getting swindled and pimped
I call that getting tricked by a business
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It’s about time frugal got cool.
OK this really isnt about being frugal as much as vintage. But I guess we take what we can get.
Except Macklemore then turned around and sold out to the NBA, including changing the lyrics of the song.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/02/15/macklemore_nba_ad_with_wings_is_the_rapper_a_sellout.html
Eh, I disagree w/ Jacob….He’s saying we should be more thrifty and that there’s no need to overspend on things like $50 Gucci t-shirts…..$50 for a t-shirt? There’s no need to overspend on name brands and brand new stuff.
They be like, “Oh, that Gucci – that’s hella tight.”
I’m like, “Yo – that’s fifty dollars for a T-shirt.”
Limited edition, let’s do some simple addition
Fifty dollars for a T-shirt – that’s just some ignorant bitch (shit)
I call that getting swindled and pimped (shit)
I call that getting tricked by a business
That shirt’s hella dough
And having the same one as six other people in this club is a hella don’t
Peep game, come take a look through my telescope
Trying to get girls from a brand? Man you hella won’t
This is a great song. However, people who are insecure about themselves would keep spending a lot of money of brands they see value from.
haha, I heard this the other day. Although I don’t understand half the words he is saying I did perk up when I heard thrift store … and one other word, but we won’t mention that.
I think the song both about being thrifty and his specific style, which is vintage. Heck, I bought a brand new with tags North Face shirt last year at Goodwill. I still get the lifetime warranty of North Face, but for under ten bucks.
@Rob – I agree, it’s rather ironic that the NBA chose to show the song Wing$. I also grew up in the age when $100 shoes were the coolest thing ever in school, Air Jordans, little air bubbles, sigh:
So much more than just a pair of shoes
Nah, this is what I am
What I wore, this is the source of my youth
This dream that they sold to you
For a hundred dollars and some change
Consumption is in the veins
And now I see it’s just another pair of shoes
Macklemore’s response:
http://macklemore.com/post/43688861186/wings-the-nba-all-star-game-selling-out
This is one of my favorite artists. This song is great but it really does not tell Macklemore’s story. His other songs are so much different then this one. I think everyone who likes this song needs to listen to the entire “Heist” album.
This guy is pretty interesting, another sound is Ten Thousand Hours ala Malcolm Gladwell and his book Outliers:
http://rapgenius.com/Macklemore-and-ryan-lewis-ten-thousand-hours-lyrics
https://www.mymoneyblog.com/outliers-hard-work-luck-and-success.html
I purchased the album when Amazon had it on sale for $1.99 yesterday. Frugal price for a supposedly great album!
Only ever heard the radio version before. A warning for explicit language next time would be appreciated.
@Tyrone – Bought it for $1.99 too, finally got around to listening to it today. Some good tracks.
@Ddelj – Warning was given very clearly in the original post along with a link to the clean version, sorry if you missed it.