Society and its Lies

If anyone is familiar with the kind of music the Caucasian rapper Macklemore puts out, one automatically thinks of the crazy and random songs such as his most famous "Thrift Shop". But if you listen to more of his songs, you will soon discover that he does have songs in which he focuses on more deeper issues such as homosexuality and how to achieve our dreams. Now some tend to think that the rap industry should focus mainly on what it is know for: sex, drugs and possessions, but Macklemore changes the perspective of listeners in the way we look at certain topics.


The first time I heard this song it really caught my attention because the explicit message was talking about Nike basketball shoes and how he bought into the lie that he could achieve his goals by simply buying a pair of shoes. On one side as a young male I could relate to what Macklemore was saying but on the other side I was shocked in how he was attacking companies so blatantly in the song and that is what caught my interest even more.

His message is simple: don't let society trick you into thinking you can reach your dreams by letting your possessions take you there, because it can get in the way of what is truly important in our lives. The question that lends itself to this statement is if we do let materialistic things control us then what are we as humans in fact losing?

He gives us a hint of what is important in our lives in the line that says, "And then my friend Carlos’ brother got murdered for his Fours, whoa”. When he discovered that people were losing loved ones over a pair of shoes his whole perspective changed and realized people were losing sight of our relationships with each other. He did not want to go down this path and throughout his song is imploring kids to not buy into society and what it has to offer.


To reach our dreams takes time, effort, and dedication. Macklemore uses the metaphor of an "air bubble" to show how he was going achieve his dreams of being cool and popular in school. The shoes were his "air bubble", the thing that was going to elevate him above his peers with as less effort as possible. Unfortunately his "air bubble" was sucking the life out of him because he was so engrossed int the shoes that not only his dreams collapses but also the friends he     thought were closest to him.
We still have a choice to make ourselves… Will we let our possessions define who we are or will we overcome the lies that our culture gives to us and keep focused on what is truly important?

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