Before October 9, 2012 the average person would not have known who Macklemore or Ryan Lewis was. Now, almost 11 months later, you can't go anywhere without hearing one of their songs. Their joint album The Heist has been certified platinum as of Wednesday, having sold over one million copies.
Macklemore's rise to fame started when he was named a 2012 XXL freshman, which is a high honor for an up and coming rapper. J. Cole, Lupe Fiasco and B.o.B are examples of other artists that were named to the XXL freshman list.
The album was set off by the ever popular single "Thrift Shop," which has a beat so catchy that everyone was humming it. Since its release, "Thrift Shop" has gone six times platinum and is well on its way to seven times platinum. "Thrift Shop" was a tough act to follow, but somehow "Can't Hold Us" did live up to the first single. The second single has a catchy hook provided by Ray Dalton, and that has led to the song going three times platinum. The song that has put the duo over the edge is "Same Love," the third single from The Heist, which is about gay marriage. This single has sent the hip hop world abuzz as it is the first hip hop song of its kind.
XXL reports that The Heist's official total sales is 1,017,000 as of Wednesday. This is an incredible accomplishment for a rapper who released this album independently, especially during a time when rappers on major labels are having trouble going platinum (look at Kanye West).
This news adds to an already great week for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. They had previously performed their third single "Same Love" at the VMA's, and tied Justin Timberlake for the most moonmen on Sunday night reports Hotnewhiphop.
Macklemore has risen from relative obscurity to a household name in less than a year. We now will have to await this independent phenom's next move to see if his sophomore album could live up to his first.
Watch the video of the groundbreaking hip hop single "Same Love" below.
Photo credit to MTV.com