Macklemore & Ryan Lewis “Otherside” Remix feat. Fences

If you follow IHYEB on a regular basis, you probably aren’t looking to us for the newest hip-hop breakout artist.  Not that we don’t appreciate the genre, cause I have definitely found a lot worth listening to last year, from the young guys like Drake to Cudi to the veteran mainstays like Jay-Z and Eminem.  But I am usually the last to the party when it comes to rap music.  But the other day I feel like I stumbled onto some hip-hop gold.

It’s a remix of a track from a fairly new artist called Macklemore.  The track I discovered and fell in love with features fellow Seattle musician Fences in a Remix of Otherside by Ryan Lewis.  It’s a really honest and powerful plea to both fellow rappers and young impressionable listeners to get real and recognize that a life lived for getting high and using others isn’t fulfilling.  It’s a really powerful message that doesn’t come off cheesy.  He’s got a way with words and he is able to pull of a positive uplifting message without losing his credibility and coming off as soft. I’m a big fan. The original does a great job of sampling the  Red Hot Chili Peppers’ song of the same name.

I’m not sure which version I like better.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Otherside (removed 7/21/12)

Macklemore – Otherside feat. Fences [Ryan Lewis Remix] (removed 7/21/12)