Last summer, I was in a rental van driving up to a hot, dry campsite with the squad Gage, Matt, Jack, and Jackson. We were jamming and shouting along to every song which were played far louder than necessary. As the song we were listening to was drawing to a close, Gage asked, “Who’s got the next slapper?” “Pass the aux,” Matt replied. “I got one.” As it played, causing the car to vibrate to the point where it felt like we were driving over very different sized rocks, I listened intently to the lyrics. I found myself addicted to the catchy rhyme the way someone is addicted to ice cream, and relating to the message. I asked what the song was called, and “Wing$” was immediately added to my playlist. Every night before we went to bed I requested to have that song played, and it is still at the top of my song list to this day. Macklemore is a Seattle native, born on July 19, 1983. He quickly fell in love with hip-hop as a child with Kriss Kross, Digital Underground, and Michael Jackson having a huge influence on him. He started rapping at a young age and met a young DJ Ryan Lewis along the way, and they have been a duo since the beginning. Ryan was born on March 25, 1988 in Spokane,Washington with two sisters. Macklemore made a dramatic entrance to hip-hop with his first album, “The Language of My World” in 2005. Five years later he released his biggest album, “The Heist”, which included two hugely popular songs that made it to the Hot 100 charts and made him a household name. His mom was a social worker and encouraged him to make a positive difference at a young age, which translates into his powerful and meaningful messages in his songs. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis use rhyme, personification, and symbolism to convey the message that society has made us think that who we are is what we wear.
By using personification, Macklemore communicates the theme that society tells us that what we have and wear is who we are. In the middle of the third verse, Macklemore shows how he doesn’t want to ruin his Jordans and keep them squeaky clean, and how it is the only thing on his mind. “Look at what that swoosh did / See it consumed my thoughts / Are you stupid, don’t crease ‘em just leave ‘em in that box”(Wing$ 46-48). Macklemore personifies his Jordans as eating up all other thoughts and completely taking over his mind in order to show how obsessed people are to keep what they have new and not wear them out. This reveals the theme that we wrongly define ourselves with what have by showing how obsessed he is about keeping his shoes new because he believes that if he creases his shoes, he will also crease his appearance.
Macklemore also uses rhyme to communicate the theme that because of social media and society, we believe that our identity and appearance is dependent on what we have. In the fourth verse, he goes on to tell us that because his Jordans are cool and popular shoe, he is going to be cool and popular. “It started out, with what I wear to school / That first day, like these are what make you cool”(Wing$ 66-67). By rhyming “what you wear to school” to “make you cool” Macklemore proves that it’s not your personality or skills that make you likable, it’s what you wear. This reveals the theme that we judge other people and ourselves but what they wear by connecting wearing and having Jordans makes him cool, showing how we think that you can only be popular with the best and most expensive things. Only few people with money can buy the best name brands, and most other people get judged because they can’t afford the top products.
Macklemore utilizes symbolism in the 4th verse to communicate that it is because of society that we define ourselves with what we wear, but we need to stand against it. The topic switches from how his shoes give him the appearance that he’s not a loser and is popular to how much his Jordans actually mean to him. “So much more than a pair of shoes / Nah, this is what I am”(Wing$ 69 - 70). In these lines, Macklemore uses his shoes to symbolize himself and his identity. This uncovers the theme that everyone in today’s society everyone defines each other by what they wear by explaining how his shoes represented his entire self, that it’s not his personality or skills that people see and think of him, it’s his shoes that people see. This shows how everyone in our society thinks that what you have/wear is your identity, which is shallow and corrupt.
The greatest strength of “Wing$” is how the powerful message is relatable to most people today. Macklemore is known to write songs with powerful messages that a select few can relate to, but “Wing$” takes it to a whole new level where almost anyone who listens to the can deeply relate. The song changes in the second verse from Macklemore explaining how he instantly felt like he fit in with the cool kids because of his Jordans to why he truly wanted to get Jordans and Air Maxes.
Cause I wanted to be like Mike, right
Wanted to be him, I wanted to be that guy , I Wanted to touch the rim
I wanted to be cool, I wanted to touch the rim
I wanted what he had, America, it begins(Wing$ 22-25).
This is powerful because he lets everyone inside his head showing them why he wanted to buy the big name shoes as a kid. This allows the listeners to have a personal connection with Macklemore, which also allows them to connect deeper to the message that we wrongly think that what we wear is who we are.
I think that the greatest let down is the unnecessary small symphony in between the 3rd verse and the 2nd chorus. This confused me greatly, wondering whether it was made so long that i should take a shower before the chorus, or time to plan your outfit before the singing starts again. The song would be ultimately better without the orchestra and drums having their solo. I was left very confused as if I was taking calculus exam, especially because it was in the middle of the song, as I’m sure many other listeners do. I am pretty sure that we all wished that it was taken out of the song so it doesn’t diminish the brilliance of the song.
To sum it up, Macklemore uses his song “Wing$” to convey the message that society is the reason we define ourselves and others with they have and wear. I deeply connected to this song as I think about my experience shopping for new shoes. My parents almost always pick out a pair of “what are those” and I always hastily decline and look for the nice Nike running shoes. I do that because I know that if I get them, I will be judged and people would think that I’m cheap and not cool because my shoes are. The message of “Wing$” is especially true and relevant today because of social media/our society telling us what is cool and what we shouldn’t wear. With all the bullying that happens to people who don’t have the have the most expensive shoes from the top brand, this song helps ground people. The “what are those” movement and bullying seems like it is okay to do because social media promotes it, enough so it becomes normal and natural. With the powerful message of this song, Macklemore reminds us that it is not natural that we define ourselves and others by what they wear, but it is society that forced it onto us, and with social media helping making people think that it’s okay, “Wing$” helps ground people. It encourages us to stick up for people who get teased for what they wear, and to spread the word that you don’t need to best name brand shoes to fit in and be a cool person.
so good
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