Macklemore, Ryan Lewis Tag Team ‘Buckshot’ With KRS-One, DJ Premier
Macklemore recounts his run-and-gun graffiti days on a sinister new song, “Buckshot,” which premiered on New York radio station Hot 97 and features hip-hop legends DJ Premier and KRS-One.
Over a menacing throwback beat built around dusty percussion, nimble piano loops and a high-pitched whinny, Macklemore spits about working at Subway during grunge’s heyday, writing rhymes on his lunch break and sneaking around at night to leave Seattle covered in spray paint.
Macklemore delves further into his graffiti days in the second verse, but KRS-One dominates the track with a breathless run about his own aerosol exploits in NYC: “Fat tips and black books, yo, we rep that / 149th street bench is where we slept at,” he spits. KRS even drops an explicit reference to his 1995 ode to tagging, “Out for Fame,” with the line, “I got 25 cans in my napsack / Crossing out the whick-whack / T-O-Y-S’s ain’t even get that.”
“Buckshot” is the latest track to surface from Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ upcoming album, This Unruly Mess I’ve Made, following first single “Downtown,” the Ed Sheeran-featuring “Growing Up,” the addiction ballad “Kevin” with Leon Bridges and “White Privilege II.”
Other artists slated to appear on the album include Chance the Rapper, YG, Anderson .Paak, Idris Elba, Jamila Woods and Carla Morrison. This Unruly Mess I’ve Made follows Macklemore and Lewis’ surprise 2012 hit, The Heist, and is slated to arrive February 26th.