Macklemore & Ryan Lewis released their highly anticipated new album titled This Unruly Mess I Made on February 26th, 2016.

The album was Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’s first record released since their debut record The Heist that was released in 2012. Their first album contained their breakout hit “Thrift Shop” and the party anthem “Can’t Hold Us.”

The Heist has since sold 1.4 million copies worldwide and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis became the first artists to have their first two singles peak at number one on the Billboard charts.

With all of the success of the independently released record by the two artists, there was pressure on the duo to release a record that could live up to the hype.

This Unruly Mess I Made starts off strong with the track “Light Tunnels” which is essentially 6:38 of award show shaming. This song is a preview of the political voice that Macklemore has found on this record. Songs like “White Privilege II” show the progress that Macklemore has made as a writer. Tracks like these display how Macklemore is a talented artist who has the ability to write catchy songs that also tell an important lesson for the people who are listening to his album.

Hudson May (12) listens to a plethora of rap artists and he described the new Macklemore album as, “A good sophomore album with an impressive ability to mix political lyrics with catchy tunes.”

Although this record was written as a way to help make a difference and also explain the hardships the duo have encountered while becoming one of the most well known hip-hop groups today, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis have found a way to still incorporate catchy radio songs on the album.

The single “Downtown” peaked at number 12 on the Billboard charts and it got fans excited to finally get to hear some new music from the duo. Tracks such as “Dance Off” and “Growing Up” were also tracks seemingly designed and crafted for the radio and clubs.

Hip-hop fan and musician Brandon Cary (12) expressed his admiration for the album by saying, “This album was honestly much better than I was expecting. After such an impressive debut release, Macklemore really was able to live up to the hype and give his fans a great album to listen to.”

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis will go on tour a North American tour that begins in late May.