“Downtown” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

The song is about Macklemore’s purchase of a moped in order to impress everyone in the downtown area. He’s picking up chicks and making everyone jealous of his sweet (two) wheels. He doesn’t need a Harley-Davidson or a Bugatti. Basically, Macklemore is saying that he’s done with his thrift shopping days, and, instead of saving money, he wants to spend it all while cruising on his moped, and there’s no better place to do that than downtown. The chorus demonstrates how freeing and exhilarating it is to ride with his girl on his moped, and that sentiment is conveyed really well with Eric Nally’s soaring vocals. The guest appearance by a slew of hip-hop legends adds a very old school vibe which is what Macklemore was going for on the song and in the music video.

The music video features Macklemore first acquiring his moped, then leaving with his crew to roam the streets of his hometown of Seattle. They pass by people on Harleys, and speed bikes as they show that they’re stunting on all of them. A few of the people in Mack’s crew are wearing chucks, including a very prominent dancer sporting a pair of baby blue high tops. Eventually, they meet up with Eric Nally’s crew and unite the city on mopeds and other two-wheeled vehicles to leave us with a very cool visual to end the video.