Macklemore, Ryan Lewis Drops New Collaboration After Five Years Following Split; Why Did They Stop Creating Music Together?

Ryan Lewis, Macklemore
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Macklemore and Ryan Lewis finally return with a new song five years after they part ways as a duo.

According to Orca Sound, the two musicians, popularly known for their track "Thrift Shop," recently released a new song accompanied by a video titled "NEXT YEAR."

Aside from the two, they also teamed up with Windser. (watch the music video below)

The video was directed and written by Jason Koenig, who also worked in their previous music videos such as "Can't Hold Us" and "Downtown."

The duo's last record was released over a decade ago, titled "The Heist." As a solo rapper, Macklemore last released his studio LP "Gemini," which peaked at number two on the Billboard 200.

Their recent collaboration was described as anthemic, and they went back to their ethos track.

The video featured metaphorical visuals which show the rapper surviving in the city with his family.

Macklemore shared his sentiments to the song in an interview, saying he's happy to release new music, especially with Ryan Lewis.

He also recalled the time he first heard the demo for the song, "Ryan first played this for me in his car, as a rough demo but it immediately stood out. I then wrote a bunch of verses quickly and went down to LA to record."

The Seattle-based emcee also said that he and Lewis' time apart let their music process grow and evolve.

"It was scary and exciting to see how it would go getting back in the studio - all in all, it was like everything had changed and yet nothing had changed at all!" he went on.

The rapper, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, did not mention whether he will be releasing another album with Ryan Lewis or not.

Why Did Macklemore, Ryan Lewis Split?

According to Distractify, the duo decided to part ways because they needed to have a "creative space."

"Ryan and I agreed that some creative space would be good for the both of us. Ryan Lewis is my brother forever. We have been working together damn near every day for nine years and it felt like the right time." He wrote on Instagram.

Aside from Macklemore, Lewis also went on to produce several songs, including Kesha's "Praying," and more.

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Macklemore, Ryan Lewis
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