Entertainment

Who Is The Singer On Macklemore's New Song?

by Maitri Suhas

By now I'm sure you've seen Macklemore's new video for "Downtown," and it probably left you with a lot of questions like "What's going on here?" and "Is it really just about mo-peds?" I can't answer those questions, as Macklemore mystifies me, but I can tell you who about that singer on the bald eagle motorcycle chariot from the video who might not recognize. Eric Nally is the singer on Macklemore's "Downtown", and he's from a band called Foxy Shazam.

Nally is featured in Macklemore's new video, an over-the-top West Side Story-influenced theatrical stunt, which also features along with Nally old-school hip-hop legends Grandmaster Caz, Kool Moe Dee, and Melle Mel. Nally is seen in the video as part of Macklemore's posse, leading several motorcycle chariots and looking suspiciously like Freddie Mercury, as he always does. Fitting, because Foxy Shazam, the band that Nally used to lead, was often likened to Queen for their own theatricality. They put out five full-length albums in their 10 years together. But the Cincinnati outfit disbanded in 2014 after a decade of playing together, saying they were breaking up for an "unknown amount of time." I wonder what Nally's former bandmates think of his new collaboration with Macklemore?

Nally, whose voice, I have to admit, is very melodious and lovely even when he is singing lyrics like "Have you felt the warm embrace of the leather seat between your legs?" actually knows a little bit about the controversy that his new buddy Macklemore is so used to stirring up. Back in 2012, Nally got heat for the lyrics to the song "I Like It," the chorus of which goes "That's the biggest black ass I've ever seen/ and I like it."

Now that he's back in a much bigger way with Macklemore — the singer is performing "Downtown" at Sunday, Aug. 30's MTV Video Music Awards — it could come back to haunt Nally, and Macklemore, too, who's hinted that at least one song on his new album will discuss cultural appropriation.

As for whether Foxy Shazam will ever get back together, that's still up in the air.

Image: Ryan Lewis/ YouTube.