Seattle-based hip-hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis went from virtually unknown to on everyones radar when the intelligently crafted video for their song, “Thrift Shop” ft. Wanz, went viral shortly after being uploaded in August 2012. 

Two months later, their debut album, The Heist, hit #1 on iTunes within hours of its release. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart and at #1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums charts. Even more impressive - The Heist was independently recorded, produced, and released (read: no big label, no mainstream promotion to speak of).

To date, the video for “Thrift Shop” has been viewed almost 80 million times (and counting), and the songs pithy lyrics can be heard blasting everywhere from your favorite radio station to your hipster friends iPod. Other notable songs on the album: “Same Love,” released in July 2012 in support of gay marriage (before Referendum 74 passed in Washington State), and “Wing$,” a song about shoes with much deeper, emotional significance. 

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis spent some time at the iHeartRadio studios recently, where they let us in on their best thrift shop finds, who they idolized as kids and gave us some insight on their studio debut - all in their own hand-written words.