2 weeks after Macklemore's interview airing on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio, an inspired Mark Harris takes flight and details one of this year most important songs, namely, Wing$. In doing so, he breaks down the science behind its reference to society and how as people, we glamorise the material to the point that is immaterial and the devaluing of the soul. A must read article.
There is a lot of irony within the song Wing$. The song is endorsed, visualized, and constructed by Macklemore. Many wouldn’t expect Macklemore to make a song about gym shoes and their effect on society. Others probably took note of his racial make-up and thought this was just a musical anomaly. However, Macklemore is originally from Seattle, Washington, which is the home of Nike. Nike makes his favorite shoes: The Jordans. Also, Macklemore only concerns himself with making music that is endearing to his heart and his upbringing. Nothing was more important to his childhood than the Nikes on his feet that made his cypher complete. Subsequently, the irony lies in a song about gym shoes coming from the most likely of unlikely sources.
What many have not realized is that this song is about more than just gym shoes. It makes a reference to society and how we, as a people, glamorize the material to the point that it is immaterial. Many fashion statements become the golden calves that people pay homage to. Even personal intangibles such as self-esteem, popularity, and self-worth become attached to something that can be bought, sold, and even bootlegged. In the end, this song highlights the perils of one’s focus on materialism’s grasp.
Within these paragraphs, I will get to highlight how we even made it to this point. I will give the responsibility to all guilty parties without finger pointing or condescension.
The Nike Saga:
Nike wasn’t always the billion dollar powerhouse that it came to be. In the beginning, it was BRS (Blue Ribbon Sports), a distributor of Onitsuka Tigers (ASICS). After that relationship ended, it was time for Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman to come with a shoe company. In 1978 the company became Nike, named after the Nike (the Greek goddess of victory). Eventually, the company went from small time distributor to a million dollar making company by the time the 1980’s came around.
Yet, the actualized success was not enough; their domestic sales were good but not “great”. Much of its sales began to become marginalized in the early and mid-80’s, causing a shift in marketing and a layoff of 400 employees in 1984. In addition to the shift, there was a bigger concentration in going into more shoe markets. By the 1990’s, the company was topping $1 billion in sales. Once the 90’s hit, things were looking phenomenal for the company.
Many rarely give the credit to one of the reasons why Nike is what it is today: the acquisition of Michael Jordan as a sponsored athlete.
Michael Jordan’s shoes were the beginning of a strange cultural phenomenon. Jordan kept getting sued $5,000 a game by the league for wearing his shoes in 1985 because of the color scheme. Nike, on the other hand, kept paying the fines. They felt that this was great publicity for Jordan and their company. This controversial situation fueled Jordan’s legend and the legend of the brand.
Yet, that phenomenon turned into something even Michael Jordan didn’t expect. It turned into something murderously ugly.
Material Madness:
The main issue the song deals with is the worship of material objects to the point that lives is wagered. Macklemore refers to these situations specific within his rhymes:
"And then my friend Carlos’ brother got murdered for his fours, whoa
See he just wanted a jump shot, but they wanted his Starter coat though
Didn’t wanna get caught, from Genesee Park to Othello
You could clown for those Pro-Wings, with the velcro
Those were not tight
I was trying to fly without leaving the ground, cuz I wanted to be like Mike, right
Wanted to be him
I wanted to be that guy, I wanted to touch the rim
I wanted to be cool, and I wanted to fit in
I wanted what he had, America, it begins"
Macklemore felt that it was his shoes that made him a cooler person. Many kids also find solace within the acquisition of material possessions. Yet Tim Kasser, author of The High Price of Materialism, noted that “insecurity breeds materialism” and that pursuit of worldly goals “fails to increase happiness, works against close interpersonal relationships, works against authenticity and autonomy, and works against the health and happiness of those with whom the materialistic people interact”. Seeing that Carlos’ brother was murdered over a Starter coat, Macklemore understands the dynamics of materialism all too well.
The shameful thing about this situation is that murders like this were actually a noticeable situation of the 80’s and 90’s. Rick Telander, in a Sports Illustrated cover story, took note of these situations:
In 1983, 14 year old Dewitt Duckett was shot to death in the hallway of Harlem Park Junior High in Baltimore by someone who apparently wanted Duckett's silky blue Georgetown jacket. In 1985, 13 year old Shawn Jones was shot in Detroit after five youths took his Fila sneakers. But lately the pace of the carnage has quickened. In January, 1988, an unidentified Houston boy, a star athlete in various sports, allegedly stabbed and killed 22 year old Eric Allen with a butcher knife after the two argued over a pair of tennis shoes in the home the youths shared with their mothers.
It seems that the value of a human life became susceptible to the wishes of materialism. Many would say that people have lost their minds. Yet, Telander felt that the shoe companies have played a undeviating role in this “with their million-dollar advertising campaigns, superstar spokesmen and over-designed, high-priced products” aimed to create “status from thin air to feed those who are starving for self-esteem”. Seemingly, as the price and glamour of shoes increased, the value of human life decreased.
Macklemore, being all too aware of this situation, took note of it in the song. Within his second verse, he summarized just how the regular public had been duped:
"They told me to just do it, I listened to what that swoosh said
Look at what that swoosh did
See it consumed my thoughts
Are you stupid, don’t crease ‘em, just leave ‘em in that box
Strangled by these laces, laces I can barely talk
That’s my air bubble and I’m lost, if it pops
We are what we wear, we wear what we are
But see I look inside the mirror and think Phil Knight tricked us all
Will I stand for change, or stay in my box
These Nikes help me define me, but I’m trying to take mine, off
Macklemore knew that, at the end of the day, people were playing themselves over a pair of shoes. Although he fed into the hype, the effect of the hype was waning. When he had finally awakened, he noticed that the Nike box he boxed himself into was crowded."
What makes Wing$ so important is that it touches on a serious situation that exists today: materialism and the devaluing of the human being. While many songs out today are brand marketing tools, this song actually is anti-materialism. The song, however, asks people to open their eyes and see that there are more important things to life than the materials they buy. People may still wear over-priced items. Others may still work hard to spend their money buying unnecessary things to impress people they don’t care about. Still, Macklemore constructed a song that expresses that real self-esteem comes when you are okay with taking your shoes off and not being boxed in by them or with them.
‘Nuff Said and ‘Nuff Respect!
-Mark A. Harris
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