--- description: He'll play the song live at the MTV Video Music Awards this Sunday title: Hear Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' Funky New Song 'Downtown' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Hear Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' Funky New Song 'Downtown'  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 14, 2023 2:18 AM CUTPublished: Aug 27, 2015 3:05 PM CUT  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 14, 2023 2:18 AM CUTPublished: Aug 27, 2015 3:05 PM CUT Today in imagery you didn’t need think about: “I’m so low that my cojones almost draggin’ on the concrete,” which comes courtesy of Macklemore on his new song with Ryan Lewis, “Downtown.” The Seattle rapper must be done with his thrift-shopping days, because the track finds Macklemore in the mood to spend some serious dollars on a moped for this funky follow-up to [his comeback Ed Sheeran collaboration](http://time.com/3985840/macklemore-ed-sheeran-growing-up-sloane-song/ "undefined"). “Downtown” feels like several songs in one—some ’80s arena-rock vibes, what sounds like a Sugarhill Gang tribute—which will probably make for a splashy debut performance at this weekend’s MTV Video Music Awards. **_Correction:_** _The original version of this story incorrectly described the content of the song._ ### A Photographic History of Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift Being BFFs  Ed Sheeran poses with Taylor Swift backstage before his sold-out show at Madison Square Garden Arena on November 1, 2013 in New York City. Anna Webber—Getty Images  Taylor Swift was joined on stage by Ed Sheeran as she kicked off the European leg of her blockbuster The RED Tour with the first of five sold-out shows at London's O2 Arena, playing to a capacity crowd of more than 15,500 fans, on February 1, 2014 in London, England. Gareth Cattermole—TAS/Getty Images  Taylor Swift joins Ed Sheeran on stage at his sold-out show at Madison Square Garden Arena on November 1, 2013 in New York City. Anna Webber—Getty Images  Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift attend the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, Ca. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran attend the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted on March 2, 2014 in West Hollywood, Ca. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran perform onstage at the first of 13 North American stadium dates on The RED Tour at Ford Field in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 48,000 fans on May 4, 2013 in Detroit, Michigan. Christopher Polk—TAS/Getty Images  Singers Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran perform together at Z100's Jingle Ball 2012 at Madison Square Garden on Friday Dec. 7, 2012 in New York City. Evan Agostini—Invision/AP  Ed Sheeran made a special surprise appearance onstage during the finale of the North American portion of Taylor Swift's RED tour. The show played to a crowd of more than 14,000 fans on the final night of three sold-out hometown shows at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on September 21, 2013. Larry Busacca—TAS/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4013152/macklemore-downtown-ryan-lewis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4013152/macklemore-downtown-ryan-lewis/"},"headline":"Hear Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' Funky New Song 'Downtown'","datePublished":"2015-08-27T15:05:08.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-14T02:18:01.000Z","description":"He'll play the song live at the MTV VMAs this Sunday","url":"https://time.com/4013152/macklemore-downtown-ryan-lewis/","keywords":["Music","Macklemore"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4013152/macklemore-downtown-ryan-lewis/","name":"Hear Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' Funky New Song 'Downtown'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Potential Watercooler Moments of the 2015 MTV VMAs","description":"The MTV Video Music Awards are Sunday and there are a few potential watercooler moments we're already anticipating.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/UkVfmGtr/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-08-27T16:06:20.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/UkVfmGtr.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4013152/macklemore-downtown-ryan-lewis/","duration":"PT1M48S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4013152/macklemore-downtown-ryan-lewis/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```