Listen to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis on iHeartRadio

Seattle-based hip-hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis went from virtually unknown to on everyone's 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).

Buy The Heist from the Amazon MP3 store

To date, the video for "Thrift Shop" has been viewed over 147 million times (and counting), and the song's pithy lyrics can be heard blasting everywhere from your favorite radio station to your hipster friend's 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.

Macklemore:

Ryan Lewis:

Last month, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis performed their hit, "Thrift Shop" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Check it out:

Watch the original video for "Thrift Shop" HERE. (WARNING: Explicit language)

Photos by Shelby Case