Ryan Lewis Biography

Ryan Lewis (born March 25, 1988) is an American music producer, musician, and DJ based in Seattle. Along with producing his own album titled Instrumentals, Lewis produced the albums The VS. EP (2009) and The Heist (2012). In 2008, Lewis befriended rapper Macklemore on MySpace. As a result of this friendship formed with Macklemore the two teamed up and went on to have great success. Lewis produced, recorded, engineered, and mixed all of the duo's music, directed their music videos "Same Love", "Thrift Shop", "And We Danced", "Otherside (Remix)", and "Can't Hold Us", and designed promotional graphics (album art, web design, posters, photography).

Early life

Ryan Lewis was born on March 25, 1988 in Spokane, Washington. He attended Ferris High School in Spokane, Washington and graduated from Roosevelt High School in Seattle. He graduated from the University of Washington majoring in Comparative History of Ideas. At an early age, he played guitar in rock bands before getting into audio production. Lewis grew a passion for producing and photography at the same time around age 15.

Lewis became a professional photographer and started to take photos for Macklemore in the summer of 2006. The duo became very good friends. In late 2008, after having only done a couple of songs together they chose to do a full collaborative project that became the VS. EP.

Music career

The VS. EP

On November 27, 2009, Lewis produced the first of his two EPs with Macklemore. The two singers came together in the winter of 2008 to start working on the EP. The EP was based off the idea to try new music directions from contemporary bands such as Arcade Fire or The Red Hot Chili Peppers. When they finished the album in the summer of 2009, the EP consisted of 7 songs. These songs are a response to the violence, drug abuse, and struggle for power happening on the streets, which typically explain the impact that rappers have on young listeners. iTunes awarded the EP spot No.7 on their hip hop chart later that year.

The VS. [Redux]

After the first EP was out on the iTunes market for almost a year, Lewis and Macklemore had received music reviews over their EP concerning the variety of music artists in their songs. The objective of the redux was to bring new remixed versions of the songs with new top artists consisting of Jake One who made a remix of the song "Crew Cuts" adding a more instrumental and bass direction to the song. With all the new remixes Lewis felt obliged to make his own, and chose to make his own remix of the song "Vipasanna".

The Heist

On October 9, 2012, Macklemore and Lewis released The Heist. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums, selling 78,000 copies in the first week. The album also debuted at #1 on iTunes Digital Albums chart. The duo's album has received more than 1 million plays on SoundCloud, over 350 million YouTube views and was accompanied by a sold-out 50-date U.S. and Canadian tour.

Other work

In 2008, Lewis shot a video for his mash-up of 2Pac's "Crooked Nigga Too" and Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out". In 2009, Lewis released the Symmetry & Ryan Lewis LP with Rhode Island emcee Symmetry for free online. Stand out tracks included "Feel Right" and "Make Me Yours."

Recognition and awards

Their most successful single, "Thrift Shop", became No.1 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2012. The single "Same Love" reached No.15 on the Hottest 100 of 2012. Both songs attracted attention from Rolling Stone, NPR, TIME and GQ. "Can't Hold Us" reached platinum status in April 2013.

Tours and performances

From 2009 to 2011, Lewis performed in Seattle, solely focusing on his personal work. After partnering with Macklemore, they initiated their first international tour in Pullman, Washington 2011, promoting their latest album at the time, VS. Redux. Out of the 27 venues played, over half were sold out.

Macklemore and Lewis began recording songs "My Oh My" and "Can't Hold Us" in 2010; both songs would later appear on their album The Heist. A month after the album's release, the duo began a national tour in November 2012.

Discography

(All credited to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis)

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and sales figures

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions									Certifications
		US	US R&B	US Rap	AUS	BEL (FL)	CAN	FRA	IRE	NZ
The Heist (with Macklemore)	Released: October 9, 2012 Label: Macklemore Formats: CD, digital download	2	1	1	2	12	4	19	6	1	RIAA: Platinum ARIA: Platinum BVMI: Gold MC: Platinum RIANZ: Platinum

EPs

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions	Tracklist
		US
The VS. EP	Type: EP Credited to: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (Macklemore X Ryan Lewis) Released: November 27, 2009 Label: Macklemore Format: CD Album, Digital download		"Vipassana" (3:42) "Crew Cuts" (feat. Xperience) (3:29) "Life Is Cinema" (3:25) "Otherside" (5:08) "Kings" (feat. Buffalo Madonna & Champagne Champagne) (4:49) "Irish Celebration" (4:40) "The End" (6:23)
The VS. Redux	Type: (First Ever) Main Debut Album Credited to: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (Macklemore X Ryan Lewis) Released: 20 October 2010 Label: Macklemore Format: CD Album, Digital download		CD 1 "Vipasanna" (3:42) "Crew Cuts" (feat. Xperience) (3:29) "Life Is Cinema" (3:25) "Otherside" (5:08) "Kings" (feat. Buffalo Madonna & Champagne Champagne) (4:49) "Irish Celebration" (4:40) "The End" (6:23) CD 2 "Vipasanna" (Ryan Lewis Remix) (3:58) "Crew Cuts" (Jake One Remix) (4:00) "Otherside" (feat. Fences) (Ryan Lewis Remix) (5:46) "Irish Celebration" (P Smoov Remix) (4:51) "The End" (Budo Remix) (4:48) "The Town" (Sabzi Remix) (4:26) "Stay Home Dad" (bonus) "Fake Empire" (Remix) (bonus)

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions											Certifications	Album
		US	US Alt.	US R&B	US Rap	AUS	CAN	FRA	GER	IRE	NZ	NL
"My Oh My" (with Macklemore)	2010	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?			The Heist
"Wings" (with Macklemore)	2011	112	"?	40	"?	17	"?	155	"?	"?	"?	"?
"Can't Hold Us" (with Macklemore featuring Ray Dalton)		1	"?	1	1	1	2	3	2	3	4	4
"Same Love" (with Macklemore featuring Mary Lambert)	2012	11	21	3	2	1	4	84	32	6	1	21	ARIA: 2"? Platinum
"Thrift Shop" (with Macklemore featuring Wanz)		1	14	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	RIANZ: Platinum ARIA: 8"? Platinum
""?" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Other releases

List of songs, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions						Album
		US R&B	AUS	AUT	FRA	IRL	NZ
"Irish Celebration" (with Macklemore)	2010	"?	"?	"?	"?	57	"?	The VS. Redux
"Ten Thousand Hours" (with Macklemore)	2012	41	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	The Heist
"Thin Line" (with Macklemore, featuring Buffalo Madonna)		54	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
"Make the Money" (with Macklemore)		56	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
"White Walls" (with Macklemore, featuring Schoolboy Q and Hollis)	2013	51	47	"?	148	"?	9
""?" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.