Macklemore & Ryan Lewis have returned with the first droplet of new music since the duo’s massive 2012 debut The Heist. “Growing Up (Sloane's Song),” featuring Ed Sheeran, was released on Wednesday (Aug. 5) at noon ET, and is being streamed and offered as a free download on the group’s web site.
“Growing Up” is not the first official single from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ follow-up to The Heist, but rather a “personal moment of expression,” a rep for the group tells Billboard. Indeed, the new track is not a party-starter in the vein of “Can’t Hold Us” or “Thrift Shop,” but instead is a reflective ode to Macklemore’s infant daughter, Sloane Ava Simone Haggerty, who was born on May 29. Fans of “Same Love” will note the similar vibe here, with the Seattle rapper dispensing life advice to his young daughter in the verses and Sheeran sliding in for the inclusive chorus.