I'm not saying that he's not hip-pop now. I'm saying that there is good pop, then there is shit pop. Macklemore is good pop, Justin Bieber and Drake are shit pop. Their lyrics are played and cliched beyond belief, and they write what's profitable. Macklemore's not like that, for the most part. For example, there's not many other  hip-pop or hip-hop artists that would release a single actively supporting gay marriage, and even if you hate every other thing he's ever done you gotta respect him for that. There is also old Macklemore, before he blew up to the extent he has now, but thats another discussion. imho you can't compare Macklemore to the standards of what's considered good hip hop because he doesn't really fit that genre, he hasn't since he got clean a while back. To me, it seems like he's blending shit like spoken word, slam poetry and hip hop all into one, and theres no one else who really sounds like him.
Also, fucking lol at the comparison of Macklemore to Lil Wayne.
Lil Wayne lyrics:
I do me, I say hey miss Chung Lee I like to see your booty
Roll like sushi, I'm trynna dip my celery up in her blue cheese
Macklemore:
And trust me it's not dope to be 25 and move back to your parent's basement
I've seen my people's dreams die
I've seen what they can be denied
And "weeds not a drug" - that's denial
Groundhog Day life repeat each time
Somewhat different message, no?