Macklemore
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Macklemore |
Macklemore performing in Toronto during The Heist Tour in November 2012
|
| Background information |
| Birth name |
Ben Haggerty |
| Also known as |
Professor Macklemore |
| Born |
June 19, 1983 (age 31)
Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Genres |
Hip hop |
| Occupations |
Rapper |
| Years active |
2000–present |
| Labels |
Macklemore LLC |
| Associated acts |
Ryan Lewis, Blue Scholars |
| Website |
macklemore.com |
Ben Haggerty (born June 19, 1983),
[1] known by his stage name
Macklemore (
// MAK-lə-mor)
[2] and formerly
Professor Macklemore, is an American rapper. Since 2000, he has independently released one
mixtape, three EPs and two albums and significantly collaborated with producer
Ryan Lewis.
Macklemore and Lewis's single "
Thrift Shop" reached number 1 on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2013.
[3] It was the first time since 1994 that a song reached number 1 on the Hot 100 chart without the support of a major record label.
[4] Their second single, "
Can't Hold Us"
also peaked at #1 of the Hot 100 Chart, making Macklemore and Lewis the
first duo in the chart's history to have their first two singles both
reach number 1.
[5] Macklemore and Lewis released their debut studio album
The Heist on October 9, 2012, which charted at number 2 on the US
Billboard 200 chart. The pair was nominated for seven Grammy awards at the
56th Annual Grammy Awards, winning four awards including
Best New Artist,
Best Rap Album (
The Heist),
Best Rap Song and
Best Rap Performance ("Thrift Shop").
Early life and influences
Haggerty was born and raised in
Seattle, Washington, where he attended
Garfield High School.
Though he was not born to a musical family, both of his parents were
supportive of his musical ventures. His heritage is primarily Irish.
[6] Haggerty was six years old when hip hop first came in to his life by way of
Digital Underground.
[7][8] According to a
YouTube interview with Macklemore, he listened to and dubbed "parental advisory" music from the radio when he was an underage youth.
[9]
Macklemore was fourteen when he started writing lyrics.
[7][8] When he started to rap, Macklemore listened to "a lot of
East Coast underground hip hop", with
Freestyle Fellowship,
Aceyalone,
Living Legends,
Wu-Tang Clan,
Nas, and
Talib Kweli being big influences on him.
[9]
Interested in reaching a younger generation through his music, he was a
part of a program focusing on education and cultural identity called
"Gateways for Incarcerated Youth" where he facilitated music workshops.
[10]
He earned a bachelors degree from
The Evergreen State College in 2009.
[10][11]
Music career
2000–2005: Career beginnings
Macklemore recorded an EP titled
Open Your Eyes in 2000 under
the name Professor Macklemore, which he distributed himself. Macklemore
dropped "Professor" from his name, and released his first official
full-length album,
The Language of My World in January 2005.
2005–2011: Comeback and The VS. series
Macklemore first met
Ryan Lewis in 2006.
[12]
Lewis spent a few years working on Macklemore's promotion as a
photographer. They would soon become good friends. Lewis would go on to
produce for Macklemore, the two eventually working full-time as a
title-credited duo.
[9] He appeared as a featured artist on
The Physics' song "Good" in 2009.
[13] In 2008, 2009, and 2011, Macklemore performed at
Bumbershoot, a major arts and music festival in Seattle. In 2011, he also performed at the
Sasquatch Music Festival in
The Gorge Amphitheater (central Washington state) and at the
Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco.
[14][15] In September 2009, he released
The Unplanned Mixtape.
The VS. EP with Ryan Lewis and
The Unplanned Mixtape were released in 2009, followed by
The VS. Redux
the next year. The latter would reach No. 7 on the iTunes Hip Hop
chart. Macklemore's debut single "The Town" was released from
The Unplanned Mixtape and later remixed by Sabzi of the
Blue Scholars.
[16][17] He also released "Irish Celebration" in December 2009 in anticipation of the release of
The Vs. EP.
[18]
In March 2010, the duo released "Stay At Home Dad," a track that didn't quite make
Vs.[19] In late April 2010, he performed an impromptu set at a house party at
Colorado College.
The set consisted of his track "And We Danced", two consecutive times
in front of over two hundred fans. In October 2010, he teamed up with
producer
Ryan Lewis to create the
VS. Redux
EP. Macklemore used his experience with substance abuse to create the
mixtape's critically acclaimed song "Otherside", which samples the
Red Hot Chili Peppers song of the
same title. In December 2010, he released a tribute song named "My Oh My" for recently deceased
Seattle Mariners broadcaster
Dave Niehaus, which has received extensive coverage in Seattle media sources.
[20][21][22][23]
On April 8, 2011, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis performed the song at the
2011 Mariners Opening Day in front a sold-out crowd of nearly 48,000
attendees.
[24][25][26] "
Wings" was released on January 21, 2011 along with "
Can't Hold Us" featuring
Ray Dalton on August 16, 2011. In February 2011, Macklemore and producer Ryan Lewis kicked off a multi-city tour in
Pullman, Washington, which included three sold-out shows at
Showbox at the Market, a Seattle music venue.
[27] That same year, the rapper appeared at many U.S. music festivals, including
Bumbershoot,
Outside Lands,
Lollapalooza,
Rock the Bells, SoundSet,
Sasquatch, and
Bonnaroo.
2012–present: The Heist
Macklemore performing during The Heist Tour in November 2012
His album,
The Heist,
was released in October 2012. Previously released singles "My Oh My,"
"Wings" and "Can't Hold Us" were announced to be included on the album –
as was the song "Make the Money." "Can't Hold Us" was used as
soundtrack for
Miller beer ad in UK and Ireland in June 2012, increasing Macklemore's recognition in Europe.
[citation needed] "
Same Love" was released on July 18, 2012, and songs "
White Walls" featuring
ScHoolboy Q and "Jimmy Iovine" featuring
Ab-Soul were confirmed to be included on the album.
The Heist debuted on the US
Billboard 200
at number 2 of the week dated October 27, 2012, selling over 78,000
copies. On October 30, 2012, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis appeared on
The Ellen DeGeneres Show performing their single "
Same Love" and then again on January 18, 2013, performing their single "
Thrift Shop", which they had sung previously on
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on December 11, 2012. The song topped the
Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks, giving them their first number 1 hit in the US. In January 2013,
Music Choice featured Macklemore in the brand new series "Primed", which focuses on emerging artists. In May 2013, Haggerty was featured on
Clinton Sparks' single "Gold Rush", along with
2 Chainz and D.A.
[28] "The Heist World Tour" began in August 2012 to promote
The Heist.
[29]
On January 26, 2014, Macklemore performed "Same Love" at the
56th Annual Grammy Awards, where
Queen Latifah read marriage vows for 33 couples who lined the aisles.
[30] "This is a love song, not for some of us but for all of us," she said, followed by an appearance from
Madonna singing "
Open Your Heart".
[30]
In August 2013, Macklemore stated that he and Lewis would begin
working on a new album once they have taken a break after The Heist Tour
concludes in 2013. Macklemore estimated the album would take less than
three years to complete.
[31]
Recognition
Macklemore was in the
Unsigned Hype in
The Source in early 2012 and was also on the cover of
XXL Magazine as part of the Freshman Class of 2012.
Rolling Stone called Macklemore x Ryan Lewis an "indie rags-to-riches story".
[32] "Thrift Shop" was voted #1 in Australian radio station
Triple J's
Hottest 100 of 2012.
[33] Their song "Same Love" also featured highly, coming in at #15 in the countdown. The
Hottest 100
is the world's largest music poll held every year on Australia Day, and
currently attracts over 1 million votes from within Australia and
around the world. There was a three page article on Macklemore's career
in the February 8, 2013 issue of
ESPN the Magazine.
Macklemore received seven Grammy award nominations at the
56th Annual Grammy Awards, which included
Best New Artist,
Album of the Year,
Song of the Year (
Same Love), and
Best Music Video (
Can't Hold Us).
[34] On January 26, 2014, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis won four Grammy awards including those for Best New Artist,
Best Rap Album (
The Heist),
Best Rap Song and
Best Rap Performance (
Thrift Shop).
[35]
Personal life
Macklemore has two siblings.
[36] He became engaged to his girlfriend of seven years, Tricia Davis, on January 21, 2013.
[37] Macklemore voiced his support of
LGBT rights and same-sex marriage in the song "
Same Love", which also condemns
homophobia in mainstream hip-hop, society, and mass media.
[38]
In August 2008, Macklemore admitted himself into rehab for drug addiction and alcoholism,
[39][40] and celebrated two years of sobriety before a brief relapse in 2011, which he describes in his song "Starting Over".
[41]
He said in a 2012 documentary that he spent most of his twenties trying
to combat his addictions and destructive way of life, saying "I want to
be someone who is respected and not just in terms of my music. I want
to be respected in terms of the way that I treat people... Music is my
creative outlet in terms of expressing what is important to me; what has
importance, what has a value. And I want to be respected for that."
[12]
Macklemore is a fan of the
Major League Baseball team the
Seattle Mariners. He dedicated his song "My Oh My" as a tribute to sportscaster
Dave Niehaus, who died in November 2010, with a performance before 50,000 fans who attended the 2011 Mariners
Opening Day at
Safeco Field.
[42]
Following the performance, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were each
awarded a custom jersey embedded with a Mariners patch. He has
acknowledged baseball and hip hop music as not being "intrinsically
linked", "a bunch of people that are Mariners fans probably don't
consider hip hop, like, real music still".
[43] Ryan Lewis announced that all proceeds from the song benefit the
Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club.
[44] He also supports the
Seattle Seahawks.
[45][46]
Discography
Awards and nominations
American Music Awards
AIM Awards
ARIA Awards
BET Awards
BET Hip Hop Awards
Billboard Music Awards
Brit Awards
Grammy Awards
iHeartRadio Music Awards
MTV Europe Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards Japan
mtvU Woodie Awards
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
NRJ Music Awards
MuchMusic Video Awards
O Music Awards
Teen Choice Awards
People's Choice Awards
YouTube Music Awards
MTV Italian Music Awards
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