Macklemore Biography

Ben Haggerty, known by his stage name Macklemore ( ) 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's and Lewis' single "Thrift Shop" reached number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2013, selling more than 2.2 million copies. 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. 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. 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.

Early life and influences

Haggerty was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. He earned a bachelor's degree from The Evergreen State College in 2005. Though he was not born to a musical family, both of his parents were supportive of his musical ventures. Haggerty was six years old when hip hop first came in to his life by way of Digital Underground. As he grew older, he and his friends spent their summers setting up tents to listen to the radio, making dubs and mixtapes of songs that would play because he and his friends were unable to buy any due to being underage and not having parental consent.

Macklemore was fourteen when he started writing lyrics. 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. 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.

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. In September 2009, he released The Unplanned Mixtape. 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.

Since then, Macklemore has been picked up by The Agency Group, an international booking company that has represented such well-known groups as A Tribe Called Quest and Finger Eleven.

2005"2011: Comeback and The VS. series

Macklemore first met Ryan Lewis in 2006. 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. He appeared as a featured artist on The Physics' song "Good" in 2009.

In March 2010, the duo released "Stay At Home Dad," a track that didn't quite make Vs. 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 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. On April 8, 2011, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis performed the song at the 2011 Mariner's Opening Day in front of 48,000 attendees.

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. He also released "Irish Celebration" in December 2009 in anticipation of the release of The Vs. EP. Macklemore's second single "My Oh My" was released on December 21, 2010. "Wings" was released on January 21, 2011 along with "Can't Hold Us" featuring Ray Dalton on August 16, 2011.

2012"present: The Heist

In July 2012, Haggerty and Lewis announced that their debut full-length album, The Heist, would be released on October 9, 2012 as well as a subsequent world tour to promote the release. 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 recognition in Europe. "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 was sung by them 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.

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". "Thrift Shop" was voted #1 in Australian radio station Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2012. 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.

Tours and performances

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, CA.

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. That same year, the rapper appeared at many U.S. music festivals, including Bumbershoot, Outside Lands, Lollapalooza, Rock the Bells, SoundSet, Sasquatch, and Bonnaroo.

"The Heist" tour started in Fall 2012 to promote his first studio album, The Heist.

Personal life

Macklemore has two siblings. He became engaged to his girlfriend of seven years, Tricia Davis, on January 21, 2013. Macklemore is primarily of Irish descent.

Macklemore's support of LGBT rights, including same-sex marriage, is expressed in his single "Same Love", which also condemns homophobia in mainstream hip hop, society, and mass media.

In 2008, Macklemore went to rehab for drug-addiction and alcoholism. He celebrated two years of sobriety in early August 2010, as stated during his performance at Capitol Hill Block Party 2010. Macklemore relapsed in December 2011 after returning home from a tour. "Starting Over", a song featured on The Heist, talks about his relapse. He came down with a cold and was prescribed codeine cough syrup eventually leading to the abuse of the drug. He explained in a documentary that he spent most of his twenties "trying to fight [his] way out of that (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. The way, the subjects in which I choose to .. address through my music. And not because I'm, like, trying to make records about them. It's just that's what's important to me. Music is my creative outlet in terms of expressing what is important to me; what has importance, what has a value. And I wanna be respected for that."

Macklemore is a fan of baseball, particularly the Seattle Mariners. Upon releasing the music video for "My Oh My""?a song dedicated to the late sportscaster Dave Niehaus"?Macklemore, still on tour, was asked to perform for the 50,000 fans who attended Opening Day 2011, the first Seattle Mariners game since Niehaus' passing. Afterward, he and Ryan Lewis were each awarded a custom-named jersey embedded with a patch, the only other people to have the patch being those who played in the game. 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". All proceeds to the song benefited the Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club.

Discography

See Macklemore discography for more information

• The Language of My World (2005)
• The Heist (with Ryan Lewis) (2012)

Awards and nominations

BET Awards

|- |rowspan="2"|2013 |"Thrift Shop" |Video of the Year | |- |Macklemore and Ryan Lewis |Best Group | |- |}

BET Hip Hop Awards

|- |rowspan="2"|2013 |"Same Love" |Impact Track | |- |"Can't Hold Us" |People's Champ Award | |- |}

Billboard Music Awards

|- |rowspan="3"|2013 |rowspan="1"|The Heist |Rap Album of the Year | |- |rowspan="2"|"Thrift Shop" |Rap Song of the Year | |- |Top Digital Song | |- |}

MTV Europe Music Awards

|- |rowspan="5"|2013 |"Thrift Shop" |Best Song | |- |rowspan="4"|Macklemore and Ryan Lewis |Best New Act | |- |Best Hip-Hop | |- |Best World Stage Performance | |- |Best US Act | |}

MTV Video Music Awards

|- |rowspan="6"|2013 |"Thrift Shop" |Video of the Year | |- |rowspan="4"|"Can't Hold Us" |Best Hip-Hop video | |- |Best Cinematography | |- |Best Direction | |- |Best Editing | |- |"Same Love" |Best Video with a Message | |- |}

mtvU Woodie Awards

|- |rowspan="1"|2013 |Macklemore and Ryan Lewis |Branching Out Woodie | |- |}

MuchMusic Video Awards

|- |rowspan="1"|2013 |rowspan="1"|"Thrift Shop" |International Video of the Year - Group | |- |}

O Music Awards

|- |rowspan="1"|2013 |Macklemore and Ryan Lewis |Best Web-Born Artist | |- |}

Teen Choice Awards

|- |rowspan="5"|2013 |rowspan="3"|Macklemore and Ryan Lewis |Choice Music: Hip-Hop/Rap Artist | |- |Choice Music: Breakout Group | |- |Choice Summer Music Star: Group | |- |rowspan="1"| "Can't Hold Us" |Choice Music: R&B/Hip-Hop Track | |- |rowspan="1"| "Thrift Shop" |Choice Music: Single By A Group | |- |}

World Music Awards

Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
2013	"Thrift Shop"	World's Best Video
	"Thrift Shop"	World's Best Group
	Macklemore & Ryan Lewis	World's Best Male Artist