Macklemore’s real name is Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, and he was born on June 19, 1983, in Seattle. Macklemore grew up listening to rap music and became a fan of the group Digital Underground at an early age. By the age of 15, Macklemore was listening to Mobb Deep, Nas, and the Wu-Tang Clan. These musicians influenced the youngster as he created his own raps. In high school, he adopted the stage moniker “Professor Macklemore,” which he later abbreviated to “Macklemore.”
Personal Life
Macklemore has been battling drug addiction for many years. Macklemore’s lengthy fight came to an end in 2008, when he checked himself into a recovery facility. He remained clean for three years after that but relapsed in 2011. After seven years of dating Tricia Davis, the pair married in 2015 after a two-year engagement. They had brought their first child, a daughter, into the world earlier that year. They welcomed their second child in 2017. The pair has a minority stake in the Seattle Sounders, an MLS soccer team.
Macklemore’s Career & Awards
Haggerty worked on his own mixtape under the alias Professor Macklemore just before graduating from high school. In the year 2000, he released the mixtape Open Your Eyes. While in high school in Seattle, Macklemore formed the hip-hop ensemble Elevated Elements with a number of other classmates. Before Haggerty left for Santa Fe to attend the College of Santa Fe, they released one album together. After graduating from high school, Haggerty released The Language of My World, his first full-length album as Macklemore. Despite not being admitted into the music department at the College of Santa Fe, Macklemore says that his stay in the city helped him better his rapping. He returned to Seattle and earned a Bachelor’s degree from Evergreen State College in 2009.
Macklemore had known Ryan Lewis since 2006, but they didn’t start working together as a musical team until 2009. Macklemore released his second mixtape, The Unplanned Mixtape, this year. Despite Macklemore’s lack of widespread recognition, the mixtape peaked at number seven on the iTunes Hip-Hop Chart. Songs on the album included “The Town” and “We Danced.” Macklemore began playing to sold-out crowds by 2011 after releasing a series of EPs and mixtapes with the assistance of Ryan Lewis.
With the release of his second studio album, The Heist, Macklemore achieved a significant breakthrough. This album debuted at number two on the Billboard top 200 in the United States in 2012, selling 78,000 copies that week. The single “Thrift Shop” was included in this album. This song created history by being the first single since 1994 to top the Hot 100 chart without the support of a major record company. “Can’t Hold Us,” a second song from The Heist, also reached the top of the Hot 100 chart. Macklemore spent the following several years working with many artists, including Ed Sheeran and 2 Chainz.
Macklemore would not release another studio album until 2016. The artist’s third album, The Unruly Mess I’ve Made, includes songs like “Wednesday,” “White Privilege II,” and “Drug Dealer.” Macklemore and Ryan Lewis declared in 2017 that they were no longer working together.
Gemini was released in 2017, and it was the first time Macklemore attempted to make hits without the assistance of Ryan Lewis. Skylar Grey contributed to the song “Glorious,” which appeared on the album. Ryan Lewis did not create this or any of the other songs. Instead, Budo produced the song, as did “Marmalade,” which featured Lil’ Yachty. “Good Old Days,” a collaboration with Kesha, was also included on the album.
Macklemore began touring with Kesha after the release of Gemini and continued till 2018. Some reviews have criticised the album’s faults, notably the lack of Ryan Lewis. According to these reviewers, Ryan Lewis produced rhythms that complimented Macklemore’s rapping style, but the producers included on Gemini did not. Many people have also commented on the album’s lack of a constant theme or style.
Throughout his musical career, Macklemore has addressed key social and political concerns. The song “Same Love” addressed issues such as homosexual marriage. “Thrift Shop” was written as a critique of consumerism in the hip-hop scene. The topic of “White Privilege II” was the Black Lives Matter Movement. Macklemore is a self-aware songwriter who frequently mentions how, as a white MC, he is exploiting black culture. Prior to the duo’s breakup, producer Ryan Lewis was an integral aspect of Macklemore’s musical approach. Ryan Lewis gave Macklemore a “poppy” sound, with loud, “in your face” choruses.
Macklemore has received several honours over his musical career. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis won four Grammys for The Heist, including Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song. Furthermore, the rapper earned three MTV Music Video Awards.
Net Worth
Macklemore is a $25 million net-worth American rap artist and musician. Macklemore is unique in the music industry since he rose to prominence without the help of a big record company. In place of a standard music contract, he pays a small fee to Warner Bros. Records to advertise his recordings on the radio. He frequently works with producer Ryan Lewis, and the two have recorded several of Macklemore’s most popular songs as a musical duet.
