Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Macklemore ( ; formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper. A native of

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, he started his career in 2000 as an independent artist releasing: ''Open Your Eyes'' (2000), ''The Language of My World'' (2005), and ''The Unplanned Mixtape'' (2009). He rose to international success collaborating with producer

Ryan Lewis Ryan Scott Lewis (born March 25, 1988) is an American musician and record producer based in Seattle, Washington. Along with producing his own album, ''Instrumentals'', Lewis produced the albums ''The VS. EP'' (2009), '' The Heist'' (2012), and ...

as the duo

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were an American Hip hop music, hip hop duo from Seattle, Seattle, Washington, formed in 2009 by rapper MacklemoreTrust, Gary (2013)Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 'Can't Hold Us' Makes Hot 100 History, ''Billboard (magazine), B ...

(2009–2016). Macklemore's and Lewis's single "

Thrift Shop "Thrift Shop" is a song written and performed by American hip hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring vocals from American singer Wanz, released in 2012, as the fourth single from the former's debut studio album, '' The Heist'' (2012). The lyr ...

" (featuring

Wanz Michael "Mike" Wansley (born October 9, 1961), better known by his stage names Wanz and TeeWanz, is an American R&B singer. He performs in various genres, including rock, R&B, soul, hip-hop, and pop. He was featured on fellow Seattle-based du ...

) reached number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 2013. The single was dubbed by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' as the first song since 1994 to top the Hot 100 chart without the support of a major record label; however, Macklemore, in a slightly unusual

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

, pays a nominal percentage of sales to use

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

's radio promotion department to push his singles. Their second single, "

Can't Hold Us "Can't Hold Us" is a song written and performed by American hip hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring American singer Ray Dalton, originally released on August 16, 2011, as the second single from the duo's debut album '' The Heist'' (2012 ...

", also peaked at number one on the Hot 100 chart, making Macklemore and Lewis the first duo in the chart's history to have their first two singles both reach the peak position. Their debut studio album '' The Heist'' was released on October 9, 2012, and charted at number 2 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200. The duo won four

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

at the 2014 ceremony, including

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967) "for a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that ar ...

, Best Rap Album (''The Heist''), Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance ("Thrift Shop"). The pair's second album, ''

This Unruly Mess I've Made ''This Unruly Mess I've Made'' is the second and final studio album by American hip hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. It was released on February 26, 2016, by Macklemore LLC and Alternative Distribution Alliance. Following the success of the duo's ...

'', was released on February 26, 2016. In June 2017, Macklemore released " Glorious", a single featuring

Skylar Grey Holly Brook Hafermann (born February 23, 1986), known professionally as Skylar Grey, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. In 2004, Grey signed a publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group and a recording contract w ...

, which marked his return to the music industry as well as his first major single produced without Lewis since his mainstream breakthrough. Macklemore released a second solo studio album, '' Gemini'', in September of that year. On February 24, 2023, he released a follow-up album entitled ''

Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett, Benson or Ebenezer, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben meaning "son of" is also found in Arabic as ''Ben'' (dialectal Arabic) or ''bin ...

''.

Early life and influences

Benjamin Hammond Haggerty was born in

, on June 19, 1983, one of two sons born to Bill Haggerty and Julie Schott. He was raised with his brother Tim in Seattle's

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...

neighborhood. He has Irish heritage and was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Haggerty was six years old when

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

first came into his life by way of

Digital Underground Digital Underground is an American alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California. Its lineup grows with each album and tour. Digital Underground's leader and mainstay was Gregory "Shock G" Jacobs (also known as Humpty Hump). Shock G forme ...

.106 & Park : Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
BET (November 13, 2012). Retrieved on April 11, 2013.
BET (November 14, 2012). Retrieved on April 11, 2013. At the age of 15, he began to write lyrics. At the time he started to sing, Haggerty listened to "a lot of East Coast underground hip hop", listing

Hieroglyphics Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs ( ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined ideographic, logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct characters.I ...

Freestyle Fellowship Freestyle Fellowship is an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. It consists of Aceyalone, Myka 9, P.E.A.C.E., and Self Jupiter. The group was a prominent part of the Good Life Cafe collective, and are part of the Project Blo ...

, Aceyalone, Living Legends,

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo formed in Queens, New York (state), New York in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy (rapper), Prodigy and Havoc (musician), Havoc, they are considered to be among the pr ...

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

, and

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He first earned recognition through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey) in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's music ...

as his major influences. He was interested in reaching a younger generation through his music and became part of a program focusing on education and cultural identity called "Gateways for Incarcerated Youth", where he facilitated music workshops. Haggerty attended Garfield High School and Nathan Hale High School. At Hale, he developed the stage name "Professor Macklemore" for an art project involving a made-up superhero, and at Garfield, he started a hip-hop group named Elevated Elements with other students. The group released an album, ''Progress'', in 2000. Haggerty enrolled at the

College of Santa Fe A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary education, tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding academic degree, degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further educatio ...

for a year, later saying in an interview that " was a very pivotal time in a lot of ways. Santa Fe was the place where I got good at rapping". After not getting into the music program, he moved back to Seattle. Haggerty later enrolled at

Evergreen State College The Evergreen State College is a public liberal arts college in Olympia, Washington. Founded in 1967, it offers a non-traditional undergraduate curriculum in which students have the option to design their own study towards a degree or follow a ...

in Olympia and completed his bachelor's degree in 2009.

Career

2000–2008: ''The Language of My World''

In 2000, Haggerty recorded a mixtape titled ''Open Your Eyes'' under the name Professor Macklemore, which he distributed himself and released on October 21, 2000. Haggerty dropped "Professor" from his name and began working on his first official full-length album, called '' The Language of My World''. The album was released on January 1, 2005, with its lead single, "Love Song", being announced the same day. "Love Song" featured singer Evan Roman, and was produced by Budo, who would later go on to produce several more tracks for Macklemore. In 2006, Haggerty first met his future collaborator

. Lewis, who would go on to release two albums with Haggerty as

, spent a few years working on Macklemore's promotion as a photographer. The two musicians would soon become good friends but would not formalize their collaborative efforts until 2009. In the meantime, Macklemore kept busy as a solo artist, appearing on The Physics's song "Good" in 2009, as well as performing at the Seattle major arts and music festival

Bumbershoot Bumbershoot is an annual international music and arts festival held in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. One of North America's largest such festivals, it takes place every Labor Day (United States), Labor Day weekend (leading up to and ...

in 2006, 2009, and 2011. Macklemore's second mixtape, '' The Unplanned Mixtape,'' was released on September 7, 2009. It would later reach No. 7 on the

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

Hip Hop chart. The

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

was accompanied by the singles "The Town" and "And We Danced", the latter of which featured singer Ziggy Stardust. "The Town" was later remixed by Sabzi of the

Blue Scholars Blue Scholars is an American hip hop duo based in Seattle, Washington, created in 2002 while the members, DJ Sabzi (Saba Mohajerjasbi) and MC Geologic (George Quibuyen), were students at the University of Washington. The name "Blue Scholar ...

2009–2017: Career with Ryan Lewis

In 2009, Macklemore and

formalized the collaboration as a duo

. They released the EP ''The VS. EP''. They also released "Irish Celebration" in December 2009 in anticipation of the release of ''The Vs. EP''. In March 2010, the duo released "Stay At Home Dad", a track that "didn't quite make" ''Vs.'' In October 2010, they created the ''VS. Redux'' EP. Macklemore used his experience with substance abuse to create the mixtape's song "Otherside", which samples the

Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...

song of the same title. On April 8, 2011, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis performed the song at the 2011 Mariners Opening Day in-front of a sold-out crowd of nearly 48,000 attendees. " Wings" was released on January 21, 2011, followed by "

" featuring

Ray Dalton Raymond Adrien Dalton (born May 10, 1990) is an American singer based in Seattle, Washington. He began his career as a gospel and R&B singer. Dalton gained prominence as the featured artist on Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 2011 song "Can't Hold Us" ...

on August 16, 2011. In February 2011, Macklemore and producer Ryan Lewis kicked off a multi-city tour in Seattle, which included three sold-out shows at the Showbox at the Market music venue. That same year, the rapper appeared at many U.S. music festivals, including

Outside Lands Outside Lands was the name used in the 19th century for the present-day Richmond District and Sunset District on the West Side of San Francisco. With few roads and no public transportation, the area was covered by sand dunes and was conside ...

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...

, Rock the Bells, Soundset,

Sasquatch Bigfoot (), also commonly referred to as Sasquatch (), is a large, hairy Mythic humanoids, mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.Example definitions include: *"A large, hairy, manlike ...

, and

Bonnaroo Bonnaroo (or Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival) is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Bonnaroo has taken place at what is now Great Stage Park, a 700-acre (280 ha) far ...

Their album '' The Heist'' was released in October 2012 and debuted on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 at number 2 of the week dated October 27, 2012, selling over 78,000 copies. "

Same Love "Same Love" is a song by American hip hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, released as the third single from their 2012 debut studio album, '' The Heist''. The track, featuring vocals by Seattle-based singer Mary Lambert, talks about the issue of ...

" was released on July 18, 2012, and after "

White Walls "White Walls" is a hip-hop song by an American hip-hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, taken from their collaborative debut studio album '' The Heist'' (2012). The song's hook is performed by singer Hollis, while American rapper Schoolboy Q, perfo ...

". In January 2013,

Music Choice Music Choice (abbreviated as MC) is an American television music service that digitally broadcasts audio-based music channels and video-related content to cable television providers in the United States. In 2019, it reached 65 million household ...

featured Macklemore in the brand new series "Primed", which focuses on emerging artists. In May 2013, Haggerty was featured on Clinton Sparks's single "Gold Rush", along with

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (formerly Tity Boi), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Ci ...

and D.A. The Heist World Tour began in August 2012 to promote ''The Heist''. In May 2014, Macklemore was accused of

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

after wearing a costume resembling a common Jewish caricature during a private concert in

. The rapper released an apology and stated his intention was to disguise himself, not to impersonate any ‘type’ of person. In January 2015, Macklemore announced via Twitter that his third studio album would be released sometime in the second half of that year. Despite this, the album was not released until February 26, 2016. On August 5, 2015, Macklemore released a song for free download titled "Growing Up (Sloane's Song)", which features

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

. On August 27, 2015, he released a new song called "

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

" which features Foxy Shazam vocalist Eric Nally,

Kool Moe Dee Mohandas Dewese (born August 8, 1962), better known by his stage name Kool Moe Dee, is an American rapper, songwriter and actor. Considered one of the forerunners of the new jack swing sound in hip hop, he gained fame in the 1980s as a member of ...

Melle Mel Melvin Glover (born May 15, 1961), better known by his stage name Grandmaster Melle Mel or simply Melle Mel (), is an American rapper who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Career Glover began per ...

, and Grandmaster Caz, which he performed at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards on August 30. On his first tour in two years, An Evening with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Macklemore announced that his new album was finished and ready for release. On January 15, 2016, Macklemore released a teaser video on his

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel revealing the name of his third studio album, ''

'', and announcing that it was scheduled to be released on February 26, 2016. On January 22, 2016, the duo released " White Privilege II", the second single on ''This Unruly Mess I've Made''. On February 26, 2016, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis released the album ''This Unruly Mess I've Made''. Also in 2016, Macklemore released two solo singles, "

Drug Dealer A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...

" and "Wednesday Morning". "Drug Dealer" features Macklemore rapping about his previous addictions and is featured in a documentary that includes clips of Macklemore discussing drug abuse with President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

. "Wednesday Morning" was released after the 2016 U.S. Election and features Macklemore rapping about the political future of the country. The tracks were produced by Budo. On June 15, 2017, Macklemore announced via his official

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

that the duo were on hiatus.

2017–present: ''Gemini'' & ''Ben''

On June 15, 2017, Macklemore released " Glorious", featuring American singer

, as the lead single from Macklemore's second solo studio album '' Gemini''. On July 26, 2017, Macklemore released "

Marmalade Marmalade (from the Portuguese ''marmelada'') is a fruit preserves, fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It also has been made from lemons ...

", featuring American rapper

Lil Yachty Miles Parks McCollum (born August 23, 1997), known professionally as Lil Yachty, is an American rapper. He first gained recognition in August 2015 for his viral hit "One Night (Lil Yachty song), One Night", the lead single from his debut extend ...

, as the second single from Macklemore's upcoming album. "

Good Old Days Good old days – commonly stylized as "good ol' days" – is a cliché in popular culture used to reference a time considered by the speaker to be better than the current era. It is a form of nostalgia that can reflect homesickness or Longing (e ...

", a collaboration with

Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. Her first major success came in 2009 when she was featured on rapper Flo Rida's number-one single, "Right Round". Kesha's music and ima ...

, was released as a single on October 9, 2017. Macklemore released ''Gemini'' on September 22. The album was produced by longtime collaborator Budo. On October 1, Macklemore performed "Same Love" in a set at the opening of the Grand Final of the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia — something that was considered by some to be controversial in the middle of a national survey on same sex marriage. Macklemore stated that it was one of his best performances due to the circumstances and thanked the fans in Sydney for the reception that he received throughout. On December 11, 2017, Macklemore announced an upcoming co-headlining tour with Kesha titled The Adventures of Kesha and Macklemore. This was Macklemore's fifth headlining tour, promoting his album ''Gemini'' and Kesha's sixth headlining tour, promoting her third solo album ''

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

'' (2017). The tour began in Phoenix on June 6, 2018, and concluded in Tampa on August 5, 2018. On October 29, 2021, Macklemore released a new single titled "Next Year", featuring American singer Windser. Macklemore also worked with Ryan Lewis on the single, marking their first collaboration in three years. On July 22, 2022, Macklemore released a new single, "

Chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of no ...

", with Australian musician

Tones and I Toni Watson, known professionally as Tones and I, is an Australian singer, songwriter, and record producer. She is best known for her breakout single "Dance Monkey", which reached number one in over 30 countries including her home country ...

. On August 19, 2022, Macklemore released the single, " Maniac", featuring American musician Windser. The third single, "

Faithful Faithful may refer to: Film and television * ''Faithful'' (1910 film), an American comedy short directed by D. W. Griffith * ''Faithful'' (1936 film), a British musical drama directed by Paul L. Stein * ''Faithful'' (1996 film), an American cr ...

", featuring NLE Choppa, was released on October 28, 2022. The fourth single, " Heroes", featuring

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He has been frequently lauded as one of hip hop's greatest producers by publications such as '' ...

, was released on January 20, 2023. Macklemore's third solo studio album, ''

'', was released on March 3, 2023. In May 2024, he released " Hind's Hall", a

protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for protest and social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. ...

in support of the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses, with all proceeds donated towards

UNRWA The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA, pronounced ) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians who fl ...

Personal life

Family

Macklemore became engaged to his girlfriend of seven years, Tricia Davis, on January 21, 2013. On January 3, 2015, he announced on Twitter that he and Davis were expecting their first child that May. After the release of "Growing Up (Sloane's Song)", which featured English singer-songwriter

, the couple announced that their daughter, Sloane Ava Simone Haggerty, had been born on May 29. Following the birth of Sloane, they married on June 27, 2015. In September 2017, the couple announced that they were expecting their second child. On April 3, 2018, Macklemore announced during a performance at the 3Arena that Davis had given birth to their second daughter. He did not tell the crowd her name. In 2021, they had their third child, Hugo. In 2017, Macklemore's grandmother, Helen Schott, celebrated her 100th birthday, with the two traveling around

Modesto, California Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the List of cities and towns in Ca ...

for the music video of his song " Glorious."

Health

In August 2008, Macklemore admitted himself into

drug rehabilitation Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin, and amphetamines. The general int ...

for

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

and

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

, and celebrated three years of sobriety before a brief relapse in 2011, which he describes in his song "Starting Over". He said in a 2012 documentary that he spent most of his twenties trying to combat his addictions and destructive way of life: On May 14, 2016, Macklemore appeared in U.S. President

's weekly address to talk about the dangers of addiction to opioids and prescription

painkillers An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic, antalgic, pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used for pain management. Analgesics are conceptually distinct from anesthetics, which temporarily reduce, and in so ...

. Macklemore talked about his own experiences with abuse of painkillers, stating "When you're going through it, it's hard to imagine anything being worse than addiction. But the shame and stigma associated with the disease keeps too many people from seeking the help they actually need. Addiction isn't a personal choice or a personal failure." On September 29, 2018, Macklemore headlined Recovery Fest in

Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket ( ) is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence, Rhode Island, Prov ...

. Recovery Fest was formed to have a drug- and alcohol-free concert and support charities that worked in combating opioid addiction. In the summer of 2020, during and in part due to the social isolation that took place during the

COVID-19 lockdowns During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of Non-pharmaceutical intervention (epidemiology), non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar socie ...

, Macklemore relapsed and suffered a near-fatal overdose. He was hospitalized and given treatment; he eventually recovered from the episode. This experience, as well as the ongoing challenge of overcoming addiction while also raising children, served as an inspiration for much of the lyrical content that makes up his third solo studio album, ''Ben.''

Activism and political views

Macklemore voiced his support of

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...

and same-sex marriage in the song "

" released in 2012, which also condemns

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

in mainstream hip-hop, society, and mass media. Macklemore is an outspoken critic of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. In July 2016, he was featured on "Pt. 2" remix of YG's " FDT (Fuck Donald Trump)" alongside

G-Eazy Gerald Earl Gillum (born May 24, 1989), better known by his stage name G-Eazy, is an American rapper. Based in Oakland, California, he began his career in 2006 and released two independent studio albums before signing with RCA Records to releas ...

. In January 2021, after the presidential inauguration of

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

, he released "Trump's Over Freestyle". Macklemore attended the 2017 Women’s March on Washington. On May 16, 2019, Macklemore received the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award from

MusiCares MusiCares Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1989 and incorporated in 1993 by the The Recording Academy, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Meant for musicians to have a place to turn in times of financial, pers ...

, in recognition of his support of MusiCares and the addiction recovery process. Macklemore is a supporter of

Palestinian nationalism Palestinian nationalism is the national movement of the Palestinian people that espouses Palestinian self-determination, self-determination and sovereignty over the region of Palestine.de Waart, 1994p. 223 Referencing Article 9 of ''The Pales ...

. On October 30, 2023, during the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, he signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire and an end to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

blockade of the Gaza Strip The restrictions on movement and goods in Gaza imposed by Israel date to the early 1990s. After Hamas took over in 2007, Israel significantly intensified existing movement restrictions and imposed a complete blockade on the movement of good ...

. In November 2023, while giving a speech at a pro-Palestinian rally in Washington, D.C., he accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians. In May 2024, he released " Hind's Hall", a

in support of the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses, with all proceeds donated towards

. In August 2024, Macklemore cancelled his show scheduled to take place in October that year in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, citing the United Arab Emirates' involvement " in the ongoing genocide and humanitarian crisis" in

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. He said he will not perform in the country until it "stops arming and funding the RSF". He also mentioned having no judgement of the artists continuing to perform in the Emirates. At a pro-Palestinian rally in September 2024, Macklemore exclaimed "fuck America", causing widespread controversy, including being dropped from the Neon City Festival in Las Vegas. Several Seattle teams such as the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

Seattle Kraken The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The t ...

, and

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

all condemned his statements and stated that they would review any further involvement from Macklemore. He later apologized for the incident, saying “My thoughts and feelings are not always expressed perfectly or politely,” and that at times he “slips up and gets caught in a moment.” Macklemore joined with Watermelon Pictures and BreakThrough News to produce '' The Encampments'', a documentary film about the Gaza Solidarity Encampment at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. The film features interviews with prominent protestors including Mahmoud Khalil. ''The Encampments'' premiered at CPH:DOX on March 25, 2025.

Interests

Macklemore is a fan of the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

. He created a 12th man promotional video and performed at the 2014 NFC Championship Game. He remains a fan of the now- relocated

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...

. In August 2019, Macklemore joined the ownership group of

, the local

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club. He is a fan of the

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

; on April 18, 2022, the Kraken announced that Macklemore had joined its ownership group. Macklemore has an eclectic taste in art, including outlandish garments spouting sequins, fringe and feathers, a

kitsch ''Kitsch'' ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as Naivety, naïve imitation, overly eccentric, gratuitous or of banal Taste (sociology), taste. The modern avant-garde traditionally opposed kitsch ...

y velvet painting of a

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

, an oil painting of

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

dancing and a Dan Lacey painting of a nude

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

Discography

* ''The Language of My World'' (2005) * '' Gemini'' (2017) * ''

'' (2023)

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Macklemore 1983 births Activists from Seattle American people of Irish descent Grammy Award winners for rap music Hip-hop activists LGBTQ rights activists from Washington (state) Living people MTV Video Music Award winners Musicians from Seattle Rappers from Seattle Rappers from Washington (state) Evergreen State College alumni 21st-century American male rappers Garfield High School (Seattle) alumni Pop rappers Ryan Lewis American activists for Palestinian solidarity 21st-century American rappers American hip-hop singers Alternative hip-hop musicians West Coast hip-hop musicians Santa Fe University of Art and Design alumni

Early life and influences

Career

2000–2008: ''The Language of My World''

2009–2017: Career with Ryan Lewis

2017–present: ''Gemini'' & ''Ben''

Personal life

Family

Health

Activism and political views

Interests

Discography

Filmography

See also

References

Further reading

External links