Macklemore
Macklemore
Ben Haggerty, known by his stage name Macklemore and formerly Professor Macklemore is an American hip hop recording artist from Seattle, Washington. His stage name originated from his childhood; it was the name of his made-up superhero. Since 2000, he has independently released one mixtape, three EPs, and four albums. He has significantly collaborated with producer Ryan Lewis as Macklemore & Ryan Lewis...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionRapper
Date of Birth19 June 1983
CitySeattle, WA
CountryUnited States of America
I think people are enticed by indie rap and every time you have a group going against the grain, they're gonna be like, 'Wow, you did it yourself in 2012, that's impressive - how did you do it? What're you doing that's different? And how can I be a part of it?'
'Vote Love' means vote equality. It means vote change. It means vote what's right for humanity.
Its easy to view politicians as corrupt and voting essentially an act of picking the lesser of two evils. I understand that perspective and feel it's valid.
'The more expensive the better' is kind of the American way, and if you spent $600 for a sweatshirt, then that makes it better.
I like to be as diverse as possible. I think the humorous side and the serious side are both elements of my personality. It's what makes me who I am and if I was to neglect either one of those sides and just focus on one of them, it wouldn't be the full spectrum of my personality.
I'd always thought that if I could get sober and stay sober, I would be able to have a career making music. My drug and alcohol addiction was the one thing holding me back. I had finally gotten the tools to stay sober, and it was just a matter of writing the songs.
It's just way more fun making art, growing, grinding for a fan base, and traveling the world with a friend.
As a white male in America, I have privilege. As a white male who happens to be an artist with a fan base, I have a platform to spread awareness about that privilege. However, songs about race and privilege are very difficult to A) write and B) dissect as a listener. They're heavy.
I grew up in the spoken-word community. Before everybody had a home studio, or before we could get booked for shows, open mics were the only way to be heard by other people. It really gave me a chance to develop as a performer. Reading a piece of poetry with no beat in front of 20 people is way more challenging than rocking for 10,000 people.
The one thing I will never do is buy a shirt because of its name, especially when it's $600 for that shirt. To me, that's ridiculous. It's just a shirt; it's not worth the money.
Hip-hop was started as a very egocentric, testosterone, machismo-driven art form. The way that people are trying to take away that masculinity that is a such an intrinsical part of hip-hop music.
Drug culture is extremely prevalent and probably most people know somebody whose life has been affected by drugs, if it's not their own or in their own family, they have friends. It's a never-ending process.
I was always the type of person, and still am the type of person, that I cannot be creative and use substances. So from a very early age I knew that if I wanted to make music, successfully, in any capacity, I was going to have to get sober.
My hope is that my personal testimony can help in some way to not only advance the dialogue and approve Referendum 74, but also to help shape a culture of belonging in which ALL people are equal.