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'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.
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 put myself in the place of the listener when editing my writing. The last thing that I want to do is be preached at and told who to be or what to think when listening to an artist. However, I do want to be inspired. There's a fine line.
I don't write a great song every day. I don't write a great song every couple weeks. It comes in such random times.
I write to the beat and let life play the guitar strings
When I write, I don't have any expectation of what kind of song it will become or who it might reach.
I'm someone that examines culture and tries to break down why things are the way that they are whether its hip-hop music, sex, race, or consumerism. I try to examine it and scrutinize it to the point where I can write a song.
I can write for weeks or months sometimes and edit it down to a song. I feel like it's a piece of music that will hopefully stand the test of time and hopefully capture a moment in history if I'm doing it correctly and honestly.
You need to get outside of your comfort zone to write songs that are interesting, songs that are compelling, songs that are different from what other people are writing.
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.