Celebrity lifestyles are full of interesting information and can be quite motivational for us. No matter who the celebrity is, we can find out a lot information about her that we never thought was possible. Every person had a difficult and unique way of climbing to the top, so understanding someone’s path can be an inspiration for us.
We are going to talk about Macklemore in today’s text. His famous American rapper and singer, came into the spotlight few years back and became an instant success. We are going to talk about his career path, his personal life and his success, so if you are interested keep on reading.
Early Years
Benjamin Haggerty, aka Macklemore, was born in Seattle on June 19th 1983. His heritage is Irish and he grew up in family of four. When he was only 6 years old, he started listening to hip hop through Digital Underground. He used to listen to Parental Advisory music even though he shouldn’t have done that.
With only 15 years, he started writing his first songs and listening to East Coast Underground hip hop. He went to the Haggerty High School and also to the Nathan Hale High School. He came up with the name Professor Macklemore and started performing under this name later on. Finishing school was important to him, so he finished The Evergreen State College in 2009 and got his degree.
In 2005 he produced his debut single Language of My World. The success, however, will wait until first and Macklemore attacks more often to drugs. Alcohol, grass and Oxycontin dominate his life from now on, so that he first sinks into the drug swamp and disappears from the scene.
But this should not be the end of his music career. In 2009, Macklemore meets producer Ryan Lewis and the chemistry between the two is right. Together they form a good MC / producer team. With the help of Ryan Lewis, Macklemore’s career receives a powerful boost. In 2012 they are producing several hit hits like The Thrift Shop and Cannot Hold Us.
As it turns out, Lewis and Haggerty are also a successful team in terms of finances – they produce and finance themselves without a big label behind them. With the album The Heist (2012) they manage to make it to the top of the international charts even without a major label.
Prizes are not long in coming and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis receive the 2014 Grammy for Best Newcomer and another three Grammys for The Thrift Shop and The Heist in the Rap category. Also in Germany, the album is well received. Big world tours follow and it hails various awards for the album The Heist.
The woman on Macklemore’s side is called Tricia Davis. Since 2006 they are a couple, in 2013 they got engaged. In January 2015, Macklemore announced via Twitter that Tricia expects him to have a child. A little later his little daughter Sloane sees the light of day.
To her, he dedicates the song Growing up (Sloane’s song), which he recorded together with his fellow musicians Ed Sheeran and Ryan Lewis. The special thing is that anyone can download this song for free on Macklemore’s website. In 2017, Tricia and he became parents for the second time.
Macklemore cannot complain about the lack of success either. In 2016, after Love Not War (2015), the album This Unruly Mess I’ve Made (2016) – again a team work with Ryan Lewis. The first single release from this, White Privilege II, causes a stir in the US, because Macklemore denounces it in the racism. In 2017, his sixth album Gemini follows, which makes it back into the charts without any problems. After a few ups and downs, the lucky streak for Macklemore seems unbeatable. We are curious what we will hear from the rapper.
Career Path
A brilliant debut truncated by drug addiction, and an unexpected return thanks to the birth of a child. We find out in this article who rapper Macklemore is, what his story is and what his daughter Sloane Ava Simone has in mind.
During his adolescence he suffered the trauma of the separation of his, but this will not prevent him from continuing his studies: after the high school obtains a degree in Liberal Arts, taken at Evergreen State College in Olympia. Subsequently Benjamin throws himself headlong into the world of music, initially taking part in a sociological program on education and cultural identity. But to tell the truth, his was a passion he cultivated from an early age.
You think his first hip hop song dates back to the age of six! In adolescence he is passionate about the genres of rap, dub and hip hop, but in parallel with the musical interest he also begins to make use of psychotropic substances and above all develops an addiction to alcohol, a fact that for some time will negatively interfere with his personal and working relationships. Macklemore albums: Ryan Lewis and the artistic partnership Macklemore’s career officially began in 2000 with an EP entitled Open Your Eyes.
It is also the moment of choosing the name of art, which comes from high school, when for a school project it had to invent the name of a superhero! In 2005 Macklemore released his first solo album: The Language of my world. At the same time, he met Ryan Lewis, a photojournalist initially responsible for advertising for him. Between the two blossoms a wonderful friendship that will soon turn into a fruitful artistic partnership.
For 3 years Macklemore disappears from the scene due to problems related to his state of health and substance abuse. In 2010 he returns with the song My Oh My dedicated to the death of Dave Niehaus (famous sports reporter of the Seattle Marines). Two years later the duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis released their first album, The Heist. This is the debut album with Ryan Lewis thanks to which they earn the podium of sales on iTunes.
Two singles are extracted from the disc: My Oh My and Wings. The album has achieved global success, ranking at the top of numerous charts and selling 1,000,000 digital units, followed by a world tour that involved Macklemore and Lewis throughout the year. We will have to wait four years before a new work by the artist and his colleague: in 2016, at the birth of Macklemore’s daughter, This Unruly Mess I’ve Made comes out, preceded by the single Growing Up written with the collaboration of Ed Sheeran.
In 2017 Gemini was released, second solo work by Macklemore. For this record the singer said he had taken a break from working with his friend Ryan Lewis, with whom he worked continuously for over nine years. For Gemini the rapper made use of collaborations with other musicians on the music scene: Skylar Gray, Eric Nally, Dan Clapen and the pop singer Kesha with whom he plays the song Good Old Days.
Ben Haggerty, artistically known as Macklemore, is a rapper and composer born in Seattle, Washington, United States, on June 19, 1983. He is recognized because he was the lead singer of the duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. He obtained a resounding success thanks to his songs “Cannot Hold Us” and “Thrift Shop”, which reached the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 list.
He was 14 years old when he started writing lyrics, and three years later he started his musical career independently. At first he became known as Professor Macklemore, and under this pseudonym he recorded an EP entitled “Open Your Eyes”.
He had a relapse in 2012 and felt so sorry that he recorded the song “Starting Over”, which he included in his second studio album “The Heist”. This production catapulted him to fame by positioning himself at number two on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States.
His first single titled “The Town” was released in The Unplanned Mixtape. This track was followed by “My Oh My”, released on December 21, 2010. “Wings” released on January 21, 2011, and this same released “Cannot Hold Us”, with the collaboration of singer Ray Dalton.
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis won seven nominations at the 2014 Grammy Awards. The musicians won in four categories: Best rap album, best rap performance, best rap song and best newcomer for “The Heist” and “Thrift Shop”, respectively. In February 2016 his latest album with Ryan Lewis “This Unruly Mess I’ve Made” is released.
On September 22, 2017, the rapper published his second solo studio album entitled “Geminis” through Bendo LLC. The record production includes 16 tracks, which include promotional singles: “Glorious”, “Marmalade” and “Good Old Days”.
Ben’s net worth is estimated at around 20$ million. His net worth is certainly going to go up in the following period, because he is not done with his music career. Macklemore is currently performing and regularly announcing his performances on his social media.
He also gets a lot of money from his performances in shows, appearances in movies and from other projects he has been involved in.
Personal life
Macklemore, or Ben Haggerty, grows up in rainy Seattle, Washington, where he also attends Nathan and Hale High School. Already during his school days, Hip Hop captivates him. At the age of six he hears the first rap songs and already as a teenager he writes his first own lyrics. He has been wearing the stage name Macklemore since his time at school. The name comes from an art project and is actually meant for a fictional superhero. Ben Haggerty adopts him as a stage name and remains true to him to this day.
During high school he recorded his first EP Open Your Eyes (2000) under the name “Professor Macklemore”. First of all, for Macklemore, the music is just a nice hobby and he first goes to Evergreen State College, which he successfully leaves with a bachelor’s degree. After graduation, he accepts a job at the Juvenile Prison where he offers hip-hop workshops. But finally, the love of music gains the upper hand and Macklemore decides to start a music career.
In 2013, Macklemore got engaged to his girlfriend Tricia. The couple announced on Twitter in 2015 that they are expecting their first child together. After the birth of his daughter, Ben decided to devote a song to her called Growing up. The same year their daughter was born, the couple finally married and exchanged vows.
In 2018 they told the fans that they are expecting their second child and are extremely happy about the news. Ben is a vocal supporter of the LGBT rights and also same sex marriages. His life wasn’t without difficulties, because in 2008 he admitted himself into a rehab clinic due to his drug and alcohol addiction. He wanted to seek help and recover, so he can enjoy life and not waste it being high.
He even spoke at the Barack Obama’s weekly address, about how dangerous opioids are and how we should take better care of ourselves. He warns younger people about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and promotes rehab clinics for everyone who are already in the vicious circle of drugs.
Macklemore received a Stevie Ray Vaughan Award as a recognition for his MusiCares and devotion to help others fight against addiction. He appeared in movies Mac Miller and the Most Dope Family as himself, in Under the Gun and Songland as himself as well.
His favorite thing to do is to spend time with his family, his wife and his two young daughters. His life seems to be on the right track at the moment, so hopefully it is going to stay the same way in the future. He has been working hard and earning a lot of money, so we will be waiting for his new projects in the future. Until then, we have his songs to listen to and enjoy.
Quick summary
Full name: Benjamin Hammond Haggerty
Date of birth: June 19, 1983
Birthplace: Seattle, Washington, U.S
Age: 36
Profession: Rapper, songwriter
Height: 1.80m
Weight: 82 kg
Net Worth: 20$ million
