In 2012, virtually overnight, the rapper Macklemore and his producer Ryan Lewis were at the top of the charts with their hit unmarried "Thrift Shop" and later with their hit album The Heist.
Macklemore continued a few controversies at the height of his status and has since transform much less of the live performance price ticket sales magnet he once was. But that does not imply the Seattle-born musician has fallen into overall obscurity. His tune is still broadly streamed, his song movies were some of the most-watched on YouTube, and he nonetheless enjoys a internet worth near $25 million.
8 Who Was Macklemore Before He Was Famous?
Before he was Macklemore, he was Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, a boy born and raised in Capitol Hill district in Seattle Washington. Capital Hill is famous for being extremely innovative and for having a thriving counter-culture scene. It was here where Macklemore could be exposed to the underground hip-hop artists that influenced his style. He has cited artists and groups like Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Nas, and Talib Kwali as a few of his influences.
7 He Blew Up On The Indie Scene First
While in high school, he was very into artwork and followed the moniker "Professor Macklemore" for a project a few made-up superhero. He followed the name Professor Macklemore as his rap identify when he started a hip-hop group referred to as Elevated Elements with some of his classmates. They released one album known as Progress in 2000. It was now not a ruin hit, however he saw more success when he launched his first solo mixtape Open Your Eyes, nonetheless recording underneath the name Professor Macklemore. After he dropped Professor from his title he met Ryan Lewis, who can be his most frequent and successful collaborator.
6 Thrift Shop Became A Smash Hit
Both Macklemore and Ryan Lewis worked together while additionally pursuing their solo projects, however would see the maximum success after they wrote and carried out in combination as the duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. They officially became the duo in 2009, after they released their first EP, The VS. EP. They began to report a sequence of moderately successful songs, including "Can't Hold Us" with singer Ray Dalton in 2011. The track would go directly to be one in every of their maximum a success 2nd best to "Thrift Shop." "Thrift Shop" was a spoil hit when it got here out, making it just about to the most sensible of the Billboard charts. Also, consistent with Billboard, the tune was the first Top Forty hit to make it on the listing that wasn't from a major label since 1994.
5 Macklemore's Music Videos Became Some Of The Most Viewed On YouTube
Along with "Thrift Shop" and different hit tracks like "Wings," "White Walls," "Same Love," and "Can't' Hold Us," Macklemore and Ryan Lewis had been driving high by the finish of 2012. They additionally become damage hits when their song videos changed into a few of the most-watched movies on YouTube with nearly 2 billion hits.
4 Macklemore And Ryan Lewis Songs Are Still Used In Movies
True, none of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's follow-up tracks and albums have moved just about as much as "Thrift Shop" did. But, tracks from The Heist and their other albums can be heard in different Hollywood films to nowadays. For example, "Can't Hold Us" was the track used for the trailer of the 2022 Bryan Cranston movie Jerry And Marge Go Large.
3 He Endured Backlash For "Cultural Appropriation"
One thing that Macklemore and all white rappers face heavy complaint for is cultural appropriation. White rappers are regularly accused of being "culture vultures," because hip hop was initially a black-led track genre. Macklemore confronted this same criticism, and it follows him to at the moment. But the thought and nuance of being a white rapper don't seem to be lost on Macklemore. He and Ryan Lewis released a tune in 2016 referred to as "White Privilege II" which was their try to deal with their own privilege and demonstrate toughen for the Black Lives Matter movement. Reviews of the track had been blended, some in the black community felt it was performative nonsense while others have been satisfied to look a white rapper acknowledge they were inserting themselves into a black-led artwork shape.
2 Macklemore Made Millions Thanks To 'Thrift Shop'
Before "Thrift Shop" blew up, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis weren't wealthy men. They have been traveling mostly on the indie scene, they even performed cafeteria venues, like this one place called "The Depot" which was a school cafeteria at Humboldt State University (now called Cal Poly Humboldt). By the end of 2012, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have been selling out stadiums and performing at major song fairs like Sasquatch and Outside Lands.
1 Macklemore Is Still Making Music
Macklemore didn't move anywhere by means of the approach. He still writes and information regularly, mostly with Ryan Lewis, although the two worked one after the other from 2017 - 2020. In 2021, Macklemore launched a new unmarried titled "Next Year." He has now not recorded a new studio album since 2017, however nonetheless releases singles nearly steadily. While the wave that came after "Thrift Shop" might have pulled again into the sea, Macklemore is nonetheless browsing the tides of the tune business and he is doing it very successfully.
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