From the Thrift Shop to Fame

         The Seattle-based music scene best known for its grunge style of music from bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains has received a new flavor from a different genre of music. The recently established rapper Macklemore brings his own flavor of Seattle to the world.

Macklemore is a rapper from Seattle, Washington who has made an abundance of noise in the rap game and the pop world since the release of his song “Thrift Shop” back in August 2012. Released only a year ago, the song did not begin to receive buzz or radio play until earlier this year. XXL Magazine’s 2012 Freshman Class issue which gives a list of 10 up-and-coming artists to watch out for and to showcase new rappers that are not well known featured Macklemore.

According to Billboard, “Thrift Shop” is only the second independent song in history to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with the first song being Lisa Loeb’s “Stay (I Missed You).” While that is impressive in itself, the single has also gone Platinum in over 10 countries worldwide. With those accolades in toll, you ask “What is next for Macklemore?” For this rapper who genuinely started from the bottom the sky is the limit.

“Thrift Shop” elevated Macklemore’s career to new heights. Macklemore has been rapping and writing music since 2000. Macklemore, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, has dealt with personal struggles while on his rise to fame. In 2008, Macklemore checked himself into rehab for his drug-addiction and alcoholism. Macklemore relapsed after returning home from a tour in 2011. It began as a cold and led to the abuse of prescribed codeine cough syrup for the rapper. Macklemore addresses his relapse in the song “Starting Over.”  

Macklemore met producer Ryan Lewis in 2009 and the duo began working. They met through MySpace and Lewis produced not only The Heist, but also Macklemore’s The VS. EP and The VS. [Redux].

Since the release of “Thrift Shop,” Macklemore has released three more singles from his album The Heist. The three other singles released being “Can’t Hold Us” featuring Ray Dalton, the uplifting “Same Love” featuring Mary Lambert, and “White Walls” featuring rapper ScHoolboy Q.

            The song “Same Love” campaigns against bullying. In an interview with The New York Times, Macklemore stated he wrote the song in March 2012 after reading an article about a bullied teenager who committed suicide. As a concerned individual, he wrote the song to tackle the issue of bullying and other topics. “I just wanted to hold myself accountable and hold hip-hop accountable and bring up an issue that was being pushed under the rug,” said Macklemore in this interview.

            Recently at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, Macklemore and long time collaborator Ryan Lewis won three moonmen for Best Hip-Hop Video and Best Cinematography for “Can’t Hold Us” along with Best Video with a Social Message for “Same Love.” Along with these awards, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ album The Heist officially went platinum as of August 25, 2013. According to Nielsen Soundscan, the album has sold 1,017,000 in the United States. 

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