The musical collaboration between rapper Macklemore and producer Ryan Lewis began in 2008. Ben Haggerty, 29, took the stage name ‘Macklemore’ in 2000 when he recorded his first EP under the name ‘Professor Macklemore’.
Macklemore went on to independently release two more records, ‘The Language of My World’ in 2005 and ‘The Unplanned Mixtape’ in 2009. He met with Ryan Lewis in 2006 when Lewis was working as a photographer on Macklemore’s promotion. They began working together creatively in 2008 and in 2010 the pair released and EP titled ‘VS Redux EP.’ The record reached number seven on the iTunes Hip Hop chart.
In October 2012 the creative collaboration released their debut album ‘The Heist’. The album included previously released singles such as ‘My Oh My’ and ‘Can’t Hold Us.’ The latter song was featured on a Miller beer advert.
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’s breakthrough track came from their fifth and final single release from their album. ‘Thrift Shop’ was released on October 8 2012 the song proved a hit, peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart selling more than 2.2 million copies. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis also includes violinist Andrew Josleyn and trumpeter Owuor Arunga.
In August 2013, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis announced that they would start work on a new album, set to be released in late 2015.
Rapper Macklemore has been open about his struggle with substance abuse including the drug OxyCotin. He attended rehab in 2008 for drug-addiction and alcoholism and celebrated two years of sobriety in 2010.
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ songs have touched on a number of themes such as gay rights, atheism and spirituality. Speaking about his approach to creating music, Macklemore has been quoted as saying: “Music is my creative outlet in terms of expressing what is important to me; what has importance, what has a value.”
