Macklemore is an American rapper who has an estimated net worth of $16 million. He was born Ben Haggerty on June 19, 1983 in Seattle, Washington. He became interested in hip hop with Digital Underground at the age of six. He started writing rap lyrics when he was fourteen. He was influenced by a lot of East Coast underground hip hop including Freestyle Fellowship, Aceyalone, Living Legends, Wu-Tang Clan, Nas and Talib Kweli.
In 2000, Macklemore released his first EP at the age of seventeen under the name Professor Macklemore. Five years later, he dropped “Professor” from his name then he released his first official full-length album called The Language of My World. He released The Unplanned Mixtape in 2009. By 2010, he collaborated with producer Ryan Lewis to create the VS. Redux EP. He used his experience with substance abuse to create the mixtape’s critically acclaimed song Otherside, which samples the Red Hot Chili Pepper song of the same title.
In October 2012, Macklemore and Lewis released their first full-length album called The Heist. It has been massively successful which debuted at #1 on the iTunes charts and at #2 on the Billboard charts. By 2012, they are still unplugged and have been featured in several music magazines and on television. Their single “Thrift Shop” has been viewed on YouTube for more than 415 million times. It has also reached number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2013 after more than 2.2 million copies were sold.