Macklemore burst onto the music scene in 2012 with the release of his first studio album in collaboration with Ryan Lewis titled "The Heist."The album went Platinum just over a year after being released, putting Macklemore on the radar as a mainstream rap artist. But even through his unpredictable music videos and quick rise to stardom, the Seattle-raised rapper sends a message louder and more powerful than any of his chart-topping songs ever could: through social activism.

Ben “Macklemore” Haggerty was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, a city known for its rich diversity, prominent music history, and social justice movements. From a young age his mother, a social worker, encouraged him to embrace people’s differences. Haggerty grew up in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, an area noted for its “hipster” atmosphere, nightlife, and large gay population. By the time he finished high school, Haggerty had already begun community outreach by joining a program that focused on education and cultural identity called Gateways for Incarcerated Youth. Throughout his music career, Macklemore has released several songs that focus on the dangers and inequalities in society including the drug abuse, the pharmaceutical industry, white privilege, and LGBT rights.

In an interview, Macklemore admitted his loss of innocence at a young age through the use of drugs and alcohol, and his involvement in minor criminal activity. He stated, “… I was just a young kid trying to get into whatever I could. It really was just skating, drinking, and writing graffiti.” Macklemore highlights his addiction to drugs such as marijuana, cough syrup, and painkillers and the subsequent downfall in his hit song “Otherside.” The powerful lyrics depict the personal struggles of an addict through the eyes of Macklemore while also emphasizing society’s infatuation with drugs and the effect it has on the younger generation, specifically through the rap industry. Despite a successful rehab in 2008, Macklemore experienced a relapse in 2010 which was later made the topic of the song “Starting Over.” Despite feeling like a failure for publicizing his sobriety only to relapse 2 years later, Macklemore hopes he can be a beacon of hope for those struggling as he states in his song, “If I can be an example of getting sober, then I can be an example of starting over.”

More recently, Macklemore has addressed more of America’s drug problem while also criticizing the pharmaceutical industry in the song “Kevin” from his 2016 album "This Unruly Mess I've Made."The song tells the story of Macklemore’s friend, an up-and-coming rapper who overdosed on prescription drugs at the age of 21. He attributes Kevin’s death to the pharmaceutical industry in America who, according to Macklemore, “…spends trillions fighting the war they're supplying themselves.” The lyrics also allude to the effortless availability of painkillers, both over the counter as well as prescribed. According to the National Institute of Health, 52 million people in the US over the age of 12 have used prescription drugs non-medically in their lifetime. In May of 2016, Macklemore was invited to Washington to speak with President Obama about America’s drug addiction, a growing disease that now takes more lives than traffic accidents annually and has risen threefold since 2000. The meeting occurred the same day Congress passed a bill allowing $1 billion in new funding to be allocated to recovery programs so every citizen with an opioid addiction can access the help they need.

Macklemore is also a strong advocate for LGBT rights as well as marriage equality. In his chart topper “Same Love,” Macklemore addresses homophobia and the use of terms such as “that’s gay” in today’s society, especially in the hip-hop community as well as the Catholic church. Being raised Catholic and a member of the hip-hop community, Macklemore described his upbringing as, “interesting…in terms of my lens on the issue.” Macklemore speaks from his heart in this song: breaking down stereotypes, talking about his gay uncle, and explaining why he thought he was gay when he was younger. “Same Love” eventually went on to be adopted as an anthem of the LGBT equality movement.

When asked about why he writes songs that promote equality or spark debate, Macklemore states, “I write songs that challenge myself, they challenge listeners, they might be controversial to some people, songs that push the boundaries of…the subject matter that might be in a rap song.” So whether his songs make you stand in solidarity or raise your voice in disagreement, Macklemore’s short time in the music industry has not only allowed us to examine our society as a whole, but to pursue ways to make it a safer and more accepting place.