Digital Media and Design

Kyle Stapleton

Tiffany Rowland

English 120

9/6/2012

Leader Prolife – Final Draft

Music Influencing the World

(Happy Birthday Macklemore)

Born June 18, 1983 in Seattle Washington, Ben Haggerty was born. From that moment on he loved music and the way it made people feel. Growing up at Garfield Middle School and Nathan Hale High School, he witnessed things in everyone’s lives that most people over look. He saw poverty, drug abuse, same sex relationships, bullying, and more. He states in one of his song “White Privilege”, “see I was put in the position where I could chose my options blessed with the privilege that my parents could send me to college” (White Privilege, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis). Ben was fortunate enough to go to a good school and for his family to have enough money to support them and his education. He still noticed all the people in the world who happened to not be as fortunate as him. Ben could tell there were too many problems with today’s society so he become an artist under the name Macklemore and made it his life goal is to help change the world with his music. Ben believes that to start the world off onto a better path is by making the people aware of the issues. A majority of the songs that he has written talks about a variety of different issues on both ends of the spectrum; from same gender marriage, all the way to growing up in poverty. When listening to the songs he writes, it makes you think. He touches on so many topics that most people don’t think about every day. By showing the world the problems of today’s society Ben Haggerty is a great example for everyone out there.

Track #1

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. “Otherside”. The VS. EP. Ryan Lewis, 2009.

Drugs are everywhere, no matter where you go. They affect people in so many different ways. Ben knows this from firsthand experience. He was addicted to OxyContin for four years, starting in 2005. He wrote this song once he sobered up as a way to inform kids and teens of the harmful effects of drugs and how there is nothing good to come of them. In the song he says “I’ve seen OxyContin take three lives…Broken, hopeless, headed nowhere only motivation for what the dealer's supplying”. In those lyrics he says that drugs bring death and despair. He believes the world would be a better place without drugs.

Track #2

Third Day. “Tunnel”. Wherever You Are. Brown Bannister, 2005.

In this song they talk about how there “is a light at the end of the tunnel”. They are saying that things will get better with time. All you have to do is get through the “tunnel”. This pertains to Ben Haggerty; he hosts an annual pizza party for teens and young adults. He invites people to express their lives, their hardships, their problems through art. The pizza party is a competition for who can express their feelings through art (music, drawings, paintings, etc.) the best. Those who do well get invited to his pizza party (“Macklemore, Wikipedia”). With the party he is encouraging troubled kids and teens to channel their emotions through some form of art to overcome whatever trouble they may be facing.

Track #3

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. “Stay at Home Dad”. The VS. Redux – EP. Ryan Lewis, 2010.

Towards the end of the song he stops singing and talks about how in today’s society men go to work and women stay at home. He says, “Ladies and gentlemen, we have been conditioned to believe we must fit in a role….It’s men who go to work, and women raise the children, but I know the hardest job is maintaining the household”. Gender roles have become such a big deal in our society that it has almost become a normal thing. Ben sees it as though no job should gender oriented; that men can be a stay at home parents, have a blue color, or a white collar job, while women should have the same exact options as males. Gender should have nothing to do with your job. Whatever job it may be, you should get hired for your skills and abilities and now for how you look.

Track #4

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. “Life is Cinema”. The VS. EP. Ryan Lewis, 2009.

Ben believed that everything should be questioned. Government, school, etc. Change can only come from someone standing up and questioning the big picture. “See I'd be scared if there wasn't a riot pushin and pullin, grabbin some hair, pukin and fuckin up the sidewalk”. Ben Haggerty believes in peace and that the world would be a better place with it (“Music. Drugs. God. Music.”). Still, he believes that sometimes forceful measures need to be taken to reach the moment of peace. In this song he is saying that people need to stand up for what they believe in, even if no one else conforms to you.

Track #5

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. “Wings”. Wings – Single. Ryan Lewis, 2011.

“What I wore, this is the source of my youth this dream that they sold to you. For a hundred dollars and some change consumption is in the veins and now I see it’s just another pair of shoes”. Consumerism is another big topic that Ben will talk about in his songs. This song is the biggest of his on consumerism. In America today, products control us. In this song it specifies Nike shoes, but the message of the song pertains to products in general and how they own us. The message is still there on how we “need” a certain item or product, when really it is just a want. Ben says that it is practically a disease that spreads. People will kill for certain products, like in this song for example: his friend was murdered for the pair of shoes that he was wearing. “And then my friend Carlos’ brother got murdered for his Fours”.

Track #6

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. “Same Love”. Same Love – Single. Ryan Lewis, 2012.

There are extremists on both sides of this topic. Some believe that same gender marriage is a complete sin; while others see it just as beautiful as any other marriage in the world. “A world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are” is a strong message to everyone out there. Kids have been bullied, harassed, and even committed suicide because of who they are. Everyone is equal, no matter your skin tone, sexuality, height, weight, or hair color. Ben knows this is a touchy subject to some people, yet he still tells people to be who they are and not who society wants them to be. Be yourself, be proud of yourself, and don’t let anyone change that.

Track #7 – Enjoying the Small Things

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. “Thrift Shop”. Thrift Shop – Single. Ryan Lewis, 2012.

Ben likes to see the small things in life and take advantage of them. Even though this is not an extreme issue today, he still believes that you do not need money to be happy. It is not about the clothes you wear or the car you drive. It is all about who you are as an individual. In this song he talks about how he goes to the Goodwill to get some new clothes. This ties back to track number five, consumerism. Ben lives his life; he does not let things in his life live him. He enjoys the little things that do not need money.

Works Cited

Happy Birthday Macklemore. N.d. Photograph. Get Off My Fucking Couch. 19 June 2012. Web. 5 Aug. 2012. <http://getoffmyfuckingcouch.tumblr.com/post/25437515351/happy-birthday-macklemore>.Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

"Life Is Cinema." The VS. EP. Ryan Lewis, 2009. YouTube. 1 Apr. 2011. Web. 5 Aug. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6jcr6k8J6A>.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. "Otherside." The VS. EP. Ryan Lewis, 2009. YouTube. 31 Aug. 2011. Web. 5 Aug. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvDQy53eldY>.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. "Same Love." Rec. 24 July 2012. Same Love - Single. Ryan Lewis, 2012. YouTube. 18 July 2012. Web. 5 Aug. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUD_c9MqtEU>.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. "Stay at Home Dad." The VS. Redux - EP. Ryan Lewis, 2009. YouTube. 30 July 2011. Web. 5 Aug. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGgKu-PYc8g>.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. "Thrift Shop." Rec. 29 Aug. 2012. Thrift Shop - Single. Ryan Lewis, 2012. YouTube. 29 Aug. 2012. Web. 5 Aug. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK8mJJJvaes>.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. White Privilege. Rec. 17 June 2008. Ryan Lewis, 2008. YouTube. 24 Nov. 2009. Web. 5 Sept. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp_lW7yYgiM>.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. "Wings." Rec. 21 Jan. 2011. Wings - Single. Ryan Lewis, 2011. YouTube. 20 July 2011. Web. 5 Aug. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAg3uMlNyHA>.

Third Day. "Tunnel." Wherever You Are. Brown Bannister, 2005. YouTube. 19 Aug. 2008. Web. 5 Aug. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVONETpOocc>.

"Music. Drugs. God. Music." City Arts Magazine. N.p., 1 Dec. 2009. Web. 5 Aug. 2012. <http://www.cityartsonline.com/issues/seattle/2009/12/music-drugs-god-music>.

Every morning Ben Haggerty, a.k.a. Macklemore, meditates for thirty minutes. He meditates to be closer to god and to calm his mind. He completed the Dhamma Kuñja, which meant that he stayed in a building of meditation and he couldn’t speak for ten days. He believes that is it a good thing to be close to god. He struggled for years with drugs; OxyContin to be exact. Instead of being depressed and emotionally vacant, he used his drug experience and wrote the song “Otherside”. With all those aspect in his life, the auther of this article could write “Music. Drugs. God. Music”.

"Macklemore." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Sept. 2012. Web. 5 Aug. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macklemore>.

Ben Haggerty grew up in Seattle, Washington. He always had a fascination with music and how it moved people. After going through school he worked at a juvenile-detention facility. He felt the need to help kids and teens in his community. At a young age he started rapping and took the name Professor Macklemore after the Seattle Mariners player Mark McLemore. Later he dropped the Professor and just kept Macklemore. He began touring all over and even played in Ireland where his family is from. He has had multiple singles and albums; and he is still releasing more to this day.