Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are an American hip hop duo, formed in 2008, from Seattle, Washington. The duo is composed of Ben Haggerty, a rapper who goes by the stage name of Macklemore, and Ryan Lewis, a record producer, DJ, and professional photographer, who met the former at a photo shoot. In 2009, they released their first collaborative effort, an EP titled VS. EP. They later followed up with VS. Redux (2010), the Grammy Award-winning album The Heist (2012) and This Unruly Mess I’ve Made (2016).
Macklemore and Lewis’ single “Thrift Shop” reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 2013. The single was soon dubbed the first song since 1994 to top the Hot 100 chart without the support of a major record label by Billboard, although Macklemore, in a slightly unusual recording contract, pays a nominal percentage of sales to use Warner Bros. Records’ radio promotion department to push his singles. Their second single, “Can’t Hold Us”, also peaked at number one on the Hot 100 Chart, making Macklemore and Lewis the first duo in the chart’s history to have their first two singles both reach the peak position. Macklemore and Lewis released their debut studio album, The Heist, on October 9, 2012, which charted at number 2 on the US Billboard 200. The pair won four Grammy Awards at the 2014 ceremony, including Best New Artist, Best Rap Album (The Heist), Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance (“Thrift Shop”). Their second album, This Unruly Mess I’ve Made, was released on February 26, 2016.
On June 15, 2017, Macklemore announced that the duo were on hiatus.