Seattle-born Ben Haggerty, better known by his stage name Macklemore, has had quite a busy year. There were sold-out shows in London, Dublin, and Paris; the highly acclaimed "Same Love" video supporting marriage equality; and the genius "Thrift Shop" single, which glorified everything that is second-hand stores. Now, the red-headed rapper can add an even bigger notch to his belt: Monday night, upon the release of his new album "The Heist," Macklemore reached number one on iTunes.
While he's been in the business since 2000 -- when he recorded his first EP, "Open Your Eyes" -- Macklemore has only recently started to gain nationwide popularity. Widely considered a Seattle treasure, the rapper's bread-and-butter was making catchy hometown anthems such as "The Town" and "My Oh My," in memoriam of late Seattle Mariners' announcer Dave Niehaus. His collaboration with producer Ryan Lewis, and hit single "And We Danced" helped to bring him further into the spotlight.
Now, with the acclaim of the number one album on iTunes, there is no turning back. Upon learning of the album's success, Macklemore tweeted to his 107,872 followers, "WE F--KING DID IT!!!!!! #1 album in the US on ITUNES!!!!! INDEPENDENT!!!!! I LOVE YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!!!!! #THEHEIST" Other current top albums include Mumford & Sons' "Babel" at number three, Ellie Goulding's "Halycon" at number six, and Muse's "The 2nd Law" at number nine.
