Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage n… Read Full Bio ↴Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage name Macklemore, formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper and songwriter. A native of Seattle, Washington, he has collaborated with producer Ryan Lewis as the duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. His releases to date include one mixtape, three EPs, and four albums.

Ben Haggerty was born in Seattle, Washington, on June 19, 1983, one of two sons born to Bill Haggerty and Julie Schott. He was raised with his brother Tim in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. He has Irish heritage and was raised Catholic. Haggerty was six years old when hip hop first came into his life by way of Digital Underground. At the age of 15, he began to write lyrics.

At the time he started to sing, Haggerty listened to "a lot of East Coast underground hip-hop", listing Hieroglyphics, Freestyle Fellowship, Aceyalone, Living Legends, Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Nas, and Talib Kweli as his major influences. He was interested in reaching a younger generation through his music and became part of a program focusing on education and cultural identity called "Gateways for Incarcerated Youth", where he facilitated music workshops. Haggerty attended Garfield High School and Nathan Hale High School. At Hale, he developed the stage name "Professor Macklemore" for an art project involving a made-up superhero, and at Garfield, he started a hip-hop group named Elevated Elements with other students. The group released an album, Progress, in 2000.

Haggerty enrolled at the College of Santa Fe for a year, later saying in an interview that "it was a very pivotal time in a lot of ways. Santa Fe was the place where I got good at rapping". After not getting into the music program, he moved back to Seattle. Haggerty later enrolled at The Evergreen State College in Olympia and completed his bachelor's degree in 2009.

On his debut album, The Language of My World, Macklemore drafts a lyrical landscape of classic proportions. This record is teeming with energy and ambition, serving as a fitting debut for one of this country's most promising young artists. Macklemore's gift, like that of all great songwriters, is his ability to speak on universal experiences in a uniquely personal way. Throughout The Language of My World, Macklemore consistently addresses topics that are uncomfortable or taboo, in an attempt to exorcise his own personal demons.

Macklemore's second mixtape, The Unplanned Mixtape, was released on September 7, 2009. It would later reach No. 7 on the iTunes Hip Hop chart. The mixtape was accompanied by the singles "The Town" and "And We Danced", the latter of which featured singer Ziggy Stardust. "The Town" was later remixed by Sabzi of the Blue Scholars.

His music is inspirational, filled with social and racial consciousness, as well as a constructive political vision. He's also funny as hell, making music that is at once hilarious and affecting. Born and raised in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood Macklemore has been an integral part of the Seattle hip-hop scene for the past 7 years. He developed his style and character as part of Elevated Elements, which he founded when he was just 14 years old, and quickly moved on to pursue his solo career. From these humble beginnings Macklemore has matured, both as a songwriter and performer, into an artist who is clearly beginning to realize his near limitless potential.

Macklemore's and Ryan Lewis's single "Thrift Shop" reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 2013. The single was dubbed by Billboard as the first song since 1994 to top the Hot 100 chart without the support of a major record label; however Macklemore, in a slightly unusual recording contract, pays a nominal percentage of sales to use Warner Bros. Records's 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. Their debut studio album The Heist was released on 9 October 2012, and charted at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200. The duo 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").

Macklemore's and Lewis's second album, This Unruly Mess I've Made, was released on February 26, 2016. In June 2017, Macklemore released "Glorious", a single featuring Skylar Grey, which marked his return to the music industry as well as his first major single produced without Lewis since his mainstream breakthrough. Macklemore released a second solo studio album, Gemini, in September that year.

On October 29, 2021, Macklemore released a new single titled "Next Year", featuring American singer Windser. Macklemore also worked with Ryan Lewis on the single, marking their first collaboration in three years.

On July 22, 2022, Macklemore released a new single, "Chant", featuring Australian musician Tones and I. On August 19, 2022, Macklemore released the single, "Maniac", featuring American musician Windser.

Macklemore's third solo studio album, Ben, was released on March 3, 2023.

Good For You
Macklemore Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Now you know what's good for you
Got that, and I'm not gonna warn you
We got that, to make it right right right
You know all women, I adore you
Bodies ______________________(?)
The energy, melody life life life

Now you know what's good for you

Got that, not gonna warn you
We got that to make it right right right
You know all women, I adore you
Bodies ______________________(?)
The energy, melody life life life

See I don't know why I gotta go and creep around
You've seen me and my penis (?)
Not used to having to sleep without somebody
And I've been chugging alcohol and I'm leaving now
And I don't wanna go home alone tonight
I was freaking with some hunny named Lisa
She was squeezing alpha (?) Puerto-Rican Diva
Weave in her hair with the cleavage
(?)_________________________________ (?)
She's flashing the keys to go peep the house
And then my phone rings, it's my girl on the line

It's like, I don't know what the hell to do
It's like women like this are subtle (?) and few
I'm fucked up in the club with a blunt and a butt
But my love will hang up if I tell her the truth
See, I can be a selfish dude especially when
I'm off a blunt and a brew but
But she's so sexy, now let me spend the night
It's like HELP, either way I'm screwed

Get it?
See if I lie, I got my conscience to deal with
But if I go with the lie (?) then I'm gonna get
To grind with a fine Puerto-Rican Brazilian
But is it really worth it? I don't know
I gotta ask myself that question
Booty's truly (?) an option but (?) __________ (?)
My girl Evan

Now you know what's good for you
Got that, not gonna warn you
We got that to make it right right right
You know all women, I adore you
Bodies ______________________(?)
The energy, melody life life life

Now you know what's good for you
Got that, not gonna warn you
We got that to make it right right right
You know all women, I adore you
Bodies ______________________(?)
The energy, melody life life life

I don't wanna do it but I can't help it
I'm so selfish
Lady, what you want me to say?
Foolish
The lies and deception
I tried to confess it
Committed, but I still wanna play

If I gave into the fact that you hate me and take me back
I'm saving face by staying at the bar
And embracing this Jack
She wanna leave, I can tell by the way
She react to the mouth piece
No more dollar drinks so she
Followed me with the house keys
And I know what I'm doing is wrong
Hoping that you were the one
But out 'til like two in the morn
With nobody you woulda known
It's comforting to know you're home
When I'm out on the road
I know you're lonely though
Or maybe got some flow of your own

In the looking glass, you shook your ass
I sat back and I watched
Then I took your hand, and we both danced
While thinking of the thoughts
It might've been the circumstance that hurt
This man - I'm a circus act at most
Nobody's perfect girl, it's a perfect world
But we don't have to know
And I'm not trying to justify it
But I might try to simplify it
One touch and I'm mesmerized
So I mess around in disguise
Flesh to the eyes, test to the lies
Sex gets my vote unless...
You're destined to die with the one
Next to your side
Fsho

I don't wanna do it but I can't help it
I'm so selfish
Lady, what you want me to say?
Foolish
The lies and deception
I tried to confess it
Committed, but I still wanna play

Now you know what's good for you
Got that knock (?) and I warn you
We got that to make it right right right
And all women, I adore you

Bodies ______________________(?)
The energy, melody life life life

Overall Meaning

In Macklemore's song "Good for You," the lyrics seem to be exploring the struggle between wanting to do what is morally right versus following personal desires. The chorus, which repeats several times throughout the song, urges listeners to understand what is good for them and suggests that the song's speaker might have the answers. The lyrics also praise women in general for their bodies and energy, and it seems that the song's message is one of respecting and valuing women.

The verses, however, delve deeper into the singer's personal struggles. It seems that he is in a committed relationship but is tempted to cheat on his partner. He admits to being selfish and foolish and struggling with lying and deception. He seems torn between his love for his partner and his desire for physical pleasure with someone else. The verses suggest that the singer is in a vulnerable place and is struggling with feelings of guilt and shame.

Overall, the lyrics to "Good for You" are complex and explore complex themes of morality, desire, and personal struggles. The song seems to encourage listeners to be introspective and reflective about their own actions and urges them to make choices that are ultimately good for themselves and for those around them.

Line by Line Meaning

Now you know what's good for you
I'm going to tell you what's good for you.

Got that, not gonna warn you
I won't warn you about it because you know what's good for you now.

We got that to make it right right right
We have the solution to make everything right.

You know all women, I adore you
I love all women no matter what.

Bodies ______________________(?)
Women's bodies are beautiful and should be respected and cherished.

The energy, melody life life life
Women bring life and energy to the world.

See I don't know why I gotta go and creep around
I don't know why I have to act sneaky and unfaithful.

You've seen me and my penis (?)
You've caught me cheating before.

Not used to having to sleep without somebody
I'm not used to sleeping alone.

And I've been chugging alcohol and I'm leaving now
I've been drinking and I'm leaving now.

And I don't wanna go home alone tonight
I don't want to be alone tonight.

I was freaking with some hunny named Lisa
I was hooking up with a woman named Lisa.

She was squeezing alpha (?) Puerto-Rican Diva
She was a strong, confident Puerto-Rican woman.

Weave in her hair with the cleavage
She was showing off her cleavage and had a weave in her hair.

(?)_________________________________ (?)
The meaning of this line is unclear.

She's flashing the keys to go peep the house
She's showing me the keys to a house we can go to.

And then my phone rings, it's my girl on the line
My girlfriend is calling me on the phone.

It's like, I don't know what the hell to do
I don't know what to do in this situation.

It's like women like this are subtle (?) and few
Women like this are hard to find and are subtle in their actions.

I'm fucked up in the club with a blunt and a butt
I'm high on drugs in the club.

But my love will hang up if I tell her the truth
If I tell the truth, my girlfriend will break up with me.

See, I can be a selfish dude especially when
I can sometimes be selfish, especially when...

I'm off a blunt and a brew but
I'm high on drugs and drunk on alcohol, but...

But she's so sexy, now let me spend the night
I find this woman very attractive and want to spend the night with her.

It's like HELP, either way I'm screwed
I'm in a difficult situation no matter what I do.

Get it?
Do you understand what I'm saying?

See if I lie, I got my conscience to deal with
If I lie, I will have to deal with the guilt from my conscience.

But if I go with the lie (?) then I'm gonna get
If I decide to lie, then I will get...

To grind with a fine Puerto-Rican Brazilian
To hook up with a beautiful woman of Puerto Rican and Brazilian descent.

But is it really worth it? I don't know
Is the risk worth the reward? I'm not sure.

I gotta ask myself that question
I need to think carefully before I make a decision.

Booty's truly (?) an option but (?) __________ (?)
The meaning of this line is unclear.

My girl Evan
I'm not sure what this line means.

I don't wanna do it but I can't help it
I don't want to cheat, but I can't resist.

Lady, what you want me to say? Foolish
I know what I'm doing is foolish, but what can I say?

The lies and deception, I tried to confess it
I've been lying and deceiving my girlfriend, but I've tried to confess.

Committed, but I still wanna play
I'm in a committed relationship, but I still want to cheat.

If I gave into the fact that you hate me and take me back
If I accepted that you hate me and took me back...

I'm saving face by staying at the bar
I'm staying at the bar to save my reputation.

And embracing this Jack
I'm embracing this bottle of Jack Daniels.

She wanna leave, I can tell by the way
She wants to leave, I can tell by her actions.

She react to the mouth piece
She's reacting to my words.

No more dollar drinks so she
There are no more cheap drinks for her.

Followed me with the house keys
She's following me with the keys to her house.

And I know what I'm doing is wrong
I know I'm doing something wrong.

Hoping that you were the one
I was hoping you were the one for me.

But out 'til like two in the morn
But I'm out until two in the morning.

With nobody you woulda known
With nobody you would have known.

It's comforting to know you're home
It's comforting to know you're home.

When I'm out on the road
When I'm away from home.

I know you're lonely though
I know you're feeling lonely.

Or maybe got some flow of your own
Maybe you have some fun of your own.

In the looking glass, you shook your ass
You were dancing and shaking your butt in the mirror.

I sat back and I watched
I sat back and watched you dance.

Then I took your hand, and we both danced
Then I took your hand, and we danced together.

While thinking of the thoughts
While thinking about my thoughts and feelings.

It might've been the circumstance that hurt
Maybe it was the situation that hurt us.

This man - I'm a circus act at most
This man - I'm a clown at best.

Nobody's perfect girl, it's a perfect world
Nobody is perfect, but the world can still be perfect.

But we don't have to know
We don't need to know everything.

And I'm not trying to justify it
I'm not trying to make excuses for my behavior.

But I might try to simplify it
But I might try to make it simpler.

One touch and I'm mesmerized
One touch, and I'm under her spell.

So I mess around in disguise
So I cheat while hiding who I really am.

Flesh to the eyes, test to the lies
Physical attraction is often a test of our honesty.

Sex gets my vote unless...
Sex is what I want, unless...

You're destined to die with the one
You are meant to be with one person for life.

Next to your side
By your side, always.

Now you know what's good for you
I'm telling you what's good for you.

Got that knock (?) and I warn you
I'm warning you about it.

And all women, I adore you
I love all women.

Bodies ______________________(?)
Women's bodies should be respected and appreciated.

The energy, melody life life life
Women bring energy and melody to life.

Contributed by Kennedy N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

Pablo Barea

I show this to people that say they hate macklemore without telling them, and I watch as their head slowly starts to Bob. I don't like new macklemore I like this macklemore. He sold out, but aye I would too if I got paid like he did