Macklemore Quotations

My partner has to have good sized bones.

I think what's wrong with the fashion world, particularly men's fashion, is the lack of creativity behind it.

Music is therapy. Music moves people. It connects people in ways that no other medium can. It pulls heart strings. It acts as medicine.

I put myself in the place of the listener when editing my writing. The last thing that I want to do is be preached at and told who to be or what to think when listening to an artist. However, I do want to be inspired. There's a fine line.

Its easy to view politicians as corrupt and voting essentially an act of picking the lesser of two evils. I understand that perspective and feel it's valid.

'Vote Love' means vote equality. It means vote change. It means vote what's right for humanity.

You can only watch injustice go on for so long until you're compelled to say something. To speak out against it.

Thrift shopping is really just an extension of me being that same kid and going into a place that's completely unconventional that has really endless possibilities in terms of outfits that you can put together and really just expressing yourself.

Sampling is kind of prehistoric, given the technology and the textures you can create.

I find that when I put my spiritual life first, the rest of my life is easy. When I put my career first, that's when I have problems.

I shop at thrift shops probably five times a week.

You need to get outside of your comfort zone to write songs that are interesting, songs that are compelling, songs that are different from what other people are writing.

I'm someone that examines culture and tries to break down why things are the way that they are whether its hip-hop music, sex, race, or consumerism. I try to examine it and scrutinize it to the point where I can write a song.

I definitely use "smiling while rapping" as a tool in the booth. I want to have fun while recording. At times it can get tedious and stressful when it's not sounding the way you heard it in your head, but you've got to remember to just smile and appreciate the fact that you're even in the booth and there are people who want to hear your art.

Reading a piece of poetry with no beat in front of 20 people is way more challenging than rocking for 10,000 people.

I don't write a great song every day. I don't write a great song every couple weeks. It comes in such random times.

I just want to give the people 100% of myself as an artist.

I want to make music that I like; not something that I have to make because I think it's going to sell.

I'm not more or less conscious than any other rapper out there.

The fame and the money and all that stuff that comes along with it is all great, but that's not the sole purpose of why I make music.

You have major labels that are willing to take unconventional approaches because the old model is crumbling in front of us.

I think music should be experienced by people all ages.

I think people are enticed by indie rap and every time you have a group going against the grain, they're gonna be like, 'Wow, you did it yourself in 2012, that's impressive - how did you do it? What're you doing that's different? And how can I be a part of it?'

'The more expensive the better' is kind of the American way, and if you spent $600 for a sweatshirt, then that makes it better.

I like to be as diverse as possible. I think the humorous side and the serious side are both elements of my personality. It's what makes me who I am and if I was to neglect either one of those sides and just focus on one of them, it wouldn't be the full spectrum of my personality.

I'd always thought that if I could get sober and stay sober, I would be able to have a career making music. My drug and alcohol addiction was the one thing holding me back. I had finally gotten the tools to stay sober, and it was just a matter of writing the songs.

It's just way more fun making art, growing, grinding for a fan base, and traveling the world with a friend.

As a white male in America, I have privilege. As a white male who happens to be an artist with a fan base, I have a platform to spread awareness about that privilege. However, songs about race and privilege are very difficult to A) write and B) dissect as a listener. They're heavy.

I grew up in the spoken-word community. Before everybody had a home studio, or before we could get booked for shows, open mics were the only way to be heard by other people. It really gave me a chance to develop as a performer. Reading a piece of poetry with no beat in front of 20 people is way more challenging than rocking for 10,000 people.

The one thing I will never do is buy a shirt because of its name, especially when it's $600 for that shirt. To me, that's ridiculous. It's just a shirt; it's not worth the money.

Hip-hop was started as a very egocentric, testosterone, machismo-driven art form. The way that people are trying to take away that masculinity that is a such an intrinsical part of hip-hop music.

Drug culture is extremely prevalent and probably most people know somebody whose life has been affected by drugs, if it's not their own or in their own family, they have friends. It's a never-ending process.

I was always the type of person, and still am the type of person, that I cannot be creative and use substances. So from a very early age I knew that if I wanted to make music, successfully, in any capacity, I was going to have to get sober.

My hope is that my personal testimony can help in some way to not only advance the dialogue and approve Referendum 74, but also to help shape a culture of belonging in which ALL people are equal.

No law's gonna change us We have to change us Whatever god you believe in We come from the same one Strip away the fear, underneath, it's all the same love About time that we raised up!

I played baseball up until my freshman year of high school. That was my main sport. I played third base.

I'm a very conceptual writer.

Broken, hopeless, headed nowhere Only motivation for what the dealer's supplying That rush, that drug, that dope Those pills, that crumb, that roach Thinkin' I would never do that, not that drug and growing up nobody ever does Until your stuck, lookin' in the mirror like I can't believe what I've become Swore I was goin' to be someone And growing up everyone always does We sell our dreams and our potential To escape through that buzz

And weed's not a drug - that's denial

Consciousness rap - a term that I don't think exactly exists but gets thrown around a lot - is not exactly popular.

Under that light rain, beaming in the night game, can't stop now, keep moving, no brake pads. Came here to prove a point, live my life on the field, make history in between the base paths. And compete against the fear that is in me, that's my only barrier and I swear I'm going to break that. From the mud, the cleats that we dragged through the feet, this is that moment and you cannot take it back... This is what you make of it, yeah we play to win, live it like we're under the lights of the stadium. Fight, until the day that God decides to wave us in, right, until he waves us in...

Us as rappers underestimate the power and effects that we have on these kids

I'm as honest as I can be.

It's been so long since I've really truly felt what it's like to live life without substances to help. Massive struggle that's natural to one's health, but with addiction in my blood I play the cards I was dealt.

Michael Jordan was a cultural icon that everybody on the playground wanted to be. The Bulls dynasty was a huge part of my childhood and it was the peak of my basketball interest as a kid.

I write to the beat and let life play the guitar strings

Bullying is a national epidemic.

If I can be an example of getting sober, then I can be an example for starting over

I think that there will always be artists out there who think they need to sign a major label deal in order to be successful. And that machine is what is going to work for them - there's tons of examples of pop stars who need that machine.

When I write, I don't have any expectation of what kind of song it will become or who it might reach.

I can write for weeks or months sometimes and edit it down to a song. I feel like it's a piece of music that will hopefully stand the test of time and hopefully capture a moment in history if I'm doing it correctly and honestly.

God loves all his children, somehow we've forgotten, but we paraphrase a book written thirty-five hundred years ago.

For me, being transparent about every aspect of my life is what makes my music relatable and how I'm able to be an individual amongst the mass amounts of other artists.

I learned from my teachers but became through my music

My relationship with God is as strong as the time and energy I put into connecting with God.

Calling each other faggots behind the keys of a message board…

Of course I want dubs and a candy painted 'lac Watch the videos and get the girls in the back But if that's what I believe in, and the reason that I rap Uncle Sam is my pimp when he puts me on the track

Vote Love means vote equality. It means vote change. It means vote whats right for humanity.

This moon man right here stands for a lot more. This is the most important record out of all of them. Gay rights are human rights, there is no separation.

If I was gay, I would think hip-hop hates me. Have you read the YouTube comments lately? ‘Man, that’s gay’ gets dropped on the daily,

I buy whatever I see, but I tend to not spend money just to spend it.

I've never been a religious person. I've been a spiritual person since I was about 15, 16, when I was first introduced to Psilocybin [mushrooms]. That really opened me up to thinking about the universe in a different way, and coming to significant realizations about my connection to something greater than me.

The right wing conservatives think it’s a decision that you can be cured with some treatment and religion.//Manmade rewiring of a predisposition//Oh no here we go, America the brave still fears what we don't know//But we paraphrase a book written 3500 years ago, I don't know…

I think that civil rights issues take a lot of time to develop.

If I'm using drugs and alcohol, it means that I've given up on my fullest potential.

I wanted to get clean. I knew that my highest potential, the place that I was most spiritual, the place that I was the most rich in terms of my life, and my livelihood, and my art and my creativity, was when I was sober.

We become so numb to what we're saying.

Whatever God you believe in, we come from the same one

We sell our dreams and our potential to escape through that buzz.

We live on the cusp of death Thinking it won't be us

Gay rights are human rights, there is no separation.

America the brave Still fears what we don't know

The greats weren't great because at birth they could paint The greats were great because they paint a lot

The trust that I once built has been betrayed. But I'd rather live tellin' the truth and be judged for my mistakes, than falsely held up, given props, loved and praised.

When everyone else is more comfortable remaining voiceless, Rather than fighting for humans that have had their rights stolen, I might not be the same, but that's not important. No freedom 'til we're equal, damn right I support it.

Human rights for everybody, there is no difference. Live on! And be yourself!

We are what we wear, we wear what we are

One man's trash that's another man's come up.

No freedom til we're equal...damn right I support it.

Expectations are resentments waiting to happen

Live tonight, cuz you can't take it with ya.

Strip away the fear, underneath it's all the same love

I want to be someone who is respected and not just in terms of my music. I want to be respected in terms of the way that I treat people... Music is my creative outlet in terms of expressing what is important to me; what has importance, what has a value. And I wanna be respected for that.

A life lived for art, is never a life wasted.

A world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are.

I see a lot of people dressing very similarly, and I see brands being cool because of their name and because of who wears the brands, but that's always been the case. That's kind of the history of fashion. You know, celebrities wear their clothes and people think these celebrities are cool, and then the clothes become valuable. It gives clothes a commodity factor once a certain individual starts wearing that brand. But do I think there's something wrong? I think what's wrong with the fashion world, particularly men's fashion, is the lack of creativity behind it.

Make the money, don't let the money make you Change the game, don't let the game change you

The moment is now and we cant get it back from the grave.

Just because you miss someone doesn't mean you need them back in your life. Missing is just a part of moving on.

Don't forget where you come from Don't die holding on to your words Cause you know you got a whole world to change But understand who you got to change first

The skyline is etched in my veins. You can never put that out, no matter how hard it rains.

The greatest trick that the devil ever pulled Was convincing women that they looked Better in their makeup

Hold your head up, there's a light in the sky I know your fed up but you must try to survive Each moment's precious, don't let life pass you by Keep focused, keep your eyes on the prize.

I don't control life, but I can control how i react to it

And know that every struggle in life is there to teach you a lesson It's times like this that make you