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Macklemore And Bryan Cranston Join Forces To Urge Americans To Vote Against Donald Trump, Contribute To Olympic Anthem

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 02:40 PST, Aug 2, 2016

Macklemore is one of many celebrities who have been vocal against the injustices faced by African Americans. Despite being a white American, Macklemore has stood his ground in fighting against racism. In fact, he has called upon other white celebrities like Iggy Azalea to join the fight against racism. According to Vibe, the “Same Love” rapper strongly condemned the death of Alton Sterling, a resident of Baton Rouge who was shot by two police officers in Louisiana.

During the incident, the police were responding to a phone call which reported that an armed man in a red shirt was selling CDs outside a convenience store.

In Macklemore’s opinion, Alton’s death can be attributed to the extensive conditioning that Americans have been exposed to over the course of several centuries, and the police judged Alton Sterling to be a criminal merely by his race. Macklemore blames the American media, history books, schools, the legal system, and jails for instilling fear into the American society against African Americans, and says that this fear triggers resulting hate crimes against African Americans.

His activism against racism has led to Macklemore joining forces with actor Bryan Cranston, who appeared on a civil rights panel along with veteran activists, to work an anti-Donald Trump campaign that calls fellow Americans to vote against Donald Trump in the upcoming Presidential elections. According to Billboard, the anti-Trump campaign is part of MoveOn.org’s “United Against Hate” initiative to fight against racism.

Macklemore was one of more than 100 celebrities who joined the campaign against Donald Trump whose rhetoric is often perceived as having racist overtones. As part of the campaign, Macklemore has teamed up with fellow rapper G-Eazy, contributing to the verses on the song “F*** Donald Trump.”

Apart from bashing Donald Trump with his new rap collaboration, Macklemore is also involved in preparations for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Macklemore has collaborated with Netsky, the Belgian drum and bass producer, to feature in “Rio Remix,” a remixed version of Netsky’s “Rio” that was inspired by the upcoming Olympic Games. According to Billboard, the remix that premiered on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 show reflects the exuberance of the Olympics and blends the fervent energy of the original number with Macklemore’s bars.

Even though the track will not be the official anthem of the Olympic Games, it may be played during the games as Netsky will be heading to the games as a musical ambassador for the Belgian team. The remix featuring Macklemore will also be played at New York’s Panorama music festival.

Macklemore has worked his way up to becoming a millionaire by adopting the unconventional strategy of being thrifty. Born as Ben Haggerty on June 19, 1983, the talented Seattle resident started to write and compose his own songs before he had even finished middle school. Later he teamed up with Ryan Lewis to self-produce The Heist, his debut album, without the help of a big record label. Over 80,000 copies of the album were soon sold, earning the musicians $1.2 million. According to Tampa Bay, Julian Cordero, an entertainment lawyer, spoke about how Macklemore combined his talent and smart business practices to become successful.

“An artist that can generate a buzz via social media can bypass the music label and offer music directly to the consumer… [But] you do still have to be talented, and Macklemore is.”

Macklemore has also been investing his hard-earned money right back into his art. The song “Can’t Hold Us,” from the album The Heist, which was used in a Miller Beer commercial, provided Macklemore with the much-needed funds to produce the music video for “Thrift Shop,” another single from the album.

Macklemore has also shown a talent for entering into partnerships in a smart way. For example, he wisely entered into a partnership with Alternative Distribution Alliance, which distributed his albums without taking a share of the profits from their sales. Ultimately, hard work, perseverance, and smart usage of social media enabled Macklemore and Ryan Lewis to succeed where many before them have failed.

[Photos by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images, Gary Gershoff/Getty Images for Logo]

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