Ben Haggerty (Macklemore) was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. Although no one else in his family is musical, he took an interest in music from a young age, and started creating his own lyrics when he was just 14-years-old, his friends came up with the name “Mocklimore” and the name stuck. Macklemore has said that when he started out rapping he was heavily influenced by West Coast hip hop, and groups like A Tribe Called Quest and The Wu-Tang Clan. Even though music was his passion, he still managed to earn a degree from Evergreen State College and went through a program that focused on education and culture, where he used his musical skills to teach music workshops.