Compare and Contrast

            Born and raised in Seattle, Ben Haggerty is famous for being a rapper.  If this name is not recognizable, it is probably because he goes by his stage name Macklemore.  In 2000, Professor Macklemore, his stage name at the time, distributed his album Open Your Eyes by himself.  Throughout his musically career, Macklemore had problems with substance drugs which led to the years between 2005 and 2009 with a low production of songs.

           

Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.  At age nine, Carter joined Cash Money Records as its youngest member.  This was the start of Lil’ Wayne’s powerful musical career.  Lil’ Wayne has released multiple albums, and most recently, he released, Tha Carter IV.  Lil’ Wayne is also known for drinking something out of a white Styrofoam cup.  The substance in the cup is cough syrup and a soda.  In We Takin’ Over Lil’ Wayne rapped that. “I like my Sprite Easter-pink”.

           

            Although both rappers, Macklemore and Lil’ Wayne, have used substance drugs, Macklemore has admitted to it causing problems and eventually getting off them.  Lil’ Wayne has never had a public problem with the drugs and still uses them.  In Lil’ Wayne’s songs he addresses the drugs and glorifies it.  Macklemore, on the other hand, has been sober of drugs and alcohol for two years now and also writes his songs without the mention of drugs unless it is to explain the harms of them.  In Macklemore’s song Otherside he raps about a friend dying from overdosing on cough syrup.

            Lil’ Wayne has had problems with the law, however.  Lil’ Wayne was sentenced to a year in County Jail for criminal possession of a weapon and marijuana.  He was released four months early for good behavior.  Macklemore has not had legal problems, or at least any that are known of by the public.

            Lil’ Wayne and Macklemore have very similar and different qualities.  Lil’ Wayne is very outgoing and likeable.  Similarly, Macklemore is a likeable rapper but is much less low key than Lil’ Wayne.  Since he is not as popular or well known, Macklemore is more passive and just does his thing.  Lil’ Wayne, however, is always in the limelight.  His big ego and popular rap style and songs contribute to the love of him by his enormous number of fans. 

            Although Macklemore has been in the rapping business for over 10 years, compared to Lil’ Wayne he is a rookie.  Lil’ Wayne, becoming very popular at a young age and throughout his career has produced many hit songs including: "Go D.J.", "Lollipop", "Got Money" and "Let It Rock".  Macklemore is best known for his hit songs: "My Oh My", "Otherside" and “Irish Celebration”. 

            Macklemore is not officially part of a rapping group, but he does have a band that plays the music that he raps too.  Ryan Lewis is the producer, the violinist is Andrew Joslyn, Owour Arunga on trumpet, on bass, drums and guitar, Zach Fleury and on piano is Noah Goldberg.  Lil’ Wayne is currently with his producing group of Young Money.  He has created this group into one of the most well-known groups of the time period.  Drake, Nikki Minaj, Tyga, Gudda Gudda, and Cory Gunz are all part of the famous group.

            Lil’ Wayne made a documentary about himself and his life.  It is called “The Carter” and it was released in 2009.  Since the film is a documentary, there is no acting involved.  Lil’ Wayne just is filmed doing his normal everyday things.  There are scenes of him rapping songs and others where he is on his tour bus.  Lil’ Wayne spends a lot of time in Amsterdam, where it is legal to smoke marijuana.  In most of the interviews, Lil’ Wayne is either smoking marijuana or sipping his cough syrup and soda, sometimes he is doing both.  Lil’ Wayne was asked, “Does [your career] put pressure on you?”  He responds saying, “What is a life without pressure?”  Even though Macklemore has not been in any movies or been the subject of documentaries, he is still very famous in his hometown of Seattle.  Macklemore performs often at the Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle.  A lot of his fans are from Seattle but he does have many fans from all over.

Macklemore and Lil’ Wayne have experienced the same drugs and are in the same career.  However the difference is that Macklemore has cleaned up and now preaches the harms and dangers of using substance drugs, or any drugs for that matter.  The young generation of our time that listens to Lil’ Wayne is being greatly influenced by what he does.  Some kids even look up to him as a role model and he is not setting a good example.  Even if young kids don’t look up to him as a person but they like and enjoy listening to his music, they are still being influenced by it.  Although they might do it unintentionally, kids absorb what they listen and see and apply it to there own lives.  If they hear Lil’ Wayne rapping about codeine and marijuana they will assume that it’s alright and safe for them to try.  These problems are what Macklemore is trying to fix.  By writing the song Otherside, for example, he portrays a scary scene of someone overdosing on drugs.  Macklemore raps, “Room spinnin', thinkin' he might of sipped just a little bit too much of that cough syrup, his eyelids closed shut, sat back in the chair clutchin' that cup
girlfriend came and a couple hours later said his name shook him but he never got up”.  He also says, “Now he just wanted to act like them, he just wanted to rap like him, us as rappers underestimate the power and the effects that we have on these kids”.  Macklemore basically presents the same argument that I addressed before.  Rappers may not think that kids will take what they say to heart but in reality a lot of young people do.