Macklemore fans have been left stunned after discovering they have been mispronouncing the rapper's stage name for years. The Grammy-winning artist, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, adopted the pseudonym Macklemore at the start of his career in 2000, but many people have been saying it incorrectly.
A TikTok video by a woman named Eleanor went viral after she admitted she had been pronouncing the name as 'Mackle-more' for over a decade. She revealed the correct pronunciation is 'Mack-le-more', as if it were three separate words. 'No, because how was I supposed to know?' she said in the clip. 'What do you mean it's "Mack-le-more"? Is he a mid-tier French noble? I don't think so!'
The revelation divided commenters, with some claiming they had always known the correct pronunciation, while others were equally shocked. One person wrote: 'You're telling me his name has been Mack Lemore this whole time, and I thought it was Mackle More?' Another pointed out that the name is spoken in Macklemore's 2013 hit 'Thrift Shop', with the lyric: 'Hey Macklemore, can we go thrift shopping?'
Macklemore came up with the name during a graphic arts class in school, where he was tasked with naming an action figure. He called it Professor Macklemore, later dropping the 'Professor'. In a 2017 interview with Ryan Seacrest, he admitted: 'It's very confusing. If I could go back and change my rap name, I would definitely do it.'
