Hip-hop performer Macklemore’s star continues its ascent

Macklemore has never been a sure bet in Des Moines, perhaps more of a pleasant surprise.

Over the last year the hip-hop act Macklemore & Ryan Lewis has seen its album “The Heist” sell more than a million copies. Its debut single, “Thrift Shop,” was the first No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 by an artist not backed by a major label since Lisa Loeb did it with “Stay” in 1994. For the record, Macklemore and Loeb are the only two acts to have achieved that.

Like most overnight successes, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis have been anything but.

Macklemore, a Seattle rapper whose real name is Ben Haggerty, started his career in 2000. He met up with Lewis, a photographer-turned-producer, in 2006, and the duo released “The Vs. EP” in 2009. For years Macklemore was playing in clubs in his hometown and touring in smaller venues around the country — including Des Moines’ Vaudeville Mews in 2010.

Ladd Askland, Vaudeville Mews’ booker, had brought that show to Des Moines after seeing one of Macklemore’s videos online. He added local support from Gadema, Young Tripp and Brut’tal for a Saturday night show. About 50 people attended the performance. Richie Camarillo deejays under the name Richie Daggers and was spinning for Gadema that night.

“What I remember about his show is how absurdly energetic he was for how many people were there,” Camarillo said. “You can tell when people know what they’re doing, and he was one of them.”

“It’s really cool to see someone, who came up playing to like 30 people, on the cover of Rolling Stone a few years later,” Camarillo added. “To see him playing Wells Fargo Arena years later, it’s clear the hard work paid off.”

First Fleet Concerts owner Sam Summers brought Macklemore in for a Des Moines show last year. It was originally scheduled for the 900 capacity People’s before that venue closed after Halloween. Summers hadn’t been sure that the rapper would bring in enough fans for People’s when he booked the show in summer 2012 and had considered putting it in his own smaller venue, Wooly’s, which holds approximately 700.

Summers said Macklemore’s agent pushed him for the bigger room. People’s sold out, and when it closed the show was moved to 7 Flags Event Center. Shortly before the show was moved, “Thrift Shop” started to become a hit. The Dec. 4 concert ended up selling more than 2,500 tickets.

Summers said he can only remember a few acts that have blown up as quickly as Macklemore has. He had a similar experience promoting Fallout Boy shows nearly 10 years ago, and Imagine Dragons has had a similar surge over the last year. That band played the Gas Lamp in April 2012, which Summers was not involved with, but he booked the band at the Waiting Room in Omaha.

“It does happen, but it’s very rare,” said Summers, who helped put Macklemore into Wells Fargo Arena. “We’ll see where it goes from here, but I think this show is going to do great.”

Wells Fargo Arena hasn’t had many hip-hop shows in its eight-year history. Black Eyed Peas played there in 2010, with Lucacris and LMFAO. CeeLo Green performed as a member of Gnarls Barkley opening for Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2007, but those shows were more pop and soul focused. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis will be the first time hip-hop truly takes center stage on Iowa’s biggest stage.

Iowa Events Center general manager Chris Connolly said Macklemore & Ryan Lewis seemed like something of a gamble at the time of the booking, but as the act’s momentum has grown over the last year, it has seemed like a safer and safer bet.

“I think this could be a good sign for hip-hop; this show is going to end up doing very well,” Connolly said. “But even if it wasn’t very strong, that’s never discouraged us from taking a look at the opportunities that are out there. We would love to do more.”