Ben (Macklemore album)

Ben is the third solo studio album by American rapper Macklemore. It was released on March 3, 2023, by Bendo and Warner Music. It features guest appearances by charlieonnafriday, Collett, DJ Premier, Jackson Lee Morgan, Livingston, Morray, NLE Choppa, Sarah Barthel, Tones and I, and Vic Daggs II. It is his first album in 6 years since his 2017 album Gemini (2017). The album was recorded between 2020 and 2022.

Ben
Studio album by Macklemore
Released	March 3, 2023 (2023-03-03)
Recorded	2020–2022
Genre	Hip hop
Length	54:03
Label	Bendo Warner
Producer	Budo Brian Wall Daoud Kid Culture Macklemore Naz Ryan Lewis Sam Wish Tyler Dopps
Macklemore chronology
Gemini (2017) Ben (2023)
Singles from Ben
"Chant" Released: July 22, 2022 "Maniac" Released: August 19, 2022 "Faithful" Released: October 28, 2022 "Heroes" Released: January 20, 2023 "No Bad Days" Released: March 14, 2023

The album garnered positive reviews from critics. Ben debuted and peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200 and spawned five singles: "Chant", "Maniac", "Faithful", "Heroes" and "No Bad Days".

Background and promotion

Macklemore officially revealed the album's release date and cover art on November 7, 2022.^[1] He has stated that much of the album's content was influenced by his relapse with alcohol addiction during the COVID-19 lockdowns: "I think that pain is a catalyst for great art," he said. "I don't want to inflict the pain on myself anymore to make art. It's not like I need to self-sabotage in order to create, but I think that it created some darker, more honest, and vulnerable moments on the album."^[2]

On February 16, 2023, Macklemore and his seven-year-old daughter, Sloane, filmed part of their music video for "No Bad Days" at the Climate Pledge Arena during a Seattle Kraken hockey game. Sloane directed the entire music video, which was released March 3, 2023.^[3]

Singles

The album was preceded by four singles. The first single, "Chant" with Tones and I, was released on July 22, 2022.^[4] The second single, "Maniac" featuring Windser, was released on August 19, 2022.^[5] The third single, "Faithful" featuring NLE Choppa, was released on October 28, 2022.^[6] The fourth single, "Heroes" featuring DJ Premier, was released on January 20, 2023.^[7] The fifth single, "No Bad Days" featuring Collett, was released to contemporary hit radio on March 14, 2023.^[8]

Ben Tour

Ben

Tour by Macklemore
Start date	April 3, 2023 (2023-04-03)
End date	July 11, 2024 (2024-07-11)
Legs	6
No. of shows	69

Setlist

1. Chant
2. Thrift Shop
3. No Bad Days
4. Downtown
5. Same Love
6. White Walls
7. Maniac
8. Heroes
9. Wings
10. Otherside
11. These Days
12. Starting Over
13. 1984
14. And We Danced
15. Dance Off
16. Glorious
17. TAIL LIGHTS
18. The Town
19. My Oh My
20. Good Old Days
21. Can't Hold Us

Tour dates

List of concerts, showing date, city, country and venue

Date	City	Country	Venue
2023
Europe
April 3	Dublin	Ireland	3Arena
April 4
April 7	Glasgow	Scotland	O2 Academy
April 9	Manchester	England	Victoria Warehouse
April 11	Birmingham		O2 Academy
April 12	London		Brixton Academy
April 16	Amsterdam	Netherlands	AFAS Live
April 17	Brussels	Belgium	Forest National
April 18	Paris	France	Zénith Paris
April 19
April 21	Cologne	Germany	Lanxess Arena
April 22	Berlin		Verti Music Hall
April 24	Munich		Olympiahalle
April 25	Offenbach		Stadthalle
April 27	Hamburg		Edel-optics.de Arena
April 29	Warsaw	Poland	EXPO XXI
April 39	Vienna	Austria	Wiener Stadthalle
May 2	Zürich	Switzerland	The Hall
May 3	Milan	Italy	Alcatraz
May 4
May 6	Stavanger	Norway	Kongeparken
May 7	Copenhagen	Denmark	Vega
May 9	Oslo	Norway	Sentrum Scene
May 11	Stockholm	Sweden	Gröna Lund
June 29	Marmande	France	Plaine De La Filhole
July 1	St. Gallen	Switzerland	Open Air St. Gallen
July 2	Arras	France	Main Square Festival
July 22	Ostrava	Czechia	Colours of Ostrava
August 11	Saalburg	Germany	SonneMondSterne
August 16	Esch-sur-Alzette	Luxembourg	Rockhal
August 20	Hasselt	Belgium	Pukkelpop
September 10	Berlin	Germany	Lollapalooza
North America
September 17	Nashville	United States	Ryman Auditorium
September 19	Washington, D.C.		The Anthem
September 21	Boston		MGM Music Hall at Fenway
September 22	New York City		The Rooftop at Pier 17
September 23	Philadelphia		The Met
September 26	Toronto	Canada	Rebel
September 27	Detroit	United States	The Fillmore
September 29	Chicago		Aragon Ballroom
September 30	Milwaukee		The Rave/Eagles Club
October 1	Minneapolis		Minneapolis Armory
October 3	Denver		Mission Ballroom
October 5	Salt Lake City		The Complex
October 7	Portland		Roseland Theater
October 8
October 9
October 10	Spokane		Spokane Arena
October 11	Missoula		Adams Center
October 12	Boise		Idaho Central Arena
October 14	San Francisco		The Masonic
October 17	Phoenix		Arizona Financial Theatre
October 18	Los Angeles		Hollywood Palladium
Middle East
October 28	Dubai	UAE	Coca-Cola Arena
North America
December 21	Seattle	United States	Climate Pledge Arena
December 22
2024
Oceania
May 8	Wellington	New Zealand	TSB Arena
May 9	Auckland		Spark Arena
May 11	Sydney	Australia	Hordern Pavilion
May 12
May 13
May 15	Melbourne		Rod Laver Arena
May 17	Brisbane		Riverstage
May 18	Darwin		Bassinthegrass
May 20	Perth		HBF Stadium
May 21
Europe
May 31	Hanover	Germany	EXPO Plaza
June 1	Mönchengladbach		Warsteiner HockeyPark
July 11	Nîmes	France	Arena of Nîmes

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	71/100[9]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
HipHopDX	2.4/5[11]
Pitchfork	6.0/10[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]

Ben was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 71, based on four reviews.^[9]

Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic wrote, "Altogether, Ben feels like the first time Macklemore has truly let listeners into his inner world, showcasing his underrated lyrical skills and enough varied production to keep the album moving forward toward a hopeful finish."^[10] Clayton Purdom of Rolling Stone stated, "To be sure, Ben features plenty of catharsis and oversharing, but it also has no grand answers or conclusions, just apologies, acceptance, and ambiguity. Some of Ben's success must be attributed to the producer Budo, a longtime collaborator, here providing skillful texture to the album's broader arc, but the truth is that Macklemore, who on his last album rhymed 'porno' with 'DiGiorno,' has matured. Ben is handily his best album. It's a midcareer downshift from an artist who desperately needed it."^[13]

In a mixed review, Matthew Ismael Ruiz of Pitchfork wrote, "These experiences, while certainly authentic, aren't particularly interesting. The struggle of the wealthy and talented white rapper was never especially sympathetic. And on Ben, his trials are mostly internal, the enduring struggle of man to find meaning and leave a legacy. This Macklemore is likely the most honest version we've seen to date."^[12] Taylor Rubright of HipHopDX also gave a mixed review, stating "Macklemore is a dexterous rapper at his best, but the songs that showcase his talents are mostly confined to the middle of the album", additionally commenting that "despite some solid songwriting about addiction and mortality, Macklemore's comeback album still experiences the same struggles with corniness and over-sincerity that torpedoed him from a household name to an afterthought, leading to a mixed bag that's more admirable than actualized."^[11]

Track listing

Ben track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Chant" (featuring Tones and I)	Ben Haggerty Joshua Karp Tyler Andrews Tyler Dopps Andrew Joslyn Josephine Howell	Budo Macklemore	4:30
2.	"No Bad Days" (featuring Collett)	Haggerty Karp Andrews Chloe Gasparini Dave Dalton	Budo	2:53
3.	"1984"	Haggerty Karp Andrews Dopp Sam Wishkoski	Budo Sam Wish Tyler Dopps	3:24
4.	"Maniac" (featuring Windser)	Haggerty Karp Andrews Jordan Topf Brian Wall Ryan Lewis	Budo Wall Lewis	3:00
5.	"Day You Die" (featuring Sarah Barthel)	Haggerty Karp Sarah Barthel	Budo	3:12
6.	"Heroes" (featuring DJ Premier)	Haggerty Karp Christopher Martin Joshua Rawlings Terrence B. Cole	Budo Macklemore[c]	2:55
7.	"Grime"	Haggerty Karp Andrews	Budo	3:25
8.	"I Need"	Haggerty Karp Andrews Lewis Rawlings	Budo	3:39
9.	"Lost / Sun Comes Up" (featuring Jackson Lee Morgan)	Haggerty Karp Andrews Jackson Morgan	Budo	5:51
10.	"Faithful" (featuring NLE Choppa)	Haggerty Karp Andrews Dopps Bryson Lashun Potts	Budo	3:27
11.	"Tears"	Haggerty Karp Dopps Naz	Naz Dopps	3:13
12.	"Sorry" (featuring Livingston)	Haggerty Karp Drake Livingston Sasha Sloan	Budo	3:29
13.	"God's Will" (featuring Vic Daggs II)	Haggerty Karp Dopps Daoud Anthony Jacob Dutton	Budo Daoud	3:13
14.	"I Know" (featuring Charlieonnafriday)	Haggerty Karp Sloan Charlie Finch Daniel Hackett	Budo Kid Culture	2:53
15.	"Tail Lights" (featuring Morray)	Haggerty Karp Andrews Morae Ruffin	Budo	4:50
Total length:				53:55

Note

• ^{^[c]} signifies a co-producer

Charts

Chart performance for Ben

Chart (2023)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14]	48
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15]	17
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16]	69
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[17]	107
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[18]	61
French Albums (SNEP)[19]	80
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20]	37
Scottish Albums (OCC)[21]	44
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[22]	17
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[23]	18
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[24]	9
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[25]	3
US Billboard 200[26]	18
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[27]	4
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[28]	6

References

1. Krol, Charlotte (November 7, 2022). "Macklemore shares details of new album 'BEN' alongside 2023 UK and European tour". NME. Archived from the original on January 3, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
2. Gonzalez, Alex (February 10, 2023). "Macklemore Opened Up About How His Relapse During COVID Inspired His Upcoming Album". Uproxx. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
3. Rosenbloom, Alli (February 20, 2023). "Macklemore recruits 7-year-old daughter Sloane to direct 'No Bad Days' music video". CNN. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
4. Espinoza, Joshua (July 22, 2022). "Macklemore Shares Video for Latest Single "Chant"". Complex. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
5. Callas, Brad (August 19, 2022). "Macklemore Releases New Single and Video for "Maniac"". Complex. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
6. Bowenbank, Starr (November 2, 2022). "Macklemore Explains How His Sobriety Journey Inspired New Song 'Faithful': Watch". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
7. Elibert, Mark (January 20, 2023). "Macklemore Salutes 'Heroes' DJ Quik & N.W.A On New Preemo Collab". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
8. "Top 40/Mainstream Future Releases". AllAccess. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
9. "Ben by Macklemore Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
10. Yeung, Neil Z. "Ben - Macklemore". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
11. Rubright, Taylor (March 18, 2023). "Macklemore's Comeback Album 'Ben' Stumbles Down The Same Musical Pitfalls That Halted His Stardom". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
12. Ruiz, Matthew (March 9, 2023). "Macklemore: Ben Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
13. Purdom, Clayton (March 3, 2023). "Macklemore's 'Ben' is a Surprising Downshift From a Pathological Over-Sharer". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
14. "Australiancharts.com – Macklemore – Ben". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
15. "Austriancharts.at – Macklemore – Ben" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
16. "Ultratop.be – Macklemore – Ben" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
17. "Ultratop.be – Macklemore – Ben" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
18. "Macklemore Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
19. "Lescharts.com – Macklemore – Ben". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
20. "Offiziellecharts.de – Macklemore – Ben" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
21. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
22. "Swisscharts.com – Macklemore – Ben". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
23. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
24. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
25. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
26. "Macklemore Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
27. "Macklemore Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
28. "Macklemore Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2023.

External links

• Ben at Discogs (list of releases)
• Ben at MusicBrainz (list of releases)