Macklemore Reveals New Struggles With Addiction

In Complex’s latest cover story, crossover rap star Macklemore spoke candidly about his use of weed and pills, which he relied on to alleviate the pressures of becoming a platinum-selling artist. “I was super-stressed,” he said. “We weren’t sleeping—doing a show every day, zigzagging all over the country. In terms of the media I was getting put into a box that I never saw for myself. The pressure and the fame—everything…I just wanted to escape.”

Macklemore has been very forthcoming throughout his career about his struggles with addiction. He frequently credits a rehab stay in 2008 for giving him the ability to reach success and took Rolling Stone along to an AA meeting in 2013.

This recent relapse reportedly interfered with Macklemore’s ability to make music. Ryan Lewis noted that his friend, “genuinely, in his best form, uses music as his means to process his day-to-day life.” But when he was relying on weed instead, the progress on the follow-up to the duo's breakout album, The Heist, stalled.

Eventually Macklemore cleaned up when he found out that his fiancée, Tricia, was pregnant. He’s been attending 12-step meetings every day. “I was like, I need to grow up right now,” he declared. “I have to keep myself on point and be the best version of myself for this child to be the best version of itself.” In addition to meetings, the rapper now “spends the better part of his mornings dedicated to self-care, with a routine of meditation, yoga, [and] journaling.”