Macklemore discussed his past struggles with substance abuse and getting sober during a new interview on the health podcast, On Purpose with Jay Shetty. The Grammy-winning rapper revealed that his addiction began when he was just 14 years old. When he had his first shot of alcohol at the time, it quickly became 12 shots within a span of 30 minutes.
“The easiest way for me to describe it is that it was like an allergy,” Macklemore, told host Jay Shetty. “It was once I had a sip or a hit or a sniff or whatever it was, I wanted more and I couldn’t turn that off. And I never could.” From there, he admitted that he didn’t understand the root of his problems until he met “a community of men in recovery,” in particular, those who had experienced “sexual trauma.”
Macklemore Performing In 2014
“I had been lucky enough that I had already been to rehab,” he said. “I had already understood that this is the disease of addiction. This is an incurable disease.” He continued, “This is something that I don’t graduate from. This is something that I don’t go into remission — like this will be with me forever. And as a daily reprieve and a daily practice, what am I doing for my recovery?”
Later, Macklemore credited his wife, Tricia Davis, with helping him throughout his recovery. The two married back in 2015 and share three children: Colette Koala, 4, Sloane Ava Simone, 7, and Hugo Jack, who is 17 months.
As of now, Macklemore says he’s two years sober. “There’s so much work to be done. I’ve been in and out of the rooms of recovery for 14 years now, and I relapsed at the beginning of Covid,” he admitted. “So I have a couple years, but I still feel like a newcomer. I still feel like this is brand new and I’m just on the precipice of figuring out something that’s gonna open a new door.”
Macklemore On Overcoming Addiction
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