Macklemore Opens Up About Sobriety, Fatherhood and Upcoming Music
In the beginning of August, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis shared their first song since 2012’s The Heist. “Growing Up” (Sloane’s Song), their collaboration with Ed Sheeran, is a special record about his fatherhood and raising his newborn, Sloane.
MTV News headed to Seattle for an exclusive interview with the “Thrift Shop” rapper, where he opens up about becoming a father and the creative process behind “Growing Up.” In the second part of their interview (released today), we get a deeper look at his struggles with fame and addiction, as well as an update on his sophomore effort with Ryan Lewis.
Here are some takeaways from the interview, which you can watch in full below.
On the success of “Thrift Shop”
“Thrift Shop” was just really intense. These were just opportunities that we weren’t afforded before. We didn’t have this. It was crazy. It was great. It can be gone tomorrow. Like, if they want me to put on a fur jacket and get on Good Morning America. Damn right, I’m gonna show up at 8 o’ clock in the morning. That’s what you do because this could die.
On struggling with addiction:
"I was struggling with addiction. I was caught up again. I was not at my best when I found out Tricia [Macklemore’s fiancée] was pregnant, to say the least. And I’m not proud of it."
On kicking his habits of drugs and alcohol:
"I got sober and I got happy again. Music started to flow. With Tricia, I could really be there for her during the pregnancy … I felt pretty prepared and not at all. I felt both."
On his sophomore album:
"It’s interesting with this album in terms of what we made before and what’s gonna be on this album. I still stand by what “Thrift Shop” is and what it turned into. For one, I don’t want to recreate what we’ve done before. And although there are parallels, like, 'Growing Up' has similar characteristics to a 'Same Love,' but very different records."
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(Photo: MTV News via youtube)
