Macklemore used drugs to escape from the pitfalls of fame.
The 34-year-old rapper – who came to prominence in 2013 with the single ‘Thrift Shop’ with Ryan Lewis, which reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 – has admitted that his "rapid transition" into the spotlight led him to experiment with substances, and was "the worst" experience of his life.
Speaking to the latest issue of FAULT magazine, Macklemore – whose real name is Benjamin Hammond Haggerty – spilled: "Adjusting to the fame in a condensed period and not staying sober has been the worst.
"There was a rapid transition and to have the world’s eye on me all at once with back-to-back number ones, and all the accolades that came with it – I didn’t know how to deal with it.
"I didn’t know how to adjust, so I escaped.
"I think a lot of that peak season when I was around a bunch of people, doing sold out arenas across the world was me isolating and using drugs. I used drugs to cope with it and to get out of my head. "
The ‘Same Love’ hitmaker – has two-year-old daughter Sloane and another little girl, who was born last month, with wife Tricia Davis – believes addiction is his biggest fault because if he doesn’t stick to his recovery plan, he could lose his family and career.
Asked what his biggest fault is, he told the publication: "Addiction. I think that’s the thing that always reminds me that I could lose all of this at any minute. If I stop prioritising the daily recovery program that I do to maintain sobriety – I will lose it all. It’s bigger than my career and more significant than record sales – it’s my family. It’s my happiness, my life."
Previously, Macklemore admitted he was freaked out when Tricia fell pregnant with their first daughter in 2015, as he feared he wasn’t fit to be a father after suffering a drugs relapse a year before her birth.
He said: "It was just like, you know, ‘God, I’m not ready for this right now. I am not ready to be a father, like, I can’t even get sober.’
"And it was one of those, just like, ‘Please, like, don’t, you know, please don’t be pregnant.’
"And I heard tears from the bathroom. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I know what those tears mean … it was quickly this, like, wake-up call. I got sober and I got happy again."
Mackelmore used drugs to deal with fame
