Macklemore confronts his addiction in the new single “Faithful,” which came out last week. In a recent interview, the hitmaker revealed why he was open to releasing such a vulnerable single.
Speaking with Billboard, Macklemore explained, “Recovery has been a huge part of my life the last 14 years. I first went to treatment in 2008. I’ve always had the allergy, the disease of addiction was present from my first drink of alcohol.”
He relapsed in 2020 after the pandemic upended his recovery plan. “I was removed from my recovery community, everything’s on Zoom — I’m used to going to meetings and being a part of a community — all a sudden that’s stripped away from us and I relapsed,” he confessed.
The singer noted, “I think I wrote ‘Faithful’ shortly after that and it came from a dark spot.” Macklemore explained why he needed to put out such a personal song: “I think that there is such a void of music that talks about real issues.”
To him, the “real issues” are mental health, “fighting the disease of addiction” and recovery. “I’m trying to go there. I don’t want to avoid it,” he said.
Macklemore also credited his wife, Tricia Davis, for encouraging him to release “Faithful” as a single. “She felt passionate about [‘Faithful’] and I love the record … She saw a vision,” he explained. He said Davis also wanted to direct its music video.
The video, on which Davis is credited as both its creative and art director, premieres Friday, November 3, at midnight.
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