The rapper released his new single featuring NLE Choppa on Friday (Oct. 28th), confessing about relapse and his disease of addiction.
In an exclusive interview with Billboard, the 39 year old sat down to discuss the battles he’s had to face that lead him to writing this song.
“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,” Macklemore explained. “Going into ‘Faithful,’ the pandemic happens. 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. I relapsed in 2020.”
“As long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be clean, and yet the disease I have is always present, it always follows me. The record explores the presence of addiction in every facet of my life, and how pervasive and insidious it can be.” Macklemore states on the Instagram post above.
The new track follows Macklemore’s recent releases “Maniac,” featuring Windser, and “Chant,” featuring Tones And I. It also comes with news of his next album, titled BEN, which will be released March 3rd, 2023.
“The opioid epidemic has touched all corners of the globe and is only getting worse. One thing that I’ve experienced in the last 14 years of being in and out of the rooms of recovery, is that my disease only gets stronger when I’m a secret. Tell the truth, shame the devil. Just for today.”
Watch ‘Faithful’ here in an exclusive Facebook release.