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The fans of Grammy Award-winning rapper Macklemore were surprised to find out that the artist was marking almost two years of being sober after a relapse during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The “Thrift Shop” rapper broke the news to the public on Sunday (July 24th) in a video he posted to the TikTok social media platform. He was smiling, appearing shirtless and baring his distinct chest tattoos. “I relapsed during the first summer of COVID,” he wrote in the clip’s caption. “Today I have 694 days clean. Love you guys ❤️” The video also highlighted his latest single, “Chant.”
Macklemore encouraged others to share their journey with alcohol and substance abuse and recovery in the comments, and many obliged. One person wrote, “32 days today ✊🏻💛,” to which Macklemore responded back, “Amazing 🙏🏻.
He cited the pandemic’s effect on his attending 12-step meetings, which would go virtual, as the source for his relapse. “It was really painful for myself and for the people who loved me. I stopped doing the work,” he said to People Magazine at the time. “ I have to be still and exist within my own head, that’s where my disease lives… [But] I’m like, ‘You know what? I don’t need to pretend like I’m some perfect dude in recovery.’ I am not at all, and there’s no shame.”
The 39-year-old artist has been open about his own journey in combatting his substance abuse issues, which began in 2008 when his father encouraged him to seek help. He had previous relapses in 2011 and 2014, and has been open about surviving a near-fatal overdose. Macklemore has also been open about his journey with his three children. “Why would I hide it? It is who I am,” he said. “In terms of Daddy’s sober meetings that he needs to go to, she’s well aware and has been for quite some time.”