Used drugs to cope with pressure of expectation, says Macklemore

Rapper-songwriter Macklemore says he turned to drugs to deal with the pressure of expectation after he achieved "sudden success".

The 34-year-old artiste said addiction was his way of escape to handle the accolades he received after he started climbing up the ladder.

"Adjusting to the fame is 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," Macklemore told FAULT magazine.

The "Corner Stone" hitmaker said for him, "addiction", is a constant reminder of the transient nature of success.

"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 programme 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," he said.