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.
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