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“I’m going to go for 756?”
WRONG. 1133. Ever speak to Kendrick about it?
“Damn! What a number! Kendrick and I have never really talked in-depth about it after that. I mean, I’ve spoken to him, but at that moment, it was a really intense time for me. Before fame, I had about 15 years of being an underground rapper and when I became known to the world, it happened very quickly to the point where ‘Thrift Shop’ and ‘Can’t Hold Us’ became the biggest songs in the world. It opens you up to a level of criticism that I didn’t know how to take at the time. Then you tie in active addiction to try to escape the criticism and what do you get? You get someone who’s lost, fearful, and has forgotten the core vales that got them to that stage in the first place. And I had to be reminded.”
“That moment was an imperative one in my journey and I would never take it back because it led me back to my truth – of being able to strip back everything to who I am, not who the world, comments or thinkpieces say I am. None of that matters – keep making art and don’t let these motherfuckers get in your head.”
Did any peers reach out to you during the Grammys controversy where you won four awards?
“The only person who reached out to me in that moment was Mac Miller. And he didn’t have to. That’s always impressed me because rappers are all competitive people with big egos. There’s also the thing about being the lone white rapper – first it was Eminem, then Mac Miller, then me. I had conversations with Mac about feeling like I want to be the chosen white person! This crazy insanity of ‘I want to be the most popular white rapper of the moment!’. It’s so corny, but I’ve had conversations with MGK and G-Eazy and everyone feels that sense of competition – we all compare ourselves to each other, whether we talk about it or not!”
“And Mac was the most popular, successful rapper since Eminem and then along comes [Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ 2012 debut] ‘The Heist’. Instead of feeling threatened, Mac reached out in that moment where I’ve just won four Grammys and I’m on the biggest stage in the world performing ‘Same Love’ to text and say: ‘Dude, I know that you’re probably going through a lot right now. I just want to tell you that I’m thinking about you and sending love. And I know this shit’s not easy.’ That’s always stuck with me.”
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