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President Barack Obama and Macklemore tackle addiction.
On Saturday, May 14, POTUS linked up with the “Thrift Shop” rapper to discuss the dangers of substance abuse during a new “Weekly Address.”
“Deaths from opioid overdoses have tripled since 2000,” said Obama. “A lot of time, they’re from legal drugs prescribed from a doctor, so addiction doesn’t always start in some dark alley; it often starts in a medicine cabinet.”
In February, Macklemore released “Kevin,” a single off “This Unruly Mess I’ve Made,” where the MC speaks about drug adicction and his late friend’s overdose. “I seen pain, I felt the losses/Attended funerals and seen coffins 21-years-old, an angel was lost here/Wings clipped by the grip of 80 milligram sniffs of Oxycontin/Everyday through the nostrils/Never went away, never does it stop there/Death a line or two away and a couple tall cans/Cause you never know when God is gonna call, man/Precious, what we all share,” he said over the track.
“Doctor, please, give me a dose of the American Dream/Put down the pen and look in my eyes/We’re in the waiting room and something ain’t right/All this is on you, we’re overprescribed,” he continued on the bridge.
Referencing the song, the Seattle native expounded on the fact that addiction isn’t prejudice – affects all walks of life.
“Addiction is like any other disease: It doesn’t discriminate, it doesn’t care what color you are, whether you’re a guy or a girl, rich or poor, whether you live in an inner city, suburb or rural America,” he explained. “This doesn’t just happen to other peoples’ kids or some other neighborhood; it can happen to any of us.”
Of course, this is just the beginning of a new partnership. President Obama and Macklemore aren’t done addressing this issue just yet. The duo are slated to drop a documentary on MTV this summer, where they will continue the conversation. In the meantime, we expect this powerful PSA will suffice. Check it out above.
