Rain in Seattle can ruin a lot of things. What was supposed to be a quick interview outside of the Hampton Inn in Federal Way turned into a trip back to Seattle as I rode with Macklemore in his Cadillac. Who’s complaining, though? During this ride back, we knocked out an interview that’s been in the making for many months now.

Macklemore’s fall is going to be big as his debut album, The Heist, with Ryan Lewis is coming out on October 9 and his extensive world tour (pick up tickets here) follows starting on the 12th. So, during our interview, we were able to discuss  how his debut is different from past projects, Schoolboy Q appearing on a song, the annual pizza party, his past drug issues, best moments of his career so far and much more. Full synopsis below.

His thoughts on Tha Bizness’ music panel we just spoke on (0:13)
Why he dropped the Professor from his name & origins of it (0:51)
Motivation behind wanting to get off drugs (1:46)
If it’s difficult to stay sober and not fall back into that cycle (3:10)
Best moments of his career so far (5:43)
Possibly having his own independent label to help out Seattle and other region artists in the future + who he’s feeling out in Seattle (7:29)
How his annual pizza party with Ryan Lewis came about (10:19)
How The Heist will differ from his previous albums (12:26)
The concept of his Schoolboy Q-assisted track on The Heist (14:04)
Anymore guest features on the album (15:06)
What made Schoolboy Q special enough to be on The Heist? (16:20)
If he plans to work with other producers in his career (17:07)