Royce Da 5’9” took to Instagram Wednesday (Sept. 12) to speak to his 500,000 followers who mourned the recent death of his friend Mac Miller. He also reflected on his journey to sobriety as today marks the sixth anniversary that the Detroit rapper successfully combated alcoholism.
The lyricist was in high spirits today as seen by his three Instagram videos of him driving when he thanked all of his fans for the love and support. He discussed how much of a “bittersweet moment” it was for his friend Miller to pass away.
The 41-year-old featured Miller on the 2014 album he did with DJ Premier under the duo name PRhyme. Royce said that six years ago, he decided to call Eminem and let him know that he was ready to quit the bottle for good. Eminem then got together his longtime manager Paul Rosenberg, and Tracy McNew (who is also a part of his team) to put their money together and send Royce to rehab. “If they had left it up to me to do it, maybe it might not have gotten done,” Royce said in the video.
In the second and third video, Royce calls out record labels for not addressing drug abuse in the music their artists make. He said that when he gets his label off the ground — Heaven Entertainment — he won’t tolerate his artists abusing drugs and alcohol and instead treat them as if they are family like the Slim Shady rapper did for him.
Since the beginning of his recovery, the Rock City rapper has remained an open book with his alcohol addiction, as highlighted on his last two solo albums Layer and Book of Ryan.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=SX-3zoagoHE
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