Macklemore’s “Otherside” deals with drug use in the rap game, specifically using Pimp C as an example, who died after overdosing on cough syrup in 2007. As well as being about the plagues of drug use, the song in a greater sense is about the dangers of idol worship, particularly when that idol is someone like Lil Wayne, who advertises—even glorifies—drugs like lean in his lyrics.

The backtrack is taken from the Red Hot Chilli Pepper’s track “Otherside.” Speaking on the song’s background, Macklemore said:

It started out with just a loop of the music, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and I didn’t really know where I wanted to take the song, I didn’t have a preconceived notion, like, this is gonna be a song about drugs, this is gonna be a song about my experience, it just kind of came. And it was one of those moments in songwriting when the song just writes itself. I just started to kind of writing a narrative of an experience.

As the song unfolds, it becomes clear that Macklemore also discusses his own personal history with drug abuse and how he has seen friends lose the battle with addiction. He explained:

I’ve had a lot of friends that have struggled with drugs and alcohol, struggled with drug addiction, along with myself. And part of the story is kind of a narrative, a glimpse into somebody else’s life, and part of it is my own experience. So by the time that you’re getting into the second verse, I’m talking about my own struggles, my own ups and downs with drugs and alcohol that inevitably left me at a rock bottom and a place where I needed to get sober.

The song seems like a good look at the “otherside” of many rappers that the press and fans don’t necessarily get to see.

The song was remixed by Ryan Lewis and was featured on their 2010 joint project The VS. Redux. The remix features Seattle artist Fences.