Macklemore, Ryan Lewis - Otherside lyrics

"Chad Butler, known as Pimp C
Died in a Los Angeles hotel room"
"The LA county Coroner's office
Ruled the rapper's death
Accidental and attributed it to
A combination of" "Apnea?"
"Yes" "And syrup
And we know that syrup on
The streets usually has codeine?"
"Absolutely, we have a problem now
With the cough syrup epidemic"

He rolled up
Asked him what he was sippin' on
He said, "Lean, you wanna hit it, dawg?"
That's the same stuff Weezy's sippin', huh?
And tons of other rappers
That be spittin' hard yup, he had five up on
Then went and passed him that Styrofoam
The Easter Pink, heard a rhyme before
Finally got to see what all the hype was on
And then he took a sip
Sittin' in the Lincoln
Thinking he was pimpin' as he
Listened to the system
Little did he know that it was
Just as addictive as base
Not the kind of hit from the kick drum
Hotbox, let the bass bump
Take it to the face, gulp
Months later the use went up
Every blunt was accompanied by the pink stuff
But goddamn, he loved that feeling
Purple rain coated in the throat
Just so healin'
Medicine alleviate the sickness
Liquid affix and it comes with a cost
Wake up, cold sweat, scratchin', itchin'
Tryna escape the skin that barely fit him
Gone, get another bottle just to
Get a couple swallows
Headed towards the bottom couldn't get off it
Didn't even think he had a problem
Though he couldn't sleep
Without gettin' nauseous room spinnin'
Thinkin' he might have sipped just a little
Bit too much of that cough syrup
His eyelids closed, shut
Sat back in the chair clutchin' that cup
Girlfriend came and a couple hours later
Said his name, shook him but he never got up
He never got up, he never got up
We live on the cusp of death
Thinkin' that it won't be us
It won't be us, it won't be us
It won't be us nah, it won't be us

Now he just wanted to act like them
He just wanted to rap like him
Us as rappers underestimate the power and the
Effects that we have on these kids
Blunt passed, ash in a tin
Pack being pushed, harassed by the feds
The fact of it is most
People that rap like this
Talkin' about some shit they haven't lived
Surprise, you know the drill
Trapped in a box, declinin' record sales
Follow the formula: violence, drugs
And sex sells
So we try to sound like someone else
This is not Californication
There's no way to glorify this pavement
Syrup, Percocet, and an eighth a day
Will leave you broke, depressed
And emotionally vacant
Despite how Little Wayne lives
It's not conducive to being creative
And I know 'cause he's my favorite
And I know 'cause I was off that same mix
Rationalize the shit that I'd try
After I listen to Dedication
But he's an alien i'd sip that shit
Pass out or play PlayStation
Months later I'm in the same place
No music made, feelin' like a failure
And trust me, it's not dope to be twenty-five
And move back to your parents' basement
I've seen my people's dreams die
I've seen what they can be denied
And "weed's not a drug, " that's denial
Groundhog Day, life, repeat each time
I've seen Oxycontin take three lives
I grew up with them, we used to chief dimes
I've seen cocaine bring out the demons inside
Cheatin' and lyin'
Friendship cease, no peace in the mind
Stealin' and takin' anything to
Fix the pieces inside
Broken, hopeless, headed nowhere
Only motivation for what
The dealer's supplyin'
That rush, that drug, that dope
Those pills, that crumb, that roach
Thinkin' I would never do that, not that drug
Growing up nobody ever does
Until you're stuck
Lookin' in the mirror like I
Can't believe what I become
Swore I was gonna be someone
And growin' up everyone always does
We sell our dreams and our potential
To escape through that buzz
Just keep me up, keep me up
Hollywood, here we come

"You can tend to, um
Go a little too far with some of these
Things, they have very
Strong addictive qualities
Pills and syrups and whatnot, so um…"
"Is it changing the music?"
"Um, I can only speak for myself personally
You know what I'm saying?
Um, we had been taking down
Toning down the content of certain
Things in the music lately
My new album, of course
Probably won't have any references to
Cough syrup in it but, uh
It's a little bit more than the music
I think it's gonna start
Affecting the personal lives
Of a lot of artists and people"