Macklemore: ‘I have never been to a sex dungeon party’

The first song I remember hearing
I remember hearing The Heat Is On by Glenn Frey from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack when I was five or six and just being like: “Oh my God, I want to be Axel Foley.”
The song I perform at karaoke
I just do my own songs. They’re the only ones that I can actually do successfully. I alternate between Thrift Shop and Can’t Hold Us. I also really enjoy anybody that happens to be in the karaoke bar when I’m there and sees me doing my own songs.
The song inexplicably know every lyric to
I can rap a lot of Lil Wayne. If you put on a Lil Wayne song from Tha Carter or Tha Charter II eras, chances are I can go word for word with you. The album 3rd Eye Vision, by Hieroglyphics, I absolutely know word for word.
The first single I bought
I wanted to buy Way 2 Fonky by DJ Quik at the [US music shop] Sam Goody up the street from my house in Seattle, but it had a parental advisory sticker on the front. So, at the tender age of about nine, I stole it.
The best song to play at a party
It depends on the kind of party. There’s a lot of different subgenres of parties these days. It might be a sex dungeon party! No, I’m just kidding. I’ve never been to a sex dungeon party. I like Blue (Da Ba Dee) by Eiffel 65. When the bass hits, that shit goes crazy every time.
The song I can no longer listen to
I think that anything that I recorded before 2003, I can’t listen to that. I don’t have a famous song that makes me think: “Oh no, I can’t hear that.” But anything that I did before 2003, I can’t listen.
The best song to have sex to
I’ve already made the sex dungeon joke. I’m not sure how that comes over. Let me just look for an old playlist real quick. Bear with me … So Anxious by Ginuwine. You’ve got to lay it down when that comes on.
The song I secretly like, but tell everyone I hate
I don’t know if I lie about my taste at this point in my life. Having kids opens you up to a bunch of music that you might not have ever listened to on your own or maybe thought you didn’t like. I have not done a bunch of digging into Taylor Swift’s catalogue, but there’s a couple of songs that my kids bumped me that have made me think: “This is fantastic songwriting.”
The song I wish I had written
There’s so many songs that I wish I had written. I’m going to go with I Rule the World (Imagine That) by Nas.
The song that changed my life
Otherside by myself was the first time that I spoke up about my own recovery and rapping about addiction. It opened up a whole community of people that were struggling with the same disease that I had. It introduced me to the world via the underground in a different way, at a different pace, than I was accustomed to.
The song I would like played at my funeral
Zombie Nation by Kernkraft 400. I want it to be raining. All my friends carry the casket, put me in the dirt, and now we party.
Macklemore’s latest album, Ben, is out now.