on PinterestTwenty years sober, Run-DMC’s Darryl McDaniels opens up about his recovery journey.
on PinterestTwenty years sober, Run-DMC’s Darryl McDaniels opens up about his recovery journey. Courtesy of Stand Together
- Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, of the legendary hip-hop group Run-DMC, is speaking out about sobriety.
- McDaniels s his journey with addiction, his mental health, and finding sobriety over 20 years ago.
- The iconic rapper teamed up with 1 Million Strong to unite the music, sports, and entertainment industry and its fans to foster meaningful connections at cultural events.
At the height of global fame, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels from the legendary hip-hop band Run-DMC quietly battled addiction, depression, and identity loss.
“I never wanted to be in show business… I was just writing rhymes. I was a comic book kid. I had a great imagination. So it was an easy transition from rapping in my basement to rapping onstage in front of a lot of people,” he told Healthline.
When Run-DMC’s career skyrocketed, and the pressure of churning out hits intensified, McDaniels said the rise to stardom took a toll.
“[People] started saying, ‘You gotta have hit records. You gotta tour. You gotta be on the radio. You gotta make money.’ And I started worrying about their expectations. I started worrying about letting people down instead of worrying about how I was feeling,” he said.
That’s when anxiety, nervousness, and confusion set in.
“And I thought, ‘Oh, I need something to help me.’ Olde English 800. Johnny Walker. Jack Daniel’s. Jim Beam. I thought they could be my friends,” said McDaniels. “It wasn’t Run-DMC itself. It was the expectations. I started reaching for things outside of me to help me navigate what I was feeling.”
After battling addiction, anxiety, and depression for decades, he checked himself into rehab in 2004. Since then, McDaniels has lived a life of sobriety and made it his mission to spread awareness around mental health.
His latest endeavor is a partnership with 1 Million Strong, an impact initiative working to transform the way society thinks about mental health, addiction, and recovery by building sober-supportive communities within the music world and beyond.
Substance misuse affects 56% of music industry
Substance misuse is widespread in the United States. In 2023, nearly 50 million Americans ages 12 and older met criteria for a substance use disorder.
In the music industry, more than half of professionals report problematic alcohol or drug use. What’s more, around 34% of touring music professionals experience clinical depression.
“A major misunderstanding is the belief that strength, success, or intelligence protects people from mental illness or addiction,” J. Craig Allen, MD, Vice President of Addiction Services at Hartford HealthCare, told Healthline. “Mental health problems and addiction are health conditions, not a moral flaw.”
While improvements and setbacks with addiction and mental health occur, he added that for mental health and substance use disorder, there is a misperception that when that happens, a treatment has “failed.”
“In reality, recovery is best understood as an active maintenance phase, not a cure. Ongoing vulnerability should be normalized without minimizing consequences, and early warning signs should prompt rapid response, not shame or thoughts of
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