Clean and sober Eminem opens up about addiction struggles

EMINEM has been chosen to be on the cover of XXL magazine as it celebrates its 25th anniversary and he opened up about his past battles with addictions as he celebrates over 14 years of sobriety.

Eminem, one of the most successful artists of all time, has opened up about his past battles with addictions and revealed how they nearly killed him.

Speaking to XXL magazine on their 25th anniversary, Marshall Mathers revealed that he didn’t do many drugs or drink much before he got signed by Dr Dre.

“My addiction didn’t start in my early days when I was coming up,” he said.

“We used to drink 40s on the porch and just battle rap each other. My drug usage started at the beginning of that first album. I didn’t take anything hard until I got famous. I was experimenting. I hadn’t found a drug of choice.

“Back then you went on tour and people were just giving you free drugs. I managed it for a little while. And then, it just became, I like this stuff too much and I don’t know how to stop.”

As mentioned, Eminem said “everything suddenly changed” after he signed with the legendary beatmaker back in early 1998.

“Drugs became a part of the way I was living my life once I got signed.”

The Detriot hip-hop star shared a story: “When I first came out to L.A., me and some guys I was hanging out with used to go to Tijuana and we would buy drugs.

“Vicodin and that kinda stuff. I don’t know how many times we did it, but it was so easy to go back and forth to do it.

“The last time we went, we’re second in line and this dude in front of us starts arguing with the guy in Customs, and they throw him down on the ground and start pulling pills out his pockets. We were scared, but we got through.

“And when I say we had the motherlode. Our pants were frickin’ stuffed with pills. I don’t know how many we had.”

Eminem, who was recently thrust back into the spotlight after former G-Unit stable member The Game released a diss track on him, said that if that airport experience had gone wrong his career may not have ever happened.

“Obviously, if I ended up in jail, the album probably wouldn’t have come out and nothing with my rap career would’ve ever happened.

“I would’ve been done right then. So, it should have been one of the first signs to me, but I never thought that I had a problem.

“I just really, really liked drugs. As I started making a little money, I could buy more of them,” the 49-year-old said.

The rapper, who recently paid tribute to murdered rap battler Pat Stay, revealed that when The Source battle was going on with 50 Cent is when he was really “starting to battle addiction.”

“People obviously didn’t know it yet, but I was starting to realise inside that it was happening, and I always tried to keep it on the low and keep it together as much as I could,” he said.

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