Eminem Once Said It’s ‘Therapeutic’ to Rap About Addiction Struggles
Grammy-winning rapper Eminem has been through a lot in his life, including a years-long battle with drug addiction that affected his music career. Now, even in his sobriety, Eminem finds that rapping about his addiction helps him process it mentally.
Eminem struggled with addiction early in his mainstream career
Eminem’s breakout came at the turn of the millennium with smash albums including The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP, and The Eminem Show. At the same time, he began to develop a strong addiction to prescription drugs. He reflected on the time in a 2022 interview with XXL.
“I was able to downplay my addiction and hide it for a while until it got really bad,” Em said. “I’m coming off The Marshall Mathers LP and going into Encore when my addiction started to get bad. I was taking Vicodin, Valium, and alcohol. I kinda fell off the map a little bit and didn’t explain why I went away.”
His 2004 album Encore, which didn’t match the success of his previous albums The Eminem Show and The Marshall Mathers LP, suffered as a result of his struggles. “Encore took a whole f***in’ different trajectory because Encore was during my addiction,” he said honestly. “I was realizing I’m getting addicted to these f***in’ pills. I was just coming off The Eminem Show and the 8 Mile soundtrack.”
“The problem was, in the recording process as I was getting more addicted to drugs, I was in more of a goofy mood,” he continued. “So now, I go make ‘A** Like That,’ ‘Big Weenie,’ ‘Rain Man,’ all those silly songs, which I’m writing in f***in’ seconds at that point in time. I was just writing high and feeling good about what I’m doing because I got f***in’ 20 Vicodin in me and this is fun to do, and I’m having fun, so f*** it.”
He said it’s ‘therapeutic’ to rap about addiction
Eminem continued to struggle with addiction in the mid-2000s. After the death of Proof, his longtime friend and fellow rapper from Detroit, in 2006, his addiction began to spiral out of control.
He eventually suffered a near-fatal overdose in 2007 that led him to his path of sobriety. He told E! News in 2022 that even though he’s been clean and sober for over a decade, it’s been helpful to him to rap about his struggles.
“I think that’s one of the great things about rap music is that you could put so much of your life in it,” he said. “It’s therapeutic and that’s how it’s always been for me.”
He’s been sober since 2008
In a 2022 appearance on the Paul Pod podcast, Eminem spoke with his longtime manager Paul Rosenberg about his sobriety and how much clearer his head is today. He got sober in 2008 and has been off drugs ever since.
“I remember when it first got sober and all the s*** was out of my system I remember being really happy,” Em remarked. “Everything was like f***ing new to me again.”
