“I literally couldn’t walk for two days..”: Even Eminem is Surprised He Was Able to Survive His Harrowing Battle With Drug Addiction
Eminem is recognized as one of the greatest rappers of all time. His success as a rapper is known to have broken racial barriers with the acceptance of White rappers in the genre of music which he calls is a ‘Black music’. Eminem is also known for being a controversial figure in the late ’90s and early ‘2000s, due to his transgressive work at the time.
But soon he became a representative of the popular angst of the American underclass and is now recognized as one of the most influential artists who is an inspiration to various upcoming rappers.
After achieving fame and success with his LP The Slim Shady in 1999, Eminem released The Marshall Mathers LP in 2000 and The Eminem Show in 2002 under Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment. After the release of 2004’s Encore, the artist decided to go on a hiatus due to his substance abuse problem, but returned four years later with the release of Relapse and Recovery.
Eminem is indeed one of the best-selling music artists of all time, but in a candid essay he wrote for a magazine, he opened up about being grateful that he’s managed to survive the darkest clouds of his life.
Eminem penned down the details of his struggle with substance abuse
In an essay for XXL back in 2020, Eminem, decided to give his fans an insight into his struggle with substance abuse. He revealed that after he worked on The Slim Shady LP with Dr. Dre, his life changed.
“One of those changes was that drugs became a part of the way I was living my life once I got signed. 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 kind shit. I don’t know how many times we did it, but it was so easy to go back and forth to do it.”
Eminem continued that he never thought he had a problem, writing that he liked drugs, and as he started making money, he thought he could buy more of them. He further wrote that his drug usage started at the beginning of the first album, but he didn’t take anything hard until he got famous. The artist noted:
“I was able to downplay my addiction and hide it for a while until it got really bad. And also, at the time, so much sh**t was happening with the whole 50 beef with Ja Rule. So 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 kind of fell off the map a little and didn’t explain why I went away.”
The artist further explained that Proof died and his addiction went through the roof as he explained that he was in his house when Proof died and he was lying on the bed. Eminem recalled that he couldn’t move, kept staring at the ceiling fan, and kept taking more pills. He added,
“I literally couldn’t walk for two days when that happened and eventually my drug use f**king skyrocketed. I had f***king 10 drug dealers at one time that I’m getting my sh**t from. Seventy-five to 80 Valiums a night, which is a lot. I don’t know how the f**k I’m still here. I was numbing myself.”
Also Read: Kendrick Lamar or Drake, Who is a Better Rapper- Eminem’s Bold Comments Settles the Debate
Eminem noted in his essay that Encore, which was the album he worked on while struggling with substance abuse, had decent numbers, but numbers never bothered him. He added that he was worried about what people thought about the album, pointing out that critics and fans were important to him.
Eminem would rather be the best rapper than make the best album
In his essay, the rapper mentioned that if given a choice to either be the best rapper or make the best album, he’d pick being the best rapper, adding that he raps to be the best.
“What I hyper-focus on is people like Kendrick Lamar, Joyner Lucas, J. Cole, and Big Sean and watching them and how the f**k they’re doing their sh**t. Because they’re also focused on being the best rappers.”
Eminem says that he wants to do things that nobody from the given point can ever top; rap to a level that no one else could get to. He mentioned that he looks for the younger generation to push him, adding that every time the best rapper drops an album, it changes the landscape of the game. He wrote that he believes that if he does not do that, someone else is going to come behind him and wash him away.
One thing he has always loved about rap is that it’s always evolving, and to succeed, one needs to be constantly aware of that and keep up with it.
