Eminem Says Drugs Became A Way Of Life Once He Got Signed

Eminem’s contributions to the world of hip-hop will never be forgotten, as his influence is etched deep in the mind of fans and peers alike. Artists such as Skylar Grey still get starstruck working with him even now. 

Slim Shady had rough beginnings as he started dirt-poor, living in a trailer park. His growth continues to be a source of inspiration to fans and peers alike, all over the world.

While speaking to XXL, Eminem talked about his entire life, including his success in the world of rap. He would then proceed to open up about his battle with addiction, that haunted him for a long time.

I remember I was in the car with some friends and sh*t right before I went to L.A., right after the Rap Olympics in 1997. The Firm album had just come out and “Phone Tap” was one of the greatest beats ever made to me. I remember saying, “If I could just get with Dre, man, my God that’d be so crazy. He’s so f*ckin’ ill.” Three weeks later, I was at Dre’s house. We made The Slim Shady LP. That was a fun album to make, but it’s also where everything suddenly changed.

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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 kinda sh*t. 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 f*ckin’ throw him down on the ground and start pulling pills out his pockets and sh*t. We were scared sh*tless, 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.

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.

My addiction didn’t start in my early days when I was coming up. 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 s*** too much and I don’t know how to stop.

I was able to downplay my addiction and hide it for a while until it got really bad. And also, at that time, so much sh*t was happening with the whole 50 beef with Ja Rule. We started feuding, going back-and-forth, and I’m making all of these diss records and sh*t. 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 kinda fell off the map a little bit and didn’t explain why I went away. I remember things started getting really, really bad when me, 50 and G-Unit did BET’s 106 & Park. We performed “You Don’t Know” on the show and then we did an interview afterward. That’s when the wheels started coming off. One of the hosts was talking to me and I could not understand a word she was saying. 50 had to cover for me and answer every question.

Then I started taking Ambien on top of everything else. I would take a little to perform, which you would think doesn’t make sense, but Ambien is a mind eraser. So, if you don’t go to sleep on it, you get in this weird comatose state. I see what you’re saying, and I hear what you’re saying, but I don’t comprehend. If you watch back to that interview now, you can notice it. That’s when everyone around me knew, “He’s f****** up. Something’s wrong with him.”

When I wrap it up in a nutshell, I realize that all the heaviest drug usage and addiction spanned only about five years of my life. It’s crazy for me to think back. It felt like a long time when it was happening, but looking back at it now, it wasn’t that long of a time for my problem to explode as it did. Then the thing happened with Proof and my addiction went through the f*****’ roof. I remember just after Proof died, I was in my house by myself, and I was just laying in bed and I couldn’t move and I just kept staring at the ceiling fan. And I just kept taking more pills. I literally couldn’t walk for two days when that happened and eventually my drug use f****8 ‘ skyrocketed. I had f*ckin’ 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**** I’m still here. I was numbing myself.

I remember a few months after Proof had passed, I was about to use the bathroom, and all I remember was I just fell over. The next thing I remember was waking up with f***** tubes in me and sh*t, and I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t do anything. I didn’t understand where I was and what the f**** happened.

Slim Shady has managed to turn his life around and even at his age, he continues to be a huge star in the world of rap. We will have to wait and see what else he has in store for fans.

What’s your take on what he said? Sound off in the comments!