Is eminem back on drugs 2015
Eminem Details His Recovery from Near-Fatal Overdose, Says He Took '75-80' Valium a Night During Detox
Eminem's near-fatal drug overdose in 2007 was a wake-up call that not only inspired him to get sober, but pushed him to have "fun with music again" for the first time in years.
In an appearance on the new episode of Paul Rosenberg's Paul Pod podcast Thursday, Eminem, 49, and Rosenberg, his longtime manager, recalled the rapper's recovery from the overdose, which the pair agreed he almost did not survive.
Eminem has been sober since April 20, 2008, according to a 2020 Twitter post, and made his 2009 album Relapse during the early days of recovery. During the interview, the star said that as he returned to music, he felt that things were "new to me again."
"I remember when I first got sober and all the s— was out of my system, I remember just being, like, really happy and everything was f—g new to me again," he said about making the album. "It was the first album and the first time that I had fun recording in a long time."
Adele, Eminem, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr Now Only Need Tony Awards to Reach EGOT Status
"It was like the first time I started having fun with music again, and re-learning how to rap, you remember that whole process," Eminem added. "It took a long time for my brain to start working again."
Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, recalled Rosenberg asking his doctors whether the rapper may have suffered permanent brain damage as he learned to make music and rap while sober for the first time in years in the wake of his overdose.
"Didn't you ask the doctors when I started recording new s—, when I first started rapping again, and sent it to you, didn't you say, 'I just wanted to make sure he didn't have brain damage?' " he asked.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPL Eminem is celebrating another year of sobriety. On Saturday, April 20, the “Lose Yourself” rapper, 51, marked 16 years sober, sharing the milestone on Instagram with fans. The Grammy winner — who was born Marshall Mathers — posted a photo of his hand holding a new chip commemorating the achievement. The comments section of the captionless post was filled with messages of support and congratulations for the rapper. "We're all proud of you for being 16 years sober 💪," read a note from the fan account Stanistheone. "Great decision you made brother! We're all very proud of you ❤️," fellow rapper DTG (real name Dylan Godfrey) wrote. Eminem Details His Recovery from Near-Fatal Overdose, Says He Took '75-80' Valium a Night During Detox Eminem previously shared that a near-fatal drug overdose in 2007 was a wake-up call that inspired him to get sober after taking up to 20 pills a day. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "I remember when I first got sober and all the s--- was out of my system, I remember just being, like, really happy and everything was f---ing new to me again," he said on Paul Rosenberg's Paul Pod podcast in 2022. On top of crediting his kids — biological daughter Hailie Jade and his two adopted children, Alaina and Stevie — with keeping him sober, Eminem also replaced “addiction with exercise.” “When I got out of rehab, I needed to lose weight, but I also needed to figure out a way to function sober,” the rapper told Men’s Journal in 2015. “Unless I was blitzed out of my mind, I had trouble sleeping. So I started running. It gave me a natural endorphin high, but it also helped me sleep, so it was perfect.” Eminem added, “It’s easy to understand how people replace addiction Eminem is celebrating his 16th year of sobriety since overcoming an addiction to alcohol and drugs during the late ’00s. On Sunday (April 21), the 51-year-old took to Instagram to acknowledge the latest milestone in his personal life, simply sharing a photo of himself holding a coin with the number “16” engraved on it. The coin, commonly known as a sobriety medallion or chip, is given to former addicts after each year of abstaining from drug and alcohol use. While the rap legend didn’t add any context to the photo, supporters congratulated him on his achievement in the post’s comments, including Paul Rosenberg, John Mayer, and other notable figures. Eminem has been open about his struggles with addiction throughout his career, with songs and complete albums revolving around the subject. In 2009, two years after suffering a drug overdose, the Detroit native released his sixth studio album, Relapse, which was followed by his seventh studio album, Recovery, in 2010. The hitmaker went in-depth regarding his experiences with drug and alcohol abuse in 2022, recounting the period when his addiction began and when he realized it had spiraled out of control. “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,” he explained to XXL. “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 sh*t is too much and I don’t know how to stop.” Despite having reached the height of his success with his third studio album, The Marshall Mathers LP, E Elton John may have been crucial to Eminem’s recovery from drug addiction, but according to a recent piece written by the rapper, excessive jogging played a large role in his sobriety. “I got an addict’s brain,” Eminem told Men’s Journal, “and when it came to running, I think I got a little carried away.” In an article about his physical health, Eminem explains that following an overdose in 2007 he was “close to 230 pounds”, a weight gain he attributes to the Vicodin and the Valium he’d been taking for years that “leaves a hole in your stomach, so to avoid a stomachache, I was constantly eating – and eating badly.” “Unless I was blitzed out of my mind, I had trouble sleeping. So I started running,” the rapper said. “It gave me a natural endorphin high, but it also helped me sleep, so it was perfect. It’s easy to understand how people replace addiction with exercise. One addiction for another, but one that’s good for them.” Eminem, who now prefers exercise DVDs, said that his hobby quickly went from helpful to harmful. “I became a fucking hamster. Seventeen miles a day on a treadmill. I would get up in the morning, and before I went to the studio, I would run eight-and-a-half miles in about an hour. Then I’d come home and run another eight and a half. I started getting OCD about the calories, making sure I burned 2,000 every day. In the end, I got down to about 149 pounds. I ran to the point where I started to get injured. All the constant pounding from the running began to tear up my hip flexors.” As well as exercise, Eminem has previously claimed that his friendship with Elton John was important in the process of overcoming the rapper’s drug addiction. After his near-fatal methadone overdose, Eminem rang up John, who had himself attended rehab in 1990. “When I first wanted to get sober, I called [Elton] and spoke to him about it,” Eminem said back in 2009. “He’s somebody who’s in the busin
Eminem Celebrates 16 Years of Sobriety by Showing Off His New Chip
‘Recovery’ After ‘Relapse’: Eminem Celebrates 16 Years Of Sobriety
Eminem became addicted to exercise following drug rehabilitation