In September, he revealed that “it took a long time” for his brain to start working again after his overdose in December 2007.
And now Eminem admitted dying of a methadone overdose “kind of sucked” and insisted music “saved his life” as he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday.
The rapper, 50, asked his daughter Hailie Jade Mathers, 26, to cover her ears during the ceremony at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles as he opened up about his addiction and confessed he found drugs “fucking yummy”.
Candid: Eminem, 50, admitted he almost died of a 2007 overdose “kinda shitty” and that music “saved his life” when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday
Eminem – real name Marshall Mathers – said: “I realize what an honor it is to be up here tonight and what a privilege it is to make the music I love.
“Music basically saved my life… I’m going to keep this as painless as possible, I f***ing stutter and s***.” I probably shouldn’t be here tonight for a number of reasons.
“I almost died from an overdose in 2007, which kind of sucked. Hailie, cover your ears. Because drugs were damn tasty. I thought we had a good thing going, but I had to go and screw it up – goddammit.
The camera then panned to his daughter, who pursed her lips and shook her head as her father continued, “Wait a minute I lost my mother****** place…did I say I said drugs.” are delicious, right?
Flashback: Eminem was battling an addiction to prescription drugs when he was hospitalized in December 2007 after suffering a methadone overdose before entering rehab (pictured in 2008)
Yikes: He asked his daughter Hailie Jade Mathers, 26, to cover her ears during the ceremony as he opened up about his addiction and admitted he found drugs “fucking yummy”.
“And finally, I’ve had to really fight my way through men to try and break through in this music, and I’m so honored and so grateful to even be up here making hip-hip music, man ’cause I love it so much.’
Eminem also performed at the 37th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, opening with a version of his 1999 song “My Name Is,” followed by “Rap God” and “Sing for the Moment.”
The rapper was battling an addiction to prescription drugs when he was hospitalized in December 2007 after a methadone overdose before entering rehab.
He has previously admitted his addiction to Vicodin, Valium, Ambien and Methadone began while filming the semi-autobiographical film 8 Mile in 2002.
In 2011 he told Rolling Stone magazine, “We worked 16 hours on the set and you had a certain window to sleep in. One day someone gave me an Ambien and I was blown away. I thought, “I need this all the time.”
Opening up: Eminem has opened up about his near fatal 2007 overdose in 2007 and the subsequent road to recovery (pictured in Los Angeles in February)
In September, Eminem revealed about his overdose during an intimate interview on the Paul Pod podcast hosted by the Grammy winner’s longtime manager Paul Rosenberg, 51, saying, “It took a long time for my brain to start working again.”
After the overdose, The Real Slim Shady artist went back to using, but was scared of the near-death experience and went into rehab, finally becoming sober in April 2008.
In the chat, his manager Rosenberg asked: “And some took a minute to get used to – let’s just leave it at that. So you’re almost literally learning to rap again, right? “Because it’s probably the first time you’ve created without having any substances in your body in…however many years, right?”
Eminem interjected, “Didn’t you ask the doctors when I first started rapping again, didn’t you say, ‘I just want to make sure he doesn’t have brain damage’?” to which he admitted: “I thought you might have permanent problems. I sure was worried.’
The songwriter admitted in a 2017 interview with Vulture that the music he created during his addiction and recovery wasn’t his best.
“Encore (the album before he overdosed) was mediocre, and with Relapse it was the best I could do at the time,” he said.
“I was so distracted that people around me thought I might have caused brain damage. I’ve been in this strange fog for months.
“I literally made no sense; It had been so long since I had done vocals without a ton of Valium and Vicodin. I almost had to relearn how to rap.’
Valium: During his recovery, doctors tried to stabilize the rapper’s condition. Eminem revealed he was taking “75 to 80 Valium a night” (pictured in Los Angeles in 2005)