Eminem has opened up about his drug addiction, and the impact his recovery from it had on his new album The Marshall Mathers LP 2, in a revealing interview with BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe.
The interview began with Eminem referencing Kanye West’s divisive appearance on the radio station, which you can watch in its entirety right here, stating that the only way to top the Yeezus rapper’s interview would be for him to “pee on the floor”.
Eminem also gave his thoughts on the high level of expectation fans had for his new album given the overwhelming success of the original The Marshall Mathers LP, and talked about his battle with prescription drug addiction. During the peak of his addiction, Eminem was taking 60 Valium and 30 Vicodin pills per day, the former being commonly used to treat anxiety disorders and the latter for pain relief. When asked by Lowe about how it felt to overcome this dark time in his life, Eminem said: “I’m definitely thankful. I know that I could have certainly taken another path and gone another direction [but] I think that i’m probably able to be more focused now than I’ve ever been. ”
He continued: “I know there’s so many addicts in this world and people who had problems like that that don’t make it. So I’m thankful for that. The one that’s that really helps me through is the music, and the passion for that.”
Eminem also spoke about his difficulty with adapting to the celebrity lifestyle, saying: “I want to be able to go out in public and be able to eat a fucking sandwich and be left alone. I’ve never been an attention seeker. That’s not why I do it.”
Watch the first half of the interview below. The BBC will be uploading the other parts of the interview daily, so be sure to check back here tomorrow for part 3.
