In a new episode of industry executive Paul Rosenberg’s “Paul Pod” podcast, Eminem opened up about his near-fatal 2007 drug overdose. “It took a long time for my brain to start working again,” the “Lose Yourself” rapper admitted. The episode was released yesterday (Sept. 7).
Rosenberg, who is also Eminem’s manager, mentioned that the “Stan” artist was “coming off of an overdose” while being given a few medications to help him stabilize. “So, you’re learning how to rap again almost literally, right? Because it’s the first time, probably, you were creating without having substances in your body in … however many years, right?” the host asked.
As the SiriusXM Shade45 show continued, Eminem recalled a time when he wondered if the incident would leave him with brain damage. “Didn’t you ask the doctors when I first started rapping again and sent it to you, didn’t you say, ‘I just wanna make sure he doesn’t have brain damage’?” he asked. Eminem added that when his song “Give Me the Ball” dropped, he believed it was the first song he’d ever written while sober. “And it was f**king weird, because my brain was turning back on … I started going over lines like, ‘Wait, that’s not good,’” the entertainer shared.
Rosenberg said although he was worried at first, Eminem’s recovery didn’t take long. “It was quick. It was certainly concerning, but we’re only talking about over the course of five or six months total,” he noted. Eminem revealed that as the drugs left his system, he would feel like his “skin was itching.” The “Superman” artist admitted that at one point, he was “taking 75-80 Valium a night.”
Next, Eminem discussed what his best songs after the overdose were. He noted that while writing “3 A.M.,” he “started watching a bunch of f**king serial killer documentaries” to inspire the mood of the track. He and Rosenberg agreed that the song “Fack” from his Curtain Call: The Hits album was one of their favorites.
The 8 Mile actor shared that he was “really happy” once he was sober. “Everything was like f**king new to me again,” he said. Check out the full conversation below.