Eminem Reflects On 2007 Overdose: “Music Basically Saved My Life”

Eminem spoke about his 2007 drug overdose while being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday night.

Eminem reflected on his struggles with addiction while speaking at the induction ceremony for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday night. Telling his daughter, Hailie, to cover her ears, the legendary rapper spoke about how music “basically saved my life.”

“I realize what an honor it is right now to be here up here tonight, and what a privilege it is to do the music that I love,” Eminem said on stage in Los Angeles, as noted by Page Six. “Music basically saved my life … I’ll keep this as painless as possible. I’m f–king stuttering and s–t. I’m probably not supposed to actually be here tonight because of a couple of reasons.”

He continued: “I almost died from an overdose in 2007, which kind of sucked. Hailie, plug your ears. Because drugs were f–king delicious. I thought we had a good thing going on, but I had to go and f–k it all up. Goddamn.”

“Hold on, I lost my motherf—ing spot,” he went on. “Paul, did I say, I said drugs were delicious, right? And finally, I had to really fight my way through man to try and break through in this music, and I’m so honored and I’m so grateful that I’m even able to be up here doing hip-hip music, man, because I love it so much.” he added.

Eminem has spoken about his trouble with abusing Vicodin, Valium, Ambien, and methadone throughout his career. At the time of his overdose, he weighed 230 pounds. He celebrated 10 years of sobriety in 2018.

Earlier in the ceremony, his longtime collaborator Dr. Dre inducted Eminem into the hall. Eminem also performed some of his biggest hits, including “My Name Is,” “Not Afraid,” “Forever” and more. For “Stan,” he welcomed Ed Sheeran to the stage.

While the ceremony was held in person on Saturday, fans will be able to check out footage from the event when it airs on HBO on November 19.

[via]