How rapping is like therapy for Eminem: “I’m having fun, so fuck it”
Grammy-award-winning emcee Eminem has had many ups and downs in his life and career, which has seen incredible highs and devastating lows. However, he still lives to tell the stories. That said, he once explained how rapping and hip-hop music helped him through an extremely difficult time in his life.
During the 2000s, Eminem had a battle with substance abuse and had problems with addiction that he has since overcome. However, that wasn’t how he appeared when he first became a household name. When the Detroit lyricist broke out with his smash album, The Marshall Mathers LP, he was the hottest rapper in the world. Within a few years, he managed to become one of the highest-selling hip-hop artists and continuously broke records.
That said, behind the scenes, things weren’t always going well for the musician, and as he developed a strong addiction to prescription drugs, one thing that kept him from crashing was hip-hop and the art of rapping in particular.
During a 2022 interview, Em detailed when his addiction began taking hold and explained how he managed to win what was an almighty battle. Speaking about the timeline of his career, he detailed, “I was able to downplay my addiction and hide it for a while until it got really bad. I’m coming off The Marshall Mathers LP and going into Encore when my addiction started to get bad. I was taking Vicodin, Valium, and alcohol. I kinda fell off the map a little bit and didn’t explain why I went away.”
2004’s Encore hadn’t received the same praise as his earlier records, but there were reasons for its potentially underwhelming outcome. Opening up about the project and how it is a marker in his life, Eminem continued, “Encore took a whole fuckin’ different trajectory because Encore was during my addiction.”
He continued, “I was realising I’m getting addicted to these fuckin’ pills. I was just coming off The Eminem Show and the 8 Mile soundtrack. The problem was, in the recording process, as I was getting more addicted to drugs, I was in more of a goofy mood.”
The ‘Stan’ rhymer then explained why he made certain songs during that period, emphasising, So now, I go make ‘A** Like That,’ ‘Big Weenie,’ ‘Rain Man,’ all those silly songs, which I’m writing in f*ckin’ seconds at that point in time. I was just writing high and feeling good about what I’m doing because I got fuckin’ 20 Vicodin in me and this is fun to do, and I’m having fun, so fuck it.”
Still, in 2006, his addiction began to spiral out of control, and 2007 saw him experience a near-fatal overdose in 2007 that led him to his path of sobriety. That said, although he’s been sober for over a decade, Eminem once told E! that rap was his therapy as he was recovering from his addiction.
Declaring his love for hip-hop, Em told the magazine, “I think that’s one of the great things about rap music is that you could put so much of your life in it,” he said. “It’s therapeutic, and that’s how it’s always been for me.”