Were drugs to blame for Eminem’s worst songs?
Eminem is the highest-selling hip-hop artist of all time, and despite the various opinions about the quality of his new music, the Detroit emcee is still managing to move units and make headlines with his music, whether good or bad. However, in the past, Eminem’s career has been plagued by drug use and rumours of alcoholism.
There has long been a debate about when Eminem began to fall off as a mainstream artist, but there has also been a lot of speculation as to whether his decline was a direct result of his drug use.
The ‘Stan’ rapper was a sensation when he first arrived in hip-hop at the turn of the millennium. However, he came with a lot of baggage and a troubled past. Aside from being broke, the lyricist was also effectively homeless, between jobs and a new father when he first signed with Dr Dre.
Documentaries about his life have since shed light on the family of Eminem and the substance abuse he witnessed through his mother. The rapper’s past eventually caught up with him, and in the late-2000s, the Encore creator relapsed and fell back into his old ways.
During a 2022 interview with XXL magazine about his early career and drug use, the rhymer admitted that for a long time, he was suppressing mental issues and explained how the prescription drug Vicodin helped him get through some dark times.
Speaking about the very early days of his career, Eminem detailed that he wasn’t plagued by drugs during this period, disclosing, “When I look back at my catalogue, the first three albums [1996’s Infinite, 1999’s The Slim Shady LP, and 2000’s The Marshall Mathers LP], I’m definitely proud of them. Sometimes, I go back, and I listen to them if I’m in a spot where I need some inspiration.”
He continued, “Sometimes it helps me to go back to those songs. But then I think, ‘Man, I could’ve done those vocals so much better. I could’ve connected this word with this word,’” he said. “I always do that kind of s***.”
However, later down the line, Vicodin, Valium and alcohol came into play and started to affect his creative capabilities. Speaking about how the substance abuse began after the turn of the millennium, the Detroit rapper told XXL, “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.”
He then specified, “I was taking Vicodin, Valium, and alcohol. I kinda fell off the map a little bit and didn’t explain why I went away.” According to Eminem, the 2004 project Encore was a low in his life.
Elaborating on this, he detailed, “Encore took a whole f***in’ different trajectory because Encore was during my addiction. I was realizing I’m getting addicted to these f***in’ pills…The problem was, in the recording process as I was getting more addicted to drugs, I was in more of a goofy mood. So now, I go make ‘A** Like That,’ ‘Big Weenie,’ ‘Rain Man,’ all those silly songs, which I’m writing in f***in’ seconds at that point in time.”
By Eminem’s own admission, Encore was a poor album and it ended up being Eminem’s last project for five years. In 2007, he suffered a near-fatal overdose that made him seek rehabilitation. That said, many consider the albums released after 2007 to be some of his worst, including Relapse and Recovery.
It is undeniable that Eminem’s drug use affected his music. However, it is debatable whether the quality fell during or after the relapse. Many fans would say after.