Eminem has opened up further on his past struggles with substance abuse.
The Detroit native addressed his near-fatal overdose 15 years ago when he was hospitalized after accidentally overdosing on methadone. During a recent episode of Paul Rosenberg’s podcast, Eminem admitted there were concerns he might be left with permanent brain damage. He previously revealed he had been battling an addiction to prescription pills.
Eminem stated that “it took a long time for my brain to start working again” after the incident.
“You literally were coming off of an overdose, and they had to sort of stabilize you with a few medications,” Rosenberg explained. “And some of them took you a minute to adjust to—let’s just leave it at that. 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?”
Slim Shady recalled Rosenberg’s worries about any lasting effects of the overdose.
“Didn’t you ask the doctors when I first started rapping again, didn’t you say, ‘I just wanna make sure he doesn’t have brain damage’?” Eminem asked.
“Yeah. I thought you might have some permanent problems,” Rosenberg replied. “Yeah. I was concerned, for sure.” Check out the clip below.
Part 1 of Eminem’s interview aired on Sirus XM’s Shade 45 at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday. Paul Rosenberg’s “Paul Pod” podcast is also available on the SXM App and other major podcast platforms.