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Timbaland was, without doubt, one of the music biz’s top hit-makers during the heights of his career. The Virginia-born super producer has been largely off the scene and in a new interview with Rolling Stone, he shares details his struggles with drug addiction, plans for new music with Justin Timberlake and a hopeful triumphant return to his former glory.

From Rolling Stone:

So what inspired this burst of productivity? Midway through lunch, Timbaland lowers his voice and leans forward. “I was on drugs, dude,” he says. “I was on OxyContin.” Timbaland started taking pain medication in his thirties, to help with nerve issues resulting from a gunshot wound he suffered as a teenager. But his use spun out of control, and as his drug intake increased, his chart success declined, he blew through a lot of his money and his marriage collapsed – fueling a vicious cycle of depression and addiction. “Music is a gift and curse,” he says. “Once you’re not popping, it plays with your mind. The pills helped block out the noise – I’d just sleep all day. I remember Jay-Z told me one time, ‘Don’t do no more interviews’ – because I was saying crazy sh*t.” His now-girlfriend, Michelle, recalls that at the end Timbaland was taking doses so high that she was genuinely worried he’d die in his sleep. “It was so bad, to the point where I couldn’t even sleep,” she says. “I’d put my hand right by his nose, just to see if he was still breathing.” He eventually did suffer what he believes to be a near-death overdose while sleeping three years ago. “All I can tell you is that there was a light,” he says. “I woke up trying to catch my breath, like I was underwater. But through that whole thing I saw life – I saw where I would be if I don’t change, and where I could be if I did.” The following day he began weaning off the pills, and soon after made a clean break – which resulted in a brutal period of withdrawal. “But I thought about Michael Jackson,” he says. “I didn’t want to be old and taking these pills.”

Read the entire interview by following this link.

Photo: WENN.com