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Eminem Discusses Effects Of His Drug Addiction With The New York Post

Multi-platinum rapper Eminem’s recent bout with prescription pill addiction may have been worst than many knew about. In a recent interview with the New York Post, Em reveals that his dependence caused so much cerebral damage that the rapper had to learn how to write and rap again.

“I had to learn to write and rap again, and I had to do it sober and 100 percent clean. That didn’t feel good at first … I mean it in the literal sense. I actually had to learn how to say my lyrics again; how to phrase them, make them flow, how to use force so they sounded like I meant them. Rapping wasn’t like riding a bike.

It was [as much] physical as mental. I was relearning basic motor skills. I couldn’t control my hand shakes. I’d get in the [recording] booth and tried to rap, and none of it was clever, none was witty and I wasn’t saying it right.”

Em has been pretty vocal about his pill popping addiction in his lyrics – which he claims he started in his mid 20s – but as his cravings worsened the rapper admits that a black cloud began to haze his creative processes and writing raps became a chore instead flowing like the Nile, as it previously had. Mathers says even his late rhyme partner Proof couldn’t help pull the gorilla off his shoulders.

“He’d say what was on his mind. But as close as he was, it didn’t matter. I wasn’t ready to listen. There wasn’t a person who could tell me I had a problem.”

After a four-year sabbatical – which included a stint in rehab – he was still partly in stupor when he recorded his most ill-received album to date, Relapse. After clearing the cobwebs from his brain, Em says he corrected the mistakes he made on Relapse and added more “personal honesty” to tracks on his latest LP the much more comprehensive, Recovery.

“When I got clean and sober, it was like I was a kid again,” he said. “Everything was new. Not to sound corny, I felt like I was born again. I had to learn my writing skills. I was relearning how to rap. I didn’t know if my MC skills were intact. But everything was fun and suddenly I started feeling happy. I hadn’t felt happy for a long time.”

As recently reported, Em is coming off two Moon men wins at this year’s VMA’s and just finished a two-night concert at Yankee Stadium with Jay-Z.

Jay-Z And Eminem Perform “Home And Home” Concert In NY [Photos]