Eminem covers XXL’s 25th anniversary Issue.
It looks like Eminem is in album mode. The Detroit rapper has been too active recently, making an appearance on MTV VMAs, then featuring in HBO’s Hard Knocks Detroit Lions Documentary finale, and now he’s on the cover of XXL. XXL Magazine, which was founded in 1997, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and they enlist the “Lose Yourself” rapper for its issue.
The rapper is featured in a new photoshoot for the issue and gave a long interview, where he looks back on his career, what he’s learned, how he stays motivated and more.
“I never thought I would be anyone’s influence,” said Eminem. “When my first album came out, I was still staying wherever I could stay—mostly with Kim and her parents. I didn’t get my own house until the second album. I wasn’t sure before then if this was a one-time thing, but I had people knocking on the door and I realized that it was getting crazy.”
He continued, “That was one of the inspirations for writing “Stan.” It was like, These people are actually looking up to me? I also was amazed. Y’all are getting pissed off about me? Little old me? How in the f**k is this happening? So, it inspired songs like “Stan” because to have fans is a dream come true, but it’s also so bizarre and so surreal. Even as I sit here now, I still trip out in my head about how it got to this level. All I ever really wanted to do was to be a respected MC. To make enough money to survive, so that I wouldn’t have to work a regular job. That ties into my competitive spirit, and I don’t know when that’s going to go away, if ever. That’s probably my biggest weapon mixed with lyricism.”
“Before any of this happened, before I signed to Dr. Dre and Interscope, I remember having this conversation with Royce [5’9″]. We had somebody at this hip-hop label who said they wanted to sign me when I was working with the Bass Brothers. I made three or four songs, and we gave it to this guy, and found out that he worked in the mail room and he wasn’t really who he said he was.”
“I was at the lowest point. I didn’t even know what I was going to do because it didn’t look like it was going to happen. I’m 24 years old and I got a baby to take care of and all I want to do is rap, but it didn’t look good. I was super depressed. So, Royce and I are having this conversation. We loved Redman. To this day, love Redman. Huge f**kin’ fan. And we had this conversation and I said, “Man, Royce, if we could just go gold, man. Think about Redman. He’s got so much f**kin’ respect. It doesn’t have to be any of that other stardom sh*t.” That conversation just always sticks with me because as sh*t started happening, I’m thinking, This is next-level sh*t. And I never expected it. There are a lot of building blocks and things that had to fall in place for things to go the way they did for me and if you take one of those pegs out, the whole f**kin’ thing would’ve fallen down.”
“I remember I was in the car with some friends and sh*t right before I went to L.A., right after the Rap Olympics in 1997. The Firm album had just come out and “Phone Tap” was one of the greatest beats ever made to me. I remember saying, “If I could just get with Dre, man, my God that’d be so crazy. He’s so f**kin’ ill.” Three weeks later, I was at Dre’s house. We made The Slim Shady LP. That was a fun album to make, but it’s also where everything suddenly changed.”
Then, Eminem said that his “addiction went through the f**kin’ roof” following the 2006 passing of his buddy and fellow rapper Proof. He claimed to have up to “10 drug dealers at one time” and to consume “75 to 80 Valiums” per night. Several months after his passing, Proof recalled employing the restroom, tripping, and then “waking up with f**king tubes in me and s**t, and I couldn’t talk.” I couldn’t do anything. I didn’t understand where I was and what the f**k happened.”
“One of those changes was that drugs became a part of the way I was living my life once I got signed. When I first came out to L.A., me and some guys I was hanging out with used to go to Tijuana and we would buy drugs. Vicodin and that kinda sh*t. I don’t know how many times we did it, but it was so easy to go back and forth to do it. The last time we went, we’re second in line and this dude in front of us starts arguing with the guy in Customs, and they f**kin’ throw him down on the ground and start pulling pills out his pockets and sh*t. We were scared sh*tless, but we got through. And when I say we had the motherlode. Our pants were frickin’ stuffed with pills. I don’t know how many we had.”
“Obviously, if I ended up in jail, the album probably wouldn’t have come out and nothing with my rap career would’ve ever happened. I would’ve been done right then. So, it should have been one of the first signs to me, but I never thought that I had a problem. I just really, really liked drugs. As I started making a little money, I could buy more of them.”
“My addiction didn’t start in my early days when I was coming up. We used to drink 40s on the porch and just battle rap each other. My drug usage started at the beginning of that first album. I didn’t take anything hard until I got famous. I was experimenting. I hadn’t found a drug of choice. Back then you went on tour and people were just giving you free drugs. I managed it for a little while. And then, it just became, I like this sh*t too much and I don’t know how to stop.”
Check out the full interview here on XXL.
BREAKING: Eminem gives rare interview in his own words on his career, battle with addiction and why he’s going to keep rapping
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— XXL Magazine (@XXL) September 14, 2022
