The drugs almost killed Eminem, after which he started exercising obsessively, and the children pulled him out of 'hell'

Marshall Bruce Mathers III better known as Eminem is celebrating his 49th birthday today. The American rap musician, producer and actor is a multiple Grammy Award winner. He has sold over 80 million albums worldwide and is among the most successful hip-hoppers of all time.

He gained worldwide popularity in 1999, with the release of The Slim Shady LP. Following the success of his albums, he founded his own record label, Shady Records, which celebrated many rappers, including 50 Cent.

In a short time, he gained great fame and became one of the few mega-famous white people on the rap scene, but at one point the got to his head. He took thirty Vicodins a day, once got close to death, but then the musician Elton John (74) helped him. 

"Fame hit me like a brick," said Eminem, who used to party regularly, consume alcohol and various drugs, he carried a loaded weapon with him, fought and was in court several times.

His struggle began in 2000 while he was working on the production of the film ‘8 Mile’. He realized that he had problems with insomnia because he worked up to sixteen hours a day. A friend told him about Ambien, a drug that normally helps people fall asleep faster. He quickly 'got hooked'.

- There were days when I just lay in bed, swallowing pills and crying. I needed pills in my body to feel normal, but I was only getting worse. It was a vicious circle - said Eminem. 

In the critical year of 2007, he overdosed. Doctors told him he had ingested the equivalent of four bags of heroin and, had he arrived two hours later, he would have died.

- If I had come to the hospital two hours later, I would have been dead. My organs, liver, kidneys, everything failed. They put me on dialysis and didn’t think I would survive. My bottom was supposed to be death - he told the New York Times in 2010.

Although he almost lost his life, it didn't make him wiser either. He had more moments of crisis before seeking help from Elton. He helped him stop consuming narcotics.

- Elton John was his perfect mentor. He told him weekly how he was progressing and they became very close - writes Anthony Bozza in Eminem's biography.

After battling that addiction, he began to obsessively lose the pounds he had accumulated. He ran 27 kilometers every day, obsessively counted the calories he ingested and eventually reached 67 kilograms. He says he switched from one addiction to another.

- I was like a hamster, I kept running, until I got hurt. It was only then that I started to be careful and I became moderate in my exercise - Eminem once said.

In 2018, one of the most bizarre quarrels on the famous stage occurred. That year, Eminem suddenly and without notice released the album 'Kamikaze' and dissed so many rappers, one of them, Machine Gun Kelly , felt especially called out, so he decided to record a disstrack on Eminem and that's where it all started.

Eminem insulted Kelly in the song because he wrote on Twitter back in 2012 that Eminem's daughter Hailie Jade Scott (25) was 'pretty **'. She was only 17 at the time and Eminem was bothered by it. After the song and Kelly's first distrack 'Rap Devil', Eminem responded again with the distrack 'Killshot'. He insulted the young rapper and called him a fake, and then mocked his hairstyle as well. And there, after a little more drama and public provocation, everything stopped. But the two of them do not tolerate each other at all. 

Two years after this great quarrel, Eminem positively shocked the public.

Namely, he shared a very emotional announcement with his followers on social media last year. Although he rarely talks about intimate things, this time he decided to brag. He posted a photo of the ‘sobriety chip’ and boasted that he has been clean for 12 years.

He spoke about addiction without hesitation and so on one occasion he discovered how he used to drink up to 30 painkillers and 40 to 60 tranquilizers in one day. 

- I don't know at what exact moment it became a problem. I just remember liking it more and more - he said in the documentary ‘How To Make Money Selling Drugs’.

Thanks for his, now, ‘clean’ life he attributes to his daughters Hailie Jade Scott, Alaini Mathers (28) and Whitney Mathers (19).

By: Amber V. - Gossip Whispers