Eminem opened up about his near-fatal overdose in 2007 even more in Revival, his ninth studio album that was released in December 2017

By Karen Mizoguchi
Eminem celebrated 10 years of sober living on Saturday ahead of his big Coachella performance.

And the milestone is quite the landmark for the rapper, who has openly detailed his dark past with drug abuse in his music. Most recently, the father of three opened up even more about his near-fatal overdose in 2007 on Revival, his ninth studio album that was released this past December.

On the 18th track, titled “Castle” featuring Skylar Grey, Eminem — born Marshall Mathers — writes letters to his 21-year-old daughter Hailie Jade, with the third verse talking about her 12th birthday and recalling how he overdosed on methadone and nearly died.

“Your dad’s at the end of his rope/ I’m sliding down a slippery slope/ Anyway, sweetie, I better go, I’m getting sleepy … Love, Dad, s—, I don’t know,” he raps.

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Then on the 19th and final track of Revival, titled “Arose,” Eminem continues the narrative of “Castle” by speaking directly to his daughter again, this time as final apologies from his deathbed. 

“Arose” begins with a sample of “The Rose,” the song from Bette Midler‘s 1979 album and film of the same name. Four minutes into his song, Eminem says, “To rewrite a mistake, I’m rewinding the tape,” referencing every drug he’s taken and the realization that he might not make it out of the hospital.

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From here, he starts his apology, “Just heard they’re unplugging me/ And it’s your birthday/ Jade I’m missing your birthday/ Baby girl, I’m sorry,” before the song stops and the third verse of “Castle” plays again.

However, the end of the verse is noticeably different: “I’m pledging to throw this methadone in the toilet” he says referring to a new beginning followed by the sound of a toilet flushing.

All in all, it’s Eminem’s family, including his two adopted daughters Alaina Marie and Whitney Scott, that helped him pull through his addiction.

“Consider the last four minutes as the song I’d have sent to my daughters if I’d have made it to the hospital less than two hours later,” he says. “But I fought it.”

In 2011, Eminem revealed he had a near-death experience from an accidental overdose back in 2007 after his addiction got so bad that he was taking up to 20 pills a day.

“I used to get pills wherever I could,” he told the New York Times. “I was just taking anything that anybody was giving to me.”

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Then in 2015, he revealed he replaced “addiction with exercise.”

“When I got out of rehab, I needed to lose weight, but I also needed to figure out a way to function sober,” the rapper told Men’s Journal. “Unless I was blitzed out of my mind, I had trouble sleeping. So I started running. It gave me a natural endorphin high, but it also helped me sleep, so it was perfect.”

Continued Eminem, “It’s easy to understand how people replace addiction with exercise. One addiction for another but one that’s good for them.”

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