Eminem recalls near-fatal moment he decided to go sober

Eminem experienced a near-fatal overdose nearly two decades ago that pushed him to sobriety.

The Grammy-winning rapper, 52, detailed the harrowing 2007 incident in his new documentary STANS, recalling how he woke up in a hospital bed with tubes in his body.

“I was on this vicious cycle — depressed, needing more pills,” he said. “Then one day, I wake up in the hospital and I’m like, ‘Yo, bro, I need something… I’m going to die if I don’t do something.’”

Eminem admitted that the moment pushed him into recovery, where he began working on his 2009 album Relapse.

“The response I got from Relapse was lukewarm, but that also turned the lights on and I thought, 'You’ve gotta do something different,'" he said. "Why don't you try embracing sobriety?"

He continued, "I realised I'm not embarrassed anymore about it, and I started treating sobriety like a superpower. I was proud of the fact that I could quit."

Eminem, who has been sober for 17 years now, celebrated the milestone in April 2024 by posting a photo of his sobriety chip on Instagram.

The STANS documentary also features a “highly curated” group of real-life fans with personal connections to his music.