Trust Eminem to quit using on 4/20 of all days. But also trust him – this decision has saved his life and brought us so much more new music.
Life lesson
For a person so fiercely private as Marshall to make a story of his addiction, survival, and learning how to live anew was a conscious decision. Admittedly, we would not know if he wanted to share it as a lesson. It might have been a natural artistic instinct to talk about the turmoil he went through.
Also, it might be both. Take the verse Eminem recorded for the posthumous release of Juice WRLD’s “Lace It”. It’s a litany of names of artists who left too soon and the equally long list of poison they leaned on. Eminem raps:
So many who OD be way too young to go
See me, I was lucky, my escape was narrowin’
Do not think I take it for granted, that I’m still here
Finally, Marshal finishes his verse with:
To the younger generation
I ain’t lecturing you, but man, just be careful
Life support
Of course, Em knows that lectures from veterans make little difference. At the same time, knowing someone who went through a similar experience and lived to tell the tale – it can be lifesaving. For instance, Elton John has become this figure for Marshall. A star from another musical universe whatsoever, he volunteered to be his AA mentor.
“I am responsible for helping a lot of people get sober and hopefully to stay sober”, Elton John explained a while ago in an interview with The Guardian. “That’s your responsibility, and it’s part of the process. You give them your phone number, you take theirs, you make sure you phone them, check up on them, see they’re OK – that’s what I did with Eminem”. At the time of that interview, Elton was talking to Eminem over the phone every couple of months.
Life goes on
So, now, 18 years into sobriety, Eminem enjoys an incredibly successful career, sells out arenas, tops the charts with every new album, and has a global following of millions of devoted fans. But more importantly, he has a life and a family that keep growing. One day, Marshall thought he wouldn’t live long enough to see his children growing up. Now, he is here to stay, to see how his grandchildren grow.