Eminem: 'Even when they told me I almost died, it didn't click'

After years out of the spotlight, rapper Eminem is back -- with a new video, a new album and, according to an interview in Vibe magazine, a new lease on life.

In Vibe's upcoming "Real Rap" issue, Eminem, who has been sober for a year, openly admits he is an addict. He holds nothing back, saying he once took between 10 and 20 Vicodin a day and enough Valium and Ambien that he lost count.

But it was his accidental ingestion of methadone that almost cost him his life.

"Had I known it was methadone, I probably wouldn't have taken it," Eminem told Vibe of the overdose. "But as bad as I was back then, I can't even say 100 percent for sure. My doctor told me the amount of methadone I'd taken was equivalent to shooting up four bags of heroin. Even when they told me I almost died, it didn't click."

Relapse drops May 19, and Eminem says recording the new album was no easy feat. "I hadn't recorded a song sober in seven years. So it took me awhile to even feel like I could record a song sober," He told Vibe. "I don't know the last time I shot a video sober, without drinking or taking anything. It's been years."

-- Stephanie Lysaght

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Photo credit: Wireimage