Eminem has admitted that his loved ones were concerned he might have permanent brain damage after he suffered a drug overdose

The rapper – real name Marshall Mathers – has previously struggled with addiction to prescription painkillers and in 2007 took a near-fatal overdose of methadone that left him in hospital.

Appearing on his manager Paul Rosenberg’s podcast Paul Pod: Curtain Call 2 on Wednesday (7 September), Eminem said that “it took a long time for my brain to start working again” after the incident.

Rosenberg explained: “You literally were coming off of an overdose, and they had to sort of stabilise you with a few medications. And some of them took you a minute to adjust to – let’s just leave it at that. So, you’re learning how to rap again almost literally, right?”

“Didn’t you ask the doctors when I first started rapping again, didn’t you say, ‘I just wanna make sure he doesn’t have brain damage?’” Eminem recalled, with Rosenberg admitting he was worried Eminem may have “some permanent problems”.

“I was concerned, for sure,” Rosenberg added.

Earlier this year, Eminem admitted that he “stole Black music” on a track from the soundtrack for Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis film.

If you or someone you know is suffering from drug addiction, you can seek confidential help and support 24-7 from Frank, by calling 0300 123 6600, texting 82111, sending an email or visiting their website here.

In the US, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP.