Eminem took time out of his busy schedule to talk to the magazine Billboard this week. A few topics were discussed including how his new album, Recovery came together, his addiction, sobering up, and the differences between his albums Encore and Relapse.
“I was pretty much in full-blown addiction when I was creating [Encore],” he told Billboard. “And as far as Relapse, when I first got sober I got really happy because I was not a prisoner of addiction anymore, so life was brand new to me. I was like, ‘Shit, man, trees are beautiful again. What a nice day it is.’ I don’t think I was paying attention to what the average listener might like or not like.”
It’s no secret that Em felt like he let down his fans with Relapse, he’s made it publicly known through interviews and in lyrics of certain songs on Recovery. While talking to Billboard, Eminem said that he lost a certain emotional connection to his music and by going back to old albums, he found that connection again.
“I would go back and listen to songs off The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show, and some of Encore, and ask, ‘Why don’t my music feel like this anymore? ‘The Way I Am,’ ‘Criminal,’ and ‘Toy Soldiers’ were songs that meant something. I wanted there to be a reason why I was making each song, instead of making it just to make it.”
After listening to his old music, he was able to regain that connection and go onto record a ton of material.
“I must have gone through 200-300 beats,” he said. “I probably picked a hundred of them and made songs to all of them and then nailed it down. I wanted to put the best on this record.”
Eminem’s latest album, Recovery was released on June 21, 2010 and is expected to move 700,000 copies in the first week.