Source: Michael Loccisano / Getty
Producer Timbaland recently opened up to Rolling Stone magazine about struggles that he has had with drug addiction.
Timbo reveals that he started taking pain medicine in his 30s as a way to cope with complications from a gunshot wound that he suffered as a teenager. He goes on to detail how the painkillers became addictive and sent him into a downward spiral. After his success started to decline and his money started to dwindle Timbs mariage also fell apart and he ended up facing depression and addiction.
He tells the magazine:
“I was on drugs, dude. I was on OxyContin. Music is a gift and curse. Once you’re not popping, it plays with your mind. The pills helped block out the noise – I’d just sleep all day. I remember Jay-Z told me one time, ‘Don’t do no more interviews’ – because I was saying crazy shit.”
Timb’s new girlfriend also sat in on the interview and added “It was so bad, to the point where I couldn’t even sleep. I’d put my hand right by his nose, just to see if he was still breathing.”
Timbo also explained:
“I woke up trying to catch my breath, like I was underwater. But through that whole thing I saw life – I saw where I would be if I don’t change, and where I could be if I did. [The next day] I thought about Michael Jackson I didn’t want to be old and taking these pills.”
Things have started to pick up for Timbaland. He is working on new music with Justin Timberlake, Sam Smith, Jay-Z, and more.
