The rapper, who has long been open about his struggles with drug addiction, commemorated the 18th anniversary of his sobriety on social media.
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Eminem is taking a hard-earned victory lap.
The Grammy-winning rapper, who has long been open about his struggles with drug addiction, commemorated the 18th anniversary of his sobriety on social media Monday, April 20.
The post featured a close-up photo of Eminem, wearing a D-Nice T-shirt, holding up his new recovery chip. The gold and black coin contains the inscriptions “to thine own self be true” and “unity, service, recovery.”
Sobriety coins, also known as AA chips, are small medallions that are typically given to members of Alcoholics Anonymous or similar twelve-step programs to mark the amount of time someone has remained sober after entering recovery, according to the Illinois Recovery Center. The coins can come in various colors to denote different milestones.
“XVIII🏅” Eminem wrote in the post’s caption, using the Roman numeral for 18 (the rapper’s real name is Marshall Mathers III).
Eminem has been sober since April 2008. Between 2002 and 2008, he struggled with an addiction to Ambien, Valium and Vicodin, according to Rolling Stone.
The “Real Slim Shady” emcee opened up about the severity of his substance abuse in a 2009 interview with Vibe magazine, telling the outlet that he nearly overdosed two years after his first rehab stint in 2005. He said an acquaintance had given him some unidentified pills, which turned out to be the synthetic opioid methadone.
“My doctor told me the amount of methadone I’d taken was equivalent to shooting up four bags of heroin,” Eminem said at the time, per People magazine. “I probably wouldn’t have taken it. But as bad as I was back then, I can’t even say 100 percent for sure.”
Eminem’s sobriety anniversary isn’t the only good news in his personal life. The rapper’s daughter, Alaina Scott, welcomed a daughter on April 14, giving him his second grandchild.
Big Sean, Questlove, more congratulate Eminem for sobriety milestone
Several of Eminem’s musical peers and loved ones took to the comments section to congratulate the rapper on his sobriety milestone.
“Yessir! Keep it up [GOAT],” Big Sean wrote.
“Awesome,” Questlove commented. “Keep going.”
“Congrats my man!” D-Nice wrote. “BTW, Nice T-shirt!”
“Proud of you big bro,” Nathan Mathers, Eminem’s brother, commented.
“Congrats dude,” wrote music reporter and comedian Ronald Rios. “[We’re] all happy [you’re] alive and well.”
If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call, text or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit 988lifeline.org for 24/7 access to free and confidential services.
Contributing: Brendan Morrow and Julia Gomez, USA TODAY
