Eminem had to learn to rap again after overcoming drug addiction

The 'We Made You' hitmaker – who sought help for a dependency to prescription medications after overdosing in December 2007 – felt "born again" after successfully overcoming his substance abuse problem.

He said: "When I got clean and sober, it was like I was a kid again. Not to sound corny, I felt like I was born again. I had to learn my writing skills. I was relearning how to rap. I didn't know if my MC skills were intact.

"I actually had to learn how to say my lyrics again - how to phrase them, make them flow, how to use force so they sounded like I meant them. Rapping wasn't like riding a bike. It was as much physical as mental. I was relearning basic motor skills. I couldn't control my hand shakes. I'd get in the recording booth and tried to rap, and none of it was clever and I wasn't saying it right."

The 37-year-old star – whose real name is Marshall Mathers – has also opened up about how his drug use affected his creativity, admitting he felt like he was "frying" his brain.

He added to the New York Post newspaper: "They stifled me. I don't know if I was frying brain cells or what, but I couldn't think. The drugs also made me lazy.

"I was lazy about everything. I'd get high and say, 'F**k writing rhymes. I wanna sit down, watch some TV and eat nachos - and watch more TV.'"

Meanwhile, Eminem's mother Debbie Nelson is releasing a book about her tumultuous relationship with the 'Not Afraid' star.

Debbie insists the tome will reveal the truth about the hip-hop star's childhood instead of just his negative version of events.

She writes: "I wasn't happy when he made up a whole new life for himself - what mother wants to be known as a pill-popping alcoholic who lives on welfare?

"To tell the truth, I was heartbroken. The lies started coming thick and fast - and not just from Marshall. I think he's forgotten the good times we had, and this book is my way of setting the record straight."

'My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem' will go on sale in November.