Timbaland nearly lost it all because of an addiction to prescription painkillers.
The accomplished DJ, music producer and songwriter opened up to Rolling Stone about how just three years ago he almost died after taking a nearly-fatal dose of OxyContin.
“All I can tell you is that there was a light,” he told the magazine. “I woke up trying to catch my breath, like I was underwater.”
Timbaland — whose real name is Tim Mosley — started taking painkillers more than a decade ago because of nerve issues stemming from a gunshot wound he suffered as a teenager.
“Music is a gift and curse,” he told Rolling Stone. “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 s–t.”
The 45-year-old artist said his addiction also caused his music career to suffer.
The overdose gave him an entirely new outlook on his existence, he explained.
Timbaland slowly began the painful process of kicking the habit on his own — fighting through withdrawal.
“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,” he shared. “I thought about Michael Jackson… I didn’t want to be old and taking these pills.”
Now, he said he’s moving forward with his career by giving back to young, up-and-coming artists and working on Justin Timberlake’s upcoming album.
“Right now, I feel like what I can do with my legacy is to give back,” he said. “Which means finding the youth of today. Look at Quincy Jones — he was 50 when he did Thriller! What’s my Thriller?”
