Rapper Sought Advice From Eminem
6:00AM ET November 23rd, 2010
Contributor : Stephen Willis
A Rocky Williform Company

T.I. blames a growing drug addiction for the lack of judgment that landed him back in federal prison for probation violation. The rapper was arrested on September 1st in Los Angeles for possession, and in a new interview with VIBE that was conducted prior to his return to prison, T.I. explains that an addiction to painkillers slowly got him in a situation he couldn't get out of.

"I had a lot of work done to my teeth. Oral surgery, extractions, six, seven, eight root canals. Between January to February," the rapper explained. "As soon as I got out, I had a lot of stuff done. In the joint, you eat sh*t that is unhealthy for you. I had fillings that fell out and stuff that had to get dealt with. Of course for the pain they gave me oxycontin and hydrocodone. And, mind you, on October 13, 2007, I had cut off everything--weed, alcohol. Then I get these pills and I start taking them for the pain at first. And then I'm like, 'Wait--this sh*t makes me feel good. And it's legal.' After the pain went away, I kept taking it. I had like five, six prescriptions. So I had, like 80 pills. Everybody else might have a drink or smoke a blunt, I took a pain pill. Times when I had 18-, 20-hour days, I'd take a pain pill. And eventually I developed, I guess, the beginning stages of dependence."

"Sure, [I sought help from Em]," T.I. continued. "We got a record together, and we talked a lot. I asked him how he knew he was an addict. Basically if you put yourself in harm's way...if you risk that, you've got to assume that there is something fundamentally wrong with your thought process."