There's no doubt of Timbaland's impact in music. From hip hop to pop and back, he's been a driving force that helped create some of the most iconic sounds and songs in hip hop. Over the past few years, he's made his way from being the go-to producer in hip hop to being acknowledged as a GOAT producer in the game. However, in a recent interview with Rolling Stone, he spoke about how his position in hip hop and music in general had played a role in his battle with depression and drugs.
In a recent profile on Timbo, the producer explained what caused his silence in the past few years.The producer was battling with severe depressing and addiction to OxyContin. He was using the drug initially to deal with some issues with his nerves from a gunshot wound he suffered as a teen. However, the use of the medication spiraled into an full-blown addiction and later had a major role in how his career was panning out at the time. Not only that, it had a major impact on his finances as well as his general person life.
"Music is a gift and curse," he told them, "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."
The addiction was so bad, his girlfriend said that she'd constantly worry that he'd die in his sleep.
"It was so bad, to the point where I couldn't even sleep," she told them, "I'd put my hand right by his nose, just to see if he was still breathing."
The wake up call for Timbo ended up being an overdose of sorts while he was sleeping. He says he's unsure of whether it was an actual overdose but he says that he saw a light and ended up waking up trying to catch his breath. That experience ultimately led him to slowly get off the pills before ultimately quitting them altogether.
Timbaland is now fully-clean and has been in the gym heavily getting his fitness game up.
Read the full profile here.