Eminem Is The Punisher! Talks T.I., Lil Wayne, Drugs and Hip-Hop

Rapper Eminem, who was recently announced as one of the music performers for the upcoming MTV Movie Awards, as previously reported, is now set to feature on two XXL Magazine covers for their upcoming June issue. This news follows the release of Eminem’s highly anticipated song and music video “We Made You” from off Em’s fifth solo album, Relapse.

On the XXL Magazine covers, Eminem can be seen posing as Marvel Comics’ vigilante The Punisher which the issue will feature an exclusive collaboration between XXL, Shady and Marvel Comics: a special edition Punisher comic book entitled Eminem/Punisher: Kill You starring Eminem and created by Marvel Comics.

Eminem’s XXL Magazine covers will hit stands on May 5, just two weeks prior to Eminem’s fifth solo album, Relapse, which hits stores May 19.

Here are excerpts taken from Eminem’s feature in XXL Magazine’s upcoming June issue:

On His Drug Addiction

I wasn’t ready mentally. I wasn’t ready to give up the drugs. I didn’t really think I had a problem. Basically, I went in, and I came out. I relapsed, and I spent the next three years struggling with it. Also, at that time, I felt like I wanted to pull back, because my drug problem had got so bad. I felt like, Maybe if I take a break, maybe this will help. I started to get into the producer role more… I can still be out there with my music, like with the Re-Up album, but I don’t have to be in the spotlight the whole time.

On T.I., Lil Wayne & Hip-Hop

I stayed up on the music, and obviously I watch TV and saw what was going on. And without naming any names, it just felt like hip-hop was going downhill. And it seemed like kinda fast. You know, in them three years, it was like everybody just cares about the hook and the beat; nobody really cares about substance. But with this new T.I. album, with this new Lil Wayne album of recent, it seems like things are looking a lot better now. You can appreciate Lil Wayne using different words to rhyme and actually rhyming words that you know. Or T.I., where you hear shit and you’re like Whoa, ah, I wish I would have thought of that! You know what I mean? Or you hear all the compound-syllable rhyming and all that. It just seems like now the craft is getting cared about more.

Additional Excerpt and Picture at XXL.