Ed Sheeran ‘Cured’ His Stutter By Rapping Along To Eminem

Author Laila Abuelhawa

May 16th, 2023 3:47 PM

Ed Sheeran is giving Eminem all the credit for helping him overcome a major obstacle in his life. The “Eyes Closed” singer opened up in a new interview about how a classic album by the rapper made a huge impact on him.

As the English singer-songwriter explained, he developed a stutter after undergoing surgery to remove a birthmark in his early years. He was gifted The Marshall Mathers album as a kid by his uncle. The album helped him to grow out of it. “I was going through all sorts of speech therapy,” Sheeran, 32, said.

When he was nine, his uncle told his dad about the rapper, “‘This guy’s the next Bob Dylan.’ My dad didn’t really clock it. He’s just like, ‘OK, Edward’s gonna go and listen to that.'” After learning the record and “rapping it back, to back, to back, to back,” it cured his stutter. “And I stopped… talking like that.”

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Sheeran and Eminem have worked with each other on several occasions. The most recent was during November’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony performing Em’s hit, “Stan.”

The two have also collaborated on songs, with Eminem featured on Sheeran’s “Remember the Name.” Meanwhile, Ed appeared on Eminem’s tracks “River” and “Those Kinda Nights.” Since the singer-rapper duo have collaborated, Ed said they’ve gotten to know each other “pretty well.” Recalling when he was asked to perform at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year, he remembered shooting 14 music videos back-to-back for his newly released Subtract album. “It was on my day off from shooting the music videos, and I was like, I can’t say no,” Sheeran said. “So I got a plane straight after my music video, flew there, sung and then that night flew back. And it was really worth it.”

This isn’t Ed’s first venture out of his own genre to collaborate with other artists. He’s worked with Beyoncé, The Weeknd, Meek Mill, Young Thug, N.E.R.D., Chance The Rapper and PnB Rock, the list goes on. Besides collaborations, Sheeran always hangs out with rappers, including Snoop Dogg, who recently gave him a Death Row chain. He has also been pictured hanging out with Kodak Black, Meek Mill and Burna Boy.

Ed Sheeran's 'Subtract': Track By Track

• 1. Boat

  The opening song reflects on how the singer must need to feel pain in order to remind him that “there’s beauty when it’s bleak.” He explores how people say “all scars will heal,” but he knows that for himself, they might not. Despite that, the waves won’t break his boat.

• 2. Salt Water

  Continuing his journey of healing and using oceanic metaphors, Sheeran opens up in the first line of “Salt Water,” “There’s still so far to go.” The song is quite morbid as it seems as though the artist is subjecting himself to drown himself in the freezing cold ocean, “embrace the deep and leave everything.” Though it is quite a sad song, it is soothing as well.

• 3. Eyes Closed

  Clearly a song written during the pandemic, Sheeran sings, “I know it’s a bad idea, but how can I help myself? Been inside for most this year, and I thought a few drinks, they might help.” He belts out, “I’ve been dancing with my eyes closed.” Everyone can find something in the lyrics they can relate to.

• 4. Life Goes On

  Slowing things down again with the fourth track, Sheeran reflects on a love lost. This can be interpreted as a breakup or a close friend or family member dying. The storm continues with the singer-songwriter’s references with waves and “sinking like a stone.”

• 5. Dusty

  This song is pretty chill. “Dusty” appears to reference a record player as Sheeran sings, “I’ll drop the needle on Dusty.”

• 6. End Of Youth

  Now this is a powerful song. Sheeran explores his substance abuse when he sings, “I’ve been depressed since you left. Tried to fill the hole with wine. Stopped the drugs when she came, cleaned my act up overnight.” As we previously reported, Sheeran said he never really felt like an adult until the last few years. “When heavy life stuff just starts happening. And it really hit me that this obviously happens to everyone, it doesn’t matter what age you are.”

• 7. Colourblind

  We’re loving all these artistic metaphors in “Colourblind.” You can really visualize everything he sings about. And how romantic is it are the lines, “Kaleidoscope love, yeah that is you and me. Forever changing, we make life interesting.” There is a magical element with the piano and twinkling sounds.

• 8. Curtains

  Changing the sound once again, Sheeran goes with a pop rock sound with “Curtains.” Ready to pull the curtains from his hiding spot, the song shows he is ready to see the sun shine.

• 9. Borderline

  This song explores depression and how he cannot cry, so he pours another drink and tries to drown the pain. “And I’ll shut off the things I think ‘coz nothing good will ever come from worrying.”

• 10. Spark

  In order to get out of a rut and move forward with his lover, they need to “build a fire and torch our old lives and hope the spark survives.” Something that is terrifying to go through in a relationship, he wonders, “Will we pull through? All we ever do is argue.”

• 11. Vega

  Ed Sheeran never runs out of metaphors to express his feelings both beautifully and sadly. “Rain keeps beating on the rooftop , worrying to death but I guess this is human nature.”

• 12. Sycamore

  This beautiful song is about a time of real fear and uncertainty, the musician revealed in his “Subtract Sunday” series. “We start life born with love and end it full of love, so it’s love in, love out x.” He added that this song is about the moment before we’re “driven to the doctors for a checkup on what the next steps were, after finding out the news.”

• 13. No Strings

  This song is about overcoming hardships and allowing yourself to celebrate that. He tells us that “what we’re going through is common, but it doesn’t mean we don’t feel it.”

• 14. The Hills of Aberfeldy

  The final track is inspired by the tiny Scottish town he visited over ten years ago. The “bonnie” tune is about a love that could continue in the cold, underneath the hills of Aberfeldy, and whatever conquers the relationship.

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Author Laila Abuelhawa

Category:

• Music
• Music News
• Sunny 94.3

Tags:

Ed Sheeran,Eminem