Yelawolf appeared on ESPN’s Highly Questionable earlier today. Normally, the talk show with Dan Le Batard and Bomani Jones is pretty light-hearted, but Yela decided to discuss the serious matter of his alcoholism.
After answering questions about his childhood and his mother, the conversation moved to Eminem and how he played a pivotal role in the success of Yelawolf’s career. Then, Le Batard asked about how Em wanted Yela to slow down his drinking. Here’s what he had to say.
Le Batard: Eminem talked to you about controlling your drinking?
No one controls my drinking, but me. I’m the only person that can control that. God himself could not control my drinking. I’m admittedly an alcoholic and it’s a problem. I wrote a song about it called “Empty Bottles” on Love Story. You know, I’m not proud of it but it’s in my genes. I do take breaks. I was sober for five months. That was my last sober streak. I’m back drinking again. It is what it is.
Le Batard: But he’s trying to help you there right? Because he cares about you. Because he’s nurturing you. Because he’s a mentor. Because he’s a friend. Eminem is trying to help you, so how does that go?
Like I said, he’s absolutely supportive of sobriety. That’s all good, but it doesn’t work for me. So far, I’m not into sober life.
Jones: Why doesn’t it work for you?
‘Cause sobriety sucks. For real. I can’t deal with sober. It just sucks. I’m not a role model. I don’t expect people to watch this or parents to watch this and go buy my album because I am a role model. I’m not that guy. I’m just doing me, and if I wanna drink I’m gonna drink. If I wanna party, I’m gonna party. That’s it. Drinking is my vice. When I’m done working, I’m gonna have a drink, that’s what I’m gonna do.
On Love Story, Yelawolf also has a song called “Whiskey in a Bottle” where he raps from the mindset of becoming confident while under the influence. Even when his fans felt uncomfortable, he still dug deeper into his alcoholism, so watch the entire video above to learn more.
