GQ Honors Eminem and Lil Wayne With ‘Gods of Rock’ Title

Hip-hop heavyweights Eminem and Lil Wayne have been crowned the 'Gods of Rock' by the editors of GQ magazine. The rap tandem appears alongside rock 'n' roll's elder statesman Keith Richards on the cover of the magazine's November issue. In an extensive feature, Eminem opens up about overcoming his past drug addictions.

The 39-year-old rapper tells GQ Senior Editor Will Welch that his addiction started around the time he was recording 2000 album 'The Marshall Mathers LP' and peaked during the recording of his fourth album 'Encore.' "Five or six songs leaked from the original version of 'Encore,'" Em recalls. "So I had to go in and make new songs to replace them. In my head, I was pissed off: 'Oh well. Songs leaked. F---k it. I'm just going to take a bunch of f----ing pills and go in there and have a party with myself.' I'm sure the more pills I took, the goofier I got."

Today, Eminem is clean and sober and feels his sobriety helps him stay more focused with his music. "I've realized that the way I am helps with the music. Sporadic thoughts will pop into my head and I'll have to go write something down, and the next thing you know, I've written a whole song in an hour," he says. "But sometimes it sucks, and I wish I was wired like a regular person and could go have a f---in' drink."

Eminem is among the 43 artists profiled in GQ's special 'The Survivors' portfolio, which features Lil Wayne, Keith Richards, the Black Keys, Erykah Badu, Metallica, Raekwon the Chef, TV on the Radio, Jack White and others. The magazine wanted to pay tribute to artists who have survived through career lulls, drug addictions, prison and personal tribulations.

GQ's November 2011 issue hits newsstands on Oct. 25.