Ed Sheeran has claimed rapping along to Eminem’s 2000 album ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’ “cured” his stutter.
The 32-year-old Grammy winner – who has since collaborated and performed with the rap icon – has revealed that he has the ‘Lose Yourself’ hitmaker, 50, to thank for helping to fix his speech impediment.
Appearing on ‘The Howard Stern Show’ on SiriusXM, he recalled: “(My uncle) just said to my dad, ‘This guy is the next Bob Dylan. You gotta let him listen.’
“And by learning that record – and rapping it back to back to back to back – it cured my stutter.”
Ed continued: “I think it’s different with Eminem because he is quite reclusive, doesn’t see or meet that many people. I’ve known him now (for) six years and we’ve done three songs together, I’ve played with him twice onstage. He’s another person I really relate to, as he lives in his hometown still and has his eco-system around him.”
The pair performed ‘Stan’, Eminem’s 2000 hit featuring Dido, when the rapper was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year, a gig he refused to turn down.
Ed said: “I remember getting the call to do it. I was shooting … 14 music videos back to back … and it was like on my day off from shooting the music videos, and I was like, ‘I can’t say no. I can’t.’
“So, I got a plane straight after my music video, flew there for the song, and then that night flew back. It was really worth it.”
While reading on ‘CBeebies Bedtime Stories’ last year, the ‘Shape of You’ hitmaker admitted he feared he would never be able to get rid of his stutter.
He said: “I couldn’t get the words out and I used to worry that I’d never be able to speak without stuttering … It made me feel different.”