Music producer Timbaland, who has crafted hits for artists like Justin Timberlake, Madonna, and Canada’s Drake and Nelly Furtado, has opened up about his addiction to prescription drugs.
The 47-year-old, whose real name is Tim Mosley, told Men’s Health he got hooked on OxyContin and Percocet after a root canal in 2011. The drugs helped him cope with a divorce and financial problems related to years of unpaid taxes.
“It put me in a great feeling of not caring, of just being free,” he said. “I’m like traveling, doing shows, popping ’em, having fun, just being ignorant.”
Mosley started gaining weight and became pre-diabetic (the 5’7” star weighed 350 pounds). “I had a dream that death was near,” the father of three recalled. “I saw myself with a white face.”
The music mogul said withdrawal was “one of the toughest things I’ve been through.” He decided to focus on his health and lost 130 pounds from boxing at Punch Elite Fitness in Miami and workouts and nutrition training at DBC Fitness.
Mosley said he is still “under construction” and doesn’t feel “complete.”
He explained: “I don’t want to ever feel like I’m complete, ’cause my mind would probably get idle.”