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Timbaland reveals how he overcame drug addiction: “My kids, my girl, the help of God keeping my mind still”

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Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImageWith over 25 years of hitmaking with a who’s who of music, including Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Drake, Justin Timberlake, Missy Elliott, and Aaliyah, Timbaland has enjoyed tremendous success. Personal problems, including divorce, a multi-million dollar tax lien, and drug addiction nearly ruined his life, however, his spirituality and love of his children helped him overcome his demons.

Now at 47 years old, the legendary producer, born Timothy Mosley, has kicked his habit and is the healthiest he’s ever been in his life.

Timbaland recalls that after becoming addicted to OxyContin and Percocet, he felt he had nothing to worry about.

“It put me in a great feeling of not caring, of just being free,” he tells Men’s Health. “I’m like traveling, doing shows, popping ’em, having fun, just being ignorant.”

Then a nightmare gave him the wake up call he needed.

“I had a dream that death was near,” the four-time Grammy winner recalls. “I saw myself with a white face.”

Timbaland decided to turn his life around, and his belief in a higher power allowed him to go drug free without going to rehab. 

“Just me and God,” he says. “This was the path chosen for me. God was rebuilding my character.”

Timbaland ended his addiction, and settled his $4 million IRS lien for unpaid taxes. And after years of poor eating and lack of exercise ballooned his weight to 350 pounds, he lost 130 pounds with the help of boxing and healthy meals prepared by a private chef.

Now, as he begins a new decade, Timbaland says the love in his life has been the key to his transformation. 

“The only things that got me through it,” he says, “were my kids, my girl, the help of God keeping my mind still.”

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