Ed Sheeran has graced the cover of Time Magazine, and inside his profile, he takes a moment to reflect on the surreal path that brought him from British schoolboy to global superstar — and how one unlikely collaboration defines just how far he’s come.
“If you went back to any high school in Great Britain and said, ‘Who’s gonna rap on a song with 50 Cent and Eminem?’ You probably wouldn’t point to this specky ginger kid,” Sheeran said, smiling.
It’s classic Ed: grounded, self-aware, and always surprised by his own success.
But behind the humor is a powerful story. As a child, Sheeran battled a stutter so severe that it impacted his daily life. Then one day, a speech therapist handed him an unexpected tool — an Eminem CD.
From Stuttering Kid to Rap Collaborator
“I learned every word to The Marshall Mathers LP,” Sheeran has said in the past. “It cured my stutter.”
That moment sparked a lifelong love for hip hop and set Ed on a path that would, years later, lead him to collaborate with Eminem himself — not once, but twice.
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🎵 “River” (2017)
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🎵 “Remember the Name” ft. Eminem & 50 Cent (2019)
What started as fanboy worship became mutual respect. The two even bond over a shared hobby: collecting vintage audio cassettes. Sheeran has said Eminem is one of only three artists he would listen to for the rest of his life.
What’s Next?
With whispers of new music in the works, and Ed and Em still exchanging cassette tapes like old-school pen pals, fans are wondering if another collaboration is on the horizon.
From stuttering along to “The Way I Am”… to saying “I am” next to the legend himself — Ed’s journey is nothing short of extraordinary.
