Eminem‘s doing a bit of closet cleaning … in an extensive and rare interview where he details his past drug use and reveals his biggest influencers currently in the rap game!!!

In a first-person spill with XXL, Eminem admitted he still takes his music seriously these days — so much so, he has the likes of Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Joyner Lucas and Big Sean in his crosshairs … on a competitive level, of course.

Eminem is the highest-selling rapper of all time, and openly admits chasing numbers and stats doesn’t entice him anymore. Instead, he says watching the quartet of younger rappers’ every move has become a pastime for the 49-year-old hip hop legend.

He says he’s “watching them and how the fuck they’re doing their s***, because they’re also focused on being the best rappers.”

Em continued, “I still love to rap. It’s always been the most important thing to me. I still have fun writing. I have fun watching the rappers I just mentioned, and being like, OK, let me see if I can do something that inside I think I can top that. And every time the best rappers drop an album, it changes the landscape of the fuckin’ game.

“At least it does for me, and I’m like, I need to be able to rap like that. Because if I don’t do that, someone’s going to come behind me, probably in the next couple of years, and wash me.”

Marshall also chronicled his timeline of drug use, including his near-fatal overdose, and also recalled a time 50 Cent saved his butt on live television when he was too high to even answer questions on 106 & Park!!!

The painful clip is how it looks … Em says his “wheels started to come off” as he stumbled through the 20-minute interview.

Of course, Slim Shady has been clean for years and is currently swimming in rumors he’s prepping to release new music … in addition to helping Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre on their upcoming joint album.