Long before stadiums, Grammys, and loop pedals, Ed Sheeran was a nine-year-old kid in Suffolk struggling to say his own name. A laser surgery meant to treat a childhood birthmark had gone wrong, leaving him with a pronounced stutter that speech therapy couldn’t untangle. Doctors tried exercises. Therapists tried patience. Nothing stuck. What finally did wasn’t clinical at all—it was ferociously fast hip-hop.

The unlikely lifeline came in the form of Eminem.

A Voice Locked Behind a Stutter

Sheeran has spoken candidly about how isolating the impediment felt. Speaking in class became a minefield; confidence eroded before it could form. Therapists viewed the condition as something he might manage over time, not conquer. Then his father brought home a CD that many parents in the early 2000s were actively trying to ban.

It was The Marshall Mathers LP—raw, confrontational, and unapologetically loud. For a child searching for control over his own voice, it offered something medicine hadn’t: rhythm with teeth.

The Song That Rewired His Speech

The track that changed everything was Criminal, the album’s relentless closer. Where therapy encouraged slowing down, Criminal demanded speed—precise breath control, aggressive consonants, and zero hesitation. Sheeran listened every single day. Then he started rapping along. Then memorizing. Then performing it back-to-back, matching every pause and push.

“I learned every word of it,” Sheeran has said. “And by learning that record… it cured my stutter.”

Neurologically, it makes sense: rapid rhythmic speech can override the brain’s usual speech blocks, forcing fluency through tempo. Emotionally, it was even more powerful. Instead of being corrected, Sheeran was keeping up.

From Lifeline to Full Circle

What began as survival eventually became destiny. Years later, Sheeran would go from memorizing Eminem alone in his room to collaborating with him as a peer—most notably on “River” in 2017. The symbolism wasn’t lost on fans: the rapper whose fastest verses unlocked a child’s voice now stood beside him on the charts.

The full-circle moment landed hardest in 2022, when Eminem invited Sheeran onstage at his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction. The kid who once borrowed confidence from another man’s words was now singing to millions in his own.

Faster Than Fear

Sheeran’s story reframes music’s power in stark terms. This wasn’t inspiration. It was intervention. Criminal didn’t just influence his taste—it rewired his relationship with speech itself.

Sometimes healing doesn’t arrive gently. Sometimes it comes at full speed, daring you to keep up. And for Ed Sheeran, that speed didn’t break him—it finally set him free.