Rap star Eminem is ashamed of his former 'angry young man' image - because he's convinced fans must have thought he was on drugs.
Now 35, the Stan hitmaker has taken a look back at his career for a new autobiography, The Way I Am, and he can't believe how mad he was.
In an extract from the new memoir, printed in America's Entertainment Weekly magazine, Eminem writes, "When I look back at myself during those years when everything was blowing up, I think maybe at first I was a little... too aggressive and loud. It was like I had this voice and I had to be heard.
"People must have been wondering, 'Why is this dude so angry? Is he on crack? Is he on crystal meth?' I go back and see old interviews and even now I wonder, 'Why was I so hyper?'"
And he still regrets stupid things he used to do to let off steam: "I went through a phase back then when I was shooting pistols in the air behind the studio, and, you know, pulling guns out, pointing a pistol in somebody's face, not even realising that I could've gone to jail for that s**t."
Eminem reveals he once pointed an unloaded pistol at a fan's face - because he was tired of being hounded every time he left his home.
He adds, "The doorbell kept ringing. I was starting to lose it... I was losing my mind. I got up in one kid's face with a pistol. Unloaded, but still.
"My temper was out of control. Thank God I was in enough control not to do something tragic."