Rapper Eminem has compared his own battle with drugs to the death of Michael Jackson - insisting he can "relate" to the late King of Pop's problems with pills.

The Thriller hitmaker passed away in June after suffering a cardiac arrest, believed to be linked to a high dose of surgical-strength anaesthetic Propofol.

Reports suggest the singer spent years battling an addiction to prescription drugs before his habit ended in tragedy.

Eminem also endured a drug addiction, popping as many as 20 pills a day at the height of his problems, and nearly lost his life after an accidental overdose of methadone.

And the hip-hop star admits the news of Jackson's passing resonated with him - because he can understand the pain of a prescription drug habit.

He tells Complex magazine, "I definitely can relate, and it's a shame if he didn't have anybody there to just say, 'Michael, you're an addict, you need help.'

"When you read things about Michael Jackson it's hard to decipher what the f**k is true, but there's the story of how he woke up at whatever time and he needed something to go back to sleep because he has this or that and it didn't work - that's exactly what used to happen to me. I would take a couple of pills and I would be up an hour later and I'd want more."