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Biography
A Biography from eminem.com
The average rapper wouldn't be able to grace the pages of Rap
Pages, VIBE, Rolling Stone, Spin, The Source, URB and Stress and
go on a national tour months before their major-label debut album
is released. Then again, Eminem isn't an average rapper. He's
phenomenal.
The impending release of the The Slim Shady LP, his first set on
Aftermath/Interscope Records, already has underground hip-hop
heads fiending for Eminem. Chock full of dazzling lyrical
escapades that delve into the mind of a violently warped and
vulgar yet extremely talented wordsmith, the 14-cut collection
contains some of the most memorable and demented lyrics ever
recorded.
For Eminem, his potentially controversial and undoubtedly
offensive songs will strike a chord with a multitude of hip-hop
loyalists who believe they have little to lose and everything to
gain.
"I'm not alone in feeling the way I feel," he says.
"I believe that a lot of people can relate to my
s**t--whether white, black, it doesn't matter. Everybody has been
through some s**t, whether it's drastic or not so drastic.
Everybody gets to the point of 'I don't give a f**k.'"
Those words are more than just a slogan for the Detroit resident.
"I Just Don't Give A F**k" and "Brain Damage"
are the two songs comprising Eminem's initial single from The
Slim Shady LP. Each tune is sure to paralyze meek listeners with
their relentless lyrical assault. Produced primarily by long-time
collaborators FBT Productions, the Slim Shady LP also features
beatwork from Aftermath CEO Dr. Dre. The N.W.A. alum handled
beats for "My Name Is" (the second single),
"Guilty Conscience" and "Role Model."
Dr. Dre was so impressed after hearing Eminem freestyling on a
Los Angeles radio station that he put out a manhunt for the
Michigan rhymer. Shortly thereafter, Dre signed Eminem to his
Aftermath imprint and the two began working together. Thoroughly
impressed with Eminem's previously released independent Slim
Shady EP, Dre said they would include many of the EP's tracks on
the album.
"It was an honor to hear the words out of Dre's mouth that
he liked my shit," Eminem says. "Growing up, I was one
of the biggest fans of N.W.A, from putting on the sunglasses and
looking in the mirror and lipsinking to wanting to be Dr. Dre, to
be Ice Cube. This is the biggest hip-hop producer ever."
But like many other rappers, Eminem's rise to stardom was far
from easy. After being born in Kansas City and traveling back and
forth between KC and the Detroit metropolitan area, Eminem and
his mother moved into the Eastside of Detroit when he was 12.
Switching schools every two to three months made it difficult to
make friends, graduate and to stay out of trouble.
Rap, however, became Eminem's solace. Battling schoolmates in the
lunchroom brought joy to what was otherwise a painful existence.
Although he would later drop out of school and land several
minimum-wage-paying, full-time jobs, his musical focus remained
constant.
Eminem released his debut album, Infinite, in 1996. Desperate to
be embraced by the Motor City's hip-hop scene, Eminem rapped in
such a manner that he was accused of sounding like Nas and AZ.
"Infinite was me trying to figure out how I wanted my rap
style to be, how I wanted to sound on the mic and present
myself," he recalls. "It was a growing stage. I felt
like Infinite was like a demo that just got pressed up."
After being thoroughly disappointed and hurt by the response
Infinite received, Eminem began working on what would later
become the Slim Shady EP -- a project he made for himself.
Featuring several scathing lines about local music industry
personalities as well as devious rants about life in general, the
set quickly caught the ear of hip-hop's difficult-to-please
underground.
"I had nothing to lose, but something to gain," Eminem
says of that point in his life. "If I made an album for me
and it was to my satisfaction, then I succeeded. If I didn't,
then my producers were going to give up on the whole rap thing we
were doing. I made some shit that I wanted to hear. The Slim
Shady EP, I lashed out on everybody who talked shit about
me."
By presenting himself as himself, Eminem and his career took off.
Soon after giving the Rap Coalition's Wendy Day a copy of the
Infinite album at a chance meeting, she helped the aspiring
lyrical gymnast secure a spot at the Coalitions 1997 Rap
Olympics in Los Angeles, where he won second place in the
freestyle competition. During the trip, Eminem and his manager,
Paul Rosenberg, gave a few people from Interscope Records his
demo and he made his major radio debut on the world famous Wake
Up Show with Sway and Tech. Realizing that this was the
opportunity of his lifetime, Eminem delivered a furious medley of
lyrics that wowed his hosts and radio audience alike.
"I felt like it's my time to shine," Eminem says of
that performance. "I have to rip this. At that time, I felt
that it was a life or death situation."
Eminem would soon record the underground classic "5 Star
Generals." This record helped establish him in Japan, New
York and Los Angeles. It also helped him earn a spot on the
inaugural Lyricist Lounge tour, which took him to stages from
Philadelphia to Los Angeles.
Set to take the hip-hop world by storm with his unique lyrical
approach and punishing production, Eminem and his The Slim Shady
LP are sure to have listeners captivated.
"I do say things that I think will shock people," he
says. "But I don't do things to shock people. I'm not trying
to be the next Tupac, but I don't know how long I'm going to be
on this planet. So while I'm here, I might as well make the most
of it.