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 shit--whether white, black, it doesn't matter. Everybody has been through
some shit, whether it's drastic or not so drastic. Everybody gets to the
point of 'I don't give a fuck.'"
Those words are more than
just a slogan for the Detroit resident. "I Just Don't Give A
Fuck" 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."
