E M I N E M

Read the publication

M A R S H A L L M A T H E R S E M I N E M S L I M S H A D Y

M A R S H A L L M A T H E R S E M I N E M S L I M S H A D Y

i n d e x I N F I N I T E S L I M S H A D Y E P T H E S L I M S H A D Y L P T H E M A R S H A L L M A T H E R S L P T H E E M I N E M S H O W E N C O R E C U R T A I N C A L L : T H E H I T S R E L A P S E R E C O V E R Y T H E M A R S H A L L M A T H E R S L P 2 S H A D Y X V 5 7 1 1 1 5 1 9 2 3 2 7 3 1 3 5 3 9 4 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), commonly known as Eminem or Slim Shady, is an american rapper who rose to fame after the Slim Shady EP, released in 1997, that caught the attention of rapper and producer Dr. Dre, who signed him shortly afterwards, Eminem is famous for his controversial lyrics and he covered a wide range of subjects in his songs, like his mom, wife, beefs, politics and his own struggles regarding an addiction to sleeping pills that gave him an overdose in 2007. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Marshall had a tough childhood being abandoned by his dad when he was eighteen months old, and his relationship with his mom was turbulent for more than four decades. Eminem has three daughters: Hailie, Alaina and Whitney. Mathers met his lifelong best friend Proof (who was killed in 2006) in high school, and, along Kon Artis, they created the group D12. Eminem is regarded as one of the best rappers alive, releasing eight albums to date, six of them being awarded with a grammy.

INFINITE 199 6 W E B E N T E R TA I N M E N T Infinite is the first studio album by Eminem, released November 12, 1996, through Web Entertainment. The album was recorded at the Bass Brothers’ studio, known as the Bassmint and produced by Mr. Porter, also known as Kon Artis, member of D12, and Eminem’s longtime friend, Deshaun “Proof” Holton. The album sold only about 1,000 copies, and is not available on any online music stores. Infinite received mixed reviews from critics, who generally praised its lyrical content while criticizing the music production.

t h e b e g i n n i n g b e f o r e b e i n g s l i m s h a d y Eminem initially started his rap carreer in 1988, affiliated to the Bassmint Productions, a hybrid of members of two separate hip-hop groups that existed simultaneously. Eminem was part of New Jacks, fronted by himself (Double M at the time) and DJ Butter Fingers. They went to release an EP called Still in the Bassmint, under the moniker Soul Intent, in 1992, which was never commercially released. Three years later, another EP released, called Sould Intent. A year later, Eminem released Infinite, which was recorded at the Bassmint, it was released under their independent label, Web Entertainment. Eminem was encouraged by others, who noted he sounded similar to rapper AZ. Mr. Porter, also known as Kon Artis, produced the entire album, while Deshaun Proof programmed the drums. Marshall purposely made Infinite’s songs more “radio-friendly” in hopes of getting on the air on Detroit radio stations. Subjects covered in Infinite included his and his grandma’s struggles with raising his newborn daughter, Hailie, while on limited funds, and his strong desire to get rich. The album received mixed reviews from critics, criticizing that he sounded too much like Nas, saying that Eminem needed to develop his own style. Infinite was ignored by Detroit disc jockeys, and the feedback he did received led him to craft angrier, moodier tracks. After the release of Infinite, Eminem’s personal struggles and abuse of drugs and alcohol culminated in an unsuccessful suicide attempt. No songs featured in Infinite were reused later in his carreer. The only reference of Infinite found in his later albums was made on “Not Afraid”: “From Infinite down to the last Relapse album he’s still shitting”. Mathers once said that he personally thinks that the title track, “Infinite”, was the best song that he did on the album. i n f i n i t e i n f i n i t e 5

SLIM SHADY EP 1997 W E B E N T E R TA I N M E N T Slim Shady EP was Eminem’s first EP under the Eminem moniker, released one year after his debut studio album, Infinite. Eminem first introduced his “Slim Shady” persona on this EP, and his lyrics are a marked departure from those found on Infinite, featuring constant references to drug use, sexual acts, mental instability, and over-the-top violence. Though this specific album is extraordinarily rare, there may be some copies of this album out there somewhere near the Detroit-313 area, that collectors would give a great deal of money for.

A m o n s t e r i s b o r n g a m e ’ s o n The disappointment of Infinite inspired Eminem to create the alter ego Slim Shady, in his own words: “Boom, the name hit me, and right away I thought of all these words to rhyme with it”. At this point in his life, Eminem had realized that his musical ambitions were the only way to escape his unhappy life. He starts Slim Shady EP with “Intro (Slim Shady)” in a strange fashion, where he is reluctantly fighting against himself, or more precisely, Slim Shady. But Slim Shady was never introduced to anyone, so at first listen it may be a very strange and dark song. Eminem would revisit the events occured in this intro only twelve years later in the track “My Darling”, featured in Relapse. Then the song merges with “Low Down, Dirty”, which serves as a musical introduction to his Slim Shady character. It also features “If I Had”, “Just Don’t Give A Fuck” and “Just the Two Of Us”, three songs that would feature on SSLP, released two years later when he was already signed by Dre’s label, Aftermath. But before that. during the SSEP times, Eminem and his wife, Kim Scott, lived in a high-crime neighborhood with their daughter Hailie, where their house was burglarized numerous times. After being evicted from his home, Eminem traveled to Los Angeles to participate in the Rap Olympics, an annual nationwide rap battle competition. He placed second, and the staff at Interscope Records who attended the Rap Olympics sent a copy of the Slim Shady EP to the company CEO, Jimmy Iovine. Iovine played the tape for record producer Dr. Dre, founder of Aftermath Entertainment. Dr. Dre recalled: “In my entire career in the music industry, I have never found anything from a demo tape or a CD. When Jimmy played this, I said: “Find him. Now.” Eminem and Dr. Dre subsequently, in the same year, began to work on his major label debut album, The Slim Shady LP, the first one of many successful records that Eminem would release on the ongoing years. T H E S L I M S H A D Y E P T H E S L I M S H A D Y E P 7

“S ee honey: there’s a pl ace called heaven and a pl ace called hell , A pl ace called pri son and a pl ace called jail And da-da’s probab ly on hi s way to all of ‘em excep t one” Just th e t wo of us , TRACK 6 iN s lim s hady ep

“Just The Two Of Us” is called “97’ Bonnie & Clyde” on SSLP and it tells a sick and well made story, and it is a homage to 2Pac’s “‘96 Bonnie and Clyde”. Eminem released an even sicker prequel to the events depicted here called “Kim”, that would be released three years later on The Marshall Mathers LP. “Kim” would be left out of the clean version of the album due to it’s heavy content. He won’t go to heaven. And “prison” and “jail” are not the same (so it actually is possible to go to both). Jail is usually local and reserved for people with misdemeanors while prison can be local or state, and is reserved for more serious criminals serving hard time. Criminals usually wait for their sentencing in jail, then go to prison when they get convicted, so Em could be spending time in both places if he gets caught.

THE SLIM SHADY LP 1999 A F T E R M AT H / I N T E R S C O P E / W E B E N T E R TA I N M E N T The Slim Shady LP was released in 1999, two years after Slim Shady EP, the record that achieved sucess enough to get Dr. Dre’s attention, who signed him in 1997. The album was met with both critical and commercial success; critics praised Eminem for his unique lyrical style, and it went on to be certified quadruple- platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The record won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. The Slim Shady LP turned Eminem from an unknown rapper into a high-profile celebrity.

M Y N A M E I S C H K A - C H K A S L I M S H A D Y The Slim Shady LP has three tracks from Slim Shady EP that were re-recorded: “If I Had”, “Just Don’t Give A Fuck” and “Just the Two of Us”, which was renamed to ‘97 Bonnie & Clyde. The album begins with “Public Service Announcement” and after that we’re introduced to one of Eminem’s most famous songs, “My Name Is”, which featured the iconic hook: “Hi, my name is, what? My name is, who? My name is, chka-chka Slim Shady”. And that is what this album is all about, a continuation of who the Slim Shady is. Additionally, “My Name Is” featured a line, “99% of my life I was lied to, I just found out my mom does more dope than I do” that made his mom sue him. Then starts “Guilty Conscience”, one of Marshall’s most funniest and controversial songs. In it, Eminem and Dr. Dre play the Evil and Good conscience, respectively, of three separate people who are about to commit violent or sexual crimes. Guilty Conscience would be later mentioned in “The Way I Am” regarding the song’s reviews. Although many of the lyrics on the album are intended to be humorous, several songs depict Eminem’s frustrations with living in poverty, like “Rock Bottom”, a sincere song that deals with the stress and anger brought about by poverty and the struggles of raising a little girl under those conditions. It was written during a depressed point in his life and Eminem actually overdosed on pills while recording this song in Autumn of 1997. Later there’s a great track featuring Detroit based fellow rapper, Royce da 5’9”, called “Bad Meets Evil”. The song would inspire Em and Royce to start a hip-hop duo named after the aforementioned song, in 1999. They would split in 2003 after releasing only two non-album singles. Eight years later they released an EP, Hell: The Sequel, under that moniker. Eminem became a highly controversial figure due to SSLP lyrical content, which some perceived to be misogynistic and a negative influence on american youth. T H E S L I M S H A D Y L P T H E S L I M S H A D Y L P 1 1

“I was har as s ed daily by this fat kid named D’Ang elo Bailey, An eig hth g r ader who ac ted ob noxious , caus e hi s father boxes , S o every day he’d s hove me in the lockers” brai n damage, TRACK 4 iN THE s lim s hady Lp

D’Angelo Bailey actually tried to sue Eminem for defamation after The Slim Shady LP was released. But nothing came out of it. Regarding the tough times that Eminem endured, his mother actually sued the local school board for failing to sufficiently protect her child, in 1982. “Brain Damage” is about Eminem awful time at school, he got bullied a lot during his messed-up childhood. D’Angelo Bailey was one of the bullies that made his life miserable. Along with a group of kids at Dort Elementary School, Bailey used to terrorize the young Eminem. The “eighth grader” detail may be a little off, possibly just to better fit the rhyme scheme, since Eminem later revelead that he was in fourth grade and Bailey was in sixth.’

The Marshall Mathers LP was released in 2000 and it’s the follow-up to Slim Shady LP, released one year before. MMLP features an even more aggressive Eminem with memorable songs like “Stan”, “The Real Slim Shady” and “The Way I Am”. It also featured a heavy prequel to the famous “‘97 Bonnie & Clyde”, released on SSLP. MMLP received generally positive reviews from critics, and, in 2001, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. It is always cited as one of the best rap albums to date. THE MARSHALL MATHERS LP 20 0 0 A F T E R M AT H / S H A DY / I N T E R S C O P E

T H E R E A L S L I M S H A D Y M M L P S O L D A N D S O L D W E L L After the tremendous success that SSLP achieved, a lot of hype were gathered around the new Em’s record, and this hype would prove to be right. A lot of pressure from the label emerged towards Eminem so that he could release a single so sucessful as the lead single from SSLP, “My Name Is”. This is cited in “The Way I Am”: “let’s stop with the fables, I’m not gonna be able to top on “My Name Is”, which ironically would prove to happen since “The Real Slim Shady”, featured in MMLP, got even more success than “My Name Is”. The record features more introspective lyricism including the rapper’s response to his sudden rise to fame and controversy surrounding his lyrics. This is visible in “The Way I Am”, the second single from the album, which was one of the few songs from MMLP that were completely produced by Eminem since most of the production work was made by Dr. Dre. Marshall delivered in many songs his aggressiveness towards his relatives. “Marshall Mathers” is a good example regarding it, being a direct reaction to the turmoil his life went in to after the release and runaway success of SSLP, most notably the lawsuit his mother Debbie Mathers brought against him for defamation due to the way she was portrayed on that earlier record. Probably the most controversial song of his carrer, “Kim” depicts a scenario that happened before the events of “’97 Bonnie & Clyde”, where Eminem chokes his wife to death after discovering that she has cheated on him. “Stan” becase so famous that the word stan was turned in an adjective to refer to Eminem’s crazy fans. The Marshall Mathers LP sold more than 1.76 million copies in the US in the first week alone, becoming one of the fastest-selling studio albums by any solo artist in american music history and it was certified diamond by the RIAA in mach 2011. The album also sold more than 32 million copies worldwide. t h e m a r s h a l l m a t h e r s l p t h e m a r s h a l l m a t h e r s l p 1 5

“I take s even kids from Colu mb ine , s tand ‘em all in line , Add an AK-47, a revolver, a nine , A MAC-11, and it oug hta solve the prob lem of minE” i ’m back, track 10 in mars hall mathers lp

This line is Eminem’s commentary on the famous Columbine High School Massacre, a school shooting that occurred on april 20, 1999, which culminated in the murder of 12 students and one teacher. Eminem was often bullied growing up, so part of him understands the desire to lash out at your entire school that the Columbine shooters felt. None of the guns that Eminem mentions were actually used by the two Columbine shooters: they used a TEC-9, a carbine rifle and two shotguns. This album dropped a year after the shooting, so Columbine and gun control were still very controversial topics in America. So, even in the explicit version of the album, the words “Columbine” and “kids” had to be censored. A rhyme scheme that is a homage to one of his idols, the rapper Rakim, who rapped on “My Melody: “I take 7 emcees put ‘em in a line, and add 7 more brothers who think they can rhyme. Well, it’ll take 7 more before I go for mine, now that’s 21 emcees ate up at the same time”

The Eminem Show was released two years after the incredible The Marshall Mathers LP and featured the commercially sucessful singles “Without Me”, “Cleanin’ Out My Closet”, and “Sing for the Moment”. It became Eminem’s third record in four years to win the award for Best Rap Album. On 2011, the album was certified ten-times-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, making it Eminem’s second album to receive a Diamond certification in the United States. THE eminem show 20 02 A F T E R M AT H / S H A DY / I N T E R S C O P E

f a n t a s t i c t h e e m i n e m s h o w d e l i v e r e d “You ‘bout to witness hip-hop in it’s most purest, more rawest form, flow almost flawless...” this is the starting line of “Business”, the third track, and that is exactly what can be heard through this entire album. It was released two years after the successful MMLP and expectations were higher than never. And the expectations were again right. The Eminem Show features Eminem at his peak, with dynamic lyrics and a good range of subjects: beefs, his mother, his wife, his daughter, cheating and politics, a subject that can be heard in the excellent second track, “White America”. The Eminem Show produced some songs that would be Eminem’s signature tracks like “Cleanin’ Out My Closet” (which would later be excluded from his performance’s setlists because of the heavy lyrics towards his mother) and “Without Me”, which received MTV Video Music Awards for Video of the Year, Best Male Video, Best Rap Video, and Best Direction. This album is like his own show. Listening to it is like watching a TV of his life. You see his dealing with fame; “Say Goodbye Hollywood”. You see his antics of cheating and on his wife (and vise versa); “Drips”. You see his love for his daughter; “Hailie’s Song”. You see his relationship with his mom; “Cleanin’ Out My Closet”. You see how fame has affected his dating life; “Superman”. You see his responses going on with beefs in Hip-Hop; “Say What You Say”. And you see his introspective on his controversy; “Sing for the Moment” and “White America”. It features Obie Trice on “Drips”, Dr. Dre on “Business” and “Say What You Say”, and Nate Dogg on “‘Till I Collapse”. It also features D12 on “When The Music Stops”, a great track where all D12 members spits clever and intense verses. The Eminem Show is clearly one of Eminem’s best albums, featured in many Best Albums of the Decade lists and remembered by Marshall himself as “fantastic”. t h e e m i n e m s h o w t h e e m i n e m s h o w 1 9

“M us ic is like mag ic, there’s a certain feeling you g et When you real and you s pit and people are feeling you r s hit ” ‘ti ll i c oll ap se, track 1 8 in the eminem s how

Very interestingly enough, the third verse of this song is the only one on the album which contains no profanity. “‘Till I Collapse” is regarded by many as Eminem’s most famous non-single song. Marshall makes a beat for himself and proceeds to tear it to shreds. The drums are taken almost directly from Queen’s anthem “We Will Rock You” Just like in any other profession, when people are showing interest in your abilities, it makes you feel good and confident regarding it. The feeling motivates you to keep getting better and that’s the whole thing about Eminem, the hunger to get better and to deliver songs that means something to someone. This feeling is also described on Stan, featured in MMLP, on the second verse where he says “I can relate to what you’re saying in your songs, so when I have a shitty day, I drift away and put ‘em on”.

Released two years after The Eminem Show, Encore was set to be released in November 16, 2004, but was moved up to November 12 (coincidentally, exactly eight years to the day his debut album, Infinite, was released) after the album was leaked on the internet. Encore achieved success, selling over 1.5 million copies in its first two weeks of release in the United States, but from SSLP to MMLP2, Encore is his only album to date that doesn’t won him a Grammy, even though it managed to get nominated in four categories. ENCORE 20 04 A F T E R M AT H / S H A DY / I N T E R S C O P E / G O L I AT H

o n d r u g s N O T E A S Y T O K E E P U P Three super successful albums, millions of records sold, a huge list of awards, including an Academy Award for “Lose Yourself”, the iconic song featured in the 2002’s semi-biographical film 8 Mile, starring Eminem himself. It would not be easy to release a new album that could match the caliber of his recent offers. This album is considered by most critics, fans and even Eminem himself to be a big step down from his normal level, But the album featured some excellent tracks, like “Never Enough”, which features a perfect verse from Eminem and a great hook by Nate Dogg, “Evil Deeds” and “Mockingbird” are also great tracks, the latter made a huge success and features touching lyrics directed to his daughters. “Mosh” also made a lot of impact, it is a direct stab at George W. Bush, the U.S. president at the time. “Just Lose It” is probably the first song that comes to mind when Encore is on the table, it caused controversy since its lyrics and music video parodies Michael Jackson, who was being accused of child molestation at the time. It also has a memorable, and at the same time awful, hook, using Pee-wee Herman signature shouts throughout the song. But Eminem went serious on “Like Toy Soldiers”, regarding beefs, a major subject at the time because of his problems with The Source magazine editor, Ray Benzino, and also the Ja Rule vs. 50 Cent beef. The song tried to calm things down since some rappers died because of it. “Puke”, “Big Weenie” and “Ass Like That” are songs that were far from the lyricism level found on his previous albums. Marshall later revealed how “on drugs” he was during the recording of this album, and how much it affected the final product. Eminem “kills” Slim Shady at the end of “Encore”, something that is hinted at the CD label art, a suicide note, giving a sign that Marshall wanted to end his carreer or maybe even his life. Or maybe it was only marketing. E N C O R E E N C O R E 2 3

“I rememb er back one year when daddy had no money, Mommy wr apped the Chris tmas pres ent s u p and s tuck ‘em u nder the tree And said some of ‘em were from me , caus e daddy cou ldn’ t buy ‘em, I’ll never forg et that Chris tmas I sat u p the whole nig ht cryin’” mo cki ngbi rd, track 1 6 in enc ore

Possibly the least offensive Eminem song ever, “Mockingbird”’ is an open letter to his daughters. Marshall acknowledges that growing up with his media image and Kim’s drug problem made for a difficult upbringing, not to mention their poverty stricken beginnings. The aforementioned lines are also unique where Marshall seems to be praising Kim, often the target of some of his most hateful lyrics. This presumably refers to Christmas of 1996. Eminem was unemployed by the time, he got fired from his cooking job at Gilbert’s Lodge and had no money to buy any presents to Hailie, a common frustration in poor families. This whole verse shows how difficult those times were and everything was “starting to fall apart.”

Released on December of 2005, Curtain Call: The Hits features Eminem’s most popular singles, as well as four new songs: a live version of “Stan”, featuring Elton John, the infamous “Fack”, touching “When I’m Gone” and “Shake That” featuring Nate Dogg. which was Em’s last hit before his drug-related hiatus, and it was Nate’s last big hit prior to his strokes, retirement and untimely death. On the day this album was released, Eminem made an announcement that we would make a hiatus from music, which would last until he released Relapse in 2009. CURTAIN CALL THE HITS 20 05 A F T E R M AT H / S H A DY / I N T E R S C O P E

g R E A T E S T H I T S A N D A P A U S E It was not a tough task to select Eminem’s best songs to put in a greatest hits album, since there are tons of succesful singles, all released in a span of 5 years, from SSLP to Encore. Ironically enough, just after the first track, “Intro (Curtain Call)”, the listener is introduced to a previous unreleased song, called “Fack”, viewed by Eminem’s fans as one of his worst. He does acknowledge this criticism, and goes so far as to joke about it in his song “Shady XV”, featured on the Shady XV compilation album, released some ten years later: “Yo, I put that shit on a greatest hits album, now that was awesome, It takes some massive balls to do some shit like that”. It eventually gained a cult following status and Eminem even performs it’s chorus sometimes in his concerts. Another unreleased track from this album is “Shake That”, featuring Nate Dogg, who raps in it for a change, and the song achieved heavy airplay, being nominated for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards. But the real spotlight from this compilation is “When I’m Gone” where Eminem shares a personal story abut his relationship with his daughter Hailie. How he was always busy writing songs and travelling to concerts and ultimately not being present when Hailie needed. “When I’m Gone” is a direct reference to the hiatus planned by Eminem after the release of Curtain Call. He intended to take a break from recording his own music to become a hip hop producer for other rap acts, especially for the artists signed on his own label Shady Records, funded in 1999, But his drug addiction would make him to try rehab in 2005, then he fell into an even deeper tailspin the next year, following the shooting death of his best friend and D12 member, DeShaun “Proof” Holton. It wasn’t until he nearly died from an accidental methadone overdose at the end of 2007 that Eminem finally decided to get clean, a process that would be the main subject of his next album, Relapse. C U R T A I N C A L L : T H E H I T S C U R T A I N C A L L : T H E H I T S 2 7

“And when I’m gone , j us t carry on, don’ t mou rn, Rejoice every time you hear the sou nd of my voice” WH EN I ’M GONE, track 1 6 in CURTAIN CALL: THE HITS

Eminem shares a personal story abut his relationship with his daughter Hailie. Naming this compilation “Curtain Call” and putting a song like “When I’m Gone” was Eminem’s way of telling that his carreer was coming to an end. Or at least the Slim Shady/Eminem/Marshall era. Eminem is speaking directly to his daughter, and telling her to not cry when he dies/can’t find the time to be there for her, and instead just be happy when she hears his music. It also connects to he: - Talking to his fans: “Don’t be sad when I’m gone from the music business” - Metaphorically: “Don’t be sad when I’m dead”

Released five years after his last studio album, Encore, Relapse would be released after a four- year hiatus from recording due to his writer’s block and an addiction to prescription sleeping medication. Conceptually, Relapse concerns the ending of his drug rehabilitation, rapping after a non-fictional relapse, and the return of his Slim Shady persona. Seven monthis after it’s release, Relapse: Refill was released, featuring six unreleased tracks and “Forever”, a track featuring Drake, Kanye West and Lil’ Wayne, originally on More Than a Game soundtrack. REL APSE 20 09 A F T E R M AT H / S H A DY / I N T E R S C O P E

H E ’ S B A C K A D D I C T E D T O T H E G A M E Relapse begins with an amazing intro. “Dr. West”. It is a conversation between Eminem and his doctor at the rehab hospital that Em stayed for some weeks after overdosing. The doctor acts strangely and later it is revealed that he actually is Slim Shady, his persona that is still alive. Marshall suffered a sleeping pills addiction and had a methadone overdose in late december of 2007. This situation is detailed on the excellent “Déjà Vu”. This is the main subject of many songs featured in Relapse, released in 2009. Other subjects are the horror-core stuff that was prevalent in his SSLP era. Eminem talks about felching, chopping the legs of a lesbian girl, kidnapping and raping random women. On the other hand there is a touching and famous song too in this record, “Beautiful”, considered by both fans and critics as the strongest song on Relapse, “Beautiful” is the only song on the album recorded prior to getting clean, written sometime in 2006. Something that is recurrent on Relapse is the usage of accents (Jamaican, Middle Eastern) on a lot of the tracks, instead of his normal voice. It is said that these accents are useful so that Eminem could bend the words to acquire even more syllable rhymes. “Déjà Vu” is the starting point where Eminem stops to use the aforementioned accents and it is a explanation about his routine in the last years and how he was getting so addicted to sleeping pills that he would not even think that they would do any harm, like he said: “couple of weeks go by it ain’t even like I’m gettin’ high”. Relapse is a record that clarifies the process of flushing the drugs out, but some verses were written when he was still addicted. Relapse was met with mixed reviews but it went to receive a Grammy Award for best album and it has been certified double platinum by the RIAA. Eminem himself dislikes this album, as he mentions it in “Not Afraid”. R E L A P S E R E L A P S E 3 1

“Ha ha , you sold you r sou l to me , need I remind you? You rememb er that nig ht you pr ayed to God You’d g ive any thing to g et a record deal , well Dre s ig ned you” MY DARLI NG, track 21 in REL AP S E

On the excellent “My Darling”, Eminem deals with the resurgence of his persona, Slim Shady, that was “killed” at the end of Encore/Curtains Down. Eminem was reluctant regarding this Slim Shady approach, but at the end of the verse, he and Slim Shady start rapping together, indicating that Slim Shady has become one with Marshall again. This verse is a conversation between Marshall and Slim Shady and enlightens the fact that if Eminem would get signed by Dre back in 1997, he would pay by giving his soul to Slim Shady. This is a reference to the opening track of the Slim Shady EP, “Intro (Slim Shady)”, where Eminem deals with Slim Shady in the same way that he deals in ”My Darling”, in a way that the events occured in this song are indeed a direct sequel of the events happened on the aforementioned intro from SSEP.

Recovery was released on June 18, 2010, only a year after Relapse and seven months after Relapse: Refill. This album was originally planned to be released as Relapse 2, but it was renamed to Recovery when Eminem found the music of the new album different from its predecessor. Recovery featured more introspective and emotional content than Relapse and the themes of the album was mainly around his positive changes, anxiety, and emotional drives. It became the best selling album of 2010 in the U.S. and worldwide. RECOVERY 2010 A F T E R M AT H / S H A DY / I N T E R S C O P E

s o b e r f o r a c h a n g e s l i m s h a d y o n v a c a t i o n Looking at Recovery’s cover art we see the now clean rapper walking the long road to redemption and we notice how he is walking on a straight line which symbolizes being sober. Even the title says it. That’s a simple review regarding Recovery. On this album the “crazy” Eminem from Relapse vanishes. Here is found a more well intentioned Marshall, delivering lyrics that regards self- esteem, like “Won’t Back Down” and the famous single “Not Afraid”, an inspirational and brutally honest anthem for Eminem’s fans addressing that of his struggles and triumphs, and encouraging his fans to reach their triumphs as well. In “Not Afraid” it’s also found a diss to his own last album, as he says: “Let’s be honest, that last Relapse CD was “ehhhh”. In “Talkin’ 2 Myself” Eminem went far to say that “them last two albums didn’t count”, which means that both Encore and Relapse have distate from Marshall. Recovery is the only album to date to not feature a skit, used as a joke or an intro to other song. On “Talkin’ 2 Myself” Eminem reveals that he almost made a diss to both Lil’ Wayne and Kanye Wost, two of the most hyped hip-hop acts at the time, but he didn’t do it since “I’da had my ass handed to me, and I knew it”. Recovery also features a song with Lil’ Wayne, “No Love”. Interesting enough, “Seduction” and “25 to Life” has some lines that may indicate that Eminem is really subliminally dissing Lil’ Wayne. Eminem didn’t included a homage song in Relapse to his childhood friend and fellow D12 member, Proof, that were worthy of a good tribute. On Recovery, Eminem would make a song dedicated to him, “You’re Never Over”. Unfortunately the song features a horrendous hook and it ends up hiding the well made verses. “Love The Way You Lie”, which features Rihanna, is Eminem’s music video with most views to date, surpassing one billion views. On the other hand, some criticism about Recovery is that some songs in it are “easily forgettable”. R E C O V E R Y R E C O V E R Y 3 5

“It was my decis ion to g et clean, I did it for me , Admit tedly I probab ly did it s u b liminally for you, So I cou ld come back a b r and new me , you helped s ee me throug h” NOT AFRAI D, track 7 in REC OVERY

Anthemic “Not Afraid” is one of Eminem’s most famous songs, and, along with some other songs of Recovery, shows a distaste regarding Relapse. Eminem rarely spits a verse without cursing like he did here. This notably happens on the final verse of “‘Till I Collapse”, from The Eminem Show. Em shows vulnerability in acknowledging how much he cares about the public’s affection for him. Interestingly, Eminem starts this verse by saying he was “Getting clean”. And he never swears in this verse, or says anything explicit. The “you” he mentions here and later on in this verse is not just his fans, but specifically his daughters Hailie, Whitney and Alaina.

Released three years after Eminem’s last effort, Recovery, The Marshall Mathers LP2 is a sequel to 2000’s The Marshall Mathers LP. The album came in a critical time after his previous three albums: Recovery, Relapse and Encore got mixed reviews by critics. MMLP2 was well received and was named on multiple “Albums of the Year” year-end lists. It had the second highest album sales of 2013, and Eminem won another Grammy award for best rap album. THE MARSHALL MATHERS LP 2 2013 A F T E R M AT H / S H A DY / I N T E R S C O P E

h e ’ s d e f i n i t e l y b a c k b l o n d a g a i n Making a proclaimed sequel to a critically acclaimed album is a tough task, so Eminem dyed his hair blond and went back to studio. Thirteen years after MMLP, the sequel brings old friends from early days, like in the first track, “Bad Guy”, a story about Stan’s little brother, Matthew, who loved his brother more than anything. Matthew Mitchell is all grown-up now, and is seeking revenge for Stan’s death. Next on “Parking Lot (skit)” it is revealed what happens on the bank rob occured in “Criminal” back in MMLP. Another reference from MMLP is found on the iconic “Rap God” where Eminem says: “When I tried to say “I’ll take seven kids from Columbine, put ‘em all in a line, add an AK-47, a revolver and a nine” See if I get away with it now that I ain’t as big as I was” where is indeed a truth. Eminem delivers some rock filled choruses throughout the album, like on “Survival”, “Asshole”, and “Wicked Ways”. These songs and some others fills the “easy forgettable” tag mentioned by critics about Recovery. But there are bright spots in it, like the famous “Rap God”, six minutes of several references and intense super fast verses earning Eminem a place on the Guinness World Records as the hit single which contains the most words (1560). The funniest spot of MMLP2 is when Eminem raps mimicking a blowjob in “Love Game”. Nearly the end of MMLP2, as he did on the last three albums, Eminem went serious again, this time with “Headlights”, featuring Nate Reuss. The song is about his mom, Debbie Mathers, saying how sorry he was about “Cleanin’ Out My Closet” (which he states that he does not plays it on his concerts anymore) and other heavy lyrics spit earlier on his carreer, like in “My Name Is”, “Mom” and several other songs. It is an apologize message to show that he indeed loves his mom and wants her to be closer to his daughters. MMLP2 is a great addiction to Em’s discography and revamped his carreer showing that he could compete with the younger rappers in the game. m a r s h a l l m a t h e r s l p 2 m a r s h a l l m a t h e r s l p 2 3 9

“Fuck top five , b itch, I’m top fou r And that inclu des B igg ie and Pac, whore , And I got an Evil T win, So who the fuck do you think that third and that fou rth s pot ’s for?” evi l t wi n, track 1 6 in the mars hall mathers lp 2

Slim Shady or Eminem? This song is dedicated to each and is one of Eminem’s most complex, subtle, and underrated songs. Interestingly enough, in “Til’ I Collapse”, featured in The Eminem Show, released eleven years before MMLP2, he places himself at number nine: “I got a list, here’s the order of my list that it’s in: it goes Reggie, Jay-Z, 2Pac and Biggie, Andre from OutKast, Jada, Kurupt, Nas and then me.” Eminem says he’s one of the top 4 rappers of all time. That includes The Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac. Add he and his evil twin (Slim Shady) on the podium. It’s ambigous whether he’s talking about him being 1st and 2nd or 3rd and 4th.

ShadyXV is a hip-hop compilation album performed by various artists of Shady Records. The double disc album was released on November 24, 2014, by Shady Records and Interscope Records. The album was released in honor of the label’s 15th anniversary and as its 15th project (excluding Eminem’s solo releases). Featuring new material from Shady Records artists such as Slaughterhouse, Bad Meets Evil, D12 and Yelawolf, as well as six new tracks from the label’s founder, Eminem. SHADYXV 2014 S H A DY / I N T E R S C O P E

F E E L S L I K E A C L O S E I S C O M I N G T O ShadyXV, a compilation disc of Shady Records artists is divided in two discs, X and V. Disc X has new material from the aforementioned artists and Disc V is a greatest hits album featuring hits from those artists, it is a great disc to remember songs like “Lose Yourself” by Eminem himself, “Wanksta” by 50 Cent and “Purple Pills” by D12. On the Disc X, six new tracks by Eminem are found, along with a demo version of “Lose Yourself”. The opening song is the hook-less “ShadyXV”, where Em raps fast but doesn’t say much, it ends in a similar fashion to “Bad Guy” from MMLP2. Next is “Die Alone”, a love track with a powerful and well made hook from Kobe. “Fine Line” and “Right For Me” are songs that sound like they ended up being left off of MMLP2 and now were included in ShadyXV. “Detroit vs. Everybody” is a single that features other Detroit rappers: Royce da 5’9”, Big Sean, Danny Brown, Dej Loaf and Trick-Trick. The hook, by Dej Loaf, was heavily panned. Royce da 5’9” delivers a great verse. The last new song is the amazing “Guts Over Fear”, featuring Sia. Eminem delivers some sincere stuff. He dwells on the feeling that he has no emotion left and that he is singing the same old song. He regrets the pain he has caused others with his lyrics and he expresses the feeling that his career is coming to a close. Eminem doesn’t seem to know where to go: “And I’m frozen, cause there’s no more emotion for me to pull from, just a bunch of playful songs, that I make for fun.” Giving hint that he may be about to end his recording carreer and try to venture on other music fields, like producing, something that he is already experienced. A year later, in 2015, Eminem was the executive producer of the soundtrack of the movie Southpaw, also releasing two singles, “Phenomenal” and “Kings Never Die”, the latter featuring Gwen Stefani. Eminem is the bestselling hip-hop artist, with sales of 45.1 mi albums and 42 mi digital tracks. s h a d y x v s h a d y x v 4 3

TRIVIA “Superman” and “Ass Like That” were the only singles (that featured a music video) left out of Curtain Call: The Hits compilation album. Throughout his carreer, most notably from MMLP to Relapse, Eminem disses the ex-Superman Christopher Reeve numerous times just because “his name rhymes with so many different words, geez” as said on “Medicine Ball”. Eminem made a tribute song to Proof named “Difficult”, the song was never meant to be leaked as Eminem didn’t planned to introduce in any album. It was never officially released. Eminem made a song in 2006 after Proof died, called “It’s Been Real” where he says goodbye to everybody, thanking D12, Dre, his friends and family, saying that he would retire. The song was leaked and never officially released. Rumors indicated that Eminem was about to release an album called “King Mathers” in 2007. Several songs were leaked sometime in 2008-11, like “G.O.A.T.”, “The Apple” and “Wee Wee”.

In “Dr. West”, the voice of the doctor that chats with Eminem was played by the actor Dominic West, best known for portraying Detective Jimmy McNulty in the drama series The Wire. The Wire is Eminem’s favorite show. Eminem is a huge comic book fan, making several references throughout his carreer, and he reportedly owns one of the largest and most impressive collections comics in the U.S. In “Bad Guy” Eminem says: “I’ve been driving around your side of this town like nine frickin’ hours and forty-five minutes now” which connects to the fact that 9 hours and 45 minutes is the total length of Eminem’s discography except collaboration albums and deluxe tracks. The Ken Kaniff character, featured in many skits throughout Em’s carreer, was created and originally played by fellow Detroit rapper Aristotle on the Slim Shady LP, where Kaniff makes a prank call to Eminem. After he discussed with Aristotle, Eminem would make the Ken Kaniff’s voice himself.

2 0 1 6 ® m a d e b y m a r i o c a r u s o

References: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminem#References genius.com/artists/Eminem

From Infinite to Southpaw Soundtrack, Eminem never feared competition or ran from a challenge. The rapper’s carreer completed twenty years in 2016, having released eight studio albums and more than two hundred sogns. Still he shows no sign of retirement, as he said earlier in his carreer: “can’t leave rap alone, the game needs me”.