Eminem
Made In The Shade
By Billy
Johnson Jr
Emerging
from the Detroit hip-hop underground this year with the hit single
"My Name Is," Dr.
Dre protégé Eminem--otherwise
known as "Slim Shady"--attacked the mainstream with a
slew of ill beats and outrageous lyrics about drugs, violence, and
a painful childhood.
But
like other white rappers who have taken a beating in the
credibility department, Eminem hopes to attain the street cred
that has eluded his Caucasian counterparts. Now that he's riding
high on the success of his major-label outing, The
Slim Shady LP, Eminem is starting his own label to further the
careers of his fellow Motor City rappers and is even thinking
about an acting career.
The
lyrically extreme and musically daring Eminem sat down with
LAUNCH's rap/ R&B editor Billy Johnson Jr. recently to discuss
his lyrics, drug-addled teen years, abusive mother, and stormy
relations with the mother of his daughter. Video excerpts of the
conversation can be viewed in Issue No. 30 of LAUNCH
on CD-ROM; an exclusive live performance of "My Name
Is..." can also be viewed on the same disc.
LAUNCH:
There are some interesting styles of hip-hop coming from the
Detroit area. Is it a coincidence that artists like you, Kid
Rock, and Insane
Clown Posse--groups that are totally different musically--come
from the same region?
EMINEM:
Being from Detroit and being on some different sh-t, I don't think
it's a coincidence. You've got the East Coast and you've got the
West Coast. The East Coast is predominantly known for lyrics and
the West Coast is predominantly known for gangsta sh-t, you know
what I'm sayin'? Detroit is in between both of them. So when you
mix the two, you get something crazy. Kid Rock, Esham,
and myself are influenced by both coasts, so when you blend the
two of them together, you get some different sh-t. Which is cool.
That's what it's supposed to be. We're not supposed to sound like
we're from either coast. I want my sh-t to sound like it's
somewhere in the middle, which it is.
LAUNCH:
Has there been a resolution to the feud between you and Insane
Clown Posse?
EMINEM:
I don't think I take the beef as seriously as they do, because I
don't consider them artists. They look at me as an artist. I think
they get more uptight about it. I can look at them and laugh. They
can't do anything to me. What can they do to me? They have no
credibility, no respect, no talent, they have nothing. All they
can do is dis me vocally, they can't dis me lyrically. There's
nothing they can do to me as far as the music goes. I don't take
it as seriously as they do and I think that frustrates them. I
think it's funny.
LAUNCH:
When you were starting out on the Detroit hip-hop scene, it wasn't
necessarily easy for you to get a lot of respect from your peers.
Can you recall the first time you got respect you were looking
for?
EMINEM:
I remember I used to go to this place called the Rhythm Kitchen
way back in the day. I was probably 16 or 17. The first time I
grabbed the mic, I got booed before I even said anything. As I
started to rap, the boos just got louder and louder and louder
until I just got off the mic. At this place called the Hip-Hop
Shop, every Saturday, MCs would come up there and rhyme. The first
time I ever got respect was the first time I grabbed the mic at
the Hip-Hop Shop. I had said some sh-t and people was quiet at
first, then cheers and applause, and it got louder and louder.
That was the spot I started going to every Saturday. They would
have official announce battles every couple of months and I kept
winning them.
LAUNCH:
Was it because you went to a different spot or was it that you
were getting better at rhyming?
EMINEM:
I think it was something a little different about me; I started
growing up and I just got better. At 15 or 16, I was wack. I
didn't know how I wanted to sound, I didn't know anything. But at
18, 19, I started learning. This is how I should sound on the mic,
learning how to battle, practicing freestyle. That was what I was
known for in Detroit, in the underground for a couple of years
before all this happened.
LAUNCH:
The thing that's missing in hip-hop today is that very few people
have anything interesting to say. You have a lot of interesting
lyrics...things that make the listener want to go back and rewind
and listen again. What is your approach to writing? Are you a
perfectionist?
EMINEM:
I'm definitely a perfectionist. I make my music for me. I know how
I want it to sound. I don't think about if anyone else is going to
like it. I listen to it and make it for me, so that I'm satisfied
with it. If I am, then everybody else will like it. If I say the
word "the" wrong, I'll go back and change it. Usually
when I write my songs, I write the verses and then sum them up
with a hook. But my delivery and the way I say things across the
mic, I make sure that sh-t is perfect, for me, so I can listen to
it a million times and not find a flaw in it.
LAUNCH:
How long is the songwriting process usually?
EMINEM:
Some songs take longer than others to write, it just depends on
what type of mood I'm in or what I'm thinking at that time. I
don't know, "My Name Is..." was really simple to write.
I thought of the hook right away, even before I wrote the song.
Sometimes I'll do story raps and have to come back the next day to
finish it. "Brain Damage" took a couple of days to
write. It just depends on the mood and how the sh-t is flowing.
LAUNCH:
"Brain Damage" really stands out for me. I really like
the story. I think anybody can relate to it. Is it a true story?
EMINEM:
"Brain Damage" is a true story, except for my brain
falling out of my head. I used to get harassed by these bullies in
school. This one in particular, because I got a concussion and
almost died. When I wrote that, I was summing up my whole years of
grade school, junior high, high school. The second verse I started
getting really truthful. But when I write a story, I don't want
the sh-t to get boring, so I lay down the truth as the foundation
and then mix it with a little imagination.
LAUNCH:
Your writing is really honest and almost comedic in a lot of ways.
Do you think people have the right perception of you?
EMINEM:
I think the young people are getting it. The older people are
getting it confused, tending to take my sh-t too literal. I don't
care, it's funny to me, because if I say my f--king brain fell out
of my skull, and they believe it, what's wrong with them? The
younger people have a sense of humor and can determine right from
wrong. Kids are a lot smarter than we think they are. I only get
flack from the white-collar motherf--kers who don't know about
hip-hop anyway. When N.W.A.
came out, look how literal everyone was taking it. It was
entertainment and people didn't understand it. If N.W.A. said,
"I'm gonna shoot you," they believed: "Oh my God,
they're gonna shoot somebody." Maybe Dre or Ice
Cube was mad when they wrote that, but it doesn't mean they
feel that way constantly. When I'm writing I may feel that way at
the time, so I sit down and write that.
LAUNCH:
Tupac
pretty much wrote the same way.
EMINEM:
He had his positive songs, negative songs, angry songs, just
whatever mood he was going through at the time. That's what
writers do.
LAUNCH:
Kid Rock said when you write your lyrics you don't write them in
paragraph form--they're just all over the page. Can you describe
the way you write your lyrics?
EMINEM:
I collect ideas throughout the week. It might take a while, but I
write on a sheet of paper, scattered ideas, words and metaphors.
When I have enough ideas, I'll piece the sh-t together. I do it
purposely so that if a rhyme sheet is lost, whoever finds it won't
know what it means. Half a sentence will be here, another half
here...a word over here. I don't know how I started doing it. When
I write a full song now, I start at the corner of the paper, I
write in slants. I don't know why I do that sh-t neither, but I
do.
LAUNCH:
Is writing therapeutic for you? Do you cope with things better
once you write them down?
EMINEM:
Yeah, definitely. My sh-t is like therapy for me, not only when
I'm writing it, but also when I'm in the booth saying it. It's a
way to get sh-t off my chest. On my album, I've got my happy
songs, crazy songs, serious songs--all jokes aside. Those are
songs like, "Okay, I've slit my wrists 90 million times, I
cut my own f--king head off, but this is how I really feel."
I put those songs on my album so you could see for yourself. It's
not rocket science here. It's so clear when I'm joking and when
I'm serious, but some people just don't get it.
LAUNCH:
This is not a dis, but have you ever talked to anyone about your
thoughts, like with a therapist or whatever?
EMINEM:
Have I ever gone to counseling? I got a doctor for that sh-t. But
Dre ain't helping me for sh-t.
LAUNCH:
Will your next album be the same or will it be different?
EMINEM:
It's gonna be a little different, probably worse. Every time I
hear critics talk sh-t about me, when they dis me, they only egg
me on and they only make me madder. This album might have been
here, but the next one will be out there somewhere. Each time I do
an album, I'll just keep taking it further.
LAUNCH:
You mentioned to me earlier that Master
Ace is one of your favorite artists. What is it about his
music that you relate to?
EMINEM:
Master Ace was ahead of his time. I feel like when that album came
out, I went and copped it. MC Proof was the first one who turned
me on to the first album, when the second album came out, I
thought it should have gone double-, triple-platinum, but it was
so ahead of its time that people didn't understand. He was trying
to say that hip-hop was straying from the lyrical side. I think he
was directing things toward the West Coast, like hip-hop was
getting too much like "I'll shoot you, stab you, and kill
you," and we need to get back to the lyrics.
LAUNCH:
You have a tattoo of a mushroom on your arm. Is that a drug
reference?
EMINEM:
I just got it. I had to show it off. I try not to f--k with
mushrooms that much any more because that sh-t gets me too out of
my mind. I go through phases with drugs and sh-t. I have a
different drug of choice every other month. If I do too much of
something, I say, "I'm never doing that again!" I might
stray from it for a little bit, and go back to it later. Mushrooms
make me too f--king giggly; I just laugh at everything. I don't
like to laugh too much.
LAUNCH:
You say a lot of outrageous things in your lyrics. How are you in
your personal life? Are you an outrageous person?
EMINEM:
I do a lot of crazy sh-t that maybe normal people wouldn't do, but
I don't know what the f--k is normal. I don't consider myself
insane. I don't walk around like a f--king lunatic. Day to day, I
consider myself pretty normal. My thoughts, what I write, I think
other people think a lot of the same sh-t, I just think they don't
say it. I may think a little bit different than the average
person, but how I act, dress and carry myself, I think it's
normal.
LAUNCH:
Lil'
Kim is criticized a lot for being speaking her mind and being
outrageous. But people come up to her on the street and tell her
that they can relate. Do you get the same reaction?
EMINEM:
Yeah, I get a lot of that. Lil' Kim speaks her mind and says what
she wants to say. There's no in between, people will either love
you for it or hate you for it. That's what I've found just on a
street level--fans, and people on the street--they either can't
stand me or love me for telling the truth and saying what's on my
mind.
LAUNCH:
Are there any limitations on what you say? Are there some things
you won't touch?
EMINEM:
My thing is this, if I'm sick enough to think it, then I'm sick
enough to say it. Why are these thoughts in my head? A lot of
people think sh-t, they just don't say it. If I'm crazy enough to
think it, then I'm crazy enough to say it. That's how I base my
whole sh-t. I think there's a reason why I think this way. I don't
think I say the things I say for no reason. I write it down and
say it.
LAUNCH:
Tell me about the song "Bonnie & Clyde Part II."
EMINEM:
I go through phases with my daughter's mother constantly--we've
been going off and on for nine years--different phases of our
relationship where I want to kill her. I don't know if you ever
felt like you wanted to kill someone, but there have been times,
literally, where I want to kill her. I've had songs about killing
her for five years now that nobody's even heard. I've killed her,
like, 11 times. The song "Bonnie & Clyde Part II,"
really "Part I" is what happened before I killed her and
stuffed her in the trunk. It's like the argument that took place.
It's crazy. I don't want to give too much away. I want people to
hear it. When I did it, I was kind of high, so I came back and
listened to it the next day, I was just like, "Whoa."
LAUNCH:
What does your daughter's mother think about all this?
EMINEM:
She thinks I'm crazy. She thinks I'm f--king nuts. When I did
"Bonnie & Clyde '97" she was mad because I took my
daughter into the studio and put her vocals on it. At the time,
she was keeping me from my daughter. I barely got to see her at
all. So when I did get to see her, I wanted to use that to get
back at her. My daughter was being used as a weapon against me. I
put the song on an EP that was only released in Detroit. I never
thought it would be as big as it is. She was mad. She thinks I'm
f--king crazy, insane for real. But it's all good. But maybe I am!
LAUNCH:
What kind of influence does your daughter have on you?
EMINEM:
She keeps me from being too extreme. I realize that no matter how
crazy I act onstage or how wild I may get, there's got to be a
limit. I can't step out of a certain boundary--I have to be here
for her. Her father has to remain alive. I have to maintain. She
really helps me when I'm about to do something too stupid. All I
have to do is think about Haley. She keeps me in check,
definitely.
LAUNCH:
Do you have a name for your next album?
EMINEM:
I've got a title, but I don't want to reveal it yet, because I
change my mind a lot. I don't want to say it's this and it comes
out and it's called something else.
LAUNCH:
Will your next album this possibly be your last?
EMINEM:
I won't know until it's finished and I put it out.
LAUNCH:
Even though you've been working underground for years, now that
you are well-known, why would your next album be your last?
EMINEM:
Just depends on how I feel after it's done. Right now, My little
girl is three years old. I'm missing the best years of her life.
I'm not seeing her grow up. There's gonna be a time when I have to
think, "Yo, do I want this? Or do I want this?" If I
can't find a balance, I'll have to make a choice. I don't know
what's going to happen tomorrow, you know what I'm saying? I'll
have to see what happens with the next album, then I can make a
decision, but right now, I really can't.
LAUNCH:
Do you think you could write a song about dealing with an issue
like that?
EMINEM:
Yeah, I can make a song about anything. I probably will write a
song about that. I just started working on my next album recently.
I don't know where it's gonna go. I know where it's headed
towards...but I don't know where I will totally take it yet.
LAUNCH:
Whenever someone mentions the song "Guilty Conscience,"
they bring up your comment about Dre and Dee Barnes. How did that
come up? How did you deal with it and what was Dre's reaction?
EMINEM:
When we did "Guilty Conscience," it was pretty much
Dre's concept to come up with a song with the devil on one
shoulder, and the angel on the other. Like in Animal
House, the dude was about to rape the girl, he had a devil on
one shoulder telling him to do it and an angel on the other
telling him not to. That's kind of the concept I based it on. Dre
lately has been on the positive tip, trying to clean up his image
and sh-t. I'm at the stage where I don't give a f--k. Of course, I
was the devil, he was the angel. I came up with the three
scenarios: The liquor store, the rape, and sh-t. At the end of the
song, I felt I was losing the battle, so I felt I had to take
pokes at him. Like, "Are you gonna listen to him?" And I
remember when he slapped Dee Barnes. So when I wrote it, I didn't
tell him I was going to say it. He fell over in his chair
laughing, so I guess it was all good. But I was thinking the whole
time, "What is he going to say about this?"
LAUNCH:
What do you think about the idea that you're the one rap artist
that's bringing Dre back to prominence? Does that pressure you?
How do you feel about that?
EMINEM:
I wouldn't say I was bringing Dre back. I don't think he ever
left. "Phone Tap," on the last album, The
Firm, was dope to me. "Phone Tap" was one of the
dopest beats I ever heard. I just want to return the favor. Dre
basically saved my life; my sh-t was going no where. Dre took me
in and taught me a lot, not just rap-wise, but business-wise.
Whatever I can do to return the favor, I'm here. We've got a
chemistry that works and we'll make it work for however long it
works.
LAUNCH:
When you say Dre saved your life, do you mean you would have left
hip-hop all together and found something else to do?
EMINEM:
I would have probably quit in '97 if it weren't for Dre. My
daughter was one at the time. I couldn't afford to buy her
diapers. I didn't have a job. I had job after job after job and
just kept getting fired. I didn't have a high school diploma. I
failed ninth grade three times. I was basically going nowhere.
When I made the Slim Shady EP, I told the production people,
"Yo, if this doesn't work, I'm about to be 23, I gotta quit,
get a job, do something." We just so happened to go to L.A.
that same year and Dre heard the tape, gave us a call. I was
reaching a boiling point, doing a lot of drugs and f--ked-up sh-t
because I was so depressed. So when I say Dre saved my life, I
mean he literally saved my life, and I feel like I owe him a lot.
LAUNCH:
Dr.
Dre 2001: What is your involvement with that?
EMINEM:
I've been in there pretty much from the beginning, just being
involved, giving my input, writing, doing whatever I can do to
make the sh-t hot. The album is over-the-top, definitely some
classical sh-t. It's going to be bigger than my album. I know this
for a fact. But it's hot, man. I don't want to give any details. I
just want people to be surprised. I want to sit back and say,
"I told you!"
LAUNCH:
To be linked with one of hip-hop's best producers, what does it
say about you sticking to your guns and not giving up or changing
what you do, when you thought people wouldn't accept you?
EMINEM:
I think that's why people do accept me because from Slim Shady EP
to LP, I haven't changed sh-t. "My Name Is..." blew up
commercially, but we had no plans for that. We just thought it was
a hot song and we put it out. Now, you've got underground kids
talking sh-t about me like I'm a pop artist because I made one
song that was catchy. My album is probably the rawest album this
year, as far as material and sh-t. It's not an egotistical
assumption, that's just the way I feel. I haven't changed sh-t
lyrically, style-wise. I'm still me. I could have made a
commercial album. But I didn't. My album is underground as f--k,
but the single blew up, people heard it and bought the rest of the
album. My sh-t is underground. If I've got some appealing sh-t, is
that my fault? That's what you're supposed to do, right? Otherwise
you stay underground and you stay broke as f--k.
LAUNCH:
Do you still battle?
EMINEM:
I f--k around with my friends and crew members and sh-t, but as
far as me going out and getting in a battle with MCs, I'm a marked
man. Everybody knows everything about me, and I wouldn't know
anything about the person I'm facing off against. I don't really
choose to do that. Sometimes at shows, I'll pull someone onstage
to battle just to make them look stupid. Some people think that I
don't have it anymore. "Eminem made an album and now it's
double-platinum and he can't battle no more." That's bullsh-t.
I do it for the fun now. I don't take it as seriously as I used to
take it. Back then when I was coming up through the underground,
it was a do-or-die situation. When I lost the Rap Olympics, I was
ready to kill somebody. There was a $500 prize and a Rolex. I was
evicted from my house and I needed that money. Now, I do it for
the fun.
LAUNCH:
Is there a female celebrity out there that you'd like to get with?
EMINEM:
Female celebrity? Mariah
Carey. If she's reading this...I love you!
LAUNCH:
I understand that people have questioned whether you're black or
white.
EMINEM:
Whether or not I'm white? Last time I checked I was, I guess. I
looked in the mirror this morning and was combing my hair and I
said, "Wow, I'm sure white today!" I was born this way,
I don't think I have much say in the matter.
LAUNCH:
I understand that you have a song on the Wild
Wild West movie soundtrack. Who are playing with on the track
and what is the song about?
EMINEM:
It's me and Dre. It's a Western theme. We wanted to tie in with
the wild, wild West for the soundtrack. At the same time, it's a
sneak preview of what's coming up on the Chronic II. We're
plugging Chronic II and still staying tied into the movie.
LAUNCH:
Do you spend a lot of time on the Internet?
EMINEM:
I don't spend much time on the Internet. I don't really get into
computers and sh-t. I don't have the patience to sit down. I'm a
jittery person; I don't like to stay in one place too long, unless
I'm writing. And sometimes when I'm writing, I get up and I pace
the room. Sitting at a computer, I can't really function like
that. I look every now and then to see what's going on.
LAUNCH:
What do you think about groups like the Backstreet
Boys and 'N
Sync?
EMINEM:
I'm not mad at them--Backstreet Boys, or whatever--they're just
doing whatever it is they do. It's not the same type of music I'm
doing, so I don't feel I'm in competition with them. I think
they're corny as f--k. All those boy bands and girl bands and sh-t.
But little teenyboppers like it. So sell it and do it, I guess.
LAUNCH:
Is there anything else in the works for you?
EMINEM:
I'm probably going to be starting my own label soon called Shady
Records. Right now the artist I'm looking at is MC Proof, who is
on tour with me now. Actually, he's my hype man. Bizarre Kid is
another MC from Detroit. It may sound biased, but I'm really
trying to kick open the doors for Detroit--to put Detroit on the
map full-blown. Until I do that, I won't stop with Detroit MCs. If
I come across a dope MC from another town, I'll put them on the
label, but Detroit has been struggling for years.
LAUNCH:
Are you looking to get into acting any time soon?
EMINEM:
I've had some offers to do some movie roles. I haven't taken
anything yet because I don't want it to take away from the music.
I'm already busy as f--k. Touring, working on my new album, doing
all the interviews, etc. I don't want to get too busy. I already
can't see my family. Dre and I have talked about a feature film
about my life. But it will be some bugged-out sh-t: how Dre sees
my life, how he thinks I was conceived and sh-t. It's some ill sh-t.
But we've just been talking about it. It's not official yet.
interview
by Hip-Hop.com
HHC: Can you introduce yourself?
Eminem: My name is "dickhead". This whole rap game sucks
and I just want to die right now. Nah, my name is Eminem and I'm
from Detroit, Michigan.
HHC: How long have you been in the hip-hop scene?
Eminem: I've been in it since I was 9 years old when Ice-T came
out with "Reckless". Once I heard that I got hooked
HHC: How are things moving with this new fame?
Eminem: The shit is moving at a fast pace. Its kind of scary
sometimes. I've seen people shoot straight to the top and then
fall down to the bottom. I've been in this game for a minute, but
I'm not a new MC at this. I've been an MC for a while. When the
second video took off the way it did, it was like what's
happening. I've worked so long and hard to get this and its
happening. It doesn't seem real to me yet. I'm just a regular
mother fucker. I'm Marshall Mathers before I'm Slim Shady, before
I'm Eminem, before I'm anybody.
HHC: What's the scene in Detroit like?
Eminem: How's the scene in Detroit? Its like crabs in a bucket.
Everybody is trying to fight to get to the fucking top. Detroit
underground has shown me so much fucking love. Detroit underground
has embraced me through winning battles and winning rap
competitions. The underground showed me love, but rap radio in
Detroit shitted on me. Now they are playing my shit. There's this
one station 105.9 that has been playing my music which I think is
real cool. They are a new station and they aren't on this
bullshit. They are kind of if you're hot you're hot, if you're not
you're not. There's this other radio station called WJOB, where if
you're black you're black, and you can get played. If you're not
then you're fucked type of shit. And that's the way I feel. I know
people in the record pool and I already heard a rumor from a
certain girl that said, What has a white person ever done for me?
I'm not going to play his fucking record and now all of a sudden
they're playing it. I'm like come on its 1999 and we still on that
shit. Is color such an issue through music. Lets get to the music.
Whereas the music part of it. When I get back to that station, I'm
going to tell them to take my mother fucking record off. I'm going
to go on the air and cuss up a mother fuckin storm. I'm going to
make sure that they do not let me back and they take my record and
throw it in the garbage.
It was just like what this girl did earlier today. This girl was
on some bullshit. Asking who I was and saying my name all wrong,
disrespecting me. When we got on the air she would'nt say my name.
She would say We got him...um...him in the studio. She just
totally disrespected me on the radio. Asking me what nationality I
am, like it matters. Why do you want to fuck me? Are you trying to
make a point? Growing up in the neighborhood that I grew up in,
getting my ass beat everyday. She was on some pro-feminist trip.
Trying to make it a racial issue ... I'm spitting while I talk. ěI
spit while I talk, I'll fuck anything thing that walks.
HHC:
Well lets get off this negative trip? Give us something on your
album.
Eminem: The album comes out February 23rd. It answers any type of
negative issue that anyone can think to say about me. I'm
addressing it. Letting fools know.
HHC: How about the production work on the album, did you do any
tracks on the album?
Eminem: I do a lot of my own stuff. I have my own production team
of musicians. I don't know how to play any instruments, so I would
ask them if they can play this tune (he hums out a beat). Can you
do that? Oh, yeah we can do that. So its like I tell them what to
play and they try to play it. Dre is the executive producer for
the whole album. He overseen the whole project. If something
wasn't working he would let me know about it. Luckily I was on a
roll enough to where only one song on the whole album got
rejected. It wasn't the rhyme, it was the beat. If we were going
to change the beat, then I don't even want to use the song. Then
it was kind of like fuck it, we already have 14 songs. Dre
produced four of them.
HHC: So, how did you hook up with Dre?
Eminem: There are so many stories floating around, but the story
that Dre is telling everyone is that Dre found my tape on the
floor of Jimmy Iovine's garage. Jimmy Iovine is the President of
Interscope. He found it on the floor and the tape was in the deck
because he liked the tape. He wanted Dre's hip-hop aspect on this.
They played it and Dre liked it and asked where is this mother
fucker. Two days later I just happen to be here in L.A. and I was
rhyming over the radio. He was coming home in his car and heard me
on the radio and got our number to our hotel room and called us
up.
HHC: Let's get to the video.
Eminem: How many days we got?
HHC: That video was wild. I like how it starts off with your name
Marshall Mathers.
Eminem: People used to asked me my name and I would tell them.
They would say like the Beaver. So, I told Dre that I wanted to do
some type of Slim Shady Show. The whole thing on getting hit in
the face with the paper was an accident. But we kept it. The paper
was just supposed to fly across the scene, but the girl that threw
it hit me in the face. My lip was all busted up. We said fuck it,
keep it, keep it! A lot of shit that happened in that video that
made it so hot, was all accidental. Like when I was in the
straight jacket and I fell off the chair. The chair just tipped
over just a little bit. I was supposed to be only tossing and
turning.
HHC: So do you plan on bringing up any groups that you know from
back home?
Eminem: Yeah, I already did it with Royce the 5'9". He's the
only featured artist on my album. I've been bringing him on tour
with me, like my little back, giving him his time to shine. Every
radio station I went to I would bring him up there with me. Royce
is fucking phenomenal. There's this one song called Bad Misevilî
that came out independently. I was doing everything I could to get
Royce heard because like what these guys do for me I wanted to do
for Royce. All he needed was to get his stuff heard. Now he just
got a huge deal with Tommy Boy.
HHC: Are there any other rappers that you look up to?
Eminem: Lyrically, I love Red Man. He is a true MC. I literally
jumped for joy when his album went platinum. I wanted to shake his
hand and say congratulations. I know how hard it is to work for
something for so long and then accomplishing it. Overall rapper is
Tupac. He is my favorite rapper in the whole wide world. He's so
simple with his words yet so powerful. Its so sad that he is gone
because I am now in a position to meet him but I cant. You can ask
these two guys I got Tupac in the deck all day long.
HHC: Well, we wont keep you any longer. You have these other folks
that want to talk to you. We want to thank you, good luck. That
video is still funny as fuck
Eminem: Thanks a lot. Peace.