The Dark Story of Eminem Read online

  Cashis’s Eminem-produced The County Hound EP sold only 6,700 copies its first week; his The Art of Dying LP was shelved. Obie Trice quit Shady in 2008, tired of waiting on a label finally dependent on one distracted man. His last album for them, Second Round’s On Me, showed an X-ray of the bullet still lodged in his head, where stray lead sloshed and froze when he moved. He mixed armed defiance to his enemies with soulful, socially informed regret. ‘Obie Story’ described a clever little boy with a loving mother, damned to drug-dealing and violence by the gunshots which echoed down his street and America’s slave legacy of black people not “born equal”. Eminem’s production was careful, Obie’s rapping strong. This fine bulletin from a hurt man refusing to leave Detroit’s streets showed what Shady Records could have been.

  The folk devil who had capered through the UK in 2001 had also disappeared. Eminem was a beloved old entertainer now. One reaction to Recovery‘s success was simply that people were pleased to have him back. “For right-wing Americans, his name is still enough to conjure up this visceral fear of everything he stands for,” the Independent‘s LA correspondent, Guy Adams, considers. “They still believe the old George Bush line that he’s more dangerous than polio. He’s very well respected and widely liked, but he’s not modish. He’s not a real celebrity at the moment in the sense that Kanye West is. He was in the major newspapers every single day for five or six years, and now he’s not. I think if he stuck a baseball cap on, he could quite happily walk down Rodeo Drive in Hollywood and not be recognised by paparazzi. He doesn’t exist in that world.”

  Eminem finished the decade as its biggest-selling artist, Billboard declared. But the man who, at his peak in 2002, had seemed ready to take on the mantle of a great American like Allen Ginsberg, writing about and wrestling with his country when he wrote about himself, had been reduced by American fame. He no longer raged at presidents, or even seemed interested in how the racial schisms he once picked at had been bridged by Obama. He no longer felt able to see America at all. “I stay at home a lot because I can’t go anywhere without a huge entourage,” he believed in The Way I Am. “Sometimes I’ll go out just to prove I can do it. I’ll leave my neighbourhood and go to where a lot of people are …” Sometimes, he cruised back to the streets where he once lived in Detroit, a ghost now, unable to walk freely there ever again. “I’ll go back and remember … how life was back then,” he explained to Spin. “How much of a struggle it was. As time goes by, you might get content and forget things.” He tried to explain these roots to his daughters too. “Why should we live like that?” they sniffed, even Hailie too young to remember when he couldn’t buy her clothes. They were a millionaire’s children, living behind his mansion’s gates. His old compadre Royce Da 5–9 didn’t see much difference. “He’s always been a homebody,” he told Vibe.

  Eminem at 38, isolated by fame, mourning his best friend and, he told Vibe, often laying awake since his overdose fearing his own death, could seem a tragic figure. But he and his teenage sweetheart Kim shared their children seamlessly, and loved each other (“We’re a good team now,” he wrote in The Way I Am), and he was the world’s most successful rapper. Recovery showed this American life could still be mined for music. His competitive urge to stay on top had become its own, self-generating subject. “Realistically, if I don’t rap, what the fuck am I going to do?” he asked Vibe, knowing the answer. “It’s too late to just be unfamous at this point.” All Marshall Mathers’ dreams had come true. He was learning to live with them.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  The Origins Of The Urban Crisis: Race And Inequality In Postwar Detroit by Thomas J. Sugrue (Princeton, 1996) was particularly helpful on the history of Detroit; Have Gun Will Travel by Ronin Ro (Quartet, 1998), A Change Is Gonna Come by Craig Werner (Payback, 2000) and Westsiders by William Shaw (Bloomsbury, 2000) were all useful in thinking about hip-hop and Eminem.

  Thanks also to Anthony LeQuerica for Detroit hospitality, and Sebastian Krop for Detroit driving, both beyond the call of duty.

  And to Sarah Jezzard and Andrea Nettleton, for making my life better.

  DISCOGRAPHY

  ALBUMS

  Infinite (Web Entertainment, 1996)

  The Slim Shady LP (Aftermath/Interscope, 1999)

  The Marshall Mathers LP (Aftermath/Interscope, 2000)

  The Eminem Show (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2002)

  Encore (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2004)

  Encore Collector’s Edition – includes extra tracks ‘We As Americans’, ‘Love You More’ and ‘Ricky Ticky Toc’ (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2004)

  Curtain Call: The Hits (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2005)

  Relapse (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2009)

  Relapse: Deluxe Edition – includes extra tracks ‘My Darling’ and ‘Careful What You Wish For’ (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2009)

  Relapse: Refill – includes extra tracks ‘Forever’, ‘Hell Breaks Loose’, ‘Buffalo Bill’, ‘Elevator’, ‘Taking My Ball’, ‘Music Box’, ‘Drop The Bomb On Em’ (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2009)

  Recovery (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2010)

  With D12:

  Devil’s Night (Shady/Interscope, 2001)

  D12 World (Shady/Interscope, 2004)

  With various artists:

  8 Mile (Shady/Interscope, 2002)

  Eminem Presents: The Re-Up (Shady/Interscope, 2006)

  SINGLES/EPS

  As Soul Intent:

  ‘Fucking Backstabber’/’Biterphobia’ (Mashin’ Duck, cassette only, 1996)

  As Bad Meets Evil (with Royce Da 5–9)

  ‘Nuttin’ To Do’/’Scary Movies’ (Beyond Real, 1998)

  As Eminem:

  The Slim Shady EP (Web Entertainment, 1998)

  ‘Just Don’t Give A Fuck’/ ‘Brain Damage’ (Aftermath/Interscope, 1998)

  ‘My Name Is’ (Aftermath/Interscope, 1999)

  ‘Any Man’ (Rawkus, 1999)

  ‘Guilty Conscience’ (Aftermath/Interscope, 1999)

  ‘The Real Slim Shady’ (Aftermath/Interscope, 2000)

  ‘The Way I Am’/’Bad Influence’ (Aftermath/Interscope, 2000)

  ‘Stan’ (Aftermath/Interscope, 2000)

  ‘Without Me’ (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2002)

  ‘Cleanin’ Out My Closet’ (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2002)

  ‘Lose Yourself’ (Shady/Interscope, 2002)

  ‘Sing For The Moment’ (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2003)

  ‘Business’ (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2003)

  ‘Just Lose It’ (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2004)

  ‘Like Toy Soldiers’ (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2005)

  ‘When I’m Gone’ (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2005)

  ‘Crack A Bottle’ (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2009)

  ‘We Made You’ (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2009)

  ‘3 a.m.’ (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2009)

  ‘Beautiful’ (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2009)

  ‘Not Afraid’ (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2010)

  ‘Love The Way You Lie’ (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2010)

  ‘No Love’ (Aftermath/Shady/Interscope, 2010)

  With D12:

  ‘Shit On You’ (Shady/Interscope, 2001)

  ‘Purple Pills’ (Shady/Interscope, 2001)

  ‘Fight Music’ (Shady/Interscope, 2001)

  ‘My Band’ (Shady/Interscope, 2004)

  ‘How Come’ (Shady/Interscope, 2004)

  GUEST APPEARANCES

  ‘5 Star Generals’ single – Shabaam Sahdeeq (Rawkus, 1998)

  ‘Green And Gold’ on Green And Gold EP —The Anonymous (Goodvibe, 1998)

  ‘Trife Thieves’ on Attack Of The Weirdos EP – Bizarre (Federation, 1998)

  ‘We Shine’ on Episode 1 EP – Da Ruckus (Federation, 1998)

  ‘Fuck Off’ on Devil Without A Cause LP – Kid Rock (Atlantic, 1998)

  ‘ThreeSixtyFive’ single – OldWorlDisorder (Beyond Real, 1998)

&nb
sp; ‘The Anthem’ single – Sway & Tech (Interscope, 1999)

  ‘Hustlers And Hardcore’ on Behind The Doors Of The 13th Floor LP – Domingo (Roadrunner, 1999)

  ‘Get You Mad’ on This Or That LP – Sway & Tech (Interscope, 1999)

  ‘Busa Rhyme’ on Da Real World LP – Missy ‘Misdemeanor’ Elliott (EastWest, 1999)

  ‘The Last Hit’ on Home Field Advantage LP – The High & Mighty (Rawkus, 1999)

  ‘Watch Dees’ on Heavy Beats Vol. One EP – DJ Spinna (Rawkus, 1999)

  ‘Macosa’ single – The Outsidaz (Ruffnation, 1999)

  ‘Forgot About Dre’ (also single) and ‘What’s The Difference’ on 2001 LP – Dr. Dre (Aftermath, 1999)

  ‘If I Get Locked Up Tonight’ – Funkmaster Flex & Big Kap, with Dr. Dre (Def Jam, 1999)

  ‘Dead Wrong’ (also single) on Born Again LP – Notorious B.I.G. (Bad Boy, 1999)

  ‘Rush Ya Clique’ on Night Life EP – Outsidaz (Ruff Life, 2000)

  ‘Get Back’ on The Piece Maker LP – Tony Touch (Tommy Boy, 2000)

  ‘Stir Crazy’ on Tell ‘Em Why You Madd LP – Madd Rapper (Columbia, 2000)

  ‘The One’ – Royce Da 5–9 (Game, 2000)

  ‘Don’t Approach Me’ on Restless LP – Xzibit (Loud, 2000)

  ‘Renagade’ (sic) on The Blueprint LP – Jay-Z (Roc-A-Fella, 2001)

  ‘My Name’ (also single) on Man Vs. Machine LP – Xzibit (Loud, 2002)

  ‘Rap Superstar’ on Skull & Bones LP – Cypress Hill (Columbia, 2002)

  ‘Patiently Waiting’ and ‘Don’t Push Me’ on Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ LP – 50 Cent (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope, 2003)

  ‘Lady’, ‘We All Die One Day’, ‘Hands On You’ and ‘Outro’ on Cheers LP – Obie Trice (Shady/Interscope, 2003)

  ‘One Day At A Time’ on Tupac: Resurrection LP – Tupac (Amaru/Interscope, 2003)

  ‘911’ on Koastra Nostra LP – Boo-Ya T.R.I.B.E. (The Oglio Entertainment Company, 2003)

  ‘Welcome to D-Block’ on Kiss Of Death LP – Jadakiss (Interscope/Ruff Ryders, 2004)

  ‘Warrior Part 2’ on The Hunger For More LP – Lloyd Banks (G-Unit/Interscope, 2004)

  ‘Soldier Like Me’ and ‘Black Cotton’ on Loyal To The Game LP – 2Pac (Amaru/Interscope, 2004)

  ‘We Ain’t’ on The Documentary LP – The Game (Aftermath/G-Unit/Interscope, 2005)

  ‘Lean Back (Remix)’ on All Or Nothing LP – Fat Joe (Atlantic, 2005)

  ‘Hip Hop’ on Hannicap Circus LP – Bizarre (Sanctuary/SonyBMG, 2005)

  ‘Drama Setter’ on Thoughts Of A Predicate Felon LP – Tony Yayo (G-Unit/Interscope, 2005)

  ‘Pimplikeness’ (with D12) on Searching For Jerry Garcia LP – Proof (Iron Fist, 2005)

  ‘Gatman And Robbin’ on The Massacre LP – 50 Cent (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope, 2005)

  ‘Off To Tijuana’ on Bulletproof LP – Hush (Geffen, 2005)

  ‘It Has Been Said’ on Duets: The Final Chapter LP – The Notorious B.I.G. (Bad Boy, 2005)

  ‘Welcome 2 Detroit’ (also single) and ‘No More To Say’ on The People vs. LP –Trick-Trick (Motown, 2005)

  ‘There They Go’ on Second Round’s On Me LP – Obie Trice (Shady/Interscope, 2006)

  ‘Smack That’ (also single) on Konvicted LP – Akon (Konvict/Up Front/SRC/Universal Motown, 2006)

  ‘Pistol Poppin” on The County Hound EP – Cashis (Shady/Interscope, 2007)

  ‘Touchdown’ on T.I. vs. T.I.P. LP – T.I. (Grand Hustle/Atlantic, 2007)

  ‘Peep Show’ on Curtis LP – 50 Cent (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope, 2007)

  ‘Who Want It’ on The Villain LP – Trick-Trick (Time Entertainment/Koch, 2008)

  ‘Chemical Warfare’ on Chemical Warfare LP – The Alchemist (ALC/E1, 2009)

  ‘Psycho’ on Before I Self-Destruct LP – 50 Cent (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope, 2009)

  ‘Drop The World’ on Rebirth LP – Lil Wayne (Universal Motown/Cash Money, 2010)

  ‘Airplanes, Part II’ on B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray LP – B.o.B. (Grand Hustle/Atlantic, 2010)

  ‘Love The Way You Lie, Part II’ on Loud LP – Rihanna (Def Jam, 2010)

  ‘Celebrity’ and ‘Where I’m At’ on The Hunger For More 2 LP – Lloyd Banks (G-Unit/EMI, 2010)

  ‘Roman’s Revenge’ on Pink Friday LP – Nicki Minaj (Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Motown, 2010)

  ‘Living Proof’ – Royce Da 5–9 (2010)

  ‘All She Wrote’ on No Mercy LP – T.I. (Grand Hustle/Atlantic, 2010)

  NOTABLE COMPILATION APPEARANCES

  ‘Any Man’ on Rawkus Presents Soundbombing 2 (Rawkus, 1999)

  ‘Bad Guys Always Die’ with Dr. Dre, on Wild Wild West soundtrack (Interscope, 1999)

  ‘Murder (Remix)’ on Next Friday soundtrack (Priority, 1999)

  ‘Off The Wall’ featuring D12, on The Nutty Professor 2 soundtrack (Universal/Def Jam, 2000)

  ‘Forever’ (also single, with Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne) on Music Inspired by More Than A Game soundtrack (Zone 4/Interscope, 2009)

  VIDEOS

  Up In Smoke – tour documentary (Universal, 2000)

  Eminem – video compilation, ‘Just Don’t Give A Fuck’ to ‘Stan’ (Universal, 2001)

  The Slim Shady Show – cartoon (Universal, 2001)

  All Access Europe – tour documentary (Universal, 2002)

  Eminem Presents: The Anger Management Tour – tour documentary (Interscope, 2005)

  Live From New York City 2005 – tour documentary (Eagle Rock, 2007)

  FILMS

  The Wash (dir. DJ Pooh, 2001)

  8 Mile (dir. Curtis Hanson, 2002)

  TV

  Entourage, Series 7 finale – as himself (2010)