The Real Slim Shady

“I didn't have nothin' going for me... school, home... until I found something I loved, which was music, and that changed everything.” – Eminem

Since 1997, Eminem's music has been played all around the world and resulted in unprecedented success. But how has he gone through so much emotional trauma and a serious drug addiction and managed to achieve so much? We look deeper into his music and explore the stories that hide within the lyrics written by one of the greatest hip-hop artists ever.

Marshall Bruce Mathers III a.k.a. Eminem, the lyrical genius raised in Detroit, Michigan, combines emotion, word play and an intimate backing story to create a fresh, engaging and frequently controversial sound. He went from living in a trailer in a very poor neighbourhood, to being crowned the King of the Detroit underground rap scene which catapulted him toward national and international recognition.

A good way to begin to understand Eminem's story is by watching the semi-autobiography ‘8 Mile’. It tells the story of how Eminem, portrayed by the character Jimmy Smith (played by Eminem), goes from being an unknown rapper to being a local superstar. The film also shows the relationships he has with friends and enemies throughout his early life.

8 Mile (2002) 

Eminem, according to his lyrics, had a terrible relationship with his mother, Debbie Mathers. He blames his mother for both his mental state in ‘The Apple’ and his drug addiction in ‘My Mom’. If your mother was like that you’d be a little crazy too, right? Yes is the answer you were looking for. 

Eminem - My Mom

In 1996 the rap group D12, The Dirty Dozen, was created. Eminem, Proof, Bizarre, Kuniva, Kon Artis, Bugz and their alter egos made up the twelve members of the group. ‘My Band’, ‘Purple Pills’ and ‘How Come’ are a few of their songs that are definitely worth listening to. The group is releasing a reunion album this year, including 3 songs featuring Eminem. Listen to this when it comes as out it’s dedicated to their fallen member Proof, who died in a shooting outside the CCC nightclub in Detroit in April 2006. It will be raw and full of emotion. 

D12 - Purple Pills

In the spring of 1997 Dr. Dre signed Eminem to his label, Aftermath Entertainment, after hearing Eminem’s debut EP; "The Slim Shady EP". Dr. Dre spoke about what happened when he heard the demo in an interview a few years later, “In my entire career in the music industry, I have never found anything from a demo tape or a CD. When I heard this, I said, 'Find him. Now.”

Eminem - Bad Meets Evil 

Dr. Dre faced criticism from various people in the industry for signing a white rapper, he simply said "I don't give a fuck if you're purple: If you can kick it, I'm working with you." Eminem was nervous, understandably of course, "I didn't want to be starstruck or kiss his ass too much..... I'm just a little boy from Detroit. I had never seen stars, let alone Dr. Dre.” “The Slim Shady LP” went triple platinum by the end of the year.

Slim Shady, the "drug-dealing, bloodthirsty thug who spits furious rhymes about murder, rape, drugs and living by the law of the urban jungle" was Eminem’s alter ego that was created for D12. Shady is Eminem’s evil twin, who he blames for the bad things in his life. Sounds like a nice guy? Listen to ‘I’m Shady’ and ‘Evil Twin’; they’ll give you more of an insight into who Slim Shady really is.

Eminem - Evil Twin 

At the peak of Eminem’s drug addiction he was taking 60 Valium and 30 Vicodin a day. This addiction had a huge impact on the style of his music; ‘Under the Influence’ and ‘Déjà Vu’ are two songs that relate to very different stages of his drug abuse.‘Under the Influence’ is about D12’s drug use whereas‘Déjà vu’ has a completely different perspective about it. This change in attitude to drugs happened after Eminem overdosed in 2007. After he went to rehab he released “Relapse” which contains a strong influence from his drug use and past mental state.

Eminem - Under the Influence

If you haven’t already heard the recently released“The Marshall Mathers LP II”, you should. It is the follow up to the fastest-selling solo album in United States history; if that’s not the best endorsement to listen I don’t know what is. If you don’t want to listen to the whole thing, fair enough, but at least give ‘Headlights’ and ‘Rap God’ and a try. The latter proves just how much of a lyrical genius and an extremely skilled rapper Eminem is and ‘Headlights’ is an extremely touching song where he apologises to his mother for the songs he’s made.

Eminem - Rap God

In a cruelly ironic way, it appears that Eminem’s childhood and experiences in life have throughout the years become the catalyst for all of the fantastic tunes he releases. The question is how long will he carry on producing such amazing music? We hope for a long time yet. Peace out Rabbit.

If you like what you've heard so far and want to listen to some more of his work here are some great songs from each of his albums:

Marshall Mathers LP – ‘Marshall Mathers’, ‘Bitch Please II’

The Eminem Show – ‘Cleaning out my Closet’

8 Mile – ‘Lose Yourself’

Encore – ‘Yellow Brick Road’, ‘Mosh’

Relapse – ‘Old Time’s Sake’

Recovery – ‘Cinderella Man’, ‘You’re Never Over’

‘Stan’, ‘Renegade ft Jay-Z’ and ‘Above the Law’ are also awesome.