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Slim Shady, Eminem, Marshall Mathers. Three names for one person. Marshall Mathers is his given name, Slim Shady is his evil persona, and Eminem is his comedic persona that is commonly known for making fun of popular celebs. When first releasing his album "The Slim Shady LP" in 1999, it was historic. He was one of the very first white rappers to make music in a primarily black-dominated industry.
During the first half of Eminem's career he was known for his shocking, controversial lyrics. He was not accepting of anyone and anything that was "different" from societal norms, consistently took stabs at homosexuality and women, and received major backlash for expressing his opinions so freely. Eminem maintained that all rap contains such vulgarity and it is simply because he is a white rapper that he was getting more heat.
Eminem released "Encore" in 2004 as a sequel to "The Eminem Show" (2002). It did not live up to the expectations that Eminem fans held for him because the rhymes and delivery were weak and predictable. This is mostly in part to the fact that Eminem was coping with drug addiction to sleeping aids and pain killers.
In 2006 one of Eminem's lifelong friends Deshaun "Proof" Holton passed away after being shot outside of a club in Detroit. This was when Eminem's drug use got even worse. From 2005-2008 Eminem was absent from the music industry due to being in-and-out of rehab.
In 2009 he released the album "Relapse" and this was his first album where he rapped completely sober. It was highly criticized because he rapped with a middle eastern accent for some reason. He nixed the accent when he released his most recent album to date, "Recovery"in 2010. The lyrics in every song on this album were explosive. He used complicated rhyme schemes, beats with catchy hooks, and honest lyrics explaining all that he'd been through since going on his three year sabbatical from music. It satisfied Eminem fans because it resembled his music from the early 2000s.
Eminem is not making as much music as he used to because he has been focused on producing, however he maintains his drug free lifestyle. His drug use almost resulted in his death and coming back from that has encouraged him to look at life in a completely new way. He is now much more artistic with his songs. He paints pictures with his lyrics which make the situations he talks about much more vivid, and he still has that same fast paced delivery that every fan loves.
During the first half of Eminem's career he was known for his shocking, controversial lyrics. He was not accepting of anyone and anything that was "different" from societal norms, consistently took stabs at homosexuality and women, and received major backlash for expressing his opinions so freely. Eminem maintained that all rap contains such vulgarity and it is simply because he is a white rapper that he was getting more heat.
Eminem released "Encore" in 2004 as a sequel to "The Eminem Show" (2002). It did not live up to the expectations that Eminem fans held for him because the rhymes and delivery were weak and predictable. This is mostly in part to the fact that Eminem was coping with drug addiction to sleeping aids and pain killers.
In 2006 one of Eminem's lifelong friends Deshaun "Proof" Holton passed away after being shot outside of a club in Detroit. This was when Eminem's drug use got even worse. From 2005-2008 Eminem was absent from the music industry due to being in-and-out of rehab.
In 2009 he released the album "Relapse" and this was his first album where he rapped completely sober. It was highly criticized because he rapped with a middle eastern accent for some reason. He nixed the accent when he released his most recent album to date, "Recovery"in 2010. The lyrics in every song on this album were explosive. He used complicated rhyme schemes, beats with catchy hooks, and honest lyrics explaining all that he'd been through since going on his three year sabbatical from music. It satisfied Eminem fans because it resembled his music from the early 2000s.
Eminem is not making as much music as he used to because he has been focused on producing, however he maintains his drug free lifestyle. His drug use almost resulted in his death and coming back from that has encouraged him to look at life in a completely new way. He is now much more artistic with his songs. He paints pictures with his lyrics which make the situations he talks about much more vivid, and he still has that same fast paced delivery that every fan loves.
I have been a fan of Eminem since the LP. I think you described his ups and downs accurately. If someone who didn't know Eminem saw this blog post it would be a good depiction of his music career. This is a pretty cool blog topic because the majority of musicians go through change and it is interesting to read about the change right in front of you.
ReplyDeleteI don't know a lot about hip hop, so I really don't know if you showed Eminem's real evolution. What else has happened to this man to make him who he is today?
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comment! I'm glad you agree and I think it is important for artists to go through change. I just wanted to document it because some people hop on artist bandwagons later than others, and I always found it fun to learn about my favorite artists before I knew them. I figured I would extend that courtesy to the blogosphere!
ReplyDelete@delawaretreasures if you wanted to check out the interview at the bottom of the post it tells a lot about how eminem views his own change.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if it's my browser or not, but the typeface changed on the post to a more normal Times font. I like the more fun font you chose that is shown in the comments.
ReplyDeleteI like this post because it nicely summarizes his strange evolution and really punctuates the issue you confronted for your blog, but I'm still hoping for commentary from you, the expert!