Rolling Stone 2002

The loose-lipped rapper isn't afraid of his demons. Should you be?
 By Anthony Bozza

Check Out:
Rolling Stone 1999 Interview
Rolling Stone 2004 Interview
Rolling Stone 2010 Interview
Rolling Stone 2013 Interview

In a lounge chair in the presidential suite of a Detroit hotel, Eminem sits as he always does: leaning back in his chair, his legs wide apart, eyes straight ahead. He's dressed head to toe in Air Jordan. Sometimes, he suddenly leans forward to emphasize a point, tucking his hand under his chin or gesturing with a pointed finger, the way he does onstage. His eyes and skin are clear; he looks lean and in shape, and he has an odd, almost angelic glow to him, as if he's been wandering the desert with hip-hop monks. He's been keeping late hours, but it doesn't show, maybe due to better eats. ("Damn, they didn't get me fries with that," he says, eyeing a room-service tuna melt. "I'm off that no-carb diet.") He is relaxed, a king in his castle, ready to greet the world after a year of battle. Since the release of his second album, The Marshall Mathers LP, in May 2000, Eminem has seen his celebrity grow into a sun orbited by his own label (Shady Records), his partners in rhyme D12, a planet of fans, a nascent movie career (with the release of 8 Mile this fall) and an asteroid field of cops, lawyers and judges. In August 2000, he filed for divorce from his twisted muse and the love of his life, Kim, whom he had married only a year earlier. They shared eleven years and now share custody of their six-year-old daughter, Hailie Jade. In June 2000, while he and Kim were still married, Eminem witnessed her kissing another man outside a suburban Detroit bar. After a very short internal debate, Em pistol-whipped the guy and earned himself the first of two felony charges that year - the second came after an altercation involving the ersatz rap group the Insane Clown Posse. The two charges spelled possible jail time for twenty-eight-year-old Marshall Mathers, a gangsta reality he was scared as hell to add to his portfolio. To spice the stew further, Eminem's vitriolic rhymes made him the constant subject of protests by gay -- and women's-rights groups. The threat of prison and his current probation woke him up and grew him up right quick. He stopped drinking and downing purple pills and, as always, took his angst to the studio.

Mass Appeal 2002

Eminem and Rakim on Mass Appeal magazine cover

Entertainment Weekly 2002

Acting His Rage

How controversial rapper Eminem brought his sound and fury (and an uncharacteristic dash of humility) to ''8 Mile'' -- an excerpt from Entertainment Weekly's Nov. 8, 2002, cover story by Daniel Fierman 

SAYING CHEESE IS CHEESY Eminem takes his angst to the big screen in ''8 Mile,'' opening Nov. 8

''Bitches and gentlemen! It's showtime! Hurry, hurry, step righ up! Introducing the star of our show. His name is MAR-SHALL!'' -- ''Business'' from ''The Eminem Show''

Not so fast. Marshall Mathers III, possibly the most hated young white man in America, is not here. Not yet. But the Eminem show -- that bloody carnival of relentless press coverage, hilarity and hurt, idiocy and artistry -- is about the open a tent in your multiplex. And there's not a damn thing you can do about it.

His movie, ''8 Mile'' -- a term for the literal and symbolic dividing line between white and black in his native Detroit -- is poised to bring the multiplatinum rapper even greater stardom. No ''Krush Groove II,'' it's got a real pedigree: directed by critics' darling Curtis Hanson and produced by Hollywood mainstay Brian Grazer. It's also a real music enterprise: the brainchild of Eminem's manager Paul Rosenberg and Interscope Records chief Jimmy Iovine, with a major soundtrack featuring the likes of Nas, Jay-Z, and Marshall Mathers himself. And no matter what anyone says, it was a real headache, marked by corporate fretting, infighting, and creeping discontent. 

But here's the remarkable part: Not one bit was caused by the most controversial man in show business.

EW Why make a movie? 

EMINEM Um, well. Shit. In 2000 people were offering me roles and I thought it was something I might want to dabble in. But I was doin' the music so much, I was like, I'll do it later. The issue got pressed when Brian Grazer got involved. So I had a few meetings with [screenwriter] Scott Silver and basically me and Proof, who is one of my best friends, got together with him and we were just kickin' it, like, ''Remember that time?'' We told him about how we used to do it, how we used to battle [other rappers], the clubs we used to go to, showed him tapes of me at the Rap Olympics and Scribble Jam. When the script got sent to me, well, I don't like to read. That's like the worst thing in the world for me to do. You know, sit down and read somethin'? I hate reading. But I read the first coupla pages and couldn't stop.


Since Eminem's 1999 major-label debut, ''The Slim Shady LP,'' dropped, everything from his terrible relationship with his mother to his homophobia to his bitter 2001 divorce from his wife, Kim, has gotten all-too-vocal treatment. But what's largely left unsaid by champions and critics alike is this: There may be no more valuable commodity in entertainment. Since he was discovered four years ago by an intern at Interscope Records and signed by hip-hop don Dr. Dre, Eminem has sold 30 million albums worldwide. Talk all you want about his unparalleled cultural influence and endless MTV airplay; the deliberately offensive lyrics and the ire of politicians and parents; and, of course, those blue eyes and that white skin. But for his label and the folks in Hollywood, it all boils down to that number. Thirty million.

''The only reason you can't say Eminem has saved the music industry is because it isn't saved yet,'' says Iovine, chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M. ''He's done the best of anyone out there. You cannot overstate his importance.'' Amy Doyle, an MTV music programming vice president, concurs: ''He gives the industry hope.''

So you can imagine the dread that ricocheted through the Interscope offices when the star and his manager announced that they were considering taking a risk: making a mainstream Hollywood movie. ''It was a very, very, very dangerous thing to do,'' says Iovine. ''If you miss, it could wipe everything out.''

Hanson was interested in making a movie about young people, race, and class, and Eminem was the (very famous) face that would get it financed. The rapper and his camp were surprisingly pleased with Hanson. Sure, he had virtually no working knowledge of hip-hop, or, until now, Eminem's world, but he had a reputation for being deeply skilled at creating a sense of place and handling actors. And the filmmaker had no trepidation about working with a man awash in controversy, who had pled guilty to a concealed-weapons charge in February 2001, just seven months before the start of preproduction.

''Everybody knew we needed a serious director and Em was going to need rigid structure,'' says Rosenberg. ''I've seen Em steamroll over video directors. We needed someone who was going to be able to, very basically, DIRECT him.''

There was just one other concern. Aside from his music videos and a couple of movie cameos, Eminem had never acted before. As Ice Cube -- the hardcore hip-hop figure who probably has had the most success crossing over into movies -- says, ''You got it or you don't. The camera loves you or it hates you.'' And until they got to Detroit to start shooting, no one knew which it would be.

EW Were you worried about acting? 
EMINEM At first I thought it was going to be easy. I actually said that! [Curtis and I] had a conversation in my driveway and I said, ''I don't think there's anything to this acting thing. Once I can focus on something and just give it 100 percent, I won't let you down.'' And he laughed and was like, ''Marshall, I'm gonna tell you like this, it's not as easy as it looks.'' When I started going through rehearsals I started realizing, f---!

EW What were the rehearsals like? 
EMINEM Grueling. And weird because I had never done this before. But the scenes started getting better once I started memorizing my lines. That's basically what it's about, but it's also a little bit of ad-libbing and taking the lines and saying them your own way just to make them feel real.

EW What made you trust Curtis? 
EMINEM Well, I had seen ''The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.'' But people kept telling me about ''L.A. Confidential'' and so I watched it. Three times. I was like, damn! 'Cause it was a good movie and there was shit that I didn't get until the third time. That's when I knew, yo, this guy isn't playing. Then Mekhi [Phifer] jumped aboard. And then Brittany [Murphy] came along. And then we heard we were gettin' Kim Basinger and we were like, ''Oh, shit! I cannot slouch on this.''

EW How did you feel the first day of shooting? EMINEM It was weird. But my problem has never really been being shy in front of a camera. You know what I mean?

It was cold. It was dark. And unless you enjoy touring vacant lots, there was pretty much jack to do. Welcome to the fun park that is Detroit in the fall, where Curtis Hanson set to the task of playing hip-hop Henry Higgins. He had six weeks.

''We started just the two of us and an acting coach,'' says Hanson of the remarkably long rehearsal period. ''I had him read with actors I was considering and as soon as I hired actors to play his friends, we brought them all into the rehearsal process. I was thinking it would be easier if he was comfortable with these guys.''

As Eminem lost 20 pounds for the role, the cast bulked up. Mekhi Phifer (''Paid in Full)'' signed on to play Rabbit's best friend. Brittany Murphy -- hot off ''Don't Say a Word'' -- added sizzle as Rabbit's love interest. And Basinger added another Oscar to the mix, reteaming with her ''L.A. Confidential'' director to play Rabbit's working-class mom. For authenticity, 22 out of the remaining 32 speaking roles were filled by Detroit natives and amateurs.

In early September 2001, rehearsals started. ''How good was he when he started? [Pause] Okay, you have to promise you'll print this whole answer,'' says Hanson. ''He was bad. When he read the lines off the page, and tried to act them, it was bad. On the other hand, what he had from the beginning is a natural charisma -- a thing that makes you interested in watching him and hearing what comes out of his mouth. As frustrating as it is to all the wannabe actors out there, that's God-given. You either have it or you don't. And he has it in spades.''

''Em was scared,'' says costar Eugene Byrd (''Sleepers''), who plays budding impresario Wink. ''I know that he's going to hate that I put that out there, but he was really frightened.'' And why wouldn't he be? The rapper was in virtually every frame, and a $40 million movie and his recording career were riding on his performance. So he toiled around the clock in three trailers: one in which he could record music, one for working out, and one for honing his acting. At Hanson's urging he also took his costars, who were stranded in an unfamiliar city, under his wing. ''We went to football games, we partied together, went to a couple of rap battles,'' says Phifer, who was rewarded with a shout-out from the rapper on the soundtrack's first single.

So is it possible that Hollywood and Eminem went to Detroit and everything went smoothly? No.

The production was trailed by local media, community activists were up in arms about a house the filmmakers burned down for one sequence, and rumors flew that Eminem was first dating Kim Basinger (she says they weren't, but declined to be interviewed for this story) and then Brittany Murphy (who responds, ''I would like to always respect the one ounce of privacy that he has. I cherished working with him and cherish him''). Paul Rosenberg was on the set every day to protect the interests of the label and keep an eye on how Eminem was being used. ''I was there to make sure we weren't doin' stupid stuff,'' he says. ''But I don't think I [knew] how bad it could have been until we were done and I realized that you have to leave it in the director's hands. He could mold it into either a beautiful work of art or piece of crap. It's out of your control.'' 

Welcome to Hollywood. Early this year, Hanson went off to do his molding. But it was only in September, when Hanson brought ''8 Mile'' to the Toronto International Film Festival as a ''work in progress,'' that Eminem's explosiveness truly became clear to the filmmakers. At the screening, a frisson went through Elgin Theatre when, in an impromptu battle, Rabbit defends an openly gay coworker, rhyming to his opponent: ''Paul's gay/But you're a faggot.'' With that seeming sop toward the gay community, all of a sudden the audience wasn't watching ''8 Mile.'' They were watching The Eminem Show. And you can bet his critics were paying attention. ''I believe that scene was strategically put in there to get media attention as well as reveal in an artificial way the many layers of this man,'' says Scott Seomin, entertainment media director of GLAAD. ''[But] I don't think he's all that complicated.''

Of course, the controversy just serves to illustrate Universal's sticky problem: How do you sell a movie starring a 30-year-old man who provokes outright hatred in much of America and carries so much anger that he almost got into a fight with a PUPPET at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards? ''Eminem occupies a very unique space,'' says Adam Fogelson, president of marketing for Universal Pictures. ''And if he had suddenly said, 'I want to do 'Access Hollywood,' I hope we would have been smart enough to say, 'We don't think that's a good idea.' When things like [his blowup at] the VMAs happen, um, do you have a tinge of nervousness? Sure. But we cannot ask him to be anything other than what he is.'' That's just it. For better or worse, there is only one Eminem. And he's ready for his close-up.

EW Here's a line from ''Say Goodbye to Hollywood'' off ''The Eminem Show'': ''If I could go back/I never woulda rapped/I sold my soul to the devil/I'll never get it back/I just wanna leave this game with level head intact.'' Do you worry that this movie will make that harder to do? EMINEM I didn't know that the movie was gonna turn out like it did. I never thought that the buzz would even get to this level. I don't know. [Pauses] Yeah. It's a little spooky. I mean, thinking how many records I've sold and all the things that I've been through, how could I possibly get any bigger? And if I do, how can I deal with that? I don't know.

EW So, do you want to be a movie star? EMINEM I never intended that. I wanted to make a movie because I felt my story was unique but at the same time not. If other roles [come up]? I don't know. I'll be too old to rap someday. Or when the music slows down. Then maybe. Yeah, I'll take another role.

Launch 2002

All The World's His Stage


When LAUNCH's executive editor, Dave DiMartino, visited with Eminem backstage at Saturday Night Live in New York City--to discuss the Shady One's new album, The Eminem Show, and upcoming semi-autobiographical movie, 8 Mile--Mr. Mathers was his usual colorful and candid self, discussing everything from "dirty whores," Batman, and Jerry Springer to more serious subjects like his record label, his new health kick, growing up in Detroit, and the trials of being one of the most controversial celebrities around today. Whether he's in the studio, onstage, or in the interview hot seat, Eminem always has something interesting, funny, and/or shocking to say, and LAUNCH's Q&A was no exception. Here's how it went: 

LAUNCH: First off, tell me about your movie, 8 Mile. 
EMINEM: OK, the movie is not my life. It's not my life story. I don't play me in it. I play a kid similar to me--his name is Jimmy Smith Jr.--in the movie. And it's basically just a hip-hop movie, but it's like a dramatic...I don't think there's been a hip-hop movie yet that's had to deal with the music and been just dramatic and still be a hip-hop movie. You know, it's a big construction, it's a big deal. Like, it's a story about the music, it's a story about where this kid grows up, and how he grows up. And like, the borderline of 8 Mile is basically the color line in Detroit--it separates the city from the suburbs. And it doesn't necessarily separate rich from poor, but it seems like the color borderline, you know, and it's about this kid who grows up kind of on both sides of it, and he's caught in between, this whole thing. Being embarrassed about where he lives and being white, and being stupid, and being dumb and... 

LAUNCH: How was it taking direction on the set? 
EMINEM: I was cool with taking direction from Curtis Hanson, also the director of L.A. Confidential and Wonder Boys. Like, in this game, in acting, I'm a student. So I was there to learn. I didn't want to just step into something and think, you know, "I got this." If I had that type of attitude, the movie probably wouldn't have come out as good as it has--or is going to. 

LAUNCH: How was it working with professional actors? 
EMINEM: It was cool, it gave me something to feed off of. You know, if there's somebody in the scene that is, like, not doing their job or really sucks in the scene, then you have to try to bring it back, bring the scene back up. But with every actor in the movie, I didn't have to do that. They probably had to do it with me.

LAUNCH: What is the difference between the 8 Mile soundtrack and your other albums? 
EMINEM: Well, I mean, the music is gonna be similar to what, you know, you would expect from Eminem. But like, lyrically and things like that, thematically, it's different. Thematically, it takes you back--it takes me back--to that time before I was famous. The movie takes place in '95, so it's pre-Eminem and things like that, so the songs that I have on the soundtrack, I just talking about this kid and what he's going through, in his head. And things like that, and trying to express it. So it's different. 

LAUNCH: What were your goals when making your other album out this year, The Eminem Show? 
EMINEM: Um, well, with this album, more than anything, I was trying to show growth. I feel like I grown, as an artist, like, mentally, and like, my d--k has gotten a lot bigger. I grown like an inch, since, the last two albums. And I just basically wanted to show growth, with my penis. 

LAUNCH: How do you cope with lack of privacy that comes with being a notorious celebrity? 
EMINEM: Yeah, it gets a little agitating at times, but I don't know, you gotta take the good with the bad, the pluses with the minuses, the positive with the negative, you know? It's a drag sometimes, but, whatever. I just deal with it. 

LAUNCH: Were you a big fan of the Batman TV show? 
EMINEM: Um, yeah, growing up, I was a big fan of Batman. Batman, Spiderman, Superman--you know, superheroes growing up or whatever--it was my thing for a minute. As with any kid, who grew up in the '70's, '80s. 

LAUNCH: Did you have fun doing the superhero stuff in your video for "Without Me"? 
EMINEM: Yeah...I have fun with every video, but I think this video was definitely my funnest video. I banged a couple chicks...yeah, this video was definitely my funnest video. 

LAUNCH: How did you come up with the title The Eminem Show? 
EMINEM: Well, the way that I came up with the title was basically, I had The Slim Shady LP, and I had The Marshall Mathers LP, and it was kind of predictable what was coming next. But I wouldn't have been able to do that, and I didn't have plans to do that in the beginning--like, that wasn't the initial plan. I didn't have it all mapped out to do that. But I knew that people would predict it, and want it, but if I couldn't do it in the right way and didn't have a theme for it, then I couldn't, you know? I didn't want to just call it The Eminem LP. It became The Eminem Show. just by recording songs--as I, you know, built the first song, second song, third song, by the fifth song it started all coming together, as one story or whatever. And I was watching some interviews that I had did back last year, and I was talking about how my life is kind of like The Jerry Springer Show and my life is like a show and this and that. And I just hit me like, "Huh, why not? The Eminem Show!" 

LAUNCH: What's up with Shady Records? 
EMINEM: Shady Records is my label--um, it's through Interscope, of course, but it's my label. It's the label that I put D12 out on. It's the label that, the soundtrack is coming out on. And also, I had one other artist signed, his name is Obie Trice, but he is in jail right now--but don't tell them that I told you he's in jail. But Obie is featured on The Eminem Show and he's just this young dude who just like, spits. He spits. And he's got a star quality about him, and he's from Detroit--like every artist I've signed so far is from Detroit--and that's kinda how I'm gonna keep it in the family. So like, no matter what Detroit says about me, how much dirt they want to spread and gossip, I'm doing something for the city. So suck my d--k. 

LAUNCH: Are you a hometown hero in Detroit? 
EMINEM: It's mixed--it's appreciation, it's hate, it's jealousy, it balances out. Not everybody is gonna hate me or love me, no matter where I'm from. Like, no matter what city you're from, if you grew up there and you still come from there, it's just like any other city in the world. There's still that little balance there, it's like a love-hate type relationship. But you know, it's cool with me. I'm like, "Whatever," I don't care what people say. 

LAUNCH: What do you like best about being in the music business? 
EMINEM: Well, I can tell you what's fun--it's making the records, going out and performing them. Because that's like, an artist crafting. It's an artist crafting his sculpture and then taking it to an art museum and showing people. Like, that's basically how it is for me. So I have fun, making the music, performing the music, doing the videos. The rest of the sh-t, this sh-t doing interviews, I don't like it. This is where it becomes work. But I know that, I've learned to accept that, you know, what I have to do in this business to be able to bring people to my show, and have them see me, and rock in front of crowds and stuff like that. So you know, I've accepted that it is a business, and it is work aside from, you know, pleasure and f--king dirty whores and things like that. 

LAUNCH: Do you plan to remarry in the future, or are you currently dating? 
EMINEM: I'd rather have a baby through my penis than be married again. Currently, I am not really seeing anyone, but, Shannon Elizabeth, if you're watching this...you know, I'm open. So holler. 

LAUNCH: What is your natural hair color? 
EMINEM: Green. 

LAUNCH: Did you make some changes in your appearance for your movie? 
EMINEM: Yeah, I went on a little workout regimen. I got on this little workout kick and started eating f--king granola bars and being healthy for a minute. You know, I'm on probation, so I can't really do much anyway. So I might as well, like, get in shape. And I cut my hair off and grew it back to its natural color, so that's my natural color hair in the movie. Green. 

LAUNCH: Do you feel good about your body? 
EMINEM: No, I'm dying. laughs No, I mean, I feel good, I feel good. I feel focused now, more than ever. Than I ever have been. 

LAUNCH: Do you have love in your soul? 
EMINEM: I got my love in my pants. Love in my soul? Yeah, of course I do. I got love for my daughter, I got love for my music. And anything else? Nah. 

LAUNCH: Since everyone says they are your cousins, do you have that big of a family? 

EMINEM: The f--king world is my cousin. Trying to buy a house big enough, this year, to fit them all in. It may stop people from knocking on my door, if I just let them move in. 

LAUNCH: Is being Eminem hard? 
EMINEM: Hmm...it's not easy being me. Is it hard? My d--k is hard a lot. Which doesn't really make a difference. A bulge in my pants. But, um, is it hard being me? Sometimes it is, sometimes it has its benefits--dirty whores. They throw themselves at you, at will. 

LAUNCH: Can you handle things thrown at you this way? 
EMINEM: Um, I've had people try to burn me, but I don't know...like, if I feel like I'm being backed into a corner, and I need to match wits with somebody, then I think I'm pretty good at it. 

VH1 2002

Eminem: "I Am All That Evil Stands For"


Yup, he claims to be evil, evil, evil. But in conversation America's Public Enemy No. 1 turns out to be thoughtful and only a little contradictory. He'd prefer it if the music did the talking . and the hacking . and the slashing, and vicious 


denigrating. Em told VH1 how The Marshall Mathers LP was born of his frustrations with success, why there are some songs he won't let his daughter hear, and why saying, "Figgedty, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck" is ultimately a pointless exercise. 


VH1: Why do you think that people misunderstood or misperceived your work on The Marshall Mathers LP? 


Eminem: What I was saying wasn't very different than what N.W.A. or Ice-T had said. My problem was that people acted like I was the first one to say those things. A lot of my sh*t was so blatantly comic, how could you take it seriously? With The Marshall Mathers LP I brought it to a different level: If this is how you perceive me, then this is what I'm gonna be. 


VH1: Did The Slim Shady LP's success change your direction at all? 

Eminem: People said, "Well, he's got money now. What's he going to rap about? He's not going through hard times." But when you get successful, you have new types of problems, new types of drama. Everybody knows what I went through as far as family dilemmas and things like that. I wasn't used to people looking at me like I was an animal in a cage. I'd go back to the same places and play basketball and people would look at me like I wasn't Marshall anymore. It would be like, "Look! It's Eminem on the court." I'd say, "Dude, you know me. Pass me the f*cking ball and shut up." That was weird at first. So I wrote about it. 


VH1: What was your goal in making The Marshall Mathers LP? 

Eminem: My intent was the same as it's always been. I wanted to answer what people were saying about me, but when I answered, people ignored songs like "Stan" and "Who Knew?" They missed the real message and zoomed in on the bad sh*t. It didn't matter if I said six f*cked-up lines in a row about raping or killing and came back with, "I'm kidding. Don't do this." It was almost like, "He just rapped about killing and faggots and that's all he said." I could understand if I just said all those things and just left it at that, but I was using irony and keeping my tongue in my cheek. Anybody with half a brain should be able to listen to it and understand that I'm pushing your buttons. 


VH1: Do you enjoy telling off people, especially ones who don't like you? 

Eminem: I love it. That's the best thing about this business. If I was a regular person and somebody taunted me, I would taunt them back. So many people judge me that I have to throw it back at everybody. I'm not going to let anybody get the last word. I have to outsmart everyone or I lose. 


VH1: How did you pick "The Real Slim Shady" as the first single? 

Eminem: We had the whole album finished, but didn't feel like we had anything that was strong enough to be a first single yet. I felt like I had dumped everything out into the album, so when I was pressured to write a single, I wrote "The Way I Am." It was me saying, "Look, this is the best I can do. I can't give you another 'My Name Is.' I can't just sit in there and make that magic happen." But when that was added to the album, I thought, "I got one more song in me." I brought this hook to Dr. Dre, we made the track and I took it home and wrote the lyrics. I thought this could be it. After I heard "My Name Is" a few times, it had become cheesy to me. After listening to "The Real Slim Shady" five or six times, it became cheesy, too. I thought, "This is the formula! If this song becomes cheesy to me after a little bit, it might work." The songs that I love the most usually don't end up being singles. When I'm at my best is when I'm dumping my true feelings out, not when I'm being funny. 


VH1: On "The Real Slim Shady," you alluded to being censored. 

Eminem: There are certain things that I can't say. I don't usually know it until Interscope says, "You can't say that, because those things may get your album off the shelf." Marshall wants to push buttons but Marshall doesn't want to get his album taken off the shelf. So sometimes we compromise. I either change what I'm saying, take it out or bleep it. Sometimes it's unchangeable and we need to completely take the song off the album. So Marshall doesn't get to say everything that Marshall wants to say, contrary to what people may believe. You would really f*cking hate me if I got to say everything I wanted to say. Freedom of expression can only go so far before you have Miss Cheney knocking at your f*cking door or some guys in black suits and sunglasses whisk me away in a van and you never see me again. 


VH1: Do you worry about going too far? 

Eminem: If it isn't dope, then I won't say it. I don't go out of my way to deliberately push buttons if it's not entertaining and isn't worded in a clever way. I'm not going to say, "Figgedty f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, flim-flam, f*ck" for no reason - although that's a good line - because it would be pointless. It would be overkill and it wouldn't even be fun to me. 


VH1: On "The Way I Am," you mention your father. Why bring him up at that particular point? 

Eminem: My father was absent in my life. When I look at my little girl, I know I could never abandon her. I can't see how a father would do that. The line "Sometimes I just feel like my father/I hate to be bothered/my father didn't want to be bothered with me" was spoken as a metaphor, but it was true. But we shouldn't get into analyzing lyrics. Why can't you just put my record on and let it explain itself? Why do I have to sit here and talk about myself and about what I was thinking when I wrote each lyric? If you listen to the lyric, you can tell what I'm thinking. If you play my records front to back, they will tell a story because I set them up as one big story. I really don't like to sit and talk about why I wrote this or how I did that. 


VH1: Is there a connection between the song "Stan" and the character Stan in "Guilty Conscience" on The Slim Shady LP? 


Eminem: No. Stan was just somebody completely made up, based on what could happen if you take my lyrics too seriously. I'm nice enough and courteous enough to tell the kids at the end of the day this is not how you want to be. You don't want to grow up to be just like me. When I say, "Jump off a f*cking bridge or slit your wrists," that's not what I'm really trying to say. It's tongue in cheek. 


VH1: What are you trying to say? 

Eminem: I don't know what I'm trying to say. I just talk in circles. That's how I make my albums, talking in circles. 


VH1: How did you hook up with the 45 King on "Stan?" 

Eminem: People were submitting tracks for me to listen to as I was recording. My manager Paul Rosenberg sent me a 45 King beat tape. "Stan" was the second beat on the tape. I heard it and was like, "I need this." When I heard the words to that song, I was like, "Yo, this is an obsessed fan." Dido's words instantly put me there. Usually as I'm writing, the concept will form as I go along. But "Stan" was one of the few songs that I actually sat down and had everything mapped out for. I knew what it was going to be about. 


VH1: Why were you interested in celebrity stalkers? 

Eminem: Anybody who lives and breathes for an artist in music or movies is taking it too far. They probably have something mentally wrong with them to begin with. It's going to make them do something f*cked up. That's basically what I was trying to say. "Don't take everything that I say literally" - I hate saying that because I want people to take everything I say literally, because I'm evil and I am all that evil stands for. There is a positive message in my music and it's "F*ck you." That's the message that I'm trying to get across. Basically what I'm trying to say is, "If you don't like me, eat my white d*ck" 


VH1: How are you going to explain "Kim" to your daughter Hailie? 

Eminem: I've never played that song for her. That's one song that I won't play for her because it might give her nightmares. But there is going to come a time when if she hears that song, she may ask questions. I have to cross that bridge when I come to it. There are certain things I won't do in front of my daughter or let her know about. I just let her hear most of the "f*ckety f*cks." 


VH1: What did you think when you sold 1.7 million copies in the first week? 

Eminem: There was talk at the label that I could be the first rapper to sell a million records in the first week. My first thought was, "Holy sh*t! I'm going to be Elvis!" But I was scared to death. I wanted to be successful, but before anything, I want respect. When it became 1.7 million in the first week, I thought, "This isn't real. This is not how you sell records." Am I a f*cking trend? I wanted to be normal. I wanted to take my little girl to the park and not be bothered. But I guess those are things you got to sacrifice for fame and fortune. 


VH1: What do you think The Marshall Mathers LP's success meant for rap? 

Eminem: If I was phony with it and I blew the doors off the hinges, it would mean nothing. It would mean I was another Vanilla Ice. But the fact that I am real showed that you can be true to yourself and not compromise and still be successful. Aside from watching my daughter grow, my ultimate dream is to be successful at what I do, be respected and help the music that I love and grew up on. 


VH1: What about the album cover? Where was that shot taken? 

Eminem: That was the house that I grew up in my teenage years. One day I dreamt of being able to go back to that house and remember everything that I went through. I thought, "What if I did the cover at my old house sitting on the steps like I used to do?" That would be so crazy to me. We did it and I guess I made my house famous. 


VH1: What did it make you feel? 


Eminem: The guy who lives there now let me in and let me see the house. I had mixed feelings because I had a lot of good and bad memories in that house. But to go back to where I grew up and finally say, "I've made it," is the greatest feeling in the world to me. 

The Guardian 2002

I am who I am 


Easter in Royal Oak, Detroit. Royal Oak is a reasonably well-to-do bit of Detroit,
all futon shops and oyster bars. Eminem lives 30 minutes' drive away, in Manchester Heights,
the very well-to-do bit of Detroit. He's running late. He's bleaching his hair.
A record company person has bought boxes of clothes Eminem might like to be photographed in.
There's a selection of T-shirts bearing silly slogans: "I * Groupies",
"Stop Looking At My Crotch" and so on. It's hoped he might wear one that says
"I F*cked A Backstreet Boy". Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg, isn't so sure.
"I think we're over the whole Backstreet Boys thing," he says. "We've moved on."
Eminem (28) eventually rolls in with daughter Hailie (6), brother Nathan (16) and Bizarre,
Kuniva and Proof, members of D12, his doughy-looking rap crew of childhood pals.
It's a modern family and that's the way Eminem likes it. He looks well.
Hailie trails beside him with a carrier bag of colouring books.
Nathan is Eminem's very own Mini-Me - bottle-blonde hair, fast-food complexion,
D12 diamond pendant round his neck. Burger King is ordered.

Eminem sits on a couch and picks at his meal. He's not happy. "Look at that! Goddamn."
The fries carton is suspiciously half-full. Brother Nathan has beaten him to the food:
"Little son of a b*tch." A presidential Rolex hangs from his wrist,
a gift from his record label after Eminem had, jokingly, rung up to complain
that fellow Detroit popstar Kid Rock had been given a similar watch as a
Christmas present from his record label. He's also got a new tattoo, a rather spooky
likeness of Hailie, on his right forearm. He belches loudly. "Excuse me."

On parts of your new album, The Eminem Show, you sound angrier than ever.
Yeah, it's funny. It's like I need drama in my life to inspire me a lot,
instead of just trying to reach for something. Last year was, like, a really rough year for me.
You know, divorce and trying to raise my little girl. Obstacles are thrown at me -
you've just got to fall or you don't fall. And I can't fall.

Cleaning Out My Closet is the harshest attack on your mother yet.
Yeah . . . It's a harsh record but I feel like my mother has done some harsh things to me.
You just try your whole life to be able to get away from that person and make a
life for yourself and not have to deal with it anymore. And it's so hard to break away.
And they keep coming back to haunt you, trying to weasel their way into your life somehow.
That's my closure song, I guess. It's like I'm washing my hands of it.
I'm cleaning out my closet. I'm done

What has your mother done this time?
Well, she started wanting to put her face out there and get famous off of what I've done.
Every time I would see her on TV, or I'd see my father on TV, I'd be, like,
"What are you doing? Like, leave me alone!" Do you know what I'm saying?
That's all I ever asked. Like, "Take your crazy asses and just stay where you're at."
It got to a point where I stopped subscribing to the Detroit News because every day
I'd be in the papers for something. I'd be like, "What the f*ck? How is this newsworthy?"
You know: "Eminem Takes A Shit", and there's a picture of me in the paper wiping my ass.
When I moved from one house to the next, a news crew would follow me.
And it would be the top story on the news. Then they'd go into (newsreader's voice):
"Six kids got murdered in Detroit today . . ."

How do you feel about the outcome of last year's court cases?
Do you think you were fortunate?

I was lucky because of who I am. They could have easily made an example out of me,
but also, it got so much attention. Like anybody else this would have happened to
would have got a slap on the wrist and probation. But, of course, I am who I am.

No drinking, no fighting, no purple pills - is that the deal with probation?

Yeah. I can drink, but moderately. Which I really . . . I won't say I don't . . .
but I haven't done for a long time. I almost wonder, do I see a reason to even start back again
I've been clean for so long? I'm able to do things that a couple of years ago
I couldn't do without freaking out. You know, trying to take care of a little girl and
trying to do the daddy things and trying to make the music, and do the press,
and trying to juggle all these things at once.

Do you think you mother will leave you alone now?

(Thinks) Nah. I could have dragged that out forever if I wanted to.
I was just like, "Shut up and leave me alone, freak." Whether it's for a dollar or $10m,
you're still suing your son. It doesn't matter. The damage is done.
I don't know if she's happy with the money.
I've heard that her lawyer took most of it and left her with a couple of grand.
The court cases keep coming, though. If you have nothing else and you haven't made
nothing with your life, then what the f*ck? Why not? If Eminem says my name on a record,
why not get money, if you have nothing else? What the f*ck? I'd do it.

How many times have you been in love?

Once. And that's enough for me.

When you first became really famous you said you were going to have
to leave Detroit. But you're still here, and you've made a movie about it.

Yeah, I'm comfortable now. It's died down but who knows what's gonna happen now?
It's like, you put a f*cking album out and your face starts being everywhere and
suddenly people remember you again and camp outside your house.
You know, it's like a love-hate relationship where I come from. Which is, you know,
what most rappers will tell you.


How do you think 8 Mile will affect Detroit?

You know, I would love to see this city bring its income up and everything.
And if I can help that, then that's great. Some local people don't seem very happy.
F*ck them. Everybody sees something wrong with everything I do.
I read so much bickering shit in the paper. (Redneck voice)
"My daughter waited for ages to see Eminem and he drove by us and he waved and then he
sent somebody back and gave my daughter a T-shirt" - which I did - "but he
wouldn't even sign it." What? What the f*ck? Yeah, we shut down some areas
to make the film and people were complaining. "Oh, they're giving Warren a bad name."
Giving Warren a bad name? The f*cking white-trash capital of the world? I'm white trash,
so what the f*ck? You can't tell me. I grew up in it. You're gonna say I'm giving the
city a bad name? Dummy, the city already has a bad name.
"You made the trailer park dirtier than it was. You created extra dirt!" Shut the f*ck up!


Some Eminem rumours put to rest (sort of). That he's had a fling with
Destiny's Child's Beyonc?.

No, me and Beyonc? are not f*cking. I wish.
She's beautiful. All of Destiny's Child are beautiful. Oh, I love Beyonc?.

That he's having a fling with Kim Basinger:
Um, no, we're not f*cking either. In the movie 8 Mile, in which Kim Basinger plays his mother
there's a scene where we kiss. She kissed me like a mother would kiss a son.
It was in the rehearsal. And the next day it was in the paper that we were seen
kissing on set and holding hands and all this dumb shit. (Thinks) I would love to, though.


That Debbie Mathers wanted Kim Basinger's part in 8 Mile?

What? That's retarded. What kind of f*cking sense does that make?
I don't know if she did or not. I know that she was b*tching about Kim Basinger playing
my mother and was calling the movie people.
They were, like, "Yo, your mother keeps threatening to sue us." I'm like,
"Does she know that I'm not playing me in the film? I'm, like, playing a kid named Jimmy?"

That he's addicted to painkillers?

Oh, Nah. That's untrue. Vitamins, maybe. I take my one a day. And Echinacea.
And vitamin C. Then there's my little heroin problem, but I won't talk about that
'cause I'm on probation and shit. But I do shoot up, like, a lot. I have no veins left.
They're all collapsed so I shoot up through my d*ck. But hey, who doesn't?

That he's dead?

Now that's true. I'm chilling on my island somewhere, drinking pi?a coladas.

That he's recorded a charity song with Limp Bizkit called New World Order.
Fred Durst raps the part of an American GI, Eminem raps the part of Osama bin Laden?

I wouldn't do a f*cking record with Limp Bizkit.
If I was on the f*cking plane that was crashing.

Eminem finishes having his photograph taken. It's time to go. There's an album to be completed.
He rounds up his friends and relations and says his goodbyes. The last time we see him he's walking side-by-side with Hailie.
Hailie's holding a giant toy bunny in one hand and a Smarties McFlurry in the other.
Nathan is jumping on Proof's back. Proof is complaining that Nathan is trying to "bum"
him. It's a modern family. And that's the way Eminem likes it.