Eminem Interviews on The Marshall Mathers LP.
Eminem’s celebrity has grown into a sun orbited by his own label (Shady Records), his rhyme partners 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 since the release of his second album, The Marshall Mathers LP, in May 2000. In the last 18 years, Marshall Mathers aka Eminem has gone through a lot, Experiencing all the pleasure and pain that comes with such adulation. From making his first Record “Infinite” in 1996 to his Marshall Mathers LP 2 which was released a year before, Eminem becomes one of the best Rapper in Hip-Hop with his albums and a Fan Favourite all around the world.
Now Five years sober, Relapse and Recovery, were mined from his experience as an addict and then as a recovering addict. The 42 year old father of three, Eminem remains arguably the most technically gifted rapper alive, But his art has become more restrained. Check out the interview below where he talks about, arguably his best record ever, Marshall Mathers LP.
What does The Marshall Mathers LP mean to you?
Eminem: It doesn’t mean sh*t to me. (Laughs.) Nah, I mean, I don’t know. I guess it’s just a feeling that I associate with that time period.
Recovery has very personal moments on it but it deals narrowly with your addiction. The Marshall Mathers LP dealt more with your personal relationships.
Eminem: Yeah, I don’t know. A lot of my career I put a lot of my life out there. It was personal sh*t I would put out there and didn’t really give a f**k. Sometimes I think back and I’m like, “Damn, was I doing the right thing? How much of myself do I wanna put out there?’ In one phase you want your fans to feel like they know you and connect with you. But then you’re like, ‘Man I got nothing to myself no more.” I don’t want to give away how personal this sh*t is going to get.
Have you listened to that song “Kim” recently?
Eminem: I don’t think I’ve listened to much off that album recently.
The track “Kim” is incredibly personal and also weird and dark. Does listening to those records make you feel uncomfortable?
Eminem: I haven’t listened to them in quite some time. But a lot of the sh*t is stored in my head, the music and the main themes of each album. Performing a song like “Kill You” in concert refreshes my memory. Like I said, it was a different time period in my life and a different time period in rap, period. And I’m just gonna keep saying “period.”
Music is like a time capsule. Each album reflects what I’m going through or what’s going on in my life at that moment. I don’t want to give too much away as far as how personal this album gets, but I don’t know if it’s going exactly where that album did.
One of the other big themes on The MMLP was the “Me looking at you looking at me” thing. That comes up on “Rap God” and some of the other songs that you played, you acknowledged that fewer people are looking at you now than in 2000. How have your feelings evolved on being in the fish bowl?
Eminem: It still feels like that. It’s not what it was but there’s still a little bit of that fish bowl effect going on. It’s the blessing and the curse, the fact that I’m able to be in the studio as much as I want, and create as much as I want, but it’s kind of gotten to the point sometimes where it feels like [sirens in background] What’s that?
You still feel like you’re in a fish bowl?
Eminem: And that’s the reason I chose to not talk about personal sh*t anymore, aside from what I put out there on records. I’ve got to do things to protect my personal family life. I wouldn’t even comment on that honestly. That’s not being a d**k to you.
How’s Your Personal Experience with Rick Rubin?
Eminem: I’ve always admired Rick and what he’s done. The way he’s able to Connect from different genres of music and be a master at all of them has f**ked my head up for so long. Me and Paul went out to L.A. to see what the vibe was like. Me being a fan of his for so long and seeing his track record from being a kid, records he’s produced with LL and his whole body of work—I’m meeting Rick for the first time so I’m a little nervous. Absolutely. And super Amazed that he would even want to work with me. By his vibe being so chill and so mellow, that opened us both up to be able to create together. We had a conversation and got in the studio and started f**king around.
What is the most Valuable thing Rick said to you as a coach?
Eminem: He always said “Try everything.” Whenever there was an idea, no matter how ridiculous it sounded or if it sounded Sh*t at first, his whole Idea was, “There’s nothing we shouldn’t try. If it doesn’t work, we’ll know it.” Me and him on a lot of these songs would have the same thought that if we tried something on a track, we both instantly knew at the same time that it didn’t work. It felt good to be able to put the producer hat on again.
Breaking Bad or The Wire, Your Favorite ?
Eminem: Aw, I haven’t seen all of Breaking Bad, but I will tell you this, it doesn’t matter. Breaking Bad is good. I saw the first five or six episodes but then I got so busy I couldn’t watch it. The Wire, hands down the best thing that’s ever been on TV ever. Best f**king show ever. There will never be another Wire or another like it or even f**king close. Hands down. I stopped watching TV because of The Wire. Like, The Wire ruined everything for me because I don’t even want to watch anything else now. Did I tell you I like The Wire? Via Complax
