Will Smith don't gotta cuss in his raps to sell his records;
Well I do, so fuck him and fuck you too!
You think I give a damn about a Grammy?
Half of you critics can't even stomach me, let alone stand me
"But Slim, what if you win, wouldn't it be weird?"
Why? So you guys could just lie to get me here?
So you can, sit me here next to Britney Spears? Shit, Christina Aguilera better switch me chairs
So I can sit next to Carson Daly and Fred Durst
And hear 'em argue over who she gave head to first
You little bitch, put me with this bastard on MTV
"Yeah, he's cute, but I think he's married to Kim, hee-hee!"
I should download her audio on MP3
And show the whole world how you gave Eminem VD {*AHHH!*}
I'm sick of you little girl and boy groups, all you do is annoy me
So I have been sent here to destroy you {*bzzzt*}
And there's a million of us just like me
Who cuss like me; who JUST DON'T GIVE A FUCK like me
Who dress like me; walk, talk and act like me
And just might be the next best thing but not quite me!
Chorus

I'm like a head trip to listen to, cause I'm only givin' you
Things you joke about wit ya friends inside your livin' room
The only difference is I got the balls to say it
In front of y'all and I don't gotta be false or sugarcoated at all
I just get on the mic and spit it
And whether you like to admit it {*ERR*} I just shittin'
Betta than ninety percent of you rappers out can
Then you wonder how can kids eat up these albums like valiums
It's funny; cause at the rate I'm goin' when I'm thirty
I'll be the only person in the nursin' home flirting
Pinchin' nurses asses when I'm jackin' off with Jergens
And I'm jerkin' but this whole bag of Viagra isn't workin'
And every single person is a Slim Shady lurkin'
He could be workin' at Burger King, spittin' on your onion rings
{*HACH*} Or in the parkin' lot, circlin'
Screamin', "I DON'T GIVE A FUCK!"
Wit his windows down and his system up
So, will the real Shady please stand up?
And put one of those fingers on each hand up?
And be proud to be outta your mind and outta control
And one more time, loud as you can, how does it go?
Chorus (2x)

Ha ha
Guess there's a Slim Shady in all of us
Fuck it, let's all stand up
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 04:40 PM | Comments (0)

Just a regular guy

How many persons claim to be « Eminem’s biggest fan » ? I’d like to demonstrate why this concept of « the biggest fan » sounds scary and worthless.
Remember those words of Stan :
« Anyways, I hope you get this man, hit me back,
just to chat, truly yours, your biggest fan
This is Stan… »
"Biggest fan " among all the fans from the whole wide world? Come on, that doesn’t make sense at all. I have read so many posts from “Eminem’s biggest fans” on so many different websites and forums.
Claiming to be “the biggest fan” makes you appear in a scary light in front of Eminem. Maybe you don’t realize it, but you’re precisely the kind of fan Eminem doesn’t want to meet. A crazed fan who wouldn’t mind invading his privacy without any form of respect.
Let me tell you, dear fellow fans, what really matters: it is important to be a true fan, to prove it not only in your words but also in your actions. But you also need to realize that Marshall Mathers is a regular man with a private life.
Don’t get on his nerves, don’t scream if you happen to see him. He is a normal person who wants to be treated with respect like anybody of us.
Don’t be the next “Stan”. If Eminem has earned your respect as a talented rapper and entertainer, he also deserves your respect as a human being.
You have the right to ask me how I would behave in front of Eminem. Let me tell you this: of course, meeting him will be emotional for me, but I want him to feel comfortable in front of me. That’s why I intend to show him my respect and admiration without scaring him with a foolish behavior. He is a normal person, like anybody of us, who wants to be treated in a normal way.
People need to realize that even if the music is divine, the author is a regular man who faces the same joys and sorrows than all of us: the only difference is that Eminem does it publicly.

Bully
Bully

[Intro]
Yo, check it out, it's fucked up, and I don't see either one of us budging
[Verse]
I'm withholding my anger
Though I'd like to be the strangler
Of this punkass little bitch's puny neck
It's my right to insist
That he acknowledge my existence
But he just displays complete lack of respect
That's what he says to himself
As he uses magazines to trash me
As he sits with both feet up at his desk
Smokes a bag of his weed
And starts imagining things
And he just can't see that he's manically depressed
And in his jealousy and envy
It just whirls him in a frenzy
As he turns on MTV and sees my face
He don't exist in this world
So he just twists and he twirls
Spirals and spins till he runs himself in a race
And it's destroying him slowly
Cuz he does not even know me
Even though he sees me everywhere he goes
So he just tortures himself
He has no fortune and wealth
So he extorts someone else to get his dough
And now he's acting like a bully
So he tries to push and pull me
But he knows that he can't pull me so he's mad
He has no choice but to scream
And raise his voice up at me
Cuz it annoys him to see that I ain't scared
[Chorus]
You aint no motherfucking (bully)
And I aint bowing to no motherfucking (bully)
I won't allow it, aint gon' cower to no (bully)
I'll be damned if I don't stand up to a (bully)
Fight like a man and throw my hands up to a (bully...)
And I know it must be fucking with you emotionall(y...)
[Verse]
Now I'm not trying to make no more enemies
No more unfortunately
There's so many motherfuckers that just are
They just keep pounding at me
Now that I'm down with 50
Suddenly now I got beef with this fucking Ja [laughter]
But his ass is such a puppet
Irv could stick his whole hand up it
And just make him say what he wants him to say
But shook-ass Irv's on a string
And Irv's so nervous that he
Says anything to this man to keep him at bay
So now Ja thinks that he's so tough
And Murder Inc.'s the big bad wolf
And they go huff and puff and blow our label down
But our building's made out of bricks
So you ain't taking out shit
I know you just did a song with Bobby Brown
So now you try to pull a race car
And it backfires in your face hard
Cuz you know we don't play that black and white shit
Plus this guy that you fucked
When you was ecstasied up
Was just a man who's dressed up as a white bitch
[Chorus]
You must be taking to much (E...)
[Verse]
Now what bothers me the most
About hip-hop is we so close
To picking up where we left off with Big and Pac
We just lost Jam Master J
Big L got blasted away
Plus we lost Bugs, Slayed Son, and Freaky Ta
It's like a never-ending cycle
That just seems to come full circle
Everyone's gotta be so fucking hard
I'm not excluding myself
Cuz I been stupid as well
I been known to lose it when someone says something smart
But as we grow as men
We learn to let shit go, but then again
There's only so much bullshit we can really stand
We all got reps to uphold
When someone steps on our toes
It's no exception, it goes for every man
But if Irv really gave a fuck
About Ja like he claims he does
He'd wake him up and make his boy get off them drugs
But he just keeps feeding him pills
So if that E doesn't kill him
Someone from G-Unit will and I ain't buzzed
Dawg, I'm talking to you straight
If the situation escalates
Any worse, we're gonna lose another soldier to this game
And if I get killed for this rap
I got a million in cash
That says I will get you back in Hailie's name
[Chorus]
Irvine, get your boy off that (E...)
[Spoken]
Get at me, dawg
Holla

The song « Bully » will certainly get Benzino really mad. Eminem describes his impotence clearly. He also reveals Ray Scott’s hidden thoughts and intentions.
« Bully » is a real pleasure to listen to. The attacks go along with a funny rythm. It makes Benzino look more and more ridiculous. The so-called rapper has already been defeated by the best battle MC in his « Nail in the Coffin », but this track is digging his grave, it is the hammer that knocks deep into him.
Benzino knows that he cannot harm Marshall verbally and he is jealous of his worldwide success. Sure, he has no fortune and wealth. He calculated in advance his effect to release Eminem’s former tape in order to destroy Eminem’s reputation, but his retaliation comes back to him like a boomerang.
His publicity stunt appears to be a complete defeat : a very recent justice decision won’t allow him to release Eminem’s former tape for the Source’s February issue. Ray Scott’s jealousy against Eminem is so big that he even invented a story (I don’t know how much he paid a 34 years old man from Detroit to say he had a sex affair with Eminem) to show « Eminem ‘s true colors ».
I couldn’t resist to the pleasure of dissing such a fake Pacino again :
How far are you ready to go,
Benzino, can’t you see, you’re the dummie, yo
Walk on the dead
Or give Dave Mays some head
You won’t harm Shady
You battle like a lady,
Anybody knows you’re a sissy
Who would believe you’re a bully
When your words sound so silly ?
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 05:22 AM | Comments (0)
December 21, 2003

I love you more

"I Love You More"
[Intro]
You still love me?
Take this. [2 guns cock]
You ready? 1.. 2.. 3! [2 shots]
[Chorus]
The more you, put me through,
The more it makes me wanna come back to you,
You say you hate me, I just love you more,
You don't want me, I just want you more,
I buy you flowers, you throw 'em at me,
I know it's sad but it's makin me happy,
The more that you slap me, the more that it turns me on,
Cuz you love me, and I love you more.
[Verse 1]
It's sick, but who could ever predict,
We'd be doin' the same shit,
We say we do it for our baby but we don't,
We do it for us, it's lust,
Cuz neither one of us trusts each other,
So we fuck 'til we bust,
Then we cuss each other, out,
We know what it's about,
Shout 'til I throw you out the house,
You throw me out the house,
I throw you on the couch,
Punch you in the mouth,
Fist fight 'til we turn this mother OUT,
And apologize after,
Laughter, pain, it's insane,
We're back in the same chapter again,
And it's sad but it's true,
When I'm layin' here with you,
There ain't nothin' anyone could ever say ever do.
[Chorus]
[Verse 2]
Cuz I hate you, do you hate me?
Good cuz you're so fuckin' beautiful when you're angry,
It makes me wanna just take you,
And just throw you on the bed,
And fuck you like I don't even know you,
You fuck other people, and I fuck other people,
You a slut but I'm equal, I'm a mutt,
We're both evil in our ways,
But neither one of us would ever admit it,
Cuz one of us would have one up on the other,
So forget it,
We can make accusations, people spread rumors,
But they ain't got proof,
'Til they do it's just the two of us,
It's you and me, cuz any chick can say that she's screwin' me,
But you gotta believe me to a degree,
Cuz if you didn't I wouldn't be hittin' it,
Yeah I would cuz the sex is too damn good,
If I ran who would I run to,
That would be this soft and warm,
So it's off and on, usually more off than on,
But at least we know that we share this common bond,
You're the only one I can fuck without a condom on,
I hope, the only reason that I cope,
Is cuz of that fact,
And plus I can bust in that,
And that's why...
[Chorus]
[Verse 3]
I could never understand it,
That's why I don't try,
From junior high until we both die,
It's silly ho why must we try,
Is it really so rough,
That we must always call each other's billy goat's gruff,
Try to pull each other's legs,
Until the other begs,
We're liein' to ourselves,
That's the beauty of it yeah,
Cuz we truly love each other,
That's why we always fight,
And all we do is shove each other,
Every other fuckin' night,
And it's clear it ain't gonna change,
It's pent up rage,
We both have,
We both feel like we've been upstaged by someone else,
We've both been,
Someone else's someone else,
Problem is neither one wants help,
It's an addiction and it can't be fixed,
Our family's mixed up,
There's a baby sister in the mix,
And it hurts cuz the pieces to the puzzle don't fit,
And anybody who thinks they know us doesn't know shit,
And they're probably just tired of hearin' it all the time,
On every song, every lyric, and every rhyme,
All the hoopla, all of the whoopdy whoop,
What you put me through, fuckin' whoopdy doo,
But I won't be made a fool of,
If this is true love,
You wouldn't do what,
You did last time,
You wouldn't screw up,
This time,
Cuz this time girl,
I'm tellin you what,
You do it again I'm fuckin you up,
No matter what...
[Bridge]
What you say, what you do,
I'ma hunt you down 'til I find you,
No matter where you run, I'll be right there,
Right behind you, in your nightmares,
All the flowers, and the candy,
All the times that you threw it back at me,
You say you hate me, you gon' hate me more,
When you find out, can't escape me whore.
[Chorus]
Among all the Eminem songs that really moved me, you can count his recent song "I love you more".
This song is very emotional, because you can see Marshall Mathers’ sensitive side exposed. His voice is very warm and full of rage at the same time. He exposes true feelings and his on and off relationship to Kim appears in a new light.
Whatever negative critics may say, this is a wonderful love song.
Eminem cannot live without passion. People who are used to his music know it very well.
Kim is Eminem’s first love and both have been sweethearts since they were teenagers.
Marshall exposes his struggles with Kim very passionately :

« I buy you flowers, you throw 'em at me,
I know it's sad but it's makin me happy,
The more that you slap me, the more that it turns me on,
Cuz you love me, and I love you more. »
In « The Way I Am » video, you can see Eminem bringing a rose to Kim and Kim slapping him. Love can sometimes be violent. It goes along with jealousy and pain.
When you’re madly in love with a person, you are ready to do anything to conquer his or her heart, but when your beloved one doesn’t treat you right you feel like you could kill him or her. The song is divided between warm feelings and rage. Eminem has been humilated so many times by his ex wife who used to cheat on him. The incident with John Guerra is probably the worst wound that deeply hurts Marshall. But he cannot fight against his feelings for Kim that are always present and the public doesn’t understand, that’s why he adds :

« And anybody who thinks they know us doesn't know shit… ».
I’ve seen many female Eminem fans who have insulted Kim on different forums, but they should remember that this behavior is disrespectful towards Eminem himself. Kim has been married to him and she is the mother of his child. Even if they don’t like her, they should take Marshall’s feelings into account. They don’t know Kim Mathers personally, so it sounds ridiculous to insult a woman you don’t even know in real life.
The third verse appears to be scarier than the preceding ones :
No matter what...
[Bridge]
What you say, what you do,
I'ma hunt you down 'til I find you,
No matter where you run, I'll be right there,
Right behind you, in your nightmares,
All the flowers, and the candy,
All the times that you threw it back at me,
You say you hate me, you gon' hate me more,
When you find out, can't escape me whore.
But it shouldn’t be interpreted as a menace. Many people still don’t get that « Bonnie and Clyde 97 » and « Kim » are love songs.
Marshall calls her a whore, he is conscious of the fact Kim hasn’t be true to him, but he seems to hunt her in a desparate quest of love.
This song is a sweet and spicy love ballad that is really worth listening to. It is one of the tracks from Eminem’s new underground EP « Straight Out The Lab ».
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 08:16 AM | Comments (0)

Rabbit Run

Eminem
Some days I just wanna up and call it quits
I feel like I'm surrounded by a wall of bricks
Every time I go to get up I just fall in piss
My life's like one great big ball of shit
If I could just, put it all into all I spit
Instead of always tryin to swallow it
Instead of starin at this wall and shit
While I sit writer's block, sick of all this shit
Can't call it, shit
All I know is I'm about to hit the wall
if I have to see another one of mom's alcholic fits
This is it, last straw, that's all, that's it
I ain't dealin with another fuckin politic
I'm like a skillet bubblin until it filters up
I'm about to kill it, I can feel it buildin up
Blow this buildin up, I've been sealed enough
My cup, runneth over, I done filled it up
The pen explodes and busts, ink spills my guts
You think, all I do is stand here and feel my nuts?
Well I'ma show you what, you gon' feel my rush
You don't feel it, then it must be too real to touch
Peal the dutch, I'm about to tear shit up
Goosebumps yea, I'ma make your hair sit up
Yea sit up, I'ma tell you who I be
I'ma make you hate me, cause you ain't me
You wait, it ain't too late to finally see
what you closed-minded fucks were too blind to see
Whoever finds me is gonna get a finder's fee
out this world, ain't no one out there mind as me
You need piece of mind? Here's a piece of mine
All I need's a line
But sometimes I don't always find the words to rhyme
to express how I'm really feelin at that time
Yea sometimes sometimes sometimes
It's just sometimes, it's always me
How dark can these hallways be?
The clock strikes midnight, one-two, then half past three
This half-assed rhyme with this half-assed piece of paper
{*rip*} I'm desperate at my desk
If I can just get the rest of the shit off my chest again
Stuck in this slum, can't think of nothin
Fuck I'm stumped, but wait, here comes somethin
{*crumples paper*} Nope, it's not good enough, scribble it out
New pad, crinkle it up, and throw the shit out
I'm fizzlin now, thought I figured it out
Ball's in my court, but I'm scared to dribble it out
I'm afraid, but why am I afraid?
Why am I a slave to this trade?
Signed out of spit to the grave
Real enough to rill you up
Want me to flip it I can rip it any style you want
I'm a switch hitter bitch, Jimmy Smits ain't a quitter
I'ma sit until I get enough in me to finally hit a
fuckin boilin point, put some oil in your joints
Flip the coin bitch, come get destroyed
An MC's worst dream, I make 'em tense
They hate me, see me and shake like a chainlink fence
By the looks of 'em, you would swear their jaws was comin
By the screams of 'em, you would swear I'm sawin someone
By the way they're runnin, you would swear the law was comin
It's now or never and tonight is all or nothin
Momma Jimmy keeps leavin on us, he said he'd be back
He pinky promised, I don't think he's honest
I'll be back baby, I just gotta beat this clock
Fuck this clock, I'ma make 'em eat this watch
Don't believe me watch, I'ma win this race
And I'ma come back and rub my shit in your face, bitch
I found my nitch, you gon' hear my voice
'Til you sick of it, you ain't gonna have a choice
If I gotta scream 'til I have half a lung
If I had half a chance I'd grab it - Rabbit, run
There is even much more stress and tension in « Rabbit Run » from the 8 Mile soundtrack than in « The Way I Am » from the Marshall Mathers LP.
But the deep meaning of this tension is not the same : « The Way I Am » shows the rage of an exceeded man, but « Rabbit Run » is much more a constant struggle to survive and to achieve some important goals. The obstacles Rabbit has to face are numerous, they are referred to as a wall of bricks. Wherever Rabbit goes, he finds an obstacle on his road. Rabbit has to face his every day trouble with his alcoholic mom.
He appears to be a real perfectionist (what Eminem actually is in real life). He is never satisfied with his lyrical content.
You can feel the same poetic words aimed at his pen that you found in the « Infinite song ».
« The pen explodes and busts, ink spills my guts … » compared to
« Ayo, my pen and paper cause a chain reaction… » from the Infinite song sound similar. Why ? Simply because Jimmy brings you back to that period around 1995 when Eminem had to prove his skills. If it is true that « you gotta be mad to rap », it is also true that you need a high level of skills to be credible. A good MC needs to be offensive. To be taken seriously, he cannot rap on flowers and bees.
The subject matter has to be aggressive, shocking, destructive as well. An Mc is a soldier and his words the weapons aimed at his enemies.
You got to battle to gain some credibility.
Dissing your enemy is not only a goal, it is also the part that helps you to spit your words. When somebody who hates you said something bad about you, the words to prove him wrong come easy. You can feel the words popping in your head like a cascade and you’re ready to shoot your enemy in no time. Among all the amateur freestyles I have written, the most offensive were the most appreciated by my friends.
So Rabbit goes on, he is determined to make « your hair sit up », he will make you « hate him cuz you ain’t him ». He will battle against the world. But before he lets his rage out publicly, he battles with his pen and paper, sitting on his desk and waiting for the best inspiration, ready to destroy his words when he feels they aren’t good enough ; he’s battling against the time. His clock is a symbol of the time that is flying away from him. Between his job, his problems in his privacy and his passion of emceing. He doesn’t want to be average, he knows that he has to be excellent.
Rabbit spends his time running between two different realities.
There is an important lesson to learn from those lyrics : always dare grabbing your chance, as little as it may be. Dare trying, it is worth it .
« If I had half a chance I'd grab it - Rabbit, run »Posted by Isabelle Esling at 08:53 AM | Comments (0)
December 19, 2003

Eminem vs ICP

The feud between Eminem and ICP goes back to 1995.
It started like this :
Eminem was having a little party in Detroit and he wanted to be recognized. So he used a flyer when he put « ALSO AN APPEARENCE BY ICP...maybe ». Violent G, one of te ICP members , saw the flyer and told Eminem to « fuckoff ».
Eminem retaliated in a funny way. He told everybody that ICP didn’t attend to his party, because he chased them with paintball guns. Appearently that actually happened when Eminem and his fellows from the D12 group saw ICP coming out of a club one nignt. He and his D12 members chased them and shot at their van with a paintball gun. Of course, ICP denied those facts, because it made them look like real cowards in front of the whole world.
But the beef between them increased in 1998 when Eminem made an appearence at the Howard Stern Show where he was asked about his opinion on locals Detroit stars. He made ICP look ridiculous by answering : «Who ? Them, oh yeah, we used to beat their asses all the time back in the day. »
ICP were invited the following day on the same show. Violent J, who was offended by Eminem’s statements (you bet !) replied : « We don’t even know that bitch ! »
ICP released two diss tracks against Eminem « Slim Anus » and « Nothing but a bitch thing. ». Slim Shady wasn’t late in responding. In the « Marshall Mathers Lp », he says about his rival group : « "Slim Anus," you damn right, Slim Anus
I don't get fucked in mine like you two little flaming faggots! ».
The answer to the « Slim Anus » diss makes ICP look more ridiculous than ever. A battle thant ICP seems to take very seriously but that amuses Eminem who doesn’t take them seriously as real artists.
He enjoys making fun of them (who wouldn’t ?).
« There's a difference between realness and an act, and they're an act, and they know they're an act, and they even say they're an act, they even say they're cornballs, they admit it.
I don't think I take the beef as seriously as they do, because I don't consider them artists. They look at me as an artist. I think they get more uptight about it. I can look at them and laugh. They can't do anything to me. What can they do to me? They have no credibility, no respect, no talent, they have nothing. All they can do is diss me vocally, they can't diss me lyrically. There's nothing they can do to me as far as the music goes. I don't take it as seriously as they do and I think that frustrates them. I think it's funny. »
(Eminem)
One of Eminem’s qualities is to use even dramatic events in his life to humor himself and to make people laugh. During his « Up In Smoke Tour », Eminem was using an ICP puppet to make fun of the group, just after the incident with Douglas Dail ICP member. The puppet was supposed to give him a blowjob , confirming that « it was all good between ICP and him. »
The ICP group has also been dissed in the Ken Kaniff skit from the Marshall Mathers LP where Shaggy to Dope and Violent J are sucking Ken Kaniff’s dick.
The lastest ICP disses appear in the song « Business » from the Eminem Show :
“Lets get down to business.
I don't got no time to play around what is this
Must be a circus in town,
lets shut the shit down on these clowns.
Can I get a witness? HELL YEAH! "
“Nothin' but clowns down here
but we ain't fuckin around round here, yo Dre. . .
What up? Can I get a Hell? Hell Yeah!/ Now... »
There is also an allusion to ICP’s « dark carnival » : « I’d like to welcome you to Marshall and Andre’s carnival. »
Besides the fact ICP don’t like Eminem, we may doubt that thay can be taken seriously as artists, their disguises make them look ridiculous and their lyrics appear to be rather weak. They cannot even pretend to be in competition with the talented rapper.
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 07:43 PM | Comments (1)
December 18, 2003

Don’t censor the music and artistic expression
Ann Powers said:
"Don’t censor the music and artistic expression.
Eminem's music, in particular the songs "Kim" and "Stan," is a continuation of a tradition in music and American art in general: the Gothic murder ballad, which has been with us ever since the blues or Appalachian folk music. "Stan" is just like an Edgar Allan Poe tale, if you think about it. Johnny Cash shot a man just to watch him die. This is something that's had a very solid, longstanding role in culture.
Self-styled moralists are getting up in arms about something that has always been part of the literature of development. If you're a kid, you have to learn about violence, about hate, about death, about fear. That's part of becoming an adult. And if it's not fed to you by Eminem, you're going to get it from your own nightmares. The illusion that kids need to be protected from that is connected to a kind of fetishizing of innocence, which is unrealistic."
Ann Powers
Music critic, the New York Times
We live in a society where we are taught to hide our true feelings and emotions. When I look back at the way I have been educated at school and and home, I now know how hypocritical it was. Teachers and parents tried to hide some reality.We were pictured a safe world with nice people. Religion ( particularly the way it was taught) increased that wrong impression.
Eminem’s work appears to be progressive for conservative people. But the same conservative people would also have rejected Baudelaire or any other controversial poet or writer centuries before. Conservatism is a form of intolerance in general.
I have felt insecure a great part of my life and I didn’t know how to act the right way with people, being too much afraid to speak my mind.
There is something I will probably never get: why are references to suicide so taboo in people’s mind? Many people also blamed Goethe for his work “Die Leiden des Jungen Werthers” (“The Sorrows of Young Werther”) because a lot of young people committed suicide after reading his book. Not Goethe is to blame, but rather those young people’s decision...but do we really need somebody to blame? Anybody has the right to end his life if he feels like his pain is unbearable. My cousin committed suicicide when I was 15. I was shocked, but I don’t judge her for that. It was her decision to stop her immense sorrow.
MTV also censors notions that have to do with suicide.
The “Tatu” video “Not Gonna Get Us” was considered as shocking and would be censored not because it pictured two lesbian girls, but because they seem to commit suicide at the end of the video.
I was very surprised to discover that the word “die” in the sentence
“I'm so sick and tired of bein admired/
that I wish that I would just die or get fired » from Eminem’s song « The Way I Am ». How is that possible ? How could MTV censor a word like « die » as if death didn’t belong to our every day reality ?
They allow sentences such as « People killin’, people dyin’/Children hurt and you hear them cryin’» from sugar sweet songs such as « Where is the love ? » from Black Eyed Peas and they dare censoring « die » in « The Way I Am » video ?
How far should we push hypocrisy ?
So many writers and poets such as François Villon in the 15th century in France have been considered as shocking for their use of vulgar language. Many people want to do as if vulgar and popular language didn’t exist (I’m sure the same people use it in their privacy as well). Popular and vulgar words are part of our culture too, there is no reason to ignore it.
Why should we censor notions such as suicide, murder and death that are present in the music when our kids already play violent games on their playstation and watch “Hannibal” and “Scary Movie” on Tv? A little bit of violence helps kids to get rid of their own agressivity and shouldn’t be viewed as necessarly dangerous and negative.
The best way to protect our kids is not to hide reality. The closer they are to reality, the better they are armed to face real battles in life.
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 10:43 AM | Comments (0)
December 17, 2003

The Way I Am

Whatever..
Dre, just let it run
Aiyyo turn the beat up a little bit
Aiyyo.. this song is for anyone.. fuck it
Just shut up and listen, aiyyo..
I sit back with this pack of Zig Zags and this bag
of this weed it gives me the shit needed to be
the most meanest MC on this -- on this Earth
And since birth I've been cursed with this curse to just curse
And just blurt this berserk and bizarre shit that works
And it sells and it helps in itself to relieve
all this tension dispensin these sentences
Gettin this stress that's been eatin me recently off of this chest
and I rest again peacefully (peacefully)..
but at least have the decency in you
to leave me alone, when you freaks see me out
in the streets when I'm eatin or feedin my daughter
to not come and speak to me (speak to me)..
I don't know you and no,
I don't owe you a mo-therfuck-in thing
I'm not Mr. N'Sync, I'm not what your friends think
I'm not Mr. Friendly, I can be a prick
if you tempt me my tank is on empty (is on empty)..
No patience is in me and if you offend me
I'm liftin you 10 feet (liftin you 10 feet).. in the air
I don't care who is there and who saw me destroy you
Go call you a lawyer, file you a lawsuit
I'll smile in the courtroom and buy you a wardrobe
I'm tired of all you (of all you)..
I don't mean to be mean but that's all I can be is just me
Chorus: Eminem
And I am, whatever you say I am
If I wasn't, then why would I say I am?
In the paper, the news everyday I am
Radio won't even play my jam
Cause I am, whatever you say I am
If I wasn't, then why would I say I am?
In the paper, the news everyday I am
I don't know it's just the way I am
[Eminem]
Sometimes I just feel like my father, I hate to be bothered
with all of this nonsense it's constant
And, "Oh, it's his lyrical content -
- the song 'Guilty Conscience' has gotten such rotten responses"
And all of this controversy circles me
and it seems like the media immediately
points a finger at me (finger at me)..
So I point one back at 'em, but not the index or pinkie
or the ring or the thumb, it's the one you put up
when you don't give a fuck, when you won't just put up
with the bullshit they pull, cause they full of shit too
When a dude's gettin bullied and shoots up his school
and they blame it on Marilyn (on Marilyn).. and the heroin
Where were the parents at? And look where it's at
Middle America, now it's a tragedy
Now it's so sad to see, an upper class ci-ty
havin this happenin (this happenin)..
then attack Eminem cause I rap this way (rap this way)..
But I'm glad cause they feed me the fuel that I need for the fire
to burn and it's burnin and I have returned
Chorus
[Eminem]
I'm so sick and tired of bein admired
that I wish that I would just die or get fired
and dropped from my label and stop with the fables
I'm not gonna be able to top on "My Name is.."
And pigeon-holed into some pop-py sensation
to cop me rotation at rock'n'roll stations
And I just do not got the patience (got the patience)..
to deal with these cocky caucasians who think
I'm some wigger who just tries to be black cause I talk
with an accent, and grab on my balls, so they always keep askin
the same fuckin questions (fuckin questions)..
What school did I go to, what hood I grew up in
The why, the who what when, the where, and the how
'til I'm grabbin my hair and I'm tearin it out
cause they drivin me crazy (drivin me crazy).. I can't take it
I'm racin, I'm pacin, I stand and I sit
And I'm thankful for ev-ery fan that I get
But I can't take a SHIT, in the bathroom
without someone standin by it
No I won't sign your autograph
You can call me an asshole I'm glad

"The Way I Am » could have been called « Eminem Against The World » as well.
You can see an exceeded MC who is just fed up with everyone. At this time, Eminem had to face with so many pressures from his label, from the media, and even some fans who just didn’t respect his privacy.You can feel the anger coming out of the rapper’s chest. The song sounds authentic, because Eminem refers to real feelings, as usual. He lets his frustrations and all the negative emotions out. When we feel bad, when we feel that the pressure’s too high, we need to slacken it the same way a pressure cooker does…and the healthiest way is to let our anger, rage and frustrations out.
That is exactly what Eminem does. The repetition of the /u/ and /e/ sounds at the beginning of the song accentuates the pressure. Eminem appears to be a real word and sound technician. He anticipates the effect created by each word. While listening to the song, you can feel that rage. Most of you probably know that Eminem’s ascension to the top is rather uncommon. As I expressed it before, he came from the bottom to stardom and the pressures put on him at the beginning of his career were very high. All of a sudden, he couldn’t eat peacefully outside without being recognized by fans who wouldn’t leave him alone. His privacy was exposed and it was difficult to face with his new gained stardom.The media constantly targetted Eminem about his lyrical content. He was accused of being a bad example for the youth. Acts like Eminem and Marilyn Manson have always been easy targets for the media. They ave easy culprits from teenagers suicidal behavior or for any kind of foolishness. But Eminem brings the parents back to their responsibility : they should watch their kids. He’s not responsible for every kid’s drug addiction. As Paul Rosenberg replied sarcastically to Benzino on the phone, Eminem is « whatever you say he is.»
Eminem is somebody you cannot buy. He won’t rap just to please your ears. He doesn’t rap to get cash. He is used to speaking his mind and he doesn’t care if people agree with him or not. Another thing that really angered Eminem was to be confused him with a « wigga ».
What is exactly a « wigga »?
A « wigga » is a term that means « white nigga » and that the black community uses for white men who are trying to imitate black men by talking « ebonics » and who wear the same clothes just to imitate the black community. For obvious reasons, Eminem cannot be classified as a « wigga ». Eminem grew up in the black hood of Detroit, his accent is natural for a white man who grew up among Blacks. Eminem embraced the hip hop community, hip hop is part of his life. You cannot reproach a foreigner who was born in America to act like an American, that would be silly. It’s the same for Marshall Mathers. He is white, but his culture is hip hop, who would deny it? Eminem is fed up to have to reply to the same silly questions, he is fed up to be confused with a superficial pop icon and he just lets his rage out against all those white speakers and journalists who don’t get him. All his life, he has been annoyed about his skin color, he can’t stand such questions and shows it offenly. Marshall points out sarcastically :"I try not to look at it that way. Being white. I don't wake up every day and look in the mirror, 'Oh. I'm white'.
At the beginning of his career and before Benzino was trying to create an issue out of Eminem’s skin color, « white » magazines used to question him more about his skin color :"At this point, I'm like "Come up with something new." I hate the same old questions. But it seems like "white" magazines such as Spin and Rolling Stone focus on my "whiteness" more than Black magazines."
When Eminem wrote « The Way I Am », many people were convinced he was disrespecting his fans. Honestly, I don’t think so. I think that he was exceeded by some fans’ behavior. The kind of fans who don’t respect his privacy and who would stalk him for hours. He wanted them to understand that even if he’s a public person, he’s got a private life too.
Moments with Hailie, for instance, only belong to his private sphere. A respectful fan will get the message.« The Way I Am » are the feelings of a moment. The feelings of a man who is tired of all of us. So won’t you just leave him alone until he feels better?
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 10:43 AM | Comments (0)
December 16, 2003

Eminem's lyrics as a school subject?
"I think Eminem has a perfect right to say whatever he wants.
No democracy should censor art or pop, however shocking or disgusting it may be. Eminem is the enema for the stale, saccharine platitudes and pieties that kids are force-fed these days by their PC teachers and counselors. It's clear from his huge popularity that Eminem has tapped into a rising tide of rebellion among middle-class white kids who are sick and tired of the canned, humanitarian schmaltz of their antiseptic, namby-pamby, culture-starved schools."
Camille Paglia, Professor of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia
It is always encouraging to see that teachers support Eminem’s freedom of speech. Being myself a teacher, I think that we should introduce more tolerance into school subjects. Kids are sick and tired of being lied to. Many educators hide reality for so called ethical reasons.
Of course, I’m not sure Eminem would be perfect for 10 years old kids, but I think teachers could use his lyrics at a higher level, because I’m deeply convinced his texts are poetry. Eminem is a poet of modern times, his words are related to reality and I’m sure pupils would focus a real interest on their English lesson if it had to do with a contemporary artist instead of real boring topics.
Unfortunately schools are overcrowded by old fashioned teachers who would be shocked by such lyrics.
If pupils could also have the possiblility to sing along with Eminem, that would probably help them to improve their fluency as well as their level of English. I myself have learnt a lot from Eminem’s texts and certainly improved my level of English skills thanks to them. I have also learnt from him how to do freestyles for my own pleasure. Playing with words has become a real pleasure for me and I owe it to Marshall Mathers.
Arguments that usually stop teachers are : too vulgar, too many references to drugs, sex and violence. Maybe. But we all know that clean versions of Eminem’s albums do exist.
I think that we should not try to overprotect kids. Sooner or later, they will use cusswords anyway, they certainly also will know about sex and drugs. Eminem jokes about it in his song « The Real Slim Shady » :
« And that's the message that we deliver to little kids
And expect them not to know what a woman's clitoris is
Of course they gonna know what intercourse is
By the time they hit fourth grade
They got the Discovery Channel don't they? »
He is so right about it : it’s obvious .
Another argument in favor of teaching Eminem’s lyrics as a school subject would be to avoid the usual stereotypes and misunderstandings. A better understanding of the use of his words would certainly help some kids not to misinterpret Eminem and avoid some foolish behavior outside. A clear interpretation of Eminem’s song would certainly have avoided lots of problems to Manchester school. There is a related story of pupils who slashed their wrists to « imitate » Eminem. :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1437026.stm
In fact, their behavior shows a clear misinterpretation of the verses of song « Stan »
« Sometimes I cut myself to see how much it bleeds/
it’s like adrenaline, my pain is such a sudden rush for me… »
The head teacher said : « It has all been investigated by this idiot Eminem. »
In fact, he is the real dummy in the whole affair. First of all, Eminem didn’t investigate the whole affair. He never told the kids to slash their wrists. On the contrary, « Stan » was written to warn the fans against a crazy behaviors. The words of the lyrics are very clear on the subject.
If this dumb teacher would have taken time to examine Stan’s video deeper instead of calling Eminem an idiot, it would have been helpful for everybody. Stan’s character is a bad example not to follow, but this teacher would be suprised how much he could learn from Eminem.
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 06:18 AM | Comments (0)
December 13, 2003

Forms of disrespect I can't stand
Some arrogant people probably think they have the right to spread anything on the Internet, just to make fun of people.
Sometimes they really go to far.
Just because they don’t like Eminem ( I do respect their point of view, nobody forces them to like Eminem as an artist, not even as a person), they think they have the right to attack his family. I don’t know how Jenny Cide http://kimjohnston.com/archive/2003_12_07_archive.html#107109922793347614
found out about Nathan Mathers' homepage, but she posted some comment about his website, saying « Eminem’s lil brother has a shockingly awful website. »
Since then, a lot of people started coming to his website just to trash his guestbook and his website has been disabled. Come on, this is a real childish behavior. If you don’t like Eminem, leave his brother alone !
Nathan is 17 years old, his website is not supposed to be something very professional and even if you despise it, can’t you take into account that other people may like it ?
I am really shocked that people think they have the right to make fun of Nathan just because he is Eminem’s brother.
In fact, those people have no life and their attitude proves that they are unsatisfied with their own lives. If it wasn’t the case, they would not waste their time on Nate. I usually don’t waste my time on people I despise, my time is too precious for that. Take my advice, bunch of losers : get a damn life !
Benzino's dirty little secret... check this out!
As you all know by now, Benzino (who is NOT a co-founder of the Source, as is often reported) has released tapes of a much younger Eminem using the N word and bad-mouthing Black women in a rambling, amateurish freestyle.
But what Benzino's not telling you is that he himself was once affiliated with a white emcee, and that white emcee used the N word on the track they made together. In fact, it appears that Benzino told his white emcee to use the N word.
The emcee in question is named Bawston Strangla, and his connection to Benzino is detailed on his web page here, where you can also download the song he and Benzino worked on together in 2000, "Shamrocks and Glocks". About 35 seconds into the song you will hear Strangla drop the proverbial "N" bomb, in a passage that sounds very random and out of place alongside his other lyrics.
Through some rudimentary googling I got in contact with a representative of the Bawston Strangla today. He indicated that Strangla is no longer associated with Benzino, and explained that while recording Shamrocks and Glocks, "during the session benzino told him to use the N word in the song".
Benzino told him to use the N word.
This does nothing to minimize the offensiveness of Eminem's newly unearthed lyrics, but it certainly places Benzino's righteous indignation in a different light. Just in case anyone was starting to take him seriously.
Edit: Dru Garrity of Commonwealth Rcords hit me off with a little more info on what Bawston Strangla is up to now: "Bawston Strangla is finishing up his next LP "BEDLHAM IN BOSTON 1998-2004" which will feature the Benzino track as well as tracks produced by D-Tension, Dickie Skinz, RayBoy, Irish Devil.. We also just shot a video for the lead single "Got To Do"..
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 04:14 PM | Comments (0)

You better lose yourself in the music
"Look, if you had one shot, one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted-One moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?"
Those few lines from the Eminem song “Lose Yourself” started resonating into my head like a strong call. How many of us have missed opportunities in our lives? How many of us didn’t even pay attention to them?
It is never too late to do things the right way. We just have to take attention and not to miss the right moment. Everybody is given the chance to “capture”. Of course, it will require main qualities like inner strength and a strong willpower. But if we go to the end, we will be rewarded.
“Lose Yourself” is an introspective and an optimistic song. There are so many good lessons and encouragements to learn from it.

“You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
you own it...”
You need to use your instinct to find the right moment. You need to act now, if you keep waiting it may be too late for you.
When you feel deep inside that it’s your time to shine, you just have to run...the moment is yours, you own it...so capture it right now!
Follow the song’s words:
“...you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo...”
Like Jimmy, we sometimes have to go through difficult situations. We will have to prove our inner capacity, our strength. We will certainly have to fight a lot of doubts and anxiousness before we reach our goal. No matter what kind of circumstances we are going through, we may reach the point where we feel that we have no right to give up and feel the way Jimmy feels:

"He's so mad, but he won't give up that
Is he? No
He won't have it , he knows his whole back city's ropes
It don't matter, he's dope
He knows that, but he's broke
He's so stacked that he knows
When he goes back to his mobile home, that's when it's
Back to the lab again yo
This whole rap shit
He better go capture this moment and hope it don't pass him..."
We are ready now to conquer the world. We must have enough rage inside to fight and not to accept failure, come to the point where you will say with Jimmy:
“Success is my only mothafuckin option...”
We must refuse the idea to be failing in our mind, always try until we reach our final success.
Then we will be able to claim with Eminem:
“ You can do anything you set your mind to, man.”
A sentence that has become even more than my daily life philosophy, it is my motto and I’m very proud to apply to it. It actually works!
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 03:42 PM | Comments (0)
December 10, 2003

Flowers in the desert (by me)
To Marshall a cute tribute
I was like in the desert lost
But you brought me something bright
I think it was some light
One day you will know
How much you helped me to grow
So much in my mind was forbidden
And many talents were hidden
But now thanks to you
I understand that words are made to be written
You gave me the courage
To express my rage
And your discourse
Was there to enforce
My hidden force
My truth needed to be said
In every new thread
You gave me the courage to change
My self destructive behavior
To me being like a savior
And things to rearrange
And thanks to you I know
Because you helped me to grow
That I can do anything I set my mind to
Thanks to you I realize that it’s really true.

"We as Americans"
"Fuck money. I do not rap for dead presidents. I would rather see the president dead. It is never been said, but I set precedents and the standards and they can not stand it... We as Americans. Us as a citizen. We've got to protect ourselves..."
Those are words from a new Eminem track called « We as Americans ». Controversial ? For sure.
Eminem is not a friend of Bush, he doesn’t want any kind of compromission with the government and expresses it clearly. What I really appreciate with Eminem, is the fact that he’s not a commercial rapper. He is used to speaking his mind , no matter how wealthy he is. He deserves some respect for his honesty.
Appearently those words are taken seriously by the American government whose secret services are now investigating on whether the lyrics should be taken seriously of not.
Secret Services Spokesman John Gill expressed on the subject and told the news :
''We are aware of the lyric and are in the process of determining what action, if any, will be taken.''
Eminem has shown his political opinion in several songs from the « Eminem Show » like « White America » and « Square Dance ».
We all know that he’s no real friend of President Bush, but are his recents lyrics different from the former lyrics ? Should this wish to see the President dead be taken seriously ?
Those are interesting questions we may raise. As far as I am concerned, I don’t think Eminem is a serious threat for Mr Bush’s life. This statement is just made to express his opposition towards the government. Eminem wants to show the Bush administration that they cannot « buy » him..
If we take a look at « White America », the song is much more provocative than those few lines from « We as Americans » :
“So to the parents of America
I am the derringer aimed at little Erica,
to attack her character
The ringleader of this circus of worthless pawns
Sent to lead the march right up to the steps of Congress
And piss on the lawns of the White House
and replace it with a Parental Advisory sticker
To spit liquor in the faces of in this democracy of hypocrisy
Fuck you Ms. Cheney! Fuck you
Tipper Gore! Fuck you with the freest
of speech this divided states of embarassment
will allow me to have, Fuck you!
I'm just kiddin' America, you know I love you... “
The outro part of “White America” is also very offensive in its words. Eminem points out the hypocrisy of the American government. He doesn’t want to be another puppet of Bush and also wants people to open their eyes about the American policy.
Eminem is not against America, he’s against the leaders of America and he strongly fights their policy. Impossible to take the “dead President” lyrics at a first degree, knowing that Eminem has already “assassinated” Dick Cheney on his “Without Me” video...It has to be taken for what it actually is: a clear protest against the American policy. The talented wordsmith doesn’t ignore the power of words and syllables. As an engaged artist, Eminem wants to reach people’s consciences.
He is not the only one to have strong and shocking political messages. The group Public Enemy did it before in its video “By the time I get to Arizona”. Public Enemy “assassinated” the deputies from Arizona who refused to make a national day of Martin Luther King’s birthday. Public Enemy didn’t dare “bombing” the government either, because the group knew it was for the good cause. So does Eminem.
The engaged artist has a responsibility towards his public. He owns a great part of the media and he has the power to reach people’s mind. It’s the first step for things to change a positive way. Since the beginning of his career, Eminem has always shown his integrity. His growing wealth hasn’t changed anything: his statements are as honest as in the beginning.
Eminem has become the truthful leader of a new generation of people who are fed up with empty hypocritical political speeches. He strongly disagrees with the American Iraq war policy and shows it offenly:
“The boogie monster of rap, yeah the man's back
with a plan to ambush this Bush administration,
mush the Senate's face in, push this generation
of kids to stand and fight for the right to say
something you might not like, this white hot light
that I'm under, no wonder I look so sunburnt,
oh no I won't leave no stone unturned
Oh no I won't leave, won't go nowhere,
do-si-do, oh, yo, ho, hello there
oh yeah don't think I won't go there,
go to Beirut and do a show there
yah you laugh till your muthafuckin' ass gets drafted,
while you're at band camp thinkin' the crap can't happen
till you fuck around, get an anthrax napkin,
inside a package wrapped in saran wrap wrapping
open the plastic and then you stand back gasping,
fuckin' assassins hijackin' Amtracks crashin'
all this terror America demands action,
next thing you know you've got Uncle Sam's ass askin'
to join the army or what you'll do for their Navy.
You just a baby, gettin' recruited at eighteen
You're on a plane now,
eatin' their food and their baked beans.
I'm twenty-eight, they're gonna take you 'fore they take me
Crazy insane or insane crazy?
When I say Hussein, you say Shady
My views ain't changed, still inhumane,
wait, arraigned two days late, the date's today, hang me! “
So many young lives are sacrified to satisfy Mr Bush’s world hegemony power. Every day young soldiers are dying for a useless war.
“We as Americans” is not different from Eminem’s former lyrics. Rather than being a physical threat towards the American President, Eminem’s “death wish on Mr Bush” is rather to interpret as a symbol, it is much more a strong prayer to see somebody else lead this country. A leader that would enable concrete steps for some deep changes in America...No more empty speeches, but efficient actions.
America needs more responsible citizens like Marshall Mathers to raise their voices against a growing governemental hypocrisy.
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 05:20 PM | Comments (11)

Jealousy can be amusing...check this out!
I never thought my poem for Hailie would raise some controversy and also some jealousy. But that’s exactly what happened on a yahoo Eminem group . My intentions were to share some words to honor Eminem’s daughter, Hailie Jade.
But those groups that are overcrowded by some boppy teenagers with no life and some of them said that I had copied it, that it wasn’t mine. But some other jealous girl, Angie, decided to write what she intended to be a « bad diss ».
So I decided to reply in a batteling mode. Enjoy :)
Angie's diss
u act like u can write worth shit
>ur poem almost made me fuckn sick
>chick, u need to get out a little more
>so u wont be such a bore
>ur just a fuckn whore
>bitch get a god dam life
>Hopefully you'll get stabbed by a knife
>and die so bitch say good bye
>everything u said was a fuckn lie
>how the hell did u get by
>when all u did was copy other people
>ur best friend had to be that god dam needle
>filled with got knows what
>maybe thats y ur likely such a slut
>i know what ur gonna say
>when u read this little rap today
>'man ur so fuckn gay
>u got that rap from someone else the other day'
>lucky for me i can counter all ur verbal attacks
>I could kick ur ass with my hands tied behind my back
>just go home and continue gettin stoned
>cuz ur not worth nothin no more
>not that u ever were anyway
>thats y ur momma wanted to throw u away
>after u were born cuz ur mommas a crack whore
>god this is fun, for me its a sinch
>makin shit up about some loud mouth bitch
>who probably never seen a fuckin dick
>cuz ur gay and think about other chicks everyday
>somebody better have u neutered or spayed
>before its too late and u get laid
>it might be hard
>cuz u proabably got both parts
>wouldn't that be interesting if u were a eunch
>no more balls for this lunatic
>well im out cuz unlike u I got a friends
>so shut the fuck up and bitch take my advice
>get a fuckn life.
>
My reply:
This is what happens when stupidity
Goes along with jealousy
You think you act as if you could handle a word
In fact you're just a fucking nerd
You think you'll be a fighter
Against somebody whose job is to be a writer
Before you call me again a slut
I promise you badly to kick your butt,
Talk again about my moma,
I'll put you in a coma,
bitches like you in the stomach I will punch
To me you're just another buttmunch
Words dedicated to Hailie you despise
You prefer words full of lies,
People, open your eyes
the bitch thinks she's wize
But it's just an ugly disguise,
Much more than a bitch,
She's also an ugly witch,
Take off your hat,
You're ugly and fat!
You're the one who needs to get a life,
I'll cut you off with a surgical knife,
For Eminem's daughter my love,
Your totally intolerant of,
Talking about being gay?
You're worst than Benzino Ray,
You will never harm me,
I'm a good soldier in Shady's army
You come on Nate Nate Nate,
come on,for you it's to late,
Just to spread your stupid hate,
To authentic people you're just a disgust,
I kicked you so badly now you're in the dust!
To diss me don't even try
Think you can rap?
Your ugly face I will slap.
With me take your distance,
Unlike you, I'm doing something of my existence!
I have persistance
You have no resistance,
You transformed something aimed at Hailie Jade,
You horrible monster, into a hate crusade,
Bitches like you like to invade
But from being mean you never get paid,
On you I will drop a grenade,
I'll slap you , you renegade,
You'll be dropped in a word cascade,
You unable this to evade,
You're sick, you need the doctor's aid.
Bitch you're mentally poor,
and too much immature
Your bad words to you will cost,
Cuz the battle you already lost!
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 09:36 AM | Comments (0)
December 06, 2003

Mentally ill from Amityville
How is Detroit pictured by its own inhabitants ? « Amityville » is a nickname that is recurrent in the D12 album. Those are nicknames that I found for Detroit on a Detroit rap forum (detroitrap.com):
1. The « D »
2. Cutthroat City
3. Hell (Thanks to 8 Mile)
4. D-Town (Gay)
5. Alligator City
6. Gator Capitol
7. Dirty District
8. Murda City

Detroit, that had been rated as the most dangerous American city from 1999 to 2001, has regained its title in 2003, according to a St Louis newspaper, followed by St Louis at the second place. There must be some truth in this ranking. The Detroit underground appears to be a dark place where murder is law. The « Amityville » song refers to the city as the murder capital. The « Amityville » song has scary and insane beats. The whole atmosphere of the song makes your feel the tough reality of Detroit. It’s like a total immersion in thugs’ reality :
« That's why the city is filled with a bunch of fuckin idiots still (still)
That's why the first motherfucker poppin some shit he gets killed (killed)
That's why we don't call it Detroit, we call it Amityville ('Ville)
You can get capped after just havin a cavity filled (filled)
Ahahahaha, that's why we're crowned the murder capital still (still)
This ain't Detroit, this is motherfuckin Hamburger Hill! (Hill!)
We don't do drivebys, we park in front of houses and shoot
and when the police come we fuckin shoot it out with them too!
That's the mentality here (here) that's the reality here (here)
Did I just hear somebody say they wanna challenge me here?? (huh?)
While I'm holdin a pistol with this many calibres here?? (here??)
Got some registration and just made this shit valid this year? (year?)
Cause once I snap I can't be held accountable for my acts
and that's when accidents happen,
when a thousand bullets come at your house
and collapse the foundation around and they found you
and your family in it (AHHHHH!)
GOT DAMNIT HE MEANT IT WHEN HE TELLS YOU »
The refrain of the song makes you feel how much you are in danger in the Capital of murder :
« Mentally illll from Amityvilllle (ILLLL)
Accidentally killll your family stillll
Thinkin he won't? God-damnit he willll (HE'SSSS)
Mentally illll from Amityvilllle »
Like the D 12 member Bizarre expresses it so well, « Amityville » also known as Detroit, is a scary place :
« Just like Outkast brought you into the mind of A-T-L, we want to bring you into the mind of Amityville (their name for Detroit) - a city where the sun never shines, full of potholes, snow and con artists ready to jack everything you got. »
Proof adds to that statement :
"Detroit ain't into cleverness. Both of the coasts are artsy. Detroit ain't a real creative place. It's a plant-worker place. D-12 are here to bring you the sick, the obscene, the disgusting. "We not gonna bring you the normal thug-and-Cristal shit, we wanna be blamed for bringin' shit to the table that people scared to talk about.”
Bugz’s (the former D12 member) death is a dramatic event that belongs to this kind of dark reality. It increased the member’s will to “make it”.
"That incident brought everything to reality,and let us know that life ain't no game and we gotta make the best of what we got while we got it", Kuniva says.
"Amityville" may not be a very creative place, but it seems to give birth to the most creative MCs. Detroit has always been Eminem’s biggest source of inspiration and it is the same for the other D12 members. It seems like the roughness and uglyness of the Detroit underground is rather an advantage to artistic creation. We all know that the most beautiful and also the most resistant flowers grow in an arid landscape. What also makes Detroit interesting in an artistic light is the mixture of different styles and genres. Despite the problems both communities may have experienced, black and white culture have influenced each other musically. People from different races have worked together to Rock City’s greatest benefit. To quote Dirtbombs singer Mick Collins:
"Detroit's always been this meeting ground between black and white culture. Ghetto or white trash, it doesn't matter - both come together musically, even in garage-rock."
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 07:45 PM | Comments (0)
December 05, 2003

Who knew?
Who knew ?

« Have you ever been hated or discriminated against ?
I have, I've been protested and demonstrated against, picket signs for my wicked rhymes… », Eminem claims in « Cleaning Out My Closet » from the Eminem Show.
Is Eminem conscious of the impact his words can have on people ? In his song « Who knew ? » from the Marshall Mathers LP, he says :
« Wasn't me, Slim Shady said to do it again!"
Damn! How much damage can you do with a pen? »
Eminem makes fun of people who constantly target him for being a bad influence on kids. The kid does something forbidden or wrong and then it’s Slim Shady's fault. An easy way to get out of uncomfortable situations !
But the gifted word technician Eminem is also conscious of the damage he cause with words. So why does he want to cause those damages with his pen ? What is his hidden intention ?
No contest, the character of Slim Shady is insane, but Marshall Mathers appears to be a very clever man, who enjoys playing with people’s mind very much. Shocking words are put in his lyrics on purpose to anticipate people’s reaction. His sense of exaggeration makes the sentences unbelievable.
The category of sensitive persons with a weak stomach (who take this seriously) target Eminem as a dangerous person. In fact, he is only a danger to those who are totally deprived of a sense of humor.
Somebody told me once, in reply to one of my topics on Eminem , that Eminem was a simple minded person and not even a good « singer ». First of all, I’d rather call him a rapper, because he raps more than he sings. Second, I think Eminem is far from being stupid and that he particularly targets those kind of listeners who constantly take his words at first degree.
Of course, the misinterpretation of Eminem’s lyrics have lead to some dramas. Some fragile teenagers like Kaleigh Davis have committed suicide, but I am not even sure Eminem was the real cause of the 13 years old girl. Eminem has been accused of being responsible for her death. It has been proven that the young girl was depressive and that she used to be bullied at school. She was found dead in her bedroom. The fact that she was very much into Eminem doesn’t prove anything, she was psychologically vulnerable. I’m not the only one to think that way. Even the judge stated so.
Even if he appears to be joking most of the time, he also raises serious questions in the « Who Knew » song :
« So who's bringin the guns in this country? (Hmm?)
I couldn't sneak a plastic pellet gun through customs over in London
And last week, I seen a Schwarzaneggar movie
where he's shootin all sorts of these motherfuckers with a uzi
I sees three little kids, up in the front row,
screamin "Go," with their 17-year-old Uncle
I'm like, "Guidance - ain't they got the same moms and dads
who got mad when I asked if they liked violence?"
Many people are not even shocked by violent movies where people get shot at, but they get mad at Marshall’s lyrics. Slim Shady is an actor, though. He is just acting on stage. Hating the player is useless, he is doing his job as an entertainer.
Eminem also raises the problem of illegal gun traffics. You can find real arms everywhere, but it is forbidden to travel with a plastic pellet gun… That’s kind of ridiculous.
Some parts of « Who knew » are hilarous.
« You want me to fix up lyrics while the President gets his dick sucked?
[*ewwww*] Fuck that, take drugs, rape sluts
Make fun of gay clubs, men who wear make-up
Get aware, wake up, get a sense of humor
Quit tryin to censor music, this is for your kid's amusement
(The kids!) But don't blame me when lil' Eric jumps off of the terrace
You shoulda been watchin him - apparently you ain't parents… »
Eminem makes fun of former US President Bill Clinton’s sex affair and goes on advicing people to take drugs and to rape sluts etc… This could be shocking if he didn’t add : get a sense of humor, which means : « don’t take my advices seriously, i’m just kidding… »
There is no reason to get mad at Slim Shady, he’s just making fun and he’s supposed to make you laugh crazy…
Eminem also takes parents back to their responsibilities. It’s the parents’ role to take care of their children. He cannot be held responsible for a kid’s suicide.
He never told kids to act irresponsibly and if they misinterpreted his words, please don’t get mad at him. You’re supposed to get his sense of humor, because the constant exaggeration mixed with funny sentences or words make it obvious.
I think parents shouldn’t reject the music their kids are listening to. If they focused an interest on it, it would certainly help to avoid a lot of misunderstandings. They could also play a great part in helping their kids not to misinterpret an artist’s word.
If they were closer to their children, most of them wouldn’t feel like committing suicide.
Eminem wants people to analyse him intelligently. Not to overanalyze him. Just being fair enough to understand his sense of humor.
If you misinterpret his words and act crazy in real life, how the fuck was he supposed to know ?
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 05:09 PM | Comments (0)
December 03, 2003

Has Eminem lost his edge?
This is an interesting point to debate. From the « Infinite » album to the « 8 Mile » soundtrack, we cannot deny Eminem’s musical and personal evolution.
Of course, Eminem doesn’t sound the same on the « Slim Shady LP » than on the « Eminem Show », but he doesn’t have to.
On the Infinite album, Eminem’s goal was to be known by the public. He had put a lot of verbal energy and exposed some personal problems.
In the Slim Shady LP, Eminem appears to be more scary. The Slim Shady LP exposes a new born character : Slim Shady, Eminem’s evil alter ego.
In his debut album, Eminem has developped a concept with producers Jeff and Marky Bass that worked very well : the concept of a shock rapper.
Eminem’s goal was to shock people and thus to attrack their attention.
He was supposed to be the « Marilyn Manson of rap ».
At the time Marshall wrote the album, he still had a lot of issues and was facing financial and personal problem. The Slim Shady Lp appears to be a perfect reflection of Marshall’s life before he became famous.
It also exposes the American ghetto life in its harsh reality.
Slim Shady is a symbol for the violence contained in Marshall’s illest thoughts.
There are many references to drugs and Marshall gave a complete enumeration of the drugs he used to take. in the song « I’m Shady ».
Most of Eminem’s targets change, the things or people that used to annoy him can be very different within several years of difference.
The « Marshall Mathers LP » is probably Eminem’s most offensive and verbally violent album. It was first supposed to be called « Amsterdam » because of its many references to drugs.
At the beginning of his career Eminem really needed to distinguish himself from so many pop artist. He wanted people to know that he was a rapper, not an ordinary pop singer. The fact that he was white and that his hair was dyed blonde certainly increased the confusion in people’s mind. So Eminem decided to attack many pop artists such as N’Sync, Britney Spears. Boy and girl groups were targetted first. In ‘The Real Slim Shady », Eminem claims :
« I’m sick of you little boy and girl groups, all you do is annoy me/
So I have been sent to destroy you. [bzzt] »
This was also a good way to get some attention. Eminem also disses some artists in the « Marshall Mathers LP » in reaction to what they said about him. Christina Aguilera is one of those artists Eminem made look ridiculous in his album.
But the « Marshall Mathers P » has been much more controversial than that . Because of his frequent use of the word « faggot » (Eminem was not the first rapper to do this) and his references to domestic violence, Eminem has been attacked and protested against by feminists and by activists from the GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance against Defamation).
The period that separates the « Marshall Mathers LP » from the « Eminem Show » (The « Devil’s Night » album had been released in the meantime), has been a period of big trouble for Marshall in his personal life. He was facing Court charges and could have been sent to jail for five years because of the incident thar happened with Kim and the argument with Douglas Dail from ICP.
At this time, Marshall was living dangerously.
« The Eminem Show » exposes a man that has become more mature. Eminem has made some mistakes, he has learnt from them and wants to share this with his public. He has abandoned the mask and the chainsaw, but in fact he’s still rebellious. Rebellious against censorship, rebellious against the goverment…
Eminem also wants his public that is composed by a majority of young people to learn from him. He wants them to know that unprotected sex is bad and can lead to desease. This is the main topic of « Drips », featuring Obie Trice.
He also wants to show them that he’s got a sensitive side. Hailie’s participation certainly helps people to discover the artist’s real side.
From the negative rodel model he was in the past, Eminem has certainly become a positive role model to the young generation. But that doesn’t mean he’s ready to accept anything just to sell records. Eminem goes on speaking his mind like he usually does. Eminem losing his edge ? Don’t think so. Take a loo at « Nail In the Coffin », where Eminem does an excellent job in killing Benzino verbally. Take a deeper look at the « White America » lyrics…
Eminem is not and will never be a commercial rapper. Of course, he’s become rich, but he never forgets where he came from and when he raps, he is still « underground ».
He is used to speaking his mind and, as far as I’m concerned, I think he always will during his whole career. Eminem doesn’t make music to please people : he’s got something to say and he expresses his message with assurance.
If you ask me if Eminem has lost his edge, I’d rather say no. Eminem still got the same verbal energy than at his beginnings when he spits his verses and never fakes his feelings.
He has earned a lot of respect from numerous people for that.
Eminem still go the mind of a rebel. Did you forget he’s the spokesman for « White America » and that he came with a plan to ambush this Bush administration ?
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 05:57 PM | Comments (3)
Ja Rule diss (written by me)
Your lyrics are whack
Prolly intelligence lack
Since when does a fool
Rule?
Ja Drool
Ja Fool
Ya ain’t cool
Yea your lyrics do stink
And yea you should sing with Pink
Wanna dis Hailie?
You’re more idiotic than Bailey.
On my body and soul I swear
Don’t touch Marshall
Or I’ll shoot you dead
Right in the head

You look queer
You gonna ruin ur fucking career
U ain’t no G
You’d better make some RNB
You’ll never win
With your evil grin
You appear on stage half drunk
That’s how you respect your fan
Don’t mess with Shady my man
Cuz ur a charlatan
Don’t think you’ll trial
We’ll come to your burial
On your coffin we’ll spit
You lil peace of shit

You spend your whole time
Digging Ashanti’s pussy
Instead of writing a rhyme
Ain’t this shitty
Fucking sissy
U ain’t no G
You’re a minus
Against a genius
What you gonna do
With your fucking ho
Against Em,50 and Obie
Let me see
Fake gangsta
We’d rather call ya a wanksta
You have no skills
You’d better take a bunch of pills
And end your life 4 good
For the greates joy of the hood.
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 03:54 PM | Comments (1)
poem for Hailie (from me)

POEM FOR HAILIE
Shady’s little lady
You’re a cutie
Little Bonnie
Standing next to Marshall’s side
You know you’re his pride
His princess always he will protect
Against any form of disrespect,
You’re the greatest gift he could get
Never he will forget
Always for you he will care,
Your enemies he will scare
Little Hailie baby you know
I love your voice on the Eminem Show
You’re funny
Little honey
My little princess
You look like a goddess
I’m moved by your Daddy’s tender loving care
Among all the treasures, you’re something rare
Little girl
You’re a precious pearl
Thanks to you, little Bonnie
Your daddy managed to cope with the loss of Ronnie
Thanks for being born
He abandoned the mourn
And thanks to you
Was reborn.
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 03:52 PM | Comments (0)
December 02, 2003

So fuck school...
« So fuck school, I’m too cool to go back… » « White America »
« I don't wanna go to school.. I don't need no education
I don't wanna be like you.. I don't wanna save the nation
I just wanna live my life.. everyday a celebration
One day I'ma leave this world.. I'm waitin for the revelation »
Devil’s Night album « Revelation »
I wish I could have discovered Eminem when I was a teenager. I would have been able to oppose much more rage and rebellion towards my parents.
Despite the fact I have always been a good pupil who brought back quantities of good marks at home, school used to be a real nightmare for me. My parents always wanted me to bring home good marks and when they were less good I had trouble at home. Not that they were physically violent, but I had to face a lot of psychological pressure. I was always in competition with other kids and that left no time for friendship.
I spent my time reading and studying, real leisure didn’t exist for me, there was no space left for it.
I would have been happy to oppose them « Fuck school » or « I don’t wanna go to school, I don’t need no education… ». Don’t misunderstand me : I’m not against education. I’m a graduate and I’m happy to be able to use stuff I’ve been tought at school. But I’m against the school system, because it is all rotten.
The trouble with school and particularly the French school system is that is doesn’t prepare you to face real life with its concrete problems.
There is too much homework to do and not enough place for kids to express themselves. Teenagers don’t want to hear stupid theories about them, they want to be fully understood. Teachers rarely take time to understand the context in which kids grow up. They rather focus their interest on the results. If the results are bad, they conclude that the child lacks intelligence, which is not necessarly the case. In our school system, there is no place for creativity.

Eminem has shown a deep understanding of the teenagers’ mind. He exactly knows the problems kids may face at school. He had the courage to expose the Columbine drama from the kids’ point of view.
We need to make efforts in order to understand the youth, because the youth is our future.
School is not only a place for studying, it can be the place where daily dramas can happen. Going to school can be a real nightmare for a kid who gets constantly bullied and racketted.
« Fuck school » as long as the system doesn’t change and « Fuck school » as long as it doesn’t represent a place where anybody can express freely…
In the end , learning theories doesn’t really help if you don’t take your common sense into account. Parents, please understand that your children want to live their lives…
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 04:14 PM | Comments (0)
November 30, 2003

Eminem: mirror of the reality?
In a word of fake desillusions where people are used to hide the truth and the facts at any price, Eminem appears to have started a real revolution. His lyrics as well as his story are based on real facts.
Eminem exposes truths and harsh things people often don’t want to hear about.
Like he expresses it so well in the song « Square Dance » from the « Eminem Show », he fights for « the right to say something you might not like. »
Eminem exposes his own story as a poor white trash kid to the public. Many people in America, who live their comfortable lives don’t want to hear about poverty. Eminem understood it well and let his words explode at their faces in his song « Rock Bottom » from the Slim Shady Lp, that is certainly one of the realest and the more touching song of the whole album.
Yes, the facts are so real and do hurt : look at this father who’s unable to feed his daughter :
« My daughter’s feet ain’t got no shoes or sock on ‘em… ». Rich Americans, open your eyes !
They prefer to ignore some facts, particularly the existence of white trash and underground people. Eminem is deranging to them. They prefer not to look at what he has to say and criticize his lyrics as « demeaning to the youth and to society ». Those people live in a closed world and are totally ignorant of the every day reality of the poor working classes.
To be well understood, young people need people who are really close to them and not the kind of psychologists who spend their time writing theories about them. Marshall stands very close to the youth. Not only that he dresses like them, but he experienced the same kind of problems teenagers usually do : broken families, drug addiction, misunderstandings…Marshall shows his concern for kids in his music. The sentence taken out of « Stimulate » from the bonus CD of the 8 Mile soundtrack « Bless the children, nothing less than brilliant… » is touching. « Sing For The Moment » helps so many teenagers who experience harsh problems with their families.
Eminem cannot be held responsible for the society’s decay. The issues Eminem raises need to be exposed. Too often, people picture America as a wealthy paradise.
We also need to discover America’s « other side », a country where some people live in misery in the ghetto where drug dealers and murderers reign. Eminem has the courage to expose his vision of America that may be shocking and full of uglyness, but that is certainly closer to the every day reality.
« Guilty Conscience » featuring Dr Dre from the Slim Shady LP is very representative of that reality. Dramas, robberies, murders also belong to the American reality and shouldn’t be ignored. « Guilty Conscience » may have shocked many politicians, but who could deny the existence of those events ?
Eminem has done a real good job as an engaged artist. He has certainly contributed for a large part to open people’s consciousness about the urban culture and ghetto reality. He is not afraid of a public exposure of the harsh reality. Violence exists, particularly in the ghetto. No doubt, it’s hard to live in the 313, but it’s worth discovering this world where murder is law and drugs deals , prostitution and poverty belong to the daily reality.
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 10:05 AM | Comments (0)

How eminem's "just don't give a fuck" attitude changed my perception of life
Most of us up grow up in a society that rarely allows us to show our true feelings. When we are angry or hurt we are supposed to hide it or to show it very little. I used to grow up in a particularly rigid parental environment and I didn’t dare expressing what I actually felt inside. This made a sick person of me.
I was also tought to care so much about people’s opinion. What people could think about me was supposed to be the most important, so if they thought I was a loser, it was supposed to be right and I just had to accept it. I spent years doubting my own qualities, torturing myself and my relationships with people have always been complicated at this time, because I was too shy to speak my mind. To all the people who are going through same situations than mine, no matter how old they are nor where they come from, I’d like to advice : « Don’t ever say yes when you intend to say no to people », because that’s the best way to get abused.
I discovered the Marshall Mathers LP first in 2001 and thinking of Eminem, I spoke to myself : « See, here’s a guy, who’s been through harsh situations and who’s not afraid to speak his mind. If you acted like him, you’d certainly feel better. »
So i started applying to this, even in very conflictual situations and I started noticing that it actually helped me to feel better.
I began to realize that I had been the prisoner of other people’s opinion on me for too long. It was such a great feeling to be able to oppose my opinion to other people and « not giving a fuck » about their reaction. I began to regain some self confidence and to act the way I always wanted to.
For the first time in my life I felt like I was myself.
In fact, it is so much important to realize that we should never fake our feelings and to be real about everything.
Marshall has changed my perception of life, for sure. He has given me the greatest gift through his attitude and his music : being real. For that, he deserves so many thanks from me.
The biggest mistake is to try to please everybody by agreeing on things you innerly don’t agree with.
You cannot force the whole world to like you, but if you keep real, you will certainly feel in total harmony with yourself and gain genuine people’s sympathy.
And for those who don’t like me : remember that I just don’t give a fuck about it.
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 09:45 AM | Comments (3)
November 28, 2003

The "Marshall Mathers" song
The « Marshall Mathers » song from the Marshall Mathers LP
This song was supposed to be a « Just Don’t Give A Fuck », part III. About this song, Eminem says :
« I wanted to just spit fire in each verse and have that soft-ass innocent chorus.»
The song is hilarious from the beginning to the end.
Eminem targets his family members who are so eager to get some money out of his brandnew fortune. He makes fun of his own behavior, attacks a lot of pop icons like N’sync, Backstreet, Ricky Martin, Britney Spears his rival Vanilla Ice and finally spits verses about his old enemies , the ICP group in response to their diss track « Slim Anus ». He makes fun of them, calling them two little flaming faggots (« I don’t get fucked in mine like you two little flaming faggots ! »)
Nobody seems to escape to his rage. Boy/girl groups are particularly targetted by Marshall, because he didn’t want to be classified as « pop » because of his blonde dyed hair. He wanted people to make a real difference :
« Now because of this blond mop that’s on top of
this fucked up head that I’ve got I’ve gone pop ? »
I particularly like the way chorus I gently starts in some kind of innocent way ("You see, I’m just Marshall Mathers/ I’m just a regular guy…") followed by a second chorus that is much more offensive and violent ( " ‘Cause I’m just Marshall Mathers/ I’m not a wrestler guy/ I’ll knock you out if you talk about me…")
This song has also been written in reaction of people who started doubting facts about Marshall’s life story.
Eminem jokes about his mom’s behavior, about her 10 Million dollars lawsuit, her drug addiction.
At the same time, Eminem’s siblings from his father’s side Michael and Sarah wanted to get in touch with their famous brother after ignoring him for years.
So many relatives want to make easy money on Eminem’s back.
Eminem adds sarcastically in his song :
« All of a sudden, I got ninety some cousins… »
He also exposes his beef with the XXL magazine that did an unauthorized cover story on him. The song ends in a hilarous way :
« Aah, fuck it, I’ll even buy a couple myself ! »
The « Marshall Mathers » song from the Marshall Mathers LP exposes Eminem speaking his mind, without caring about people’s opinions nor reactions.
The funny way in which he exposes his truths increases the pleasure of the listener who will probably laugh from the beginning to the end. If he’s got a sense of humor, of course !
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 09:10 AM | Comments (0)
November 27, 2003

Eminem's tattoos
Eminem’s life story can be read on his skin. He has ten tattoos :
- an Eminem tattoo on his right upper arm that represents his stage name. On his right shoulder Eminem has a Hailie tattoo that is his most recent tattoo. There is a picture of Hailie smiling and « Bonnie and Clyde » is written beneath. It reminds us of the great complicity between father and daughter. The roses are, of course, a symbol of his everlasting love for Hailie.
- on his right arm, you can read Hailie’s name vertically. Eminem got this tattoo to honor his daughter when she was born, in 1995. You can see this tattoo very clearly on the book cover of Martin Huxley’s book (Eminem : « Crossing The Line », St Martin’s Press)
- on his left arm, there is a Slim Shady tattoo that is surrounded by the Ronnie R.I.P tattoo. The « Ronnie RIP tattoo » has been made, of course, as a tribute to his deceased uncle. This tattoo is very artistic : it is related to the ghetto life in Detroit. You can see a huge mushroom along with buildings and the eye of a whore.
- the « D » on his right forearm stands for Marshall’s hometown, Detroit and also for the D12 group, representing « Dirty »
- the 12 on his left forearm represents « Dozen ». If you put both forearms together, in addition you have « D12 ».
- the gothic bracelet on his left wrist has no particular meaning, because Eminem forgot about the original meaning of the bracelet.
- On his right wrist, you can read « Slit Me » (maybe a reference to his suicidal tendencies from the past.)
- « RIP Kim » is located on Marshall’s stomach : the « Rot In Pieces » tatoo is dedicated to Kim. It pictures all the troubles Marshall went through because of Kim, including their arguments. At this time, Marshall had broken up with Kim and he didn’t intend to get back to her. « Rot in Pieces » also represents a grave with Kim’s name. It had something definitive in the meaning, but it is also the expression of a great pain Eminem was unable to swallow.
So if you want to understand the man and his life story, read his tattoos first !
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 10:38 AM | Comments (4)
November 26, 2003

8 Mile helps people to understand the Detroit context better
The « 8 Mile » movie makes us discover and understand the racial tension and the racial split that existed in Detroit. In fact, this appartheit has historical roots in Nothern America. In the 30’s and 40’s, southern Blacks moved to Nothern cities like Detroit. Many white people left the city to build their own communities. The racial tension that existed was so strong in Detroit that you could even find racial flags with sentences like « We want white tenants in our white community. »
The racial contrast was more important in poor communities like Warren where people (Blacks and Whites) had nearly the same income. Most of them were workers from the industry. Even Blacks with a higher level of education used to suffer from racial discrimination from Detroit Corporation that used to practice racial preference in favor of white people.
Backstab the Kingpin, a less known white rapper from Detroit I have interviewed, also talks about racial discrimination from both sides.
Being an aspiring white M.C in a black community was really far from easy :
"There was still great tension between white/blacks in Detroit. At that time rap/hip-hop was black culture and a white b-boy, emcee, or producer was refered to as another Vanilla Ice. "
But the tension that still existed in 1995 slowly disappears. Todd Nelson, who is from the elder generation, stated in a BBC interview that his nephew had become « worst » since he hung out with Blacks, which is, of course, laughable.
According to Backstab, Eminem avoids talking about the racial issues from the black side, because the people he’s collaborating with are Blacks :
"The "8 mile" reminds me of that night at alvins, one thing Em did not do is touch on the reverse racism that I felt back in the mid 90's, I think this is for obvious reason--his friends and labelmates being all black. Another that I thought was funny is that St Andrews which is protrayed in the 8 mile movie as an all black club was actually a mojority white crowd or at least half."
8 Mile makes us discover the underground from Detroit which is specific. To understand the movie well, you must be familiar with US slang. The 313 or Three One Third is a reference to the phone area code. If you live in the 313, you are supposed to be cool. If you live in the 810, you are considered as a sellout.

8 Mile also pictures an industrial city, where people work very hard. It shows dark places, the kind of places you want to escape from as soon as you will improve your financial situation. Detroit cannot be considered as a safe city.
Backstab can certainly relate to this. He used to live in the worst parts of Detroit:
"I grew up (in school) in the suburbs so I wasnt subject to any type of reverse racism during that time. At that time, I was siding with the minority because I have major native american roots and lived in a racist town called Livonia where blacks got pulled over randomly and often. If you are black--you dont drive thru Livonia at night--you will be arrested for one thing or another. This is why I chose a urban college and left for the city at my most influential years (18-25) I have lived in the Cass corridor & Brightmoor. Both neighborhoods known to Detroit as some of its worst parts. run down bruned up buildings, crack and drugs, prostitution and transsexuals runnign the streets. Fights, and shooting heard all night. Detroit is not a safe nor happy spot. It’s a city thatsfelt years of oppression and contains people who have worked their hands to the bone at factories and autro plants trying to provide a good living for their loved ones. It’s a materialistic city that thrives on stepping on the next man to better yourself."
But the most interesting part of 8 Mile is certainly the atmosphere of the lyrical battles . You realize the hard fight of a white MC in a black majority for recognition and to escape to poverty. 8 Mile makes you discover the local rap scene and like it. It is also the story of friendship and solidarity between people from different races who share the same social context.
You cannot resist to sing along with the white M.C: “Now everybody from the 313, put your motherfucking hands in the air and follow me!”
8 Mile has made a star of Rock City (Detroit) that will certainly remain a huge source of inspiration for Eminem.
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 04:36 PM | Comments (0)
November 25, 2003

Brain Damage
Eminem has been near to death several times in his life and he owes one of the scariest events that happened in his life to a man named D’Angelo Bailey.
Every Eminem listener knows the words of the song « Brain Damage » from the Slim Shady LP where Eminem relates the event, adding some sarcastic and imaginary verses (like his brain falling out of his head, for instance).
Debbie Mathers expressed about this tragic event on the Sally Jessy Raphael Show : « He was found in the bathroom, in blood, on the floor. Twenty-one doctors in four days gave up on Marshall. »
We know that Debbie tried to sue Roseville Elementary School in 1982 and that Eminem’s school dismissed the lawsuit in 1983.
Eminem was attacked twice by D’Angelo.
« The first time was around Thanksgiving and the second time was around Christmas. Marshall had a slight concussion the first time. The second time he almost wasn’t too lucky. Marshall fell in and out of consciousness. »
The doctors wanted to institutionalize Marshall, but Debbie, for once showing true love to her son, refused the idea. She didn’t want to give up on her son. It is really hard for a mother to cope with such events.
Debbie stated : « It was one of the hardests things for me to ever do. They gave me a choice- if Marshall’s hearing did not come back , his eyesight faded in and out- that I’d have to instutionalize him. »
But Debbie refuse to take this into account : « I refused to do so. He was on seizure medication, he would black out and did not even realize what he was doing at the time.. It took a year for him to bounce back. »
The D’Angelo bully has influenced Eminem’s music for a large part- I mean not only the song « Brain Damage », but if you take a deeper look at Eminem’s videos, there are references to hospitals, to surgery and to mental institutions. In the Real Slim Shady video, you can see a lot of insane persons in an asylum. If we look at the « Without Me » video, Eminem is being operated in a crazy way.The 50 Cent video « In Da Club » pictures Slim Shady operating his mate.
This event has traumatized Marshall for a great part and he needs to exorcize this part of his life.
D’Angelo Bailey, who does not even feel guilty for acting this way in the past, remembers the first time he listened to « Brain Damage » : « Damn, that must have been scared him for life. ». He has admitted the facts he denied later on Court in order to get some easy money « the good old American way » :
« Yeah, we flipped him right on his head at recess. When we didn't see him moving, we took off running. We lied and said he slipped on the ice. He was a wild kid, but back then we thought it was stupid. Hey, you have his phone number? »
You will probably be amused if you get to know that D’angelo’s kids are Eminem fans who enjoy the song « Brain Damage » a lot.
D’Angelo filed several lawsuits against the famous rapper for defamation. He also held Eminem for responsible of the fact he was unable to lauch his career as a rapper.The most recent lawsuit has been dismissed by Judge Servitto a few weeks ago.
Eminem is a fighter who never gives up. Like his grandmother expressed it before, he is very lucky to be alive after all he went through in his life. The talented rapper deserves the deepest admiration for his ability to use even tragic events at his advantage and to increase his artistic creativity.
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 09:23 AM | Comments (0)

Eminem’s greatest gift : Hailie Jade
Hailie Jade is Eminem and Kim’s daughter.
The little girl is Eminem’s biggest source of inspiration. Since her earlier years, Marshall recorded her voice on his album, the « Slim Shady Lp ». He also dedicated his book « Angry Blonde » to her.
Hailie Jade Scott was born on December the 25 1995 in Detroit. She is the one who gave Eminem the strength and the faith to go to the end. Her birth has been a wake up call for Marshall who really felt devastated after Ronnie’s death and who nearly gave up his dream to be a rapper. Hailie made Eminem conscious of his responsibilities towards his family.
Nothing scared him more than the possibility of being separated from his daughter at the time he was facing Court charges :
“I guess I’ve always been the type of person who, if a brick is thrown my way, I set it up the wrong way and stand on it. Whatever obstacle is thrown my way, I try to use it to my advantage and run with it. It was a dark time for me, I guess, but I can honestly say I probably would be a different person sitting here right now if it wasn’t for my little girl.”
Marshall also wanted to be a good and devoted father to his daughter unlike his own Dad. He expresses it so well in « Cleaning Out My Closet » while touching his « Hailie tattoo » tenderly :
" I look at Hailie and I couldn't picture leavin' her side…"
Eminem’s wounds from the past are deep and still hurt . His Dad left him when he was just a few months old, and he wants things to be different for Hailie. Despite the fact he is a very busy man, most of his spare time belongs to his little lady.
In his difficult love-hate relationship with his ex-wife Kim, Eminem has always put Hailie’s interest first. He also talks about in « Cleaning Out My Closet » :
“even if I hated Kim, I grit my teeth and I'd try, to make it
work with her at least for Hailie's sake, I maybe made some mistakes but i'm only human, but i'm
man enough to face them today, what I did was stupid, no doubt it was dumb, but the smartest
shit I did was take them bullets out of that gun, cause id'a killed 'em, shit I would have shot
Kim and him both, it's my life, i'd like to welcome y'all to the Eminem show...”
Kim has humiliated her husband, giving John Guerra an intimate kiss and Marshall retaliated publicly (as usual). But in reality, he has tried to work out his relationship with Kim and to reunite his family.
During his divorce procedure, he tried to reconcile with his wife, but it just didn’t work out.
He also went back to Kim several times after their divorce. But Kim has proven to be an untrustworthy person. She recently just disappeared (after facing Court charges for cocaine detention) without even caring about what could happen to her daughter and how she could feel, being abandonned this way.
In the meantime, the full custody of Hailie Jade has been granted to Marshall by the Court.
Eminem’s biggest enemies, Benzino and Ja Rule, who know that Hailie is the person that really matters in Marshall’s life, didn’t hesitate to diss the young girl in order to weaken the talented rapper who came out of the lyrical battle stronger than ever, with Hailie’s participation in « Do Ray Me » where she mockingly asks Marshall : « Daddy is Ja Rule taller than me ? »
Her Daddy answers sarcastically : « No honey, you guys are the same size »
His moving song « Hailie’s song » from the Eminem Show summarizes the love Marshall feels for his little daughter who will be 8 years old on Christmas Day. It sounds like an ode to Hailie where his deespest feelings and Eminem’s « real side » is exposed to his public.
Hailie is the greatest Christmas gift Marshall could ever expect. She makes a happy and proud Daddy of him.
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 03:13 PM | Comments (13)

Nathan Mathers
Nathan Mathers is Debbie’s second son with Fred Samra Jr and Eminem’s half brother. Both brothers have a good and close relationship. Along with Hailie, Nathan belongs to the persons that really matter in Marshall’s life.

Nathan Kane Samra was born on February the 3rd 1986 in Detroit.
Since Nate was a baby, Marshall used to take care of him. Eminem states that he pretty much raised his little brother from the beginning. He even changed his brother’s diapers.
Nate’s life in Detroit has been similar to Marshall’s. He has also been bullied at Roseville Elementary school. Debbie Mathers tried to sue his school for that, but Roseville school returned those facts against her and Nate was placed in a foster family for about one year. Debbie was accused of beating her son. Eminem’s mom probably also abused her second son emotionally. It is well known that she used to isolate him from other kids.
Nate describes her as a crazy person.
While his brother was living with his mom, Marshall always had to be careful when he gave Nathan a call : « When I call him, I bite my tongue. I believe she’s listening on the other extension. I’m sure he’s afraid of my mother and I’m sure he’s doing the same things to him that she did to me. »
Eminem has always shown love and concern for his brother. There is a reference to Nate in « Cleaning Out My Closet » from the Eminem show :
«… and Nathan's growing up so quick, he's gonna
know that your phoney… ». This line appears to be a real warning for Debbie.
Nate takes part to many events in Marshall’s personal and public life. He has shared his dramas and successes. He supported his brother in the most dramatic event since the beginning of his career : his Court case.
He was also present at the Mathers’ home when Kim attempted suicide.
You can see Nate in several of Eminem’s videos: "The Way I Am ", " Without Me " , " Sing for the Moment ".
About Nate, Marshall says : « Yo, my brother is mad cool . He’s the most popular kid in the school. He’s got like 10 girlfriends. He even died his hair blonde and got his ears pierced. He looks just like me ! He came to my concert and the girls were all over him. They didn’t even want to get with me. He was sitting on his girl’s lap and I was like « You go, you little pimp. He is cool and we call him Little Nate Dogg. »
At the 2001 Detroit Music Awards, Marshall asked his little bother to take his awards and even to deliver the « thank you » speech. At the VMA Awards 2003, Marshall thanked his little brother.
Nate also spends time touring with his brother, which is something he enjoys very much.
Nate who follows his brother’s career with very much interest, is also an aspiring rapper.
This is a little freestyle by Nate from Eminem’s mom interview on the BBC. Nate was rapping with Debbie in their car :
« You laughin’ while your bobbin’ in your seat,
You turn around, I’ll bust you in your teeth
You’ll be laughin’ at me,
While the girls will be playing with my meat,
Stop while your ahead,
Take a tylonal and go to bed. »
About his musical talent, Debbie Mathers said :
« I think when Nathan gets out there, he will do far better than Marshall »
But what really matters to Nathan in the end is Eminem’s opinion about his talent as a future rapper :
"I'm more concerned what Eminem's going to think about me more than anybody else."
Nate is still trying to find a record deal. It wouldn’t be surprising if he collaborated with his brother someday.
Nate currently lives with his brother Marshall since his 16 th birthday. Marshall bought sportscars to Nate for his 16th and 17th birthday.
In an interview given to « The Face », Eminem’s little brother was asked how it was like to live with his famous brother.
He replied : « better than living with my mom ».
In another interview given to the webmaster of his official website , Nate also explained that his mom wasn’t a good mom and how much crazy she could act in real life. No doubt he is telling the truth.
Posted by Isabelle Esling at 09:46 PM | Comments (21)
November 21, 2003

Benzino and the Source's plot against Eminem
Some people are ready to do anything to get some publicity. They would walk on the dead if they had to.
Benzino belongs to those kind of pe