Month: August 2004

‘ Rock City ‘ is the example of a collaboration between two gifted Detroit rappers: Eminem and Royce da 5.9. ‘ Rock City ‘ sounds like an ode to Detroit. People who have enjoyed the song have probably also liked the ‘ Rock City ‘ video.
The video introduces you into a black suburb. A mom discovers the ‘ Rock City ‘ CD and is so shocked that the CD lands into the trash. But the angry mom is unable to escape to Eminem and Royce who will appear on her TV screen.
The song ‘ Rock City ‘ also refers to Detroit’s various and rich musical influences. There is also a clear allusion to the second Detroit race riots wave from the 60’s in Royce’s mouth:
‘ I’m takin shit back to the riots in the sixties’ ‘
Royce shares his vision of Detroit with us. Detroit is the city of the hustle, you just can escape hustlers, they are everywhere you go, from the suburbs to the ghetto.
Hustling is a theme that has been exploited by many Detroit artists like Shane Capone, Backstab the Kingpin. It is present in Proof’s song ‘ Boom ‘ ( ‘ boom ‘ is the slang term for ‘ hustle ‘) from the Promatic album.
A good definition of the term ‘ boom ‘ can be found in the urban dictionary:
‘ Street slang for hustling that originated in Detroit:
That man’s out there booming on the block. ‘
(by Alex Skov)
Detroit, the city of plants where workers get exploited. Detroit, the city of pimps, dealers and hoes.
Not only pleasant details belong to Royce’s description of a rough city that remains also a musically rich city. Some call it ‘ Rock City ‘.
Eminem, who is very conscious of Detroit’s musical potential, is working hard for local emcees’ promotion:
“I remember seven, eight years ago, when Detroit was growing, it was like a seed that was growing and all I ever heard and all anybody was talking about was wanting to be the first person to blow up Detroit and the first person to get on and the first person to do this and the first person to do that. Everybody was just fighting for Detroit to have a voice,” he says.
“Once I got on, I realised it wasn’t about that. I knew there was so much talent in Detroit, period. There’s probably 10,000 MCs in Detroit that have it in their heart to just do hip-hop and just be something and they have that drive.”
“What I’m trying to do is bring the industries here, bring the record labels here and make them realize there’s talent in Detroit, and to start looking.”
Detroit might correspond to the description of a rather depressing city, but the talents of its numerous local emcees make it appear in an interesting light. So come on, rock with Eminem and Royce on this wonderful ode to ‘ Rock City ‘.feat. Eminem
“Rock City, Royce, 5’9, Slim, Shady”
*skirt* “COME ON!!”
[Royce the 5’9″]
Can’t stop the hustle, Royce nickel nine
Glock stops the tussle, nine shots’ll bust you
Pine box’ll stuff you, fuck you!
“Fuck you!”
I am not the tussle, niggaz don’t know me
*skirt* “COME ON!!”
I’m Detroit’s king nigga
*skirt* “Wow!”
Rock City’s where niggaz pimp hoes and ball
Strip hoes in bars, still close the malls
“Arms, and ya city’s got the..” [3x]
Titties saggin lookin like they got four arms
Gold bottles, green bottles, Cris’ to the don
Niggaz get popped for sellin weed shaked with seeds
If you hate me you hate the D (*vocal scratch*) please!
I’m takin shit back, to the riots in the sixties
Think I’m lying? Visit me (Where you live?)
[Hook] + (Eminem)
“Rock city.. rock on!” (Come on and rock wit me)
“Rock city” *scratches* (Come on and rock wit me)
“Rock city.. rock on!” (Come on and rock wit me)
“Rock wit me” *scratches* (Come on and rock wit me)
“Rock city” *scratches* (Come on the block wit me)
“Rock city.. rock on!” (And come and rock wit me)
“Rock.. city.. come on”
“Rock.. on.. city.. come on!”
[Royce the 5’9″]
Suburban and city niggaz hustle together
Long as it’s money envolved, niggaz’ll tussle together
Long as the hustle’s a hustle, the green is green
White is white, nigga we buyin if the price is right
So (*scratch*) drop the mics
Everything’s on cock, from the shots to the dice
We are not into hype
You can’t say we can’t work
Either we some plant workers or we some niggaz that plant work
(“What”) Detroit bitches is bout it
You can just ask any one of ya niggaz that visit about it
Any Seven Mile bitch know how to get rich
She’ll fuck you till you sleep PLUS lie to ya bitch
PLUS she’ll suck and swallow up outta ya dick
And she’ll keep a sugar daddy that’ll buy her some shit, come on!
[Hook] + (Eminem)
“Rock city.. rock on!” (Come on and rock wit me)
“Rock city” *scratches* (Come on and rock wit me)
“Rock city.. rock on!” (Come on and rock wit me)
“Rock wit me” *scratches* (Come on and rock wit me)
“Rock city” *scratches* (Come on the block wit me)
“Rock city” *scratches* (And come and rock wit me)
“The city with the bars, where the goons with the cars,
to produce, here we are..”
[Royce the 5’9″]
New casinos, car shuffles, numbers to bet
Disrespect and get a new smile under ya neck
A city full of thug-ass niggaz, and punk-rockers
Alotta niggaz act like Pac so cops watch ’em
And shot blocks up in the black or the light Timbs
White boys, look, act, and rap like Slim (“Hi!”)
Fight Music, knife users never respect it
Guns talk (*scratch*) high schools with metal detectors
A city full of Tommy Hirst thumpers
Brandt Hill roopers, Barry Sanders runners, stunners
Cal Diz but we connects like whoa!
Type of weed, no need to test like ‘dro
Type of cats who got dough, they like (“So!”)
You real, then you might go.. (Where?)
[Hook: 2X] + (Eminem)
“Rock city.. rock on!” (Come on and rock wit me)
“Rock city” *scratches* (Come on and rock wit me)
“Rock city.. rock on!” (Come on and rock wit me)
“Rock wit me” *scratches* (Come on and rock wit me)
“Rock city” *scratches* (Come on the block wit me)
“Rock city” *scratches* (And come and rock wit me)
[Royce talking] + (Eminem)
Detroit Rock City (“Slim Shady”)
Won’t you come on the block with us? (“Royce the 5’9”)
Won’t you just come and rock with us? (“Royce the 5’9”)
Next Level (“Rock City”)
Royce the 5’9″ (“Rock”)
Slim Shady (“Rock City”)
Uh uh, won’t you come and rock with us? (“Rock City”)
Won’t you come on the block with us? (“Rock wit me”)
Won’t you come and rock with us? (“Rock wit-“)
Rock City.. touch it… (“Fuck!”)

Every time I feel weak or discouraged, the final words of Eminem’s song ‘ Lose Yourself ‘ travel through my mind like a constant encouragement not to give up: ‘ You can do anything you set your mind to, man. ‘
Wonderful power of those words. Just listening to them in a silent meditation deep inside of me gives me enough force to go forward.
Whatever your dreams or your projects are, let me tell you that if you’re willing enough to through the end, you actually can and will do anything you set your mind to.
People who keep telling you that it doesn’t work or that is impossible are usually quitters and bitter persons who lacked energy in fulfilling their own dreams. You gotta avoid those persons if you really want to go forward.
Real winners never quit their fight. No matter how many storms they will have to go through, no matter how many failures they will be confronted to.
Real winners know how to use their defeats: in fact, each defeat teaches them a lesson. A lesson that they will use as an enrichment on their road to success.
Another point shouldn’t be neglected by people who are determined to succeed: surround yourself by positive people. Positive people might help you in the brainstorming of your project. They will give you all the moral help needed.
Determination, positive thinking and faith are the keys to success. All you have to do is to apply to them.

Eminem changes people’s lives!
Michelle is a fellow fan who came across my website. She has shared her story with me and I would like to share it (with her approval) with all of you.
Her life has been changed by Eminem positively. Like me, she doesn’t correspond to the ‘ typical teenage Eminem fan ‘.
This is Michelle’s personal story:
“I am a 32 yr old mother of three. My children’s ages are 16, 12, and 7.
Yes, I said 16 and if you can do the math I was 16 when I had him. My mother raised me, but my father was not around much. He always showed up for Christmas and a phone call on my birthday, but that was pretty much it. He did always convey to me that even though we did not see a lot of each other, he loved me and would be there if I ever asked him to. My mother was very materialistic and cold. She very rarely said she loved me or gave me much one on one attention. She did work very hard, but all of her off time was spent with one boyfriend after another. She wanted to be like a big sister more than my mother. She had me when she was young and she was constantly trying to get back her youth that having me had stolen away from her. She blamed me for everything that went wrong in her life. Nothing I could do was good enough. She did not get to do many things that young people do because of me and she wanted those things for me. College, prom, parties, graduation, and all things high school, but even though I understood that she wanted a better life for me than what she had been dealt, she did not tell me why. She constantly lied to me. I was 13 before I knew her true age or when her and my father was married. Mainly because she knew I would do the math and figure everything out. I finally figured it out by looking at her driver license and I found a copy of their wedding invitation at my aunt’s house by accident. Looking back now so many things in my life was a lie. Her family acted as though they were close, but we really only saw each other on holidays. We would go to one of my aunt’s houses and pretend that everything was just fine. That everyone was as pure as the driven snow and not dare talk about anything that was going wrong in our lives. We most definitely did not show any emotion other than the facade of pure happiness. My entire childhood was this way. My feelings were silly, foolish. They did not matter because my mother was always having some other crisis that took precedent over whatever issues I was having. Living this way, I began to believe that I was not important. That everyone else’s feelings and problems were more important than my own. That I should just ignore it and focus on anything but myself and put everyone else first, mainly my mother. As I grew older, she threw more and more on me. I was not a child. I was her equal. By the age of 10, I was paying the bills with checks she left signed for me, making dinner for myself, her, and whatever boyfriend she had, cleaning the house and yard, anything and everything that the mother would usually do. She was never there for me physically or emotionally. She did always provide a roof over my head, food, and clothing. We were not poor, just middle class.
It was around this time that one of my mother’s boyfriends became a permanent live in. At first it was kind of nice, as he seemed decent enough. I got along with him and at first my mother tried to play more of the motherly role to impress him. I can’t say that I didn’t mind that. But, it all to soon faded. My mother’s new live in was a drug trafficker with many problems. It did not seem that bad at first. I was old enough to know about drugs (at least what they told us in school and TV). It started out with me being able to smell them smoking pot. Then after a few months to a year, I would find one hundred dollar bills rolled very tightly into straws lying around the house. Little did I know that the worst was yet to come. The drug problem he had really did not affect me at this point. I knew what was going on, but I just hung out with my friends and played video games. They never did it in front of me and they were getting along pretty well. He would leave for a few weeks at a time every so often. I realize now that he was trafficking. When he would come back he would always have a couple of skuzzy friends with him and many large duffle bags. They would set up shop my mom’s bedroom not to be seen again for a few days and then be gone again. After a few more months of this, my mother and him began to argue. They argued about him being gone, bringing unwanted people around, him cheating, and even the things that I was being exposed to. She did care about what was happening. She was still working very hard and when she was not there I was left alone with these people. She did not like it, however she did very little to stop it. She used but she never did become addicted to anything to the point of having to go to rehab or not being able to function properly. She had a good job and made decent money. Eventually, my mother got her way and her boyfriend supposedly saw the error in his ways. They bought a house together and we moved. For about two months everything seemed ok. He even got a normal job working with his family.
This was the calm before the storm. He would get up say he was going to work then his family would call asking if he was there. He would say he is going to the store and ask if I wanted anything and not come back for three or four days. Amazingly, when he did he would always bring back the candy bar, chips, or soda that I had asked for. It was not long before he was back to where he had started and then some. The smell of pot and rolled up hundreds with cocaine residue on them had been replaced with needles and bent spoons. The semi quiet arguments in their bedroom were replaced with screaming, shouting, and slamming doors. They grew very far apart and he moved into the spare bedroom. He would stay in there for days at a time. She continued to live her life as though he was not there. Even going out and partying with other guys. The only time she would even bother him was when the mortgage was due. He always had money from trafficking and his family sent him a check whether he worked or not. The time I spent awake at night was worse than any nightmare I had while I was sleeping. I would lie awake and wait for the screaming to start or occasionally my mother and I would stand by his bedroom door and wait for it to quit shaking. He got to the point that he would occasionally have seizures and I think he would try to get help, but he would fall against the door and my mother and I could not open it. She would never call an ambulance for fear she would get in trouble. The police however were a constant visitor every Fri and Sat night. She would come home drunk and he would be high. She would bang and scream at his door until he opened it and proceeded to beat the hell out of her. Why she would not leave him alone I have no idea. I would get up and protect her. I would stand between them and drag her into my room. We would call the police and if needed my grandparents to take her to the hospital. He for some unknown reason would not lay one finger on me, but had no problem picking her up and throwing her across the room into the dining room table. This was routine for a couple of years until he finally got caught for trafficking and went to prison.
Upon his return, he was clean and after he stayed that way a while, my mother agreed to marry him. As much pain as he has caused me, I did forgive him. Mainly, because he stepped to me like a mature adult and asked me to. He admitted what he had done and acknowledged the pain that his actions inflicted upon me. My mother on the other hand is another story. Again this is something bad and we do not talk about the bad things. We act as though it was some nightmare that never really happened. Even my aunts and uncles acted as though nothing was going on. Looking back I become very angry thinking that everyone knew what was going on and no one would step in and help us. I mean how could they not know. I know they do, because I could see the sadness and pity for me in their eyes when I would look at them, but even now they deny it. Even a few years ago when my mother and I were having an argument about the fact that I had to work and I could not make it to a school function for my kid, I confronted her. I asked her how she could dare criticize my parenting after what she had put me through. She responded with she did not know what I was talking about. I then reminded her of how I had saved her ass on more than one occasion. She then responded with ‘you believe what if you have to’!!! I mean WHAT THE FUCK??? I was eleven, twelve, thirteen, not one or two. I know what I say is true. As if I have a choice in what to believe. I wish to hell that I did not have this burden to carry with me this anger and resentment. I do not blame my mother for what happened. She was a victim as well. However, how dare she try to act as though the events that have shaped my life and mentality did not happen. I am not asking for an apology, only for validation of my feelings. But again, my feelings are silly. Whatever happened was a long time ago and does not effect my life today’ FUCK THAT.
Well life around age 14 calmed down somewhat and that’s when I met my first husband. Although I have read enough self help books and watched enough Oprah to know now what attracted me to him then, I did not realize it at the time. He was all consuming, totally obsessed with my every action and me. He was a control freak. He was what my divorce lawyer would later call a Mexican machismo. Of course I thought in the beginning that it was because he loved me so much!!! Later I would come to realize that it was because he did not love himself at all. He did not love himself and therefore he could not see any reason for my feelings for him to be true. He always wanted me to prove my love and eventually that is how I found myself pregnant at fifteen. I did love him, and why not he was the perfect father figure that I had been without my entire life. He controlled everything I did from who I talked with to what TV shows I watched. He gave me more attention than I had ever known.
I fought my mother and everyone else to have my son. No one except my father asked what I wanted. They just all agreed I should have an abortion. I could not do it. I even went as far as to call child services because my mom was going to take me to the clinic. They put me in protective custody for a few weeks and then agreed to let me move in with my boyfriend’s family. We asked for permission to marry. My mother would hear nothing of it. We petitioned the court and she did not show up, so the judge allowed us to get married when I was sixteen. Two months later, my son was born. Although life at that time and for many years there after was very difficult I do not have any regrets about my decision to have my son. I also support a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion. It just wasn’t right for me at that time. I spent the next seven years in a very unhappy marriage making the best of it. I could not do anything, go anywhere, or have any friends. I could not even listen to what music I liked (rap of course). He did not approve of it and called it very derogatory names that I will not repeat. I also had another child, (a girl) along the way. When it got to the point where the bad times out numbered the good I decided to leave.
Six months later, I met my 2nd husband. I am still married very happily to him. I had my third (and last) child, another girl. My husband and I have a very good marriage and I could not be happier with him. He understands what I have been through and treats me with respect. All of the kids are great and everyone gets along. There was a little drama along the way, but all of that is gone now.
About three years ago, my happiness faltered somewhat. My husband’s family’s business started failing. I was working for them at the time and he and I had our own business. We basically sub-contracted work for them and they paid us. When they started not being able to pay their other subs, we had to make a choice to stick it out or bail. His parents started the family business 30 yrs ago. They started with one truck and trailer and built it up to about15 trucks, 30 owner/operators, and 120 trailers. It was the lively hood for the entire family, so when they asked for our help we felt we could not let them down. The next two months we spent moving everything into our business name and trying like hell to keep afloat. Since I was the bookkeeper for both businesses, everyone was looking at me for what to do. It was a burden that I did not expect. I was told in the beginning of all of this that they would help me, but when the burden was off of them they bailed. Everything was coming down on me. I went into a depression.
Then, Shelly (our smallest girl) got sick, she was in St Joseph’s Children’s Hospital for a month. She had an intestinal virus that there was not any medication for. All they could do is keep her hydrated and filled with antibiotics, so she wouldn’t develop a worse condition. She lost ten pounds off her 31 pound body, underwent blood transfusions, and all we could do was watch her deteriorate. She eventually went into kidney failure and we were faced with possible dialysis, maybe even a transplant in the future. She pulled through fine in the end without any permanent disability.
We started to pick ourselves up off the floor and deal with the business again, when I took my oldest son, Matt, for a routine eye exam. I was told that he was missing a little bit of his peripheral vision. That it might be nothing. To have it checked, but not to worry, (yeah right). We spent several weeks bouncing from doctors to specialist finally ending up at a neurologist. He underwent several tests including MRI, field vision screening, EEG’s, you name it. I was finally told that he has lesions on his brain and he is totally blind in the upper right quadrants of both his eyes. They were not sure if he would have to undergo brain surgery or not. Finally, nine months and five MRIs later, they decided that the lesions were not growing at this time and that his vision had not gotten any worse, so he has to go every three months for re-testing to monitor his progress. Of course, they cannot say for certain that he will never have to have surgery.
At this point, I still have all the shit of the business weighing down on me, and all with my kid’s health problems, I totally broke down. I lost it. I couldn’t get out of bed, but I couldn’t sleep. I was gaining weight like crazy, but I couldn’t hold my food down. I finally sought professional help. He gave me medication so that I could deal somewhat and sleep. During this time I listened, of course, to a lot of Eminem. It was the only thing that took my mind off my problems. I guess that most people would turn to religion and God, but I was not raised in a religious environment. So, I turned to what worked for me. Even if it was for a few minutes on the way to the grocery store, every little bit helped. I could just get lost in the lyrics and just not think of everything else. It was MY time, MY only time for just ME. Although not every lyric or every song was about me or some shit that I had been through, it was enough to remind me that I would make it, that I didn’t need to drive my truck into a tree or take a few too many sleeping pills (the thought had crossed my mind on more than one occasion). It reminded me that I was strong and able enough to do whatever it took to make it and to have faith in myself, if nothing else. I learned that it is ok to have more than just feelings of happiness. That I could be angry, sad, belligerent, and silly whatever I felt was ok. I finally felt that I owned my feelings. As I got stronger, I too took on the attitude of not givin’ a fuck. I started not to care what anyone thought of me. As long as I was happy with myself fuck anyone who was opposed to me. You were either with me or against me. I realized by listening to him that this is My life and I only have to answer to people that I choose to answer to. As for anyone else, you don’t me, or what shit I have been through. If you care, I will tell you, but you have no right to judge me. It was a total revelation, an epiphany.
So, I started surrounding myself with pictures of him. Close friends and family members that knew what it meant to me, started bringing me anything Eminem. I ended up with calendars, posters, pictures, clothing, you name it. But, there was one picture in particular, I can’t explain why but it gave me the most peace of mind when I looked at it. I decided to put it in my car on my visor. I spend a lot of time driving, usually alone, and usually listening to Em. So, many times I wind up in my car literally sick, worrying over whatever the issues are for the day, and that picture gave me faith that I would get through all the shit.
It was then about a year ago that I decided that I was going to get a tattoo of Em. I chose the picture from my visor and found an artist to do it. I had it done about six weeks ago and I cannot tell you the strength and peace it has given me. I am more self assured and happy than I have ever been. Not that all my problems are solved, but I know that I can get through it. I have even started a leg sleeve kinda in tribute to Em. My tattoos of Em make me feel empowered (ha, ha em-powered). I did not expect to have that happen, but they do. I offer no excuses or lies to anyone anymore. I dare anyone in my family of hear no evil, see no evil believers to ask why I chose to be tattooed with Eminem on my back and leg. They will find out why and when they try to act they didn’t know I will tell them FUCK YOU !!! I am tired of living the charade and Em has taught me that I do not have to if I do not want to. I blame no one for my choices or my life. I own my mistakes and have the physical and emotional scars to prove it. I no longer need validation, or permission from my mother to have feelings of any kind. I feel vindicated in the eyes of my husband and children, and their love and support is all I need (and Em’s music).
This is my story of how Eminem, Marshall Mathers, and Slim Shady have made a difference in my life. I acknowledge all sides of his persona as they have individually helped me to realize that although I am one physical person, many different people reside inside of me and believe or not that does not make me crazy’ it makes me normal. I just choose to admit it and not hide behind some kind of facade of myself. Well, thanks for listening or I should say reading this. “
Thank you,
Michelle Sanchez ‘Chelle’

To all of you who are curious to know more about Nathan Mathers’ future career as a rapper, it seems like Eminem’s brother has achieved his first rap CD.
He’s got the ambition to be a rap star like his big brother from whom he has learnt a lot and whom he is very grateful to:
‘ My brother Eminem is the coolest guy I know and he’s the greatest brother a guy could have. We’re really close and I’ve idolized him ever since I was a kid, way before he was famous. ‘
Both brothers live together and Nate enjoys staying at his brother’s home. A great complicity binds both brothers. Eminem even helps his little brother out with his music. With such a great teacher, no doubt Nathan will make some progress very fast:
‘ I’ve been living with Eminem a few years now and it’s the best situation in the world. I have my own room and plenty of space. No one bothers me. Eminem’s around a lot. He helps me with my music and we play on our play station, listen to music or watch movies together. ‘
Although Nate has also been suffering from his mom’s behavior, that he described as ‘ nuts ‘ a few years ago, he is in better terms with Debbie Mathers than Marshall:
‘ My relationship with our mom is very different to Marshall’s, he says. I’ve never seen her the way he does. They have lots of problems. I don’t get into it. She’s my mom and I love her. ‘
Since Eminem has been granted full custody for his daughter, Hailie also shares Nathan’s every day live. He loves his neice very much and plays a lot with her.
Nathan will confirm you how dedicated Marshall is as a daddy:
‘ I make time for her every day whatever she wants to do. Since she’s been living back at Eminem’s full time, we’re one big family and I love having her around. It’s sad what happened with her mom, but Eminem’s a great dad. People tend to dismiss this. ‘
Nathan doesn’t want to be Eminem’s rapping clone. He has the will to make something very personal and different from his brother’s style:
‘ I am my own person. I am not my brother. I can’t have his career. I can only put my stuff and create my own identity. People are going either dig my stuff or they won’t. ‘
Of course, Nathan is conscious that being Eminem’s brother will help a lot in building his future career:
‘ Sure being Eminem’s brother has opened all the doors, but it’s now up to me to make something of it. No one is going to invest in me if I don’t produce the results. I understand that this is a business first. If the CDs don’t sell, I’m out. ‘
The biggest mistake that people could make would be to compare Nathan to his brother. You ought to give him a chance: of course it won’t be perfect at the very beginning, but you can be sure that he will do his best:
‘ I only hope that people will give me a chance and not try to compare me to him. I’m making my own music. It is not just a carbon copy of his stuff. ‘
Nathan Mathers might be the next great hip hop superstar very soon. He is determined to work hard in order to surprise you positively. When his first CD will come out, why not give him a chance to prove his talent?

I went through an article that was published in the Detroit News recently:
http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/0408/25/a02-253306.htm
I was surprised and angered at the same time by Neal Rubin’s statements about the place where Eminem used to live, because I am deeply convinced that this article totally misrepresents the truth.
First of all, people who know Eminem’s life story perfectly know that 8 Mile has never been autobiographical. It just situates the context of Eminem’s story.
Neal Rubin’s worst statement is the following one:
‘ Lots of people have taken it literally, though, and they’ll be surprised to learn where Marshall Mathers III grew up:
In a brick bungalow near Nine Mile. ‘
This statement is untrue: Eminem didn’t live permanently near 9 Mile in the little house of Warren.
He used to live between 7 and 8 Mile with his mom. You will learn it from Eminem’s mouth in an interview given to Spin Magazine in 2000:
Spin: These were mostly African-American neighborhoods where you grew up?
Eminem: Yeah, near 8 Mile Road in Detroit, which separates the suburbs from the city. Almost all the blacks are on one side, and almost all the whites are on the other, but all the families nearby are low-income. We lived on the black side. Most of the time it was relatively cool, but I would get beat up sometimes when I’d walk around the neighborhood and kids didn’t know me. One day I got jumped by, like, six dudes for no reason. I also got shot at, and ended up running out of my shoes, crying. I was 15 years old and I didn’t know how to handle that shit.
It is a matter of fact that Eminem used to live on the black side of Detroit. Deshaun Holton aka MC Big Proof used to live in the same street than Marshall Mathers.
The Source Magazine also tried to make a ‘ myth ‘ out of Eminem’s story growing up across 8 Mile, but Eminem’s former friend, Chaos Kid, confirms that Eminem has never been a 9 Mile resident. His presence in the 9 Mile area corresponds to periods where Marshall used to be kicked out by his mom:
‘ Marshall did not move to Warren in his early teens. He lived in the city of Detroit. The Northeast side between 7 and 8 mile which is still predominantly black. He never lived in Warren. He would, however, frequently get kicked out by his crazy mom and would sometimes spend a few nights at a time in Warren between 8 and 9 mile at Manix and Buttafingaz’ house. His girlfriend also lived in that area, so I assume he would spend some nights over there as well. However, most of the time his girlfriend would spend the night at HIS house in Detroit where he had his own room. ‘ (Chaos Kid, letter to the Source Magazine).
Marshall went to Lincoln High school that is situated between the 8 Mile and the 9 Mile area, because he had some problems at the local high school he went to:
‘ He first went to a Detroit High School where he had some problems so for awhile he went to Lincoln High School between 8 and 9 mile in Warren. He did this by giving the school a false address within the school district. This is where he met Manix and D.J. Buttafingaz who were also attending Lincoln at the time. After awhile Lincoln High School found out that he wasn’t a Warren resident however and he had to go back to Detroit schools where he attended once again for a period of time before being kicked out or dropping out (I don’t remember which). All the music was recorded in Warren during this time over at Manix and Butta’s house but Marshall DID live in Detroit.’ (Chaos Kid, letter to the Source Magazine)Maybe some people are trying to make a myth about some facts concerning Eminem.
But most of the facts stated by Eminem about his childhood and his former life can be verified as a 100% true.
Mr Neal Rubin , please keep your facts about Marshall Mathers straight.

Many people like sugarcoated and sweet pop singers. I don’t.
You might be curious to know why. You might argue with me that sugarcoated artists generally have a sweet sounding voice, sweet looks and soft lyrics’
That’s right. But to me, those artists are totally fake, most of the time. They do sell an image, they don’t expose themselves. The only thing they fully expose is their fine bodies and their fake smiles.
If you take Britney Spears’ example, I wouldn’t grant her any musical talent. The main reason why she is so successful is her beautiful face and body.
She sounds so sweet. But the image of herself she exposes to her public is made of lies. Britney Spears is supposed to be a role model for little teenage girls, and what does she offer to them? Lies, only lies!
She lied about her virginity:
http://www.starswelove.com/scriptsphp/news.php?newsid=3202
What else does she offer to her public? A fake wedding with Jason Alexander:
http://www.starswelove.com/scriptsphp/news.php?newsid=4139
But Britney Spears is not the only pop artist to act like this. There are numerous equivalent behaviors from other pop artists.
Moreover, the sugarcoated seem to make people believe that we live in a world of sweetness and perfection, which is an illusion, particularly for na’ve kids: the world in which we live isn’t made of pink lollipops and sweet people.
Unfortunately, our world is also made of dramas, violence and messed up childhoods and artists shouldn’t only show the too much perfect side of their world vision.
I have immense respect for artists who have the courage to expose the truth and the ugly reality.
The sugarcoated artists I dislike most are the moralists. Religious freaks allow themselves to judge other people. More dangerous, they think they are invested by God in their task and would love to shut down anybody who disagrees with their vision of the world. Why don’t they start to show love first, instead of whining about the lack of love in this world? Groups like the ‘ Black Eyed Peas ‘ have shown much more hypocrisy through their songs than real feelings and emotions.
There are too many fake notions and concepts attached to the sugarcoated. Too many fake images that misrepresent their true personality are displayed in the media and it mainly explains my disgust of such pop stars.
Don’t misinterpret me: anybody has the right to like the music he or she wants. I’m just adding my two cen

One reason why I really like Eminem is his poetic way of telling the world to fuckoff. I am also amused because I am trying to imagine some angered people’s reaction: ‘ What?! He dared speaking like that? ‘
What is even greater: Eminem doesn’t give a fuck about people’s anger when he spits his words with his usual dexterity.
One of his freestyles, ‘ Fuck The Planet ‘, that has been inserted in the lyrics of ‘ Hellbound ‘, Eminem’s collaboration with Master Ace, has captivated my attention.
It begins like this:
‘ Yo.. Slim Shady!
Yo.. I’ll fuckin.. I’ll..
I’ll puke, eat it, and freak you (eww)
Battle? I’m too weeded to speak to
The only key that I see to defeat you’ ‘
This time, Eminem impersonates a cannibal. He’s too high to dialogue with you, but he’s determined to make you lose the battle against him, as always.
Slim Shady, offensive as ever, angry against the whole planet will shoot his words like the fastest bullets. His words are worst than the strongest pistol, because his adversary will be verbally ripped off and eaten.
‘ I ain’t tryin to shoot you,
I’m tryin to chop you into pieces and eat you
Wrap you in rope and plastic, stab you with broken glass
and have you with open gashes strapped to a soakin mattress
Coke and acid, black magic, cloaks and daggers (ahhh!)
Fuck the planet, until it spins on a broken axis’ ‘
The description of the multiple tortures aimed at his enemies give make the beauty of Eminem’s wicked rhymes.
Dark humor lovers will probably enjoy the sentence that made me smile:
‘ Fuck the planet, until it spins on a broken axis’ ‘
As Eminem concludes his freestyle, no doubt that he will leave his adversary speechless:
‘ I’m so bananas I’m showin up to your open casket
to fill it full of explosive gasses
and close it back with a lit match in it
while I sit back and just hope it catches
Blow you to fragments
Laugh, roll you and smoke the ashes. ‘
The offensiveness of those words are here to make you feel the exaggeration of his speech. The listener perfectly knows that Eminem wouldn’t act like that in real life- unless he believes the rapper is an addict of cannibalism.
Enjoy the beauty and the madness of ‘ Fuck The Planet ‘ as Slim Shady spits his words on the mic.
“Fuck The Planet”
[Eminem]
Yo.. Slim Shady!
Yo.. I’ll fuckin.. I’ll..
I’ll puke, eat it, and freak you (eww)
Battle? I’m too weeded to speak to
The only key that I see to defeat you
would be for me to remove these two Adidas and beat you
and force feed you ’em both, and on each feet is a cleat shoe
I’ll lift you off your feet so fast with a roundhouse
you’ll think I pulled the fuckin ground out from underneath you
(Bitch!) I ain’t no fuckin G, I’m a cannibal
I ain’t tryin to shoot you,
I’m tryin to chop you into pieces and eat you
Wrap you in rope and plastic, stab you with broken glass
and have you with open gashes strapped to a soakin mattress
Coke and acid, black magic, cloaks and daggers (ahhh!)
Fuck the planet, until it spins on a broken axis
I’m so bananas I’m showin up to your open casket
to fill it full of explosive gasses
and close it back with a lit match in it
while I sit back and just hope it catches
Blow you to fragments
Laugh, roll you and smoke the ashes

World Entertainment News Network
Posted August 20 2004
Hip-hop superstar Eminem was reportedly denied dinner at a Florida restaurant, because he was “rude and obnoxious”:
http://www.southflorida.com/news/sfl-rgsuscm4aug20,0,6912227.story?coll=sfe-news-wire
The rapper spent time at theme park Walt Disney World’s Ritz-Carlton Orlando with his 8-year-old daughter Hailie and mentor Dr Dre recently, but what should have been a relaxing break reportedly turned into a trip full of conflict.
Sources say that because of their alleged bad behavior, they were denied dinner at the Ritz restaurant.
A source tells Us Weekly, “Their bodyguards threw one of the waiters into a plant, causing him to fall on the floor. We said we didn’t need their business. Plus, they were dressed terribly!”

The Star Magazine recently published an article informing the public about Kim Mathers’ detention time in jail.
After two months of detention, Kim is feeling down. She’s been deprived of Marshall and Hailie’s visits. She feels abandoned and all alone.
According to a close source to the Mathers family, ‘ Kim’s really bummed out that Marshall and especially Hailie, hasn’t visited ‘ ‘
Some people may wonder why. But people who perfectly know Marshall also know how much protective he is towards Hailie.
According to Todd Nelson, Eminem thinks that his daughter could be traumatized if she saw her mom behind bars, which is understandable:
‘ Marshall feels it would traumatize Hailie to see her mother behind bars, having to talk to her through a window and not being able to even touch her mommy.”
Marshall could have visited Kim alone. Then why hasn’t he done it? Maybe because there is a little bit resentment inside of him. After all, Kim has made his life a living hell for months, she has disappeared without thinking about the consequences.
Kim didn’t even care about what could happen to her daughters and to Alaina, her twin sister’s daughter who’s been adopted by Marshall.
Kim has shown a lot of irresponsibility in her behavior and no wonder if her ex husband is mad at her.
But Kim’s behavior is the behavior of an addicted woman, who loses herself in the world of drugs instead of facing her problem. The publics’ eye has no mercy for a woman, whose personal life is constantly exposed: Kim is going through bad times like anybody of us has been through. It is just that our mistakes are not exposed publicly.
Kim run away several times since she was facing cocaine charges. Her whereabouts explain a wish to escape to the real world and they are certainly a strong SOS call towards her entourage.
Kim wants some attention, especially from Marshall.
It looks like this time she will have to prove her good will to Marshall.
According to the same friend of the Mathers’ family, Eminem’s ex wife is now conscious of her mistakes and that she has hurt a lot of people through her irresponsible behavior:
‘ She realizes she’s let a lot of people down by her behavior. ‘
She also expressed the wish to accept the help she need, which sounds rather encouraging:
“She’s vowed to straighten herself out and stay clean. She’s eager to stick to a rehab program and get the help she needs.”
Will Kim clean up her act? Time will tell.

When I became a fan of Eminem, three years ago, I never thought I could get some hate from other fans. I didn’t realize at this time how many scary teenage female fans Marshall Mathers actually has.
When I opened my mailbox yesterday, I got a message entitled ‘ go eat your mama ‘. I first thought that it came from some Eminem hater, as it often happened to me. My first intention was to immediately delete this mail, but I had the curiosity to read the message. I must say that a little girl named Colleen gave me a real good laugh. The message was written in those terms:
‘ Shitface. Eminem is mine. You soon gonna read in the news that Colleen has married Eminem. Go eat your mama. ‘
Ok, Colleen, dream on. Good luck.
Can you believe that such psychos take themselves seriously? I was first amused, but it also made me feel uncomfortable. Not for me, but for Eminem.
I realized how many fans who talk and act like Colleen can make Marshall’s life a real nightmare. I wish such people could stop being that mad.
Don’t misinterpret my words: it is not against teenage Eminem fans. I am in touch with many teenage fans that I do respect a lot. But I despise the scary ones who think that Eminem is their property and that they are going to ‘ marry ‘ him.
To those little girls who went by accident through my website, let me remind you this: I am a freelance music journalist whose passion is to discuss Eminem’s music and if you don’t like it, at least stop making total fools of yourselves.
And by the way, what about getting a life?