Author: Isabelle

Eminem and the Detroit Rap Scene by Isabelle Esling

Are you a lot into Eminem s music? Do you like Detroit hip hop? Are you wondering about Marshall Mathers biography and career? Would you like to know more about Eminem, D12 and the whole Detroit rap scene?
Then my book is the answer! Enriched with some exclusive material and some inside info, it will give you the answers you are looking for…people who are currently reading it are giving me tremendous, positive feedback:)
It is available in paperback and e-book version!


Don t hesitate, order your copy now at Amazon!

Genevieve Scholl: an author interview, by Isabelle Esling

Genevieve Scholl: author interview, by Isabelle Esling
1. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
I am a small town country girl who loves to be creative and also loves to travel. My heart lies in Ireland and is just waiting for the rest of me to catch up and be reunited with it. Ummm lol I’m not sure what else to add to this answer.
That’s me in a nutshell
2. What motivated you to become a writer?
I was bullied a lot in High School, so I started writing stories where the bullies lost in the end and that was basically how I got interested in writing. Eventually, it just became a passion of mine.
3. What kind of books do you write?
I write mostly romance novels, but have also dabbled in a little mystery and will be working on a Paranormal in the future.
4. What are you doing when you’re not writing?
I am also a photographer, crafter, dancer, singer, designer, and as I said I love to travel.
5. What is the biggest challenge you had to face as a writer?
This question is harder to answer, but I suppose my biggest challenge as a writer would have to be the confidence in myself.
6. Where do you find most of your inspiration?
My inspiration comes from various places. Sometimes it is as simple as a cool sentence that pops in my head and sometimes I model a character after a friend. Mostly, however, my inspiration is my dreams. Most of my story ideas have come from dreams that I have had.
7. Are you in favor of traditional publishing? If so, please explain why…
I have nothing against traditional publishing, but have nothing against self-publishing either.
8. What kind of books do you read?
I read mostly romance novels (which helps with my writing), but I love the mystery in Darynda Jones’s Grave Series. Also, I cannot get enough of James Patterson’s books. I will read teen books sometimes as well if they interest me, but mostly I gravitate toward the romance section of a bookstore.
9. Who is your biggest influence in the world of writing?
That one’s easy… Nora Roberts.
10. Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
I honestly can’t see the next five years. I am just taking it one day at a time. My long term goal, however, is to be a District Attorney and have at least one bestselling novel.
Copyright by Isabelle Esling and Genevieve Scholl
All Rights Reserved

Author Donna Kshir takes me into the depth of " Eminem and the Detroit Rap Scene"

INTERVIEW
Author Donna Kshir asked me a bunch of deep and interesting questions about my recent book on Eminem and the Detroit scene. She will allow you to discover more about my motives, Eminem, Detroit rappers, and what inspires me. Have a look at this in depth interview!
1.Tell me a bit about yourself?
Well, I am a music journalist and a writer. Writing is my passion.
2.How did you get into music journalism or what motivated you to write?
-I think the wish to be writing has always been latent in me. It just needed a big detonator to get me started.
My big motivator was Eminem s music. I wanted to share my knowledge, my impressions and my passion for the artist and his message with the world.
3.Making it as a writer is a lot of hard work. What’s the biggest challenge you had to face?
-My biggest challenge as a writer was to become a published author.
I had to rewrite my book several times in order to perfect it. It took me 9 years.
4.I had the privilege of reading your new release. What inspired you to write about Eminem and The Detroit Rap Scene?
-I discovered Eminem back in 2001 thanks to my son Marcus. At first, I was a little bit suspicious about this white dude rapping. I am always suspicious at first, even as a white person, when I see a white artist in a traditionally black musical genre. This has nothing to do with racism, it is just that there are loads of wannabes. So I first thought to myself “Oh not another white guy mimicking black people!”, but then I discovered his work, listened to his interviews and found him amazing and full of talent.
I have been so enthusiastic that I really wanted to write about this artist in particular. Getting to know the whole D12 crew encouraged me to dig deeper into the Detroit hip hop scene. There are so many talented artists on the scene and they deserved exposure as well, because at this time the Detroit scene was pretty much unknown from the world.
5.How long have you followed Eminem and his work?
-I have been following Eminem since 2001, so more than a decade and I analysed his musical work from Biterphobia, Infinite, to Recovery.
6.Eminem has had a lot of success in his career. Do you think he is as powerful as an artist as he was 5 years ago?
-Difficult question…I think that Eminem really was at his peak in 2003, at the time I came to see him in concert in Paris Bercy. Everybody was talking about him, in my country and in the whole world.
I think that people cooled down a little bit when he retired from the scene due to his health problems. I also think that he is not reaching out to the same kind of people (besides the die hard fan base) now than at the beginning of his career.
He is still powerful, but maybe perceived differently-and less controversial than he used to be.
7.There are a lot of talented artists in the underground Hip Hop Scene that have the talent but don’t get the recognized or fame they deserve. Why do you think some rappers, like Eminem, make it and find success, and some don’t?
-Eminem could have stayed like this too. The rhymes he wrote at 14, like in the Biterphobia song, are so much impressing. Infinite was a great album, lyrically speaking, but it lacked technical means. I do think that meeting Dr Dre was the chance of his life. When you meet the right people at the right time, you are getting the right type of promotion.
There are loads of talented rappers in Detroit, some of them really need more recognition, like Lazarus. He is a rapper and a doctor . His parents emigrated from Pakistan to Detroit. He is truly one of Detroit s best battle rappers.
8.Who, in the music business (underground or mainstream) would you most like to meet?
-Mainstream: Dr Dre, no contest! He is a legend.
-Underground: Uncle ILL, Mu, I-Mac and Dogmatic in Detroit and Dirty Red in Compton
9.Musically speaking, who is your biggest influence? And why was it so important to include the Detroit Rap Scene in your book?
-If you are speaking generally, James Brown is one of my biggest musical influences. I love the dynamism and positivity of his music.
In rap music, the early Eminem is certainly a very big influence. I also love Compton legend Eazy E.
10.You dedicated your book to your two sons; Marcus and Simon and Big Proof “Deshaun Holton.” What was the inspiration behind the dedication to Big Proof?
-Proof is a symbol of unity in Detroit rap. His goal was to unite emcees and make them work together for the love of music. I love his dedication to hip hop, I love his way of experimenting different styles in his solo work. I also love his simplicity as a person. I was very fortunate to interview him ( thanks, Darcey of Iron Fist Records), before he was brutally murdered. I think that nobody represents Detroit hip hop better than Deshaun Holton aka Big Proof.
11.Was it a challenge to find the essence of the Detroit ghetto and its rappers to find the real character of Marshall Mathers III?
-I wouldn t call it a challenge, rather a wonderful opportunity to explore Detroit underground rap. The main difficulty was to be taken seriously in the beginning. But soon people started to support me and to help me out with my musical investigations.
12. What is one thing you respect about Marshall Mathers? And do you find some of his lyrics disrespectful to the way he refers to women?
-I respect Eminem showing people that they should go for their dreams. He showed people, that no matter where you come from, you can develop the will to succeed and make your dreams happen. In that way he is a role model for many people. I respect that, because his life was far from being simple.
I don t react to his misogynistic sounding lyrics, I even find them funny in the context he uses those…people should read Eminem between the lines: he is not a bad guy, a woman beater. He is just an emcee messing around with your head and playing with words.
13.Through your book I found Eminem and the Detroit Rap Scene to impact our American culture. Do you feel the same way and why?
-If you are speaking in terms of creativity, I do think that Eminem and the Detroit rap scene impacted the American culture to a large extent. Detroit artists have an original way of combining instrumentals and influences. I find it musically very rich.
Eminem is very creative, not only in his lyrics, but in also his videos. His musical genius impacted not only America, but he took over the rest of the world.
Consider someone like Merciless Amir: he mixes beautiful Lebanese music with the rough Detroit spirit, or have a look at I-Mac s Ruthless Aggression mix tape: this is so much innovative in terms of sound techniques, how could it not impact the rest of America?
14.I have read many Eminem biographies. How is this book different from a well documented biography of the rapper’s life?
-The originality of my book is to look at Eminem from a Detroit perspective and also to show how Eminem bridges Detroit s black and white communities through his music.
15.Marshall had several approaches to music. Do you feel his success was due to his turbulent youth and relationships with his mother, Debbie, and girlfriend, Kim?
-No, I don t think so. I think that his success was due mainly to his determination to make it as an artist. Persistence always pays off. Winners never quit.
On the other hand, a lot of elements and circumstances played in his favor: being signed by Dr Dre, the whole controversy around his music etc..
16.The world seems to hate Kim Mathers. Do you feel Marshall shared too much of his personal life in his music and that is a reflection why so many people hate or have hard feeling towards Kim? And do you ever see the public feeling differently towards Kim?
-I still don t get that: how can people hate Kim Mathers when they don t even know her personally? This is crazy!
From what I understand, Eminem s intent was to be very close to his listeners and as such, he wanted to share very intimate details of his life. In some way, he s been maybe a little bit too close…some crazed fans probably interpreted this as an open door to spread their hatred about his family members.
I am sure Eminem s mom, Debbie Mathers, had her deal of difficulties, raising her two kids on her own. She surely made some mistakes…but I think that she is a regular person who deserves privacy. So does Kim. I feel sympathy for both, because I realize that they never asked for all this media exposure.
A fan or a journalist, or whoever listens to Eminem s should understand that even when Eminem seems to be mad at his relatives in his music, it often expresses the anger of the moment. We should all take a respectful distance from his family members.
17.As a Eminem biographer following Eminem’s career and personal life, do you feel Marshall made mistakes in his relationships with his mother Debbie and ex-wife Kim?
-Difficult question, indeed. I don t know any of them personally, but I could assume, according to the official and inside sources that I have that he certainly made some mistakes, but isn t that human? No familial relationship can be described as “perfect”.
-I feel like the episode of the “Kim doll” was a little bit too much to bear for his ex wife.
I also feel like Debbies “ image” has been permanently destroyed in people s mind. It is very difficult to cope with the press picking on you permanently.
18.Many children and teens experience bullying. Do you think the abuse a Marshall experienced as a child impacted his life and helped him become the person he is today?
-I think that it certainly impacted him. It probably left some scars, but it also helped him to grow as a person.
I am glad Debbie Mathers and her partner Neal Alpert stood up, creating an official anti bullying campaign in 2012. Maybe it well help the public to see her as an engaged person, not as a perpetual monster.
19.In you opinion, how many years do you believe Eminem has left in his rapping career? And once he retires will he will still have a hand in music?
-He left from 2005 to 2007, because of health and addiction problems. I cannot picture Eminem retiring, because he has a true passion for music. If he does, I think he will always have a foot into the scene.
20.Do you currently have any projects in the works?
-Oh yes. I am working towards the success of this book. I also have two more books that have been accepted by two different publishing companies. My second book is a novel, in French, entitled “ Sous le Ciel de Paris” and my third book is the biography of my dear grandma “Liebe Oma”, in German language.
I am also in the process of submitting a fourth book, a spiritual one “ Unwrap Your Present” to publishers. I have a fifth book in the works, it is a science fiction work, in French, based on time travel.
So you see, I am kept busy all the time.
21.If you could thank one person, for helping get you where you are today…Who would it be and why
– I d like to point out that I have to thank a lot of people for supporting me and helping me get where I am now (including you, of course), but if you are talking about my very beginnings, I would like to thank two persons in particular:
-Martin Harrell, a close friend, whom I met in my hometown back in 2002. He always supported me and gave me the right advice.
-Gavin Sheridan, an Irish professional blogger, who gave me my chance as a music journalist and got me started back in 2003.
22.Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I see myself as a successful, full time writer living in Paris.
23. If you could invite one person to dinner tonight, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
-I d pick Canadian writer Michael Losier, because he is an example of optimism and simplicity to me. I am also fascinated with his domain of expertise, the law of attraction. I believe that we can attract good things in our lives by thinking the right way. Michael is a great teacher, I chatted a couple of times with him on Facebook and I would love to meet him face to face.
Copyright Donna Kshir an Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

Recommended Reads

I am a music journalist and a writer. A lot of aspiring writers have been asking me that simple question: how do you become a writer?
My answer might sound simplistic to some of you, but you become a writer by writing. What defines you as a writer-no matter if you are a published author or not- is the ability to write.
One might be tempted to say: “Ok, then…anybody can write…no big deal!”.
Little do these people know: anybody can write, but not anybody can write with passion. To be passionate about a subject, you must love your stuff, know your topic and preferably become an expert on your subject (s).
So, how do you become an expert? Mostly by investigating your subject and by reading.
I am a very eclectic reader. Being a speaker of several languages, I often switch from one language to another. This is probably also what motivated me to write books in English, German and French.
There are several authors I would like to recommend: Contel Bradford, of Detroit, who is a contemporary hip hop fiction writer, excellent in his genre- Rhonda Byrne ( I recommend the Secret and the Power in particular), Arno Geiger ( an Austrian writer), author of ” Es geht uns gut” in German, Jose Cabanis, Le Bonheur du Jour, in French language.
So you want to be a writer? Find a passion, do some research about it…and start writing!
Copyright by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

Isabelle Esling interview by Genevieve Scholl

A fellow author, Genevieve Scholl, kindly accepted to interview me about my recent book, my love for writing and music journalism and my future projects.
Who is Genevieve Scholl?

Genevieve Scholl is a woman of many hats: author, photographer, artist, designer, studying to be a Paralegal, crafter (she make hair clips), cook and proud aunt.
Here are some hair clips made by Genevieve Scholl
1.Explain what a music journalist actually is.
Good question! Being a music journalist for a decade, I do consider myself to be a kind of musical detective. You have to search for new talents, expose skills. You have to go deep into the music and figure out the artist s intent, so yes to me a music journalist is a musical detective at first, but also someone who is driven by a passion and who is capable of putting music into words.
2. What got you interested in writing?
I have always liked writing. I used to write little stories that I illustrated myself as a child. My father used to remunerate me for each of these stories.
Writing comes to me naturally, because this is something I really love doing. I love sharing with my audience.
3. Is writing/ music journalist your only career and/or hobby?
When I am not writing, I am teaching languages. I am a German teacher, but I also taught French and English.
4. Who, in the music business would you most like to meet?
I’d be interested in meeting Dr Dre. He impresses me, as a person and as an artist.
5. Your book is about Eminem, but do you listen to music other than rap? What kind and who is your favorite band or singer in that genre?
I am very eclectic. I love rap music, besides Eminem, I am very much into the Detroit Rap Scene. I also love many Westcoast artists, Eazy E and BG Knock Out and Dresta, Dirty Red…I love old school rap, including Mc Hammer.
I was raised into classical music and jazz. I love soul music ( James Brown is my idol, I also love Elmer Fields), blues…I have a preference for black music in general, but I also like artists such as Rod Steward or more recent, Maverick Sabre.
6. Do you read Fiction and if you do who is your favorite author?
I write more than I read at the moment to be very honest, but the book I came across during a short Parisian trip in August was “ Le Bonheur du Jour” from Jose Cabanis, in French.
I love Balzac, I love Friedrich Schiller, I love Victor Hugo, Guy de Maupassant, Chamisso and Heinrich Heine.
7. Where do you live?
I live in London, UK.
8. Where would you live if money was no option?
Paris, no contest, I love Paris…another option would be Saarbrücken, in Germany, a town that is linked with childhood memories.
9. DO you have any interesting collections?
I am not so much of a collector. I do collect memories that I put on paper. Sometimes they reappear in form of a fiction, like in my current literary projects.
10. Send link to your blogs/ media/ facebook/ etc.
Here are my links:
The Eminem Blog
Twitter
I do write for this website on the hip hop section.
Facebook account
https://www.facebook.com/isabelle.esling
LinkedIn
Website about my first book.
Website with professional profile-portfolio.
Websites regarding different literary projects:
About my novel in French, Sous le Ciel de Paris
Self help book project.
www.unwrapyourpresent.blogspot.com
About an upcoming project, bio of my grandma, in German language.
Copyright by Genevieve Scholl and Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

Promotional Services for artists

I have been doing artistic reviews for a decade now. My writing style has been described as compelling and usually people are satisfied with what I offer.
The Eminem Blog is a media that attracts over a million readers, worldwide. Being featured on this website alone will allow you to gain popularity as an artist!
If you are an artist and interested in promotion and exposure, I am offering the following packages:
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$ 25.00 for a full CD review published on the Eminem blog and D Townie
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Interested? Leave your email and I will get back at you or contact me at
isabelleesling@yahoo.com