The Eminem Blog

Who is rapper J-Hill aka Jimmy Franchise ?
He is from Detroit. J-Hill has collaborated with Proof. He is featured on two tracks of his 6 track EP, Electric Coolaid: ‘X-Fam’ and ‘Places I’ve been’.
Detroit emcee J-Hill is an emcee, a writer and a producer. He has been on stage with well known rappers such as Jay Z and P Diddy.
Continue reading “Short presentation of Detroit rapper J-Hill”

Does Slim Shady haunt D12 ?
To me, the answer is clearly yes. Why? Because you could hardly dissociate Eminem from his fellows. They grew up in the same hood, used to rap together, shared their pains and successes.
But Eminem is also the main handicap for the other D12 emcees in their fight for recognition. The more Eminem shines, the more they remain in the shadow of Slim Shady.
Even touring without Eminem seems to have solved the problem only partially. In fact, a D12 song interpreted without Eminem probably makes the crowd feel like something’s missing, even if Marshall’s gifted fellows are doing their best to entertain them.
The D12 rappers are gifted. Matter of fact: they do have skills.
Maybe the problem also lies somewhere else. It would be useful for people to know much more about D12’s former and current solo work.
If people took time to listen to albums like ‘Promatic’ which is Proof’s collaboration with Detroit rapper Dogmatic, there would be no doubt in their mind that Proof is a dope MC. They would certainly also enjoy Swifty’s Raw Collection collaboration ‘Grenade Pins’.
Touring without Eminem is certainly the first step for people to discover more about D12’s individual talents. The second step could be more promotion of the rappers’ individual work: you won’t certainly be indifferent to Bizarre’s ill rhymes, to Swifty the lyrical bomber. Proof the freestyler will amaze you. Kon artis’ beats and Kuniva’s rhymes will introduce you into D12’s World.
Give D12 a chance to show your their individual talents: they deserve it.
I have read on some forums that people didn’t want to go to the D12 concert, because Eminem wasn’t touring with them. To the people who still hesitate to go to the show, I would like to say that you won’t be disappointed with such talented emcees, no matter if Slim is present or to to the show. As far as I am concerned, I have decided to give the D12 emcees their chance in September at Paris Montmartre.

Is Kim gonna make it ?
It seems like Kim Mathers has been in trouble since a long time. She’s been arrested for cocaine charges while Eminem was touring in Europe last year.
Since June 2003 till now, Eminem’s ex wife has made the headlines. The tabloids haven’t stopped talking about her.
Kim’s cocaine addiction problems seem go back to 2001. In 2001, Kim had also had problems with justice for the same reasons.
From June 2003 to June 2004, Kim has tried to run away several times from justice, causing her family members a lot of trouble. It seems like Kim can’t get rid of her addiction problems.
But there might be more difficulties hidden behind Kim’s behavior. While trying to run away from justice, we may ask : what else was Kim Mathers trying to escape from ?
It is more than obvious that she was trying to send some SOS calls all around people from her entourage, and aimed at Eminem, in particular. Maybe there is also a little bit of manipulation in her behavior. Like many alcoholics, drug addicts also try to attract people’s attention. They obviously want people to pity them.
Kim’s behavior is also the expression of her unhappiness and unsatisfaction. If it wasn’t the case, she wouldn’t have risked to lose Hailie’s custody.
Something is going wrong in her life. Some people would argue : she’s rich, she’s got everything to be happy, she’s got two beautiful little girls etc’
To those people, I would like to say : you don’t know details about her every day life. And maybe sometimes Eminem’s fame is something really hard to carry for her.
On June the 15th 2004, Kim has been arrested at an hotel in Ann Arbor, Michigan. On June the 30th, she’s been sentenced to one year of jail, but she will have to serve only 140 days in jail ans she will have to complete a drug treatment afterwards. If she fails, she risks one more year of jail.
I have seen people on an anti Kim website expressing happy comments about Kim being jailed. Can’t you selfish people see the problem from Hailie’s point of view ? A little girl doesn’t understand what happens to her mom and why she can’t see her.
Don’t accuse my article of being ‘ pro ‘ or ‘ anti ‘ Kim. I am not ‘ pro ‘ nor ‘ anti ‘ Kim either. I am just an investigative journalist (who happens to be a huge Eminem fan) and who is trying to keep as objective as possible about Kim. To those people from the anti Kim board who are happy about Kim’s issues, I find your attitude more than despicable. You don’t know this woman. And to your info, she still got a lot of importance in Marshall’s eyes, so in your place, I would respect that.
Besides her drug addiction, Kim Mathers is experiencing serious personal problems. She will need some medical help and to show some good will if she wants to overcome her bad times. Let’s wish her good luck for the future.

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP) ‘ The ex-wife of rapper Eminem was sentenced Wednesday to at least four months in jail for leaving a court-ordered drug treatment program without permission:
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-16/1088613690105280.xml
Macomb County Circuit Judge Edward Servitto sentenced Kim Mathers to a year in jail, but she only will have to serve 140 days if she completes a drug treatment program in jail and then attends another program in Hazel Park after being released, said Russ Marlan, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections.
Mathers twice has dropped out of a court-ordered drug treatment program. She served some jail time earlier this year after dropping out the first time.
Police arrested Mathers in an Ann Arbor hotel room on June 15 after a caller reported she was staying there. A warrant for Mathers had been issued in April.
Mathers was placed on probation after pleading guilty to charges of possessing 25 grams or less of cocaine and failing to give adequate space to an emergency vehicle. The charges stemmed from a 2003 traffic stop in St. Clair Shores.
Mathers and Eminem, whose legal name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III, have a daughter, Hailie Jade Mathers.

Many people may not realize it, but the D12 crew keeps true to their Detroit underground roots. They are still collaborating with many Detroit underground rappers. Swifty, for instance, has founded the ‘Raw Collection’.
The ‘Raw Collection’ consists of Bareda aka Mr Wrong, Lowdown, Reddbone, Sky P and Levone Vanzetti. Mc Reddbone is the only female MC of the group.
‘Raw Collection’ has released a new mixtape in 2003. It is called ‘Grenade Pins’. If you like gangsta rap, you probably gonna like the lyrical grenades that the group will drop on you. You will be able to download it and listen to it here:
http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:o5PE-1tPbLcJ:www.beepworld.de/members60/ballaz/mixtapes.htm+%22+Raw+Collection%22+%22Grenade+Pins%22.+&hl=enI
f you take time to listen to the whole album carefully, you will notice that Reddbone’s performances are excellent. Mc Reddbone has won an award as the outstanding female artist at the 2003 Detroit hip hop awards.
Detroit has good female emcees who really deserve more recognition from the public.

Emcee Shane Capone is a veteran in the Detroit underground scene. His name will inform you immediatly about his gangsta style. No doubt: Shane Capone is representative of the Detroit gangsta style.
How does Shane Capone define his own style?
‘A non-commercial, non-watered down, raw & uncut hip hop.’
Shane Capone is a bad boy for real.
He talks about himself as a ‘gansgta and hustler’ personified.
He recorded his first solo work with Scott Summer and formed his record company in 1996 M.O.B with his fellows CNG and KAOS. The name of the company was changed to Rock City Records in 2000.
His first solo album was named ‘Flood These Streets’ and came out in 2001. It has featured D12 (Dirty Filthy Rotten Scoundralz), Bizarre ( A Bizarre Intermission), MC Hush and Paradime (Low Down Grimy) and many others.
Uncle Ill introduced MC Hush to Shane Capone. In 2003, MC Hush was signed to Rock City Records by Shane Capone.
More on Shane Capone can be found on this fansite:
http://www.geocities.com/cutthroatcourier/lyrics.html

Detroit DJ Lenn Swann aka Leonard Adams has more than 17 years experience in Djing. He’s a scratch DJ. He has participated to the beginning of turntablism in the early 80’s.
DJ Lenn Swann has performed on the same stage than many famous performers such as Run DMC, Eminem, Outkast, Linkin Park and many others. He’s been awarded a triple platinum plaque for scratching on Eminem’s song ’97 Bonnie and Clyde. He’s also been the Source Magazine’s Detroit Unsigned Hype Champion.
He has won many contests: among them Detroit Kool Mixx DJ Championship in 2001.
Less known facts about the Detroit DJ:
-He has helped Eminem out in the past. He was supposed to perform at the Wetlands club in NYC with Eminem. The NYC crew-the Cocoa Brovas was opposed to them and didn’t want Detroit emcees to win in any case. That’s why that had messed up Eminem’s tape:
‘They told Em if he wanted the mic, he had to come get it. They had sabotaged his DAT tape (of backing music), so all we had for music was scratching.’
Despite performing under particular difficult conditions, without any music, but DJ Swann’s scratching), the crowd didn’t really care about the messed up tape, so Em and DJ Swann could perform anyway:
‘But the crowd didn’t mind that the tape was messed up. NY’s a hip hop town, they respected that it was just an MC and a DJ.’ (DJ Swann)
-DJ Swann has also provided the sound for D12’s MC Big Proof when he won the Unsigned Hype in 1999 in the Source Magazine.
-He has also toured with Detroit group Slum Village.
DJ Lenn Swann is at the top of the 15 scratch DJ’s in the world and in the top 10 in the USA. Besides his passion for scratching, he is also known for his high quality skills as a battle emcee.
He is not as well known as he deserves it, which is mainly due to the role of the DJ in hip hop, as he points it out:
‘In hip hop, there’s always an unsung hero and it’s usually the DJ.’

Some call him ‘the British Eminem’.
Can Mike Skinner aka The Streets be compared to Eminem? What do both men have in common besides their white skin?
Like Eminem his biggest influences can be found in hip hop. He grew up listening to Run DMC, the Beastie Boys. He’s been largely influenced by Wu Tang Clan, by Dr Dre and Eminem.
‘The Real Slim Shady’ has inspired his song ‘Too much Brandy’:
‘The Real Slim Shady’ was in my head when I wrote it’ (Mike Skinner)
Mike Skinner would love to have an occasion to collaborate with Eminem:
‘I’d go toe-to-toe with Eminem anytime.”
Although their music styles are completely different and despite the fact he’s always been compare to him, Mike has a lot of consideration for Marshall Mathers:
‘The most predictable thing I could do would be to come out and say I don’t really like Eminem because I keep getting compared to him, but I quite like him, you know. I don’t think his last album was anything, but he’s a really good rapper.”
Mike Skinner has even performed in Detroit at St Andrews Hall to promote his second album. He is featured in an article from the Detroit Free Press:
http://www.detnews.com/2004/events/0406/24/d06-193048.htm
When the ‘Let’s Push Things Forward’ video came out, I enjoyed watching it.
If you ask me, I could hardly classify Mike Skinner’s music as rap, because it doesn’t sound like rap music to my ears. Don’t misinterpret my statement: I got lots of respect for Mike Skinner’s work. As far as I am concerned, it is rich of much more different influences such as reggae and jazz to be classified as hip hop.
But still, it remains good musical work.

If you think that Eminem and his D12 fellows are just friends for the show, then you are totally wrong.
Besides Hailie and Nathan, Eminem considers his D12 members as a part of his family:
“They’re my foundation. If I lose my foundation, then what do I have? Just to be by myself on a big-ass mountain, a little lonely rich bastard? Not only are these guys my friends, I don’t trust nobody new that I meet. At all.”
D 12 is, above all, a story of loyalty, as Kuniva points it out:
‘There’s a million things Em could be doin’ besides doin’ an album with D12, but we’re the only real friends he has. We grew up together, lived together, flipped burgers together. We used to just sit on the porch and drink and think about hip-hop, think about makin’ it. There’s a bond there that nobody can break. And there’s a whole thing with him feelin’ like he owes it to us to do it. He knows without D12 there wouldn’t be a Slim Shady.”
Slim Shady needs his fellows as much as they need him. In fact, Marshall owes a lot to his friends too.
At the time he was working with Mike Ruby and some other white friends, people didn’t focus much attention on him. They had been disappointed by white rapper Vanilla Ice and they just didn’t want to hear another similar white rapper.
Marshall had a point to prove to black people in particular: he had to prove that he could rap.
And to be able to prove that he could rap, he had to battle black folks in lyrical battles and to defeat them.
Marshall became credible when he started battling his friends and other black men at the Hip Hop shop that was located at 7 Mile Road. Eminem has also spent a lot of time rhyming with his friends during his sparetime. They have been sharing their passion for hip hop, but also their dreams, pains and sorrows.
They still like playing with words, but Marshall recalls ancient times we can feel his nostalgy:
‘Proof would call me at one, two o’clock in the morning with just syllables, like, ‘Yo, an abominable region, an abdominal lesion.’ That’s how we fed off each other back in the day. Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Kool G Rap, whoever did syllables, we just locked on to them. That’s what my loyalty dates back to, the days of living on fuckin’ Dresden, on the East Side, in my kitchen wishin’ we could do something. From kids to now, we’re living the dream.”
In the early 90’s, the D12 were known as the hottest emcees in Detroit:
“We were, like, the best MCs in Detroit. It was like, ‘Yo, whoever get on first and get a deal, come back and get everybody else.’ “(Bizarre)
When Eminem got signed by Dr Dre, he immediatly wanted to get his friends from D12 to be part of the contract, being faithful to the promise he had made to his crew. Bizarre remembers when Eminem called three weeks after being signed by Dr Dre:
‘He went to Cali and called us three weeks later from a pay phone. He said, ‘Yo, I just signed with Dr. Dre. I need y’all to come out here.’

Marshall immediatly insisted for his producer to sign his friends too:
” ‘This is my boys! D12!’
But Dr Dre wanted him to build his own career first: ‘Wait a minute – it’s about you. Build your house before you have your friends walk in it.’
The D12 team is also ruled by simplicity. They don’t spend their money on expensive chains, because they are much more focused on their families which honors them:
‘Nobody’s bling is like, wow, like a rapper’s supposed to be, because we kinda value the money a little bit more. We got families. I can’t get out and spend $ 30.000 on a chain. That would be irresponsible on my part.. I like to spend my money on my family, take a nice vacation and stay in a nice hotel. I can’t even think of the last time I went to the store and spent $ 1000 on the shit I wanted.’ (Bizarre)
Slim Shady and his fellows have a lot in common, but their passion for rap keeps the flame alive:
‘One night, I remember, we had just left Alvin’s. It was probably like a year before I got signed with Dre. Swift pulled up in the car and he was like, ‘Don’t you feel like even if we never got deals that we could just rap forever?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I do.’ We knew we had to make it, but if we didn’t, we knew we’d still be rapping. It was in our blood.” (Eminem)
Knowing Eminem and his fellows love for rap, we know that he is speaking the truth.

Many Eminem fans probably know that Marshall’s parents used to belong to a band called ‘Daddy Warbucks’. But did they even guess that Proof’s father produced the great singer Marvin Gaye?
In fact Deshaun Holton’s father has collaborated with many artists:
‘My dad’s a crack head. My father had a group called The Politicians and he produced The Jones Girls.He produced Marvin Gaye,he produced Tower of Power,he did some shit with Rare Earth or Ohio Players. He did a lot of work back in the day.He did Holland and Dozier stuff. My father was doing it.’
Denaun Porter’s father used to belong to a famous gospel group called “The Five Blind Boys Of Alabama”. He stopped his musical career when Kon Artis’ mom was pregnant:
‘When I was in my mama’s stomach, my dad stopped his career to come and raise me. And but for him doing that, I wouldn’t be there. So I’m taking the torch from my dad because he didn’t get to spread the wings the way he wanted to, but he can spread his wings through me.’
Kon Artis is very proud of his father:
‘My dad has always been a superstar to me.’
When Kon Artis uses the name ‘Mr Porter’ in some songs, there is always a clear reference to his beloved father.
Three of our well known D12 members had parents who were involved with music and music production.
Five of them are family fathers.
We all know about Marshall’s little Hailie Jade. Swifty has three kids and Kuniva had his second daughter, Tamia, in April 2004.
Proof is the proud dad of two kids.
Bizarre, who is the only D12 member who doesn’t currenly live in Detroit but in Atlanta, has two kids.
Bizarre claims that his own childhood was good, but his teenage years seem to have been living hell. Why? Because his mom decided to become a Jehovah’s Witness:
‘I had a nice upbringing, but from the age of fourteen to eighteen, my mom decided to be a Jehovah’s Witness. So I had no rated R movies, kinda like Ja Rule, but not faking it. No sex, no girlfriends, but after the fact that I was already doing this and then had to stop because my mother wanted to do.’
The only D12 member who doesn’t have any kids for the moment is Kon Artis.