The Eminem Blog

Singer Dido is said to have fallen out with rapper Eminem over payment of royalties.
http://www.rte.ie/arts/2004/0623/dido.ht
Sky News reports that the star has begun court proceedings against the D12 frontman, claiming ‘1m after he sampled her song ‘Thank You’ for his hit ‘Stan’.
One insider is reported to have said that Dido had a lot to thank Eminem for, as ‘Stan’ helped catapult her to fame, while another said he was sure that the pair would resolve their differences.

‘Still Don’t Give A Fuck’ is the last track of the Slim Shady LP.
The song is deranging on purpose, provocative and made to piss you off. Slim Shady grabs the sharpest lyrical knife to rip you off with no mercy.
The introduction to the song is particularly interesting. It shows that Eminem is not ready to compromise his style for anybody:
‘A lot of people ask me.. am I afraid of death..
Hell yeah I’m afraid of death
I don’t want to die yet
A lot of people think.. that I worship the devil..
that I do all types of.. retarded shit
Look, I can’t change the way I think
And I can’t change the way I am
But if I offended you? Good
Cause I still don’t give a fuck’
Get over it: Eminem doesn’t care about the way you may try to stereotype him. He stays hidden in the shadow, anticipating some silly and angry reactions to his lyrics, laughing crazy at his detractors who keep taking the Slim Shady persona seriously.
He’s been called ‘satanistic’ so many times by some narrow minded people. Go ahead, call him whatever you want.
Slim Shady still doesn’t give a fuck about what you think.
His words are here to haunt you. If you think that Slim Shady’s words are devilish, you are right: Slim Shady is like a demon. But those are Slim Shady’s not Marshall Mathers’ words.
Incisive words. Words you gonna like if you like poetry. The first verse introduces you into Slim Shady’s world of madness. The style is insane, scary and funny. Creative words and thoughts will keep you travelling through Slim Shady’s insane brain. He’s scary, but he never forgets to humor himself, as you will see in the first verse:
“I’m zonin off of one joint, stoppin a limo
Hopped in the window, shoppin a demo at gunpoint
A lyricist without a clue, what year is this?
Fuck a needle, here’s a sword, bodypierce with this
Livin amuk, never givin a fuck
Gimme the keys I’m drunk, and I’ve never driven a truck
But I smoke dope in a cab
I’ll stab you with the sharpest knife I can grab
Come back the next week and re-open your scab (YEAH!)
A killer instinct runs in the blood
Emptyin full clips and buryin guns in the mud
I’ve calmed down now — I was heavy once into drugs
I could walk around straight for two months with a buzz
My brain’s gone, my soul’s worn and my spirit is torn
The rest of my body’s still bein operated on
I’m ducked the fuck down while I’m writin this rhyme
Cause I’m probably gonna get struck with lightnin this time…”
The sarcastic chorus is made to drive you mad if you lack of sense of humor;the references to drugs (weed in particular) are numerous. There’s a beauty in the wordplays and the similarity of the sounds. A sentence like ‘My brain’s gone, my soul’s worn and my spirit is torn /The rest of my body’s still bein operated on’ is full of poetry.
The second verses introduces you into the mind of Slim Shady, a well known American Psycho. The offensiveness of those lines is more than obvious and that’s the beauty of it. Slim Shady is there to shock the offended people including old fashioned parents.
Like Saddam Hussein, he’s a public enemy who causes damages to your house, your family and to the government:
‘So tell Saddam not to bother with makin another bomb
Cause I’m crushin the whole world in my palm
Got your girl on my arm and I’m armed with a firearm
So big my entire arm is a giant firebomb
Buy your mom a shirt with a Slim Shady iron-on
And the pants to match (“Here momma try em on”)
I get imaginative with a mouth full of adjectives,
a brain full of adverbs, and a box full of laxatives
(Shittin on rappers) Causin hospital accidents
God help me before I commit some irresponsible acts again …’
The Slim Shady persona is a danger to society, but you definitly gotta realize that he is a 100% fictional.
Would you take him literally if he claims:’I can’t rap anymore – I just murdered the alphabet…’?
Some clear references to Ozzy Ozborne, Esham and Marilyn Manson are present. I don’t deny that their music may have influenced Eminem. But I’m sorry to disappoint some Esham fans who claim that Eminem has totally copied him. In this context, the references to the three artists are much more due to the use of a shock value. If Eminem uses references to people that are usually classified as ‘devilish’ or ‘satanistic’, it is made to scare and to shock people:
‘I’m a cross between Manson, Esham and Ozzy…’
If it wasn’t the case, Eminem wouldn’t say in the next sentence:
‘I don’t know why the fuck I’m here in the first place…’
The song ends with a funny note:
‘My worst day on this earth was my first birthday
Retarded? What did that nurse say? Brain damage?
Fuck, I was born during a earthquake…’

You might hate him and his music. You might want to diss Eminem. You got the right to.
But don’t allow yourself the right to diss Hailie Jade, because this is something Eminem will never forgive you. Moreover, this is something you may deeply regret: you may find yourself ridiculed on a record through Hailie’s voice. This is exactly what happened to Ja Rule and it may happen to you if you don’t keep your mouth shut:

My daughter is the closest thing to my heart. You say something about my daughter, then there’s no boundaries, everything is open, and Hailie might come on the record and diss you, too. So don’t fuck with me when it comes to my daughter.
(Eminem, Rolling Stone Interview, June 2004)

That’s how the song Doe Ray Me made Ja Rule look ridiculous in front of the whole world.
Don’t confuse Marshall Mathers with some artificial pop star who fakes his feelings towards his entourage. Marshall wasn’t raised in a glamourous way of life. He has known his part of trouble and struggles in life. His fans know him for sharing his deepest emotions with him.
Eminem’s feelings for Hailie are authentic.
When he says: “I’d give my life my life for my little girl…”, I perfectly know that it is a 100% true.
It is also moving to listen to him when he talks about his kid growing up:

It’s the greatest feeling in the world to watch your seed grow, to watch a life that you created look at the world with another set of your eyes. It also hurts to know that one day she’s going to grow up and be out of the house. But thats what we’re here for, to create more life, I guess.

While he was facing Court charges for carrying a concealed weapon, Eminem’s worst fear was to be separated from Hailie:

When I thought I was going to jail…..the scariest thought was, ‘How am I going to tell this to Hailie?’ What am I going to say – ‘Daddy’s going away and he’s been bad, and you have to come and visit him in jail.’ I never told her anything, because if the was a slim chance that I’d get off, then I didn’t want to put her through that emotionally – being scared. She hates it when I go away, anytime.

Eminem’s love for Hailie is fully expressed in Hailie’s Song:

I really dumped my feelings out in Hailie’s Song. I love my little girl enough to sing to her

Eminem is a sensitive man, a caring father who wants to share his love for his little girl with the whole world. When you truly love somebody, you want the whole world to know how you feel and share your positive feelings with everybody. That’s exactly how Marshall feels about Hailie:

I love her so much that I can’t hide the emotion., so i’s gonna come through my music and I’m gonna say her name just to let the world know how much I feel for her. (Eminem, Rolling Stone, June 2004)

It is a matter of fact Hailie has been a real sunshine in Marshall’s life. She has increased his motivation to make something of his life. She has helped him to slow down: Eminem was much more impulsive in his past and some of his mistakes could have cost him a lot.
As Kuniva points it out, Eminem matured a lot thanks to Hailie:

Having a child is gonna make you calm down. Watching that child grow and become something, it’s gotta mellow you out. If it wasn’t for his daughter, he’d probably be locked up by now.

Eminem is the author of many sarcasms in his songs. But he never jokes when it comes to his feelings for his little daughter which is something that even his enemies should respect. Why? Because many of them are family men too who perfectly know what a kid represents in a dad or a mom’s eyes.

-Why ain’t Denaun Porter more popular?
-Denaun who?
– Kon Artis…
Yes, I mean the Kon Artis from the D12 group.
Somebody asked on a public forum the question I keep asking myself: why isn’t Kon Artis more popular?
Besides being a gifted emcee, he has also produced the hottest songs like 50 Cent’s P.I.M.P., Stunt 101.
D12 World’s Commercial break introduced by Young Zee, was also produced by Kon Artis.
Denaun Porter aka Kon Artis has been Eminem’s former co-producer for his Infinite album.
You will find his discography here:
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:Ce9ckrCgxNkJ:hiphop.discogs.com/artist/Denaun%2BPorter+denaun+porter+discography&hl=en
Besides Eminem, D12’s Kon Artis has worked with the greatest rappers: Xzibit, Snoop Dogg, Method Man and many others.
Denaun Porter likes producing, but he also likes working on beats. He is a perfectionnist in his work as well as his fellow Eminemwhen it comes to a song writing process:
‘…it’s hard for me to write a song for myself. It takes me a long time. It’s a very long process. I’m harder on myself than I am on other people.’ (Kon Artis)
Knowing that Denaun Porter is far from being average and that his voice also distinguishes him from the other D12 rappers, why doesn’t Kon Artis receive the admiration and applause that he deserves from his audience?
Of course, people are more focused on Eminem. But it might not be the only explanation for his lack of popularity.
Kon Artis is gifted and hardworking and music is a passion for him. But he doesn’t appear on each TV screen so many times as less gifted but more commercial rappers. Making music is much more important to him than making money , which honors him.
Having met him and his fellows for a short time, I have noticed the D12 members’ simplicity and discretion. Their discretion might be a handicap in their fight for more recognition, though.
As I already did it in former articles, I’m advising people who are interested in Eminem to check out not only Eminem’s work, but also the work of his collaborators which is really worth having a look.
The D12 emcees are creative, original and good representatives of the Detroit gangsta rap.

The press has spilled a lot of ink about Marshall and Kim’s story, the media have constantly displayed lots of details about their privacy, but probably the most objective and honest sentences can be found in Marshall and Kim’s own statements when they both talk about each other.
Eminem tells us that his relationship to Kim has been far from easy:
“Me and the missus, we go at it. It’s no secret, we’ve had our share of problems.”
Eminem has shared his problems and his frustrations about with his public. To people who reproach him to have talked about killing his baby’s mom in his songs his answer is:
“Look. I was pissed off!” That’s all I could say. I really felt that I wanted to do that shit. At one point in time, I really wanted to do that shit. For real.”
When Eminem is pissed off and feels really bad, he wants to shares his feelings of the moment with his audience.
Kim used to get mad at Marshall talking about killing her in his songs:
‘ Kim used to get mad when I rapped about wanting to kill her. ‘
When Kim reproached him to put her in his songs, he answered:
‘look if you piss me off when I’m writing a song, you might be in it.’
That rule also applies to anybody who will try to anger Marshall.
You might have heard a lot of cusswords and insults towards Kim in Eminem’s songs. But if Eminem puts her on a record, that also means that Kim is worth writing about her, even if the song expresses a lot of pain and anger.
“My baby’s mother put me through a lot of shit, so she’s worth a lot of songs.”
Eminem fans- female fans in particular- need to be very cautious when they start talking about Kim or Hailie, because they should know Marshall may not appreciate it at all:
“Just because I talk about my daughter and put her in my songs, or I say something about Kim in my songs, doesn’t give you the right or nobody else to talk about ’em and feel free to do so.”
Why use demeaning words against this woman, Kim, that you don’t even know? Many female fans have totally misinterpreted ’97 Bonnie And Clyde’ and ‘Kim’, ignoring that Marshall’s songs were both reconciliation attempts. Eminem clearly expressed it in the introduction to the lyrics of the songs in his book ‘Angry Blonde’ which defines the context of each song.
The way Kim described Marshall is quite interesting too. She defines him a a ‘down to earth guy’, who really loves his fans:
“Marshall is just a down-to-earth guy. Neighbor kids always mob him to sign their shirt. He loves his fans. I look at him as Marshall- not as a famous person.”
Fame hasn’t altered Marshall’s simplicity and that’s also one reason why he is so much appreciated by his fans:
“We aren’t going around with diamond rings and fur coats. [Eminem] earned his money the hard way. His anger for his mother comes out in his songs. He owes her nothing.”
Kim eventually expressed what caused her a lot of pain: the nearly total exposure of her privacy:
“Just because my husband is an entertainer, that does not mean that our personal business is for everyone’s entertainment purposes.”
Knowing that the invasion of the Mathers’ privacy has increased more and more (some people even managed to sell Eminem and Kim’s correspondance on ebay by putting their dirty noses in Eminem’s trash), the call towards fans to respect it is much more than an emergency call.

This is only my second post on Eminem – but this must be one of the funniest take-offs I have ever heard. It sounds like Pat Shortt but not quite sure who it is. It’s a 7:27 minute MP3 of non-stop hilarity.
I think for alot of it, you might have to be Irish to understand it – but everyone should find the lyrics hilarious.
Listen to it. LISTEN TO IT! (The lyrics are pretty graphic, but only to people not from Ireland)
Emineire.mp3 (3MB)

The 5 other D12 members are currently touring without Slim Shady, who is busy working on his next album. Despite the fact Eminem promised to make a few guest appearences during the D12 tour, many Eminem fans are disappointed not to see ‘the lead singer of the band’ (just kidding).
But the crowd of disappointed fellow fans should also consider that this D12 tour without Eminem may be a real chance for the Proof, Kuniva, Kon Artis, Bizarre and Swifty to enlighten their individual talents and skills on stage.
Those of us who have seen Eminem on stage know that any other gifted rapper would probably be in his shadow as well as his D12 fellows.
It is not only that Eminem has a huge talent and lyrical skills: Marshall has charisma, he brings some magic into the show.
The way Marshall Mathers manages to captivate his audience is extraordinary, he creates so much complicity with his public. You gotta live it to understand that what I am saying is really true.
Because Eminem is such an extraordinary performer and such a skilled rapper, many commentators have dared saying that the other D12 members are whack rappers. Which is untrue. Those commentators who have tried, most of the time, to base their comments on D12’s second album ‘D12 World’.
I particularly disagree with one comment I read recently. In the ‘Chicago Maroon’ from May 2004, Joe Hanson states:
‘ Eminem is wrong to sing, ‘These chicks don’t even know the name of my band.’ Guy or girl, everybody knows the name of Eminem’s band. It’s just that nobody cares. Many talented rappers have scooped up their old crews after finding success, and the result is always the same: a mediocre album with too little of the star and too much of the other guys. D12 could have easily avoided this problem with D12 World, but instead, they embrace it.’
Joe Hanson, Chicago Maroon May 15th 2004
First, he is wrong about everybody knowing the D12 members’ name. I could give him so many examples of people, guys or girls, who claim to be Eminem fans and who don’t know the D12 individually, except for the ‘lead singer’.
Second, I also disagree when he claims that the D12 member’s performances besides Marshall’s are weak. There are so many examples of good D12 members’ performances in ‘D12 World’. If you take a look a the videos, you will notice, Kon Artis’ excellent part in the ‘How Come’ video. The way he acts and the way he raps in this video are far from being weak.
Have you watched Proof and Bizarre in the ’40 oz’ video? Both are simply great.
‘Good Die Young’,which is a deeply moving song about Bugz, reveals the other members’ talent.
To Joe Hanson and to all the other people who keep saying that the 5 other D12 members are weak, I would like to ask following questions:
-have you really taken time to have a look at D12’s individual work, besides their two albums?
-have you taken enough time to study their lyrics, not only Eminem’s?
As I have pointed it out in former articles, it is really worth discovering D12’s solo and underground work.
‘The Attack Of The Weirdos’ is an example of Bizarre’s talent. Bizarre’s album is available on this website. Check it out:
http://www.the-s.com/bizarre.htm
If you have a deeper look at Bizarre’s biography, you will notice the many artists he has collaborated with.
To fully appreciate Proof, you need to have a deeper look at his solo and underground work. You will find some of his solo tracks on his official website:
www.bigproof.com
Songs like ‘Yzarc’ (which I happen to love very much) are good examples of Proof’s solo work. Proof’s voice is uncommon, it has something raw inside. Proof also knows how to handle words and you will probably enjoy his freestyling qualities.
Before spreading some subjective opinion about the 5 other D12 members, take some time to have a deeper look at their individual talents. Check out ‘D12’s online mixtape’ (where you will also enjoy Kuniva and Swifty’s freestyling abilities), Big Proof’s online mixtape:
http://www.d12world.com/index.php?s=audio
Don’t forget to check out D12’s former underground songs.
Then you might be entitled to express a more objective opinion about D12’s hardworking and gifted rappers.

Tom Horgen, Star Tribune
June 20, 2004 POP0620
http://www.startribune.com/stories/457/4833738.ht
Imagine being in a rap group with Godzilla. When he talks, people clamor at his feet. When you talk? Crickets.
For D12, Eminem is that towering green monster.
“Our main focus is to step outside of that whole shadow,” said Kon Artis, a member of Eminem’s “band.”
It must seem like baby steps, though, especially when Eminem’s monstrous popularity could block out the sun. The same can be said for hardcore rap group G-Unit and its Kevlar don, 50 Cent, the world’s other biggest rapper, who presents the same gift and curse for the guys in his side project.
This summer, both groups hit the road without their superstars. D12 plays the Quest in Minneapolis Tuesday while G-Unit performs July 17 on the same stage. It’ll be like Sly and the Family Stone, without Sly.
Eminem and 50 Cent are busy working on their next albums, leaving their groups to fend for themselves.
For D12’s sake, Kon Artis said Eminem’s absence might be a blessing. With the rapper on board, this would be an an arena tour. Without him, the remaining five members are hitting the clubs.
“It’s probably a better show when we do smaller venues because it’s more intimate,” Kon Artis said, although his barefaced optimism sounded more like someone swallowing his pride. He added the obligatory, “He’ll be on some dates.”
The Detroit group’s hit song “My Band,” which is currently suffocating pop radio, parodies the perception many critics and fans have of the group — that the other members simply carry Eminem’s bags. Kon Artis said “My Band” is a way for the group to vent its frustrations about being painted as nobodies. Aspects of the song are real, he insists, though he’s referring more to the way the media sidesteps the other members rather than the song’s hilarious depiction of group infighting.
Besides the shower-cap-wearing Bizarre, most rap fans can’t tell you who’s who in D12. This anonymity might prove confusing when D12 performs without the blond one on its 25-city tour. Even when he does perform, Eminem gets his own dressing room.
“We don’t really give a [expletive] about that,” Kon Artis said. “Em has his room, we have our room. It’s pretty much the way it’s set up.”
D12 has exploited that perceived division to help sell its latest album, “D12 World.” In interviews on MTV and BET, the group relentlessly badgers its ego-mad leader, which leaves people wondering if the divisiveness portrayed in “My Band” isn’t fantasy after all. Eminem plays his part beautifully, brushing their remarks away like dirt off his shoulder.
“Em is not as arrogant or as overbearing as that guy comes across,” Kon Artis said. “You have to act it out. And if that means acting it out 24-7, then that’s what that is.”
Playing roles sells more records, obviously. Kon Artis, who’s been standing close enough to Eminem’s limelight to catch a tan, willingly submits to the mainstream marketing game. And if anything, the “My Band” act is a marketing triumph.
“Working with those marketing people is really important for your career,” Kon Artis said. “If you don’t do that, you’re just going to get whatever they think is best.”
While “My Band” smells of major-label tinkering, Kon Artis insists D12 came to the table with the concept and song already executed. With a million copies sold, it’s no doubt Interscope is pleased it played along.
Of course, a wave of solo albums is up next. One by Bizarre, the most marketable member next to Eminem, will probably come out first. Proof, the most talented next to Eminem, will follow.
According to Eminem, the group’s game plan was for whoever got a major-label contract to come back and scoop up the rest. He was just the lucky one.
For the most part, these crews — D12, G-Unit and Nelly’s group of no-names, the St. Lunatics — haven’t given people reason to care about their solo work.
Bizarre or Proof might change that. The best bet, though, is 22-year-old Lloyd Banks, who will be the first G-Unit member after 50 Cent to go solo. His album, “Hunger for More,” drops June 29. Banks is laid-back, lacking the oozing charisma of 50 Cent. But he makes up for it with superior rhyme skills and a voice deep as Barry White’s. When’s the last time a rap star’s crony was being hailed as his better? Never.
Crew love isn’t anything new in hip-hop. Rap titans Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. both promoted spin-offgroups before their deaths. Neither was successful. Two of Nelly’s St. Lunatics have released out solo albums. Murphy Lee’s found moderate success but nowhere near Nelly’s multi-platinum status.
As for D12, it’s all good. Eminem might not want to perform with them — or share a dressing room. He might sell more records. But whatever happens, nothing will change within the inner circle, according to Kon Artis, no matter how many times reporters ask them, “So, how’s Eminem?”
“When you’re in a group, you’re always going to be in that group. You’re always going to feel like you’re a part of it. Especially when you’re as tight-knit as we are.”

Marshall and Kim have known each other since the time they were teenagers. Moreover, Kim grew up at Debbie’s home as his foster sister.
Both started dating when Marshall was about 16. Because it has constantly been off and on,their relationship has often been qualified of being ‘rocky’ and ‘volatile’. Marshall and Kim have a daughter, Hailie Jade, in common, who was born on Christmas day in 1995.
Marshall and Kim were married in June 1999 and chose to separate legally in August 2000. His divorce was certainly a hard pill to swallow for Eminem. During this dark period of his life, Marshall and Kim’s privacy have been exposed more than ever. When he caught Kim cheating on him with John Guerra, Marshall took the decision to divorce in early June. Then in July, Kim attempted suicide at their home in Sterling Heights in presence of her mom (Kathleen Sluck, who gave the 911 call) and of Eminem’s brother Nathan.
Marshall was the first to file divorce papers against Kim in August 2000, because he saw this divorce as unavoidable. You will be able to check out his divorce complaint here:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/emdivorce1.html
Then, in December 2000, Eminem and Kim tried to work out their problems and to give their marriage a second chance.
Both signed an agreement to dismiss the divorce claims, also for their daughter Hailie’s highest interest.
But, then again, Kim filed divorce against Marshall in March 2000: she was seeking now physical and legal custody of Hailie, for high childcare costs. Kim was also trying to prove Marshall was unfit to raise Hailie.
The Court decided that Marshall was a ‘loving, devoted’ father and allowed Marshall to share custody of his daughter. The childcare costs had been set to $142,480 a year.
She also had a 10 Million $ lawsuit inside her palm for defamation: Kim was suing Marshall for defamation on the song ‘Kim’. Many people may argue that the song ‘Kim’ ended Eminem’s marriage with Kim, which is something I really doubt. Let me tell you why.
The song ‘Kim’ was written in 1998, at a time both were separated. The song ‘Kim’ was a way for Marshall to get Kim back in his life. It was just another way to tell her:
‘Look, this is how I feel about the way you treated me. I do suffer a lot. But I definitly want you back in my life. Can’t live without you.’
‘Kim’ is not the only ‘lyrical murder’ of Marshall’s baby’s mom. In his song ’97 Bonnie and Clyde, Kim gets murdered as well. And, as far as we know, Kim didn’t react that badly to the ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ song nor to the ‘Kim’ song, that Eminem and his ex wife used to call ‘the media’s favorite’:
‘When Kim first heard 97 Bonnie and Clyde she said ‘Your an asshole…bla bla bla…but when she heard the song Kim, it’s funny because I will always remember this, we were sitting in the car. I looked at her and I said ‘Well, do you have anything to say?’ She looked over at me and said ‘Your crazy, seriously…your fuckin’ crazy!”(Eminem)
Then how shall we explain Kim’s sudden ressentment against Marshall?
We should remember that Eminem was performing on stage at the ‘Up In Smoke Tour’ with a naked Kim doll. A Kim doll he was beating up on stage. Which Kim felt as humiliating.
Some other facts may also remain in the shadow of the public’s eye.
Eminem’s divorce has been finalized in March 2001. Eminem and Kim have been back together several times since their divorce. It has been on and off, again and again. Their relationship is far from being simple: there is a lot of pain, anger, frustration, addiction love and hate inside of it.
Marshall has made an attempt to define it in his recent and beautiful song ‘I Love You More’ in which he warns anybody who is trying to stereotype his relationship to Kim:
‘And anybody who thinks they know us doesn’t know shit…’
Don’t try to judge a story that escapes to the ordinary rules of conventional couples…

Gutter sniper: British rapper the Streets takes aim at reality
Tom Horgen, Star Tribune
June 18, 2004 MUS0618
http://www.startribune.com/stories/457/4827688.html

Ah, to be a white, British rapper who makes records on his bedroom computer and then dubs himself the Streets. Sounds like someone in the midst of an identity crisis, right?
Nope. Mike Skinner, the lone gun behind the Streets moniker, knows exactly who he is, firmly pointing to his music for proof.
“It’s real life. And I think when people hear the music they see that what I’m doing is realer than a lot of stuff out there,” Skinner said by phone from London.
Indeed, his new album, “A Grand Don’t Come for Free,” works so hard at capturing real life that it opens with Skinner struggling to return a DVD on time. Boring? Give him a minute. Skinner’s “Seinfeld”-like tales of nothingness often transform into pensive, occasionally inspiring sermons — bear hugs for all us losers.
The StreetsHandoutThat said, his loaded rap name is obviously a bit misleading. The Streets is not 50 Cent, nor is Skinner trying to be. But his music still hums with honesty.
Skinner, in all his anti-rock-star glory, strolled into the international spotlight when his 2002 debut, “Original Pirate Material,” a mishmash of hip-hop, U.K. garage (a techno sub-subgenre) and deep British slang, struck a chord with music’s intelligentsia. With his kitchen-sink approach to songwriting and an almost spoken-word delivery, he was praised for throwing a monkey wrench — and a bit of social commentary — into the beat-driven British garage scene.
The Birmingham native takes another sharp turn with “A Grand Don’t Come for Free,” crafting the album as one long narrative. It’s a strange trip through what feels like the industrial wasteland of his hometown. He plays himself, a miscreant who loses a shoebox that holds his life savings (a grand) in the opening minutes, and then spends the next 11 songs looking for it, meanwhile losing his girl, his mates and his mind, too.
In this minimalist journey, Skinner takes us from the seat of his couch to a couple of dingy clubs and pubs and, in the end, back to his couch again. The material is low-key, but his storytelling is not. His songs capture those everyday moments we rarely hear about in pop music. In “Blinded by the Light,” while waiting for a friend’s phone call in a crowded dance club, he raps, “I hate coming to the entrance, just to get bars on my phone.”
The album’s surprise ending deserves a full, sit-down listen. And rightfully so. Skinner spent two years perfecting the album’s 11 parts.
“And I really did spend all that time working on it,” he insists.
It’s a mini-movie of sorts or, in other words, a concept album. Except Skinner hates that label and has scoffed at the term ever since critics began using it to describe his little masterwork in May.
“I don’t want anyone to feel like it was pretentious,” he said.
Actually, it’s quite charming. Skinner’s awkward delivery never really matches the pulsating synth beats — the album often feels like it was put together with a giant glue stick. This intentional hodgepodge is a fitting vehicle for his tales of alienation, an effect that becomes even more amusing when he starts messing with epic orchestral arrangements.
You would think Skinner’s eclectic leanings would draw him toward the genre-busting, U.S. indie-rap scene, but he actually favors the more heavily produced mainstream acts. He rattled off names such as Dr. Dre, Timbaland and Kanye West as producers he admires.
Could there be a collaboration on the horizon (always a rap thing to do)? Not likely. Skinner likes making his tunes by himself, in his room.
“I do things in my own way, really,” he said. “It doesn’t mean I don’t respect other artists. It just means I don’t work very well with other people.”
Messing with ‘the formula’
Skinner should be accustomed to critics putting labels on him. After his music crossed the Atlantic in 2002, he was often introduced as Eminem’s English counterpart. The surface comparison, attributed solely to their shared whiteness, surprisingly didn’t bother him as much as the “concept album” thing.
“It’s not an issue in England. The only time I really get asked about my race is in America,” he said. “They do ask me about Eminem quite a lot. But people have to be compared to someone. And I think Eminem’s really good.”
While most hip-hop purists have embraced Eminem for his obvious skill and alliance with Dr. Dre, Skinner understands that his road to acceptance will be more tedious. The least of his worries is his skin color. Again, it’s the music: the off-kilter, moody production and that strange, cockneyed flow.
“It does take quite a lot of getting over the way I do things. But I think hip-hop was like that in the first place, too,” he said. “But now that hip-hop has become so accepted, it’s become a formula. I mean, it’s a good formula, but it is a formula. People have started to get a bit too religious about it and feeling like you can’t mess with that formula. I suppose you have to be quite open-minded to like the Streets.”