During a free show in Detroit to promote his newly released Relapse album, Marshall gave his opinion on one of his first live sober performances back,“This might actually be one of the best shows I’ve ever done,’cause when I get offstage I’m actually gonna remember it.”

Eminem may not have the best track record to be an immediate choice to be a role model, but anyone who has hit rock bottom with a near-death addiction as he did and come clean the way he has must be looked up to as an outstanding individual. It really is amazing that Marshall’s story became a positive comeback and not another drug induced celebrity tragedy.

In 2005, the rap star nearly overdosed on methadone. The amount he took was said to be equivalent to shooting up 4 bags of heroine.

Marshall told interviewers that he hadn’t recorded anything sober in seven years until his most recent albums Relapse and Recovery. Eminem says he has been sober for two years now and plans to stay that way for the sake of his friends, family, and fans.



During a free show in Detroit to promote his newly released Relapse album, Marshall gave his opinion on one of his first live sober performances back, “This might actually be one of the best shows I’ve ever done, ’cause when I get offstage I’m actually gonna remember it.”

Eminem may not have the best track record to be an immediate choice to be a role model, but anyone who has hit rock bottom with a near-death addiction as he did and come clean the way he has must be looked up to as an outstanding individual. It really is amazing that Marshall’s story became a positive comeback and not another drug induced celebrity tragedy.

There is no doubt that the city of Detroit has influenced rapper Eminem, in fact the hardships he has experienced there has made him the man he is today. Now that he has become a superstar in the music industry, he has become an influence for the entire city with the lyrics in his songs and his story towards his struggle to superstardom.

Throughout his years as an artist, Eminem has always put parts of his own life into his music, which must be why people respond to it so well. Most of the rap music today focuses on topics such as sex, money, and power. Songs that focus on these topics give that wonder and fantasy to rap that people love, but nothing hits home like something that’s real. What makes Eminem so accessible is that he raps about the struggles in his life. The songs that sell best for him are the ones that include moments from his life. 

Lose Yourself, from his 2002 soundtrack from the movie 8 Mile, is considered his best song of all time by his fans because that song summarizes his whole life to that point. The message of the song is, in short, that it is extremely difficult to make it to superstardom and even more difficult to stay there and the only way to stay true and succeed is to give everything you have when you have the chance.

 

Famous places in Detroit Changed by Eminem

St. Andrew's Hall
A now famous venue in Detroit where Eminem attended and dominated many rap battles. This is also where he was discovered by Dr. Dre

Lincoln High School
Eminem Attended high school here.

Detroit Osbourn High School
Eminem went here for rap battles which increased his popularity.

Eminem's first house in Warren, MI.
His success took him from that house to this one in Clinton Township, MI.

It is evident from these now famous places in Detroit that Eminem's dedication and skill took him from rapping in a high school to living in a huge mansion.

Eminem and the business of Controversy

The art of creating controversy in the media either makes the artist look horribly wrong or incredibly inspiring. But knowing how to take advantage of the situation leaves huge room for profit. Eminem knows how to take either situation and turn it into a profitable experience. Eminem takes the controversy that is sparked over a feud between him and another artist and is able to create an entertaining battle for literally years to come. Eminem is able to preserve these feuds by releasing a track that deals with the feud periodically but not overly dwelling on it. These ongoing feuds show that Eminem is a very smart businessman. He understands how to make the most profit from a simple situation. The business end of a feud makes perfect sense. After gaining popularity, the people want to see each side fight back. By creating a situation where one must always answers the other to avoid looking scared, the room for profit is huge. The insane clown posse feud has been going on since 1995. Just by saying something about their appearance at a party, Eminem sparked a feud that has so far lasted 15 years . (http://www.eminemlab.com/eminemenemies.html) He did the same thing with Britney Spears. Releasing the song “Marshall Mathers” to pick on her but then leaving it alone after creates an ongoing battle. Even though he usually seems like the predator picking on people who can't adequately fight back, he is still able to turn the situation in his favor.  

The attempt to fight back from the other side is usually very popular too. Take for instance “Obsessed” by Mariah Carey. The song is clearly a diss to Eminem showing him as an obsessed loser. It gained huge popularity because it continued the feud. In this way, Eminem not only creates popularity for himself, but the artist he picks on, in effect, evening out the score.

Eminem is truly a master of his craft. By taking a simple feud and turning it into an ongoing ordeal, he maximizes the business of it for both parties and furthers his own success because he is a master of “diss”

Hailie

Perhaps the sole reason that Eminem has not lost his credibility through all of the vicious family attacks is because of the love he displays for his daughter in his songs.  It helps his fans to realize that he is not just against the world, but he has faced many problems.   His mentioning of Hailie in his songs brings a great deal of criticism about.  Many skeptics would question why you want to put your daughter in the public eye that he does.  The truth is that his music is like a story, and his daughter is huge part of that story.  She expirienced some of the fights between her mom and dad along with their separation.  Eminem wants her to know how important she is to him.  

In one of Eminem’s singles, Hailie’s Song, Eminem displays this other side we rarely see from him.  An example in this song is the ending when he says, “Hailie, remember when I said if you ever need anything, daddy will be right there?  Well guess what, daddy’s here.  And I ain’t goin nowhere baby I love you (kiss)” (Songlyrics.com).  When you listen to Eminem, you feel like you are riding on an emotional rollercoaster with him.  Regardless of all the issues he has revealed, there is no doubt that Eminem shows an unconditional love for the one family member who has not betrayed him, his daughter Hailie.

http://arcticboy.arcticboy.com/view2.php?q=Hailie Mathers Pictures&url=http://www.eminem.com.br/fotos/outras/hailie/Hailie Jade 34.jpg

Fame or Marriage?

Eminem’s sudden discovery by Dr. Dre marked the beginning of a struggle between himself and wife, Kim.  Eminem and Kim’s relationship shared many of the same issues that his mother faced during his childhood.  As Eminem’s new fame introduced a lifestyle of being away from home for long periods of time, rumors of infidelity arose between the two.  As their marriage issues became public, Eminem was up to his same old self delivering vulgar attacks on his wife exposing her drug problems and other issues. In another single, Kim, Eminem displays some extremely vulgar language towards his wife.

Eminem made a decision in his life to accept fame and ruin his marriage.  Many people argue that there are many rappers who are married and live happily.  However, Eminem sets himself apart by avoiding the typical “cars, money, or women” plot to his writing.  By unveiling his real life issues in his work, his family and relationships become subject to scrutiny.  I am willing to bet if you asked Eminem if he would have changed his style if he could start all over again he would not have changed a thing.  After all, that is how he became who he is today.

The Popularity of Auto Tune and How Good Rappers Like Eminem Avoid it

The use of technology to alter one's voice to either sound better, or to achieve a more unique sound, also known as auto tuning, has taken pop culture by storm. There are many different uses for auto tuning throughout the music world. Some artists, like T-pain, use it to create a unique sound. Some Famous Artists like Tim McGraw and Faith Hill use it to make their voices sound perfect.((http://www.worldlingo.com) A more respectable artist is one who uses Auto Tune in to create a unique sound, not hide their shortcomings. Eminem is one of these respectable artists. He has never used auto tune in a serious manner. Instead he shows his disapproval for auto tune by using it sparingly to poke fun at those who use it so religiously. For example, in the song "My Mom" , Eminem screams out "MY VALLLLLIUM" in an auto tuned voice to disregard the serious aspect of it.

By screaming out something inappropriate, Eminem belittles the pop singers' use of auto tune as too serious. Eminem possesses the true talent needed to sell his voice, whether it be rapping or singing as the medium. To stay away from auto tune when it ins such an easy alternative to working hard shows that Eminem not only has true dedication to his music, but more importantly to his fans who only expect the best quality from him. This level of dedication will help him sell records more than any auto tuned perfect voice would. A T-pain album might get good press for being so funny because of all the auto tuning, but a serious artists like Eminem can create good press (or controversy) just through his own talent. The true nature of Eminem's raps demand nothing but respect from the rest of the rap world. Vibe magazine went as far as to call Eminem the "greatest rapper alive".( http://www.mtv.com) Without the distractions of auto tune in his work, the music becomes the focus. Eminem can create this quality of music without any crutches. The point in all this being that if you can't create quality music without using technological "steroids", then you shouldn't be an artist at all. 

Mather’s Lyrics Hit Home with Mom

Early in Eminem’s career, there was no doubt he exposed his mother for her drug problems and the effects her lack of parenting had on his childhood.  Many would criticize Mather’s lyrics but it’s is what had made Mather’s career so successful.  It is his “I don’t care what anyone thinks” attitude that had made him so successful.  People want to buy his music because he speaks the true stories of his life and how he feels, which also draws controversy.  One of his singles, My Mom demonstrates his real life approach to song writing.

Perhaps the reason for all the controversy is the fact that Eminem is the first true successful white rapper.  He possesses style that no one had seen before he arrived on the scene.  No one had listened to such vulgar and profane lyrics at that time about their own life.  However, his real life approach to writing attracted many to his story and contributed to his success but also tore apart his family structure.  It did not take long for Debbie Nelson to respond to the attacks as she sued her son ending any relationship they may have once had.  Eminem’s beginning career may have ruined his mother’s life.  He threw her under the bus to become famous which can serve as a testament to just how brutal his childhood really was along with the anger he felt towards her.

Marshall Mathers Discovered

            It is no exaggeration that Marshall Mathers was just an average white male surviving through the struggles of Detroit with a single parent.  Okay, so maybe there are many people in Detroit who go through that very same struggle daily.  I’m sure many could also testify that their single parent may have had a drug problem as well.  How many can we say have turned that horrible upbringing in a multimillion dollar career?  Well, the main person that comes to mind is the miraculously successful present career of Marshall Mathers.  All of life’s problem would take a back seat for a while as Eminem had finally been discovered in a 1997 rap battle that took place in Los Angeles.

Even though Eminem placed 2^nd in the battle, there was no doubt Dr. Dre had never seen a white rapper with this amount of potential.  He contacted Eminem, produced his first album, and the rest is history.