Im sure all of you know who this man is... incase you didn't, he's Marshall Mathers, also known as, Eminem.
He's definitely one of those rappers that fit the description... thug status, grew up in a bad neighborhood, made it from the bottom to the top etc. I mean none of that mattered to me when I first started listening to him which was at about age 12. At that time, I think every kid that was entering their teenage years was in their confused stage, and I was definitely one of those kids. I had some bad times that year... and my friends weren't the best either so I resorted to music. I remember watching 8 Mile, and for some odd reason, I found myself relating to Rabbit(Eminems Character) and his problems. He was the white boy, living in a trailer park, everyone doubted him and he was just a mess. I felt the same exact way, minus the trailer park so when I heard "Lose Yourself" I fell in love.
He was that hard core rapper that let out all of his feelings in his songs, and when I had my bad days I knew that if I couldnt talk to anyone, I could listen to him and know that I wasn't alone. But I wasn't 12 forever. When I finally got out of that awkward, I hate everyone phase, I found my love for music especially rap.
Something about the rawness of it all captivated me. I mean I'm a girl and for some, its weird that I listened to Eminem, Nas, Jay, 50 etc. especially at that age because of all the profanity in their music BUT I didn't care.
Now that I'm 18 and my music taste has grown, especially my selection of rappers, I learned a lot more about Eminem than I did when I was 12.
His life was basically a struggle, all his life he had problems with either his wife, his friends, his drug problem, his crazy persona. All of these things made him who he is today. If you ever paid attention to the albums he put out... he went from Infinite to Slim Shady LP to Marshall Mathers LP to The Eminem Show to Encore to Relapse and finally, Recovery. I remember reading his book "The Way I Am" and he said how at first he'd talk about doing drugs in his songs, without even knowing what it was like, and then when he actually started it all went downhill from there. He had a constant battle with drugs and it got to a point where his album Relapse, was one of the worst albums I've ever heard in my life and he agreed too. In his song "Not Afraid" he says
So I guess, we're gonna have to take him up on that promise and believe that he wont go back to drugs again... Which is a step. I also remember in his book, he said that he hated all of attention the media gave him, all he wanted to do was make music come home and be away from the negativity and the flashing lights. He also didnt want his daughters to grow up and be afraid of leaving the house because of paparazzi. He just wanted a normal life and to hear that from a celebrity is pretty cool. Usually, everyone that wants to be famous, does it partially for the spotlight. But Em only wants to make music because thats what hes good at and now that hes got his life back in order, its gonna be better than EVER :]& to the fans, I'll never let you down again, I'm back. I promise to never go back on that promise, in fact, let's be honest, that last Relapse CD was "ehhhh"
6 comments:
Personally I don't listen to much of Eminem, but there is one song that I do like by him called "Not Afraid". I didn't even know his real name was Marshall Mathers but I always wondered how he got the nickname "Eminem" cause I think of candy whenever I hear it. I'm glad to see that he is recovering from drugs and hopefully his future will be a lot brighter than his past. Whenever you think of a celebrity you just think that they have a fantasy lifestyle and their life is perfect. You don't realize all the struggle they had to go through to be who they are today. Especially with Eminem I had no idea how messed up his childhood, no wonder he was into drugs and alcohol. It's nice to see how he has changed though. Not all celebrities are like Eminem, they actually enjoy the paparazzi. Eminem's daughters are really lucky to have him as their father, because they are living the childhood dream of just being a normal kid, that he never had. I also think the lyrics of Eminem's songs sent a strong message to the public. For example "Not Afraid" tells us not to be afraid to be different and just express ourselves for who we are. After learning about his history, I intend to listen to more of his music. Thanks suzie.
hey suzie,
i like that you deviated from the usual kanye west stuff to acknowledge a rapper who is more inspirational to some people. I am one of those people that find eminem an inspiration because of everything he went through. I agree with how you say that he is one of those musicians that you can listen to when you are down. Every time I have problems in my life, i just put on some eminem song and i feel much better. It makes me feel better because i realize how bad his life is and my troubles just seem so trivial. I also become thankful for what i got. I think eminem is a great rapper and i like all his songs. I especially like his last song "not afraid" because he makes a promise to all his loyal fans that he will not repeat the same mistakes. I guess we will just have to wait and see.
comment back on my post.
Lamisa- A lot of people dont listen to him because of the vulgarity in his lyrics but I feel that's what makes him unique. He uses music to bring out the emotions he has inside of him and thats what I found to be amazing about him. His music has changed thought, his last album which features "Not Afraid" is very different than the Slim Shady LP which was his second album i believe. :] thanks for ur feedback! Im glad youre gonna give him a try.
Nathan- I totally agree with you. His life was a complete roller coaster ride & to go from one of the most dangerous projects in the US to becoming a rapper and doing what he loves to do is a great transition. But it was in fact some what of a challenge for him because he got sucked into the drug scene. Therefore, when u listen to his music you can either relate or realize that you can move forward because of how he did. Sorta like motivation.
Anthony-
Ahh, Anothony lol. You look exactly like Em, just thought I should throw that out there. hah. & I know that you're the one person in English that I know has the most similar taste in music as myself. He is a great rapper and an awesome producer. I know for a fact that his beats are insane just like his rhymes.
Kanye is good but I gotta say that Eminem is my favorite rapper of all time. Ever since back in the late 1990s (early 2000's?) when I heard his songs on MTV I instantly loved them. Although back then I probably did not understand many of the lyrics, I do now. They are amazing. I don't know how he comes up with his stuff. To me, a lot of rappers come and go, but every time Eminem comes up with a new song, It's amazing. This guy's a genius.
Eminem Ft. Dido - Stan
OH YEA! I completely agree with you. I think that the main reason for Eminem's success is his past. He grew up with so much emotion that he released it with his lyrics, which means that all he gave his fans was realness, and the true person that he is. A lot of people try to put on a persona that meets the expectations of the public at the time, or a particular group of people. Which makes them fake. For example, I disliked Nicki Minaj because in her music she seems like a hardass woman who's trying to crush everyone with her lyrics blah blah. But when I saw her video "My Time Now" I realized that shes not as tough as she seems in her music. She just puts on a show for people because she knows thats what they want. & Em doesnt do that
Post a Comment