SHADY IN WAITING
AFTER FOUR YEARS UNDERGROUND, EMINEM LEADS FALL PACK WITH 'KING MATHERS'
THE king has not left the building - "King" Marshall Mathers, that is. For the past four years, Eminem, hip-hop's most controversial rapper, has been in hibernation dealing with a slew of physical and emotional issues. The laundry list of setbacks includes: a Christmas-season emergency-room visit for pneumonia; coming to grips with the death of his closest friend, D-12's Proof, who was gunned down at a Detroit after-hours club; and a second divorce from his ex-ex-wife, Kim.
Despite the drama, Eminem has kept himself off the front page by remaining isolated in his Detroit mansion. He's also close to finishing the most-anticipated album of 2008, "King Mathers."
Even without an official release date for his sixth studio project - his first in four long years - several insiders are convinced the record will be released before the ball drops on New Year's Eve.
"The album is a bit of a mystery, but we've heard it will be out before the end of the year," says Chuck "Jigsaw" Creekmur, co-founder of the influential Web site AllHipHop.com. "There's a huge buzz on the street right now . . . we're hearing some positive things."
Details of the album are scarce, as his management team continues keeping a tight lid on the project. Dennis Dennehy, Em's rep at Interscope, warns: "There's no release date, no information on the album, and [Eminem] is not doing any interviews."
As buzz about the album grows, fans have been waiting for Slim Shady's first public appearance in at least two years.
No such luck.
Eminem didn't show his mug at any of the countless summer pop festivals, a single Detroit Tigers game or at last week's MTV Video Music Awards, though there had been rumors about the VMAs.
"People wonder and people ask, but no one seems to know where Eminem is and what he's doing," says a close follower of the Detroit hip-hop scene.
The biggest thing keeping Eminem, 35, busy - besides coming up with clever ways to tick off the FCC and bubble-gum-pop acts - is restoring his physical health. After suffering pneumonia, Eminem was photographed in January looking ill and overweight, and rumored to be more than 200 pounds. That's 30 extra pounds resting on his 5-foot-9 frame. But Page Six reported earlier this year that the rapper has been doing much better of late and is hitting the gym hard with a trainer.
The health scare came a little more than a year after Eminem battled the lasting effects of depression from a second divorce form his former wife, Kim. Not to mention trying to cope with the death of one of his best friends, D-12's Proof.
On the flip side, a positive that kept Eminem - who rose to instant stardom in 1999 with his major label debut "The Slim Shady LP," featuring "My Name Is" - away from the spotlight is his daughter, Hailie.
Eminem's love for her is apparent on "Hailie's Song," from 2002's "The Eminem Show," on which her voice also appears during "My Dad's Gone Crazy." Their relationship is so strong that close friend 50 Cent finds himself chatting with Eminem on occasion on how to better balance his workload and family life.
"[Eminem] has helped me deal with a lot," says Fitty, who has an 11-year-old son, Marquise. "He felt he needed to be with his daughter more . . . and he did that. I remember a few years back when we were on the Anger Management Tour and he used to take a private jet home every day just to pick her up from school and then come back. She means a lot to him."
Last September, Eminem finally began surfacing and called into New York's Hot 97 radio station to congratulate Fitty on the release of his record "Curtis." He didn't drop any clues as to when he would release any fresh material, but said that he's always recording.
At that time rumors began circulating that Dr. Dre was assisting Eminem in the studio, but began fading as Eminem, who has sold more than 38 million albums, continued to remain in hibernation without a single song leaking on the Internet or on a mix tape.
A year later, Hot 97 has only slightly more info. "The new album is very secretive, but he's definitely recording it right now," says Hot 97 music director Jill Strada. "We don't have any details except the fact that it's very anticipated and it should be out before the year's over."
With all signs pointing toward a late '08 release, one can't help but wonder: Where the hell is the first single?
By now, especially in the rap world, it's unusual that something hasn't popped up. Some fans may think they've found the lead single on YouTube. Problem is, it's as real as the Easter Bunny.
Countless posts of "Keys to the City," supposedly produced by DJ Premier, contain old songs and rarities. One bogus video is merely a photo of an elephant relieving himself.
DJ Premier's manager, Phat Gary, assures "[Premier] is not working on Em's album."
There's also a handful of bogus Web sites, including KingMathers.com, that brag about having the entire album's set list. But about the only thing cemented thus far is Eminem's mentor, the legendary Dr. Dre, who will certainly be onboard, even as he preps his own "Detox."
Dre is sure to bring out his protege's creative side, as it seems Eminem is mentally back to his old meddling self. A tremendous sign that his wounds were healing came in the summer, when Eminem phoned into his Sirius radio station, Shade 45, and crank-called guest rapper LL Cool J.
"You got a good insight to his mind-set . . . like he was doing well," says AllHipHop.com's Creekmur. "It was really good to see him laughing and having fun. I was just listening to an album of his the other day. I can't wait until he's back."
He is - tell a friend
From: http://www.nypost.com/seven/09142008/en ... 129067.htm
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