by Vertis » Oct 18th, '07, 11:58
Cashis rules so does EM man
2005
In 2005, some industry insiders speculated that Mathers was considering ending his rapping career after six years and several multi-platinum albums. Speculation began in early 2005 about a double-disc album to be released late that year, rumored to be titled The Funeral. [25] The album manifested itself under the name Curtain Call: The Hits, and was released on December 6, 2005 under Aftermath Entertainment. In July 2005, the Detroit Free Press broke news of a potential final bow for Mathers as a solo performer, quoting members of his inside circle who said that he will begin to fully embrace the role of producer and label executive. The Free Press, Mathers' hometown paper, wrote that the aptly titled Encore album would now stand as his final solo album.[26] Mathers announced via MTV News that he does not plan on retiring soon: "When I say I'm taking a break, I'm taking a break from my music to go in the studio and produce my other artists and put their albums out. That's called taking a break for me. When I know my next move, I'll tell everyone my next move. Not some reporter who writes a story about 'This is Eminem's last album.' I never said Encore was my last album. I never said anything yet. I don't know what I'm doing yet. Nothing is definite, you know what I'm sayin'? Nothing is written in stone"[27] At "Anger Management" in Madison Square Garden and Atlanta's HiFi Buys Amphitheater, he openly announced that he is not retiring and indicates this is all just gossip by saying the moon exploding is a more credible rumor. However, many still speculate that he will be retiring and the announcement at Madison Square Garden was only a ploy to distract the fans. Adding to the already feverish rumors from fans, Mathers released a track on Curtain Call: The Hits entitled "When I'm Gone". The lyrics feature the topic of Slim Shady's destructive power over Marshall Mathers' life, and talks of laying his alter ego to rest, one line featuring the lyrics "I turn around, find a gun on the ground, cock it/ Put it to my brain, scream 'Die Shady!' and pop it. *gun fires*" On December 6, 2005, the day Curtain Call: The Hits was released, Mathers denied that he was retiring on Detroit-based WKQI's "Mojo in the Mornin'" radio show, but implied that he would at least be taking a break as an artist, saying "I'm at a point in my life right now where I feel like I don't know where my career is going… This is the reason that we called it 'Curtain Call,' because this could be the final thing. We don't know."[28]
2006
Eminem had some activity since the release of Curtain Call: The Hits. Eminem also rapped a verse in a live performance of Busta Rhymes' "Touch It" remix at the 2006 BET Music Awards on June 27, 2006.
On December 5, 2006, Eminem released an album compilation entitled Eminem Presents the Re-Up. It started out as a mixtape but Eminem found that the material was better than expected and released it as a full album. It was meant to help launch new Shady Records artists Stat Quo, Ca$his, and Bobby Creekwater. [29]
Eminem was featured on Akon's single "Smack That" which appeared on Akon's new album Konvicted. He also appears in the video with a new tattoo of his late friend Proof and a green polo. According to Akon, Eminem would cancel his retirement plans to make a new album. He said: "Eminem told me he was getting bored with everything, which is why he took a break. But he's back working on an album and I've got some records ready for him to use on it. We've talked about doing something together for so long, but our schedules made it impossible. It was our chemistry that got him out of retirement."[30] On November 19, "Smack That" topped the Official UK Singles Chart and claimed Eminem his 7th UK Number One Single. In December 2006, it was nominated for "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration" at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards. Producer Swizz Beatz has also said in an interview that he has sent some new tracks to Eminem. [31]
2007
According to 50 Cent, Eminem is recording a new album. He said: "He's got a new album coming. He's not gonna tell people that, but he's making new music. I've heard a few songs, and it's hot. He won't tell nobody he's working on a new album, but I'll tell you: he's working on new music. And once he locks into it, like, 'This is my favorite shit,' it's gonna come out." When asked if the new material is angry or wacky, Jackson replies, "Both. The whole range. You know, Michael Jordan was supposed to play basketball. Floyd Mayweather was meant to box. And Eminem was meant to rap." [32] Ca$his, another Shady Records labelmate, said this new album is to be titled King Mathers. [33]
However, in August, Eminem's publicist Dennehy said, "There is no Eminem album on any release schedule." [34] In September, Eminem called into New York radio station Hot 97 during a 50 Cent interview and said he was "in limbo" and "debating" about when - and if - he would put out another LP. He said, "I'm always working -- I'm always in the studio. It feels good right now, the energy of the label. For a while, I didn't want to go back to the studio ... I went through some personal things. I'm coming out of those personal things [and] it feels good." [35]
On September 23, Dr. Dre told the Los Angeles Times that he will now devote two months to work on Eminem's new highly-anticipated album, saying "We'll be trying to get his thing done and work on a few things on my own project".[36]
On October 3, a DJ Whoo Kid untitled track was leaked. [37]
Ventures
Acting career
Mathers made his Hollywood acting debut with the semi-autobiographical 8 Mile, released in November 2002. He has said the movie is not an account of his life, but a representation of growing up in Detroit. He recorded several new songs for the soundtrack, including "Lose Yourself", which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song; it was not performed at the ceremony, reportedly because ABC wanted him to perform an edited version. Mathers voiced a character in 50 Cent: Bulletproof, who is an aging corrupt police officer that speaks in Ebonics. He has also done some voice acting, both on Crank Yankers and a web cartoon called The Slim Shady Show, which has since been pulled off-line and is instead sold on DVD. Eminem will star in the upcoming film Have Gun — Will Travel in which he will play a bounty hunter called Paladin. He will also be involved in either the soundtrack or scoring.[38] He has also stated a movie production company called “Interscope/Shady/Aftermath Films” with Dr. Dre. The company has worked on 50 Cent's debut movie Get Rich or Die Tryin' and will work on Eminem's next movie Have Gun — Will Travel.
Shady Records
Main article: Shady Records
As Mathers succeeded in multi-platinum record sales, Interscope granted him his own record label. He and his manager Paul Rosenberg created Shady Records in late 2000. He followed this by signing his own Detroit collective D12 and rapper Obie Trice to the label. In 2002, Mathers signed 50 Cent through a joint venture between Shady and Dr. Dre's Aftermath label. In 2003, Mathers and Dr. Dre signed on Atlanta rapper Stat Quo to the Shady/Aftermath roster. DJ Green Lantern, the former DJ for Mathers, was signed to Shady Records until a dispute related to the 50 Cent and Jadakiss feud forced him to depart from the label; he is no longer associated with Mathers. [39] The Alchemist is now officially Mathers' tour DJ. In 2005, Mathers officially signed another Atlanta rapper known as Bobby Creekwater to his label along with west coast rapper Ca$his.
In the Anger Management Tour of 2003 The Alchemist hurt his wrist, preventing him from being the tour's DJ. Clinton Sparks filled in for him, with the rectom playing and his name is mentioned on the album numerous times.
Eminem as a producer
See also: Eminem production discography
Mathers is also active as a producer of rap records. Besides being the executive producer of D12's two albums, Devil's Night and D12 World, he has also executive produced Obie Trice's Cheers and Second Round's on Me as well as 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' and The Massacre. In addition, Mathers has produced and appeared on several songs by other famous rappers, such as Jadakiss' "Welcome To D-Block", Jay-Z's "Renagade" and "Moment of Clarity" Lloyd Banks' "Warrior Part 2", and "Hands Up", Tony Yayo's "Drama Setter", Trick Trick's "Welcome 2 Detroit", and Xzibit's "My Name" and "Don't Approach Me". Most of The Eminem Show was produced by Mathers himself, with co-production from longtime collaborator Jeff Bass. He also split the production with Dr. Dre on Encore. In 2004, Mathers was the Executive Producer of 2Pac's posthumous album Loyal to the Game with 2Pac's mother Afeni Shakur. He produced the UK #1 single "Ghetto Gospel" which featured Elton John. On certain tracks on the album, 2Pac's voice was slowed down and digitally altered to match the beat and make him say things like "2005" and "G-Unit", angering many fans. He has also produced "The Cross" off Nas's album God's Son. On August 15, 2006, Obie Trice released Second Round's on Me. Eminem produced 8 tracks on the album. He was also featured in the song "There They Go".
Controversy
Alleged homophobia
With the enormous popularity of The Marshall Mathers LP, the controversy surrounding him grew even larger, especially when it was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Though Mathers had always claimed that his lyrics were not meant to be taken seriously, and that he had nothing against homosexuals or women, the gay rights group GLAAD organized a boycott of the Grammys. Ironically, at the Grammys Eminem performed his hit "Stan", with Elton John singing the chorus. Eminem said he did not know Elton John was gay, but he told Kurt Loder after the awards show that he respected him: "Of course I'd heard of Elton John," Eminem said, "but I didn't know he was gay. I didn't know anything about his personal life. I didn't really care, but being that he was gay and he had my back, I think it made a statement in itself saying that he understood where I was coming from."[40] He had also included it on his Curtain Call: The Hits compilation album. Eminem is known to be featured on a future album release by Elton John.[41]
Violence towards women
The two songs most often cited as examples in The Marshall Mathers LP of Mathers' supposed misogyny were "Kill You", and "Kim." Critics claimed[42] [43] the former portrayed extremely violent abuse against women in general and contained a line about him raping his own mother. Despite his conflicting expressions of love and hate throughout the track, he ends up slitting Kim's throat at the end, accompanied by cries of "Bleed, bitch, bleed!" Several people objected to the graphic description of domestic violence. On the clean version of the CD, the track was removed and replaced with a song almost entirely devoid of profanity called "The Kids."
In 2005, Eminem was a subject of criticism in Bernard Goldberg's book 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America, being ranked at #58.[44] Goldberg cited a 2001 column by Bob Herbert of New York Times claiming, "In Eminem's world, all women are 'whores,' and he is eager to rape and murder them."[45] The Eminem song "No One's Iller" was also used by Goldberg as an example of misogyny in his music.[46]
Criticism from other artists
Eminem's provocative style has resulted in a number of high-profile feuds erupting between the rapper and some of his music industry peers. In almost all of these disputes Eminem and other have more-or-less made peace. He has used his many connections within the music industry, especially with mixtape DJs, to release many unofficial diss tracks. His partnership with DJ Green Lantern, while it lasted, led to several mixtapes entitled The Invasion. On these mixtapes there were many songs unrelated to the animosity between Eminem and his labelmates and other artists, though the majority of the songs could easily be called diss tracks. The harshest of these was the second, called Conspiracy Theory. It had several songs by Eminem attacking a range of artists, particularly Ja Rule and Benzino, including "Bump Heads," "Doe Ray Me," and a remix of the Tupac (2Pac) song "Hail Mary" (with no contribution from the original artist).
Eminem's "Mosh" marked the end of the long feud between Moby and Eminem; when Moby complimented both the song and Eminem for his politically charged song on his blog. Eminem has not attacked or criticized Moby since.
Chuck D of Public Enemy has shared both positive and negative critique of Eminem having called him the "new" Elvis Presley.:"Eminem is the new Elvis Presley because, number one, he has the respect for black music that Elvis had. I think he's courteous and sympathetic to black music and, unfortunately, he's more sympathetic to black music than many black artists themselves." [47]
In 2003, "Weird Al" Yankovic was denied permission to make a video for "Couch Potato", his parody of Eminem's "Lose Yourself". "Last year, Eminem forced me to halt production on the video for my 'Lose Yourself' parody because he somehow thought that it would be harmful to his image or career."[48] For the Poodle Hat Al TV special, Yankovic raised the question of artistic expression in a false interview with Eminem. As Yankovic has always done for his Al TV specials, he edited the footage of a previous Eminem interview and inserted himself asking questions such that it unmasked Eminem as a hypocrite on the matter of an artist's right to free speech.[49]
Criticism of George W. Bush
Eminem votes in the video "Mosh".
On December 8, 2003, the United States Secret Service admitted it was "looking into" allegations that Mathers had threatened the President of the United States after the unreleased song "We As Americans" leaked onto the Web. The lyrics in question: "Fuck money / I don't rap for dead presidents / I'd rather see the president dead / It's never been said, but I set precedents...". The song in question, titled "We As Americans", was being recorded possibly for Encore but wound up on a bonus CD accompanying the album instead.[50] The second use of the word "dead" was backmasked in that version, sounding like head. The word was also used in Immortal Technique's song "Bin Laden", stated near the end. Immortal Technique also attacks the president on the song. His song "White America" from the The Eminem Show album states a long anti-American speech:
"sent to lead the march right up to the steps of congress, and piss on the lawns of the White House, to burn the flag and replace it with a parental advisory sticker, to spit liquor in the faces of in this democracy of hypocrisy, fuck you Ms. Cheney, fuck you Tipper Gore, fuck you with the freest of speech this divided states of embarrassment will allow me to have, FUCK YOU!".
"White America" also brought the U.S. Secret Service attention at first, but gave up after seeing a statement from Eminem after the song:
"*laughs* I'm just playing America, you know I love you".
On October 26, 2004, a week before the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, Eminem released the video for his song titled "Mosh" on the internet. The song features a very strong anti-Bush message, with lyrics such as "fuck Bush" and "this weapon of mass destruction that we call our president." The video features Mathers gathering up an army of people (including rapper Lloyd Banks) presented as victims of the Bush administration and leading them to the White House. However, once the army breaks in, it is revealed that they are there to simply register to vote, and the video ends with the words "VOTE Tuesday November 2" on the screen.
After Bush won the election, the video's ending was changed to Eminem and the protesters invading while Bush was giving a speech.
