Strider     Magazine

No 3

Bridging the gap 

Eminem: Don't believe all the hype.                       

BY JOEL BOUNDS

With Immigration Minster Phillip Ruddock's decision to grant  the Detroit rapper & his old rap troupe D12 visas to enter Australia, but this did not come without the objections from a number of conservative groups and statements being made by Prime Minster John Howard and other members of the Australian government.

From day one of  Eminem's  arrival in Australia the media were on the chase for an interview, which Eminem refused to give (The Herald Sun was allowed to photograph Eminem with D12 on the strict condition no questions were asked). Instead Eminem opted to keeping a low profile and spent his time in Melbourne window shopping in Chapel street, dining out in St Kilda & hang out at a Toorak bar. 

The rest of the time was spent rehearsing for the concert, visiting a solarium, signing a few autographs for fans and rested at the Como hotel suite before going ten pin bowling with  members of D12. All without an incident or an appearance from his spilt personality Slim Shady, until show time that is.    

The fans were treated to short versions of Eminem & D12 hits including Criminal, Stan, the drug anthem Purple Pills, the way I am and The real Slim Shady.  

 " I want to buy a house and move here, but I don't think your Prime Minster would like that." he stated at the end of the performance in response to the PMs adverse view to the rap star. 

Eminem flew out to Japan for the next stop on the tour after promoter Michael Gudinski had said to have paid $1 million to secure Eminem & D12 for two Australian concerts.

But what of the bad boy the media so largely portray? Marshall Mathers III, the entertainer spent his first time in Australia like any other entertainer would, enjoying the sights and sounds of this democratic country and he has as much right as anyone else who enters Australia. But when his superstar altar-ego Slim Shady and D12 appear on stages around the world he spits out lyrics like a professional and the concert- goers get what they have paid for. Even if not all member of the public agree with his option, art form or lifestyle.

By Amanda

Eminem at the Grammy Awards.

For the online magazine we were asked to write a story on a topic that we are interested in. I absolutely love Eminem and this is my article. Eminem generated lots of controversy when the Prime Minister John Howard did not want him coming to Australia but eventually bowed to pressure and issued a visa. Much of the controversy surrounded the lyrical content of his music .In my opinion I think it’s ridiculous that an artist should be banned from entering a country and in this article I want to explore some of the background behind Eminem and the lyrics that some find so offensive.

The real slim shady…

While Eminem was growing up, he was dragged from one poor Michigan' neighborhood to the next as his mother dodged her greedy land lords. With no friends or school to call his own, childhood was seriously unhappy for him. With so much disruption and misery in his young life, Eminem needed to find a great escape and luckily he discovered rap! Beloved uncle, Ronnie introduced the boy to rap when he was 9 years old and things have steadily moved forward from there. In 1996 em released his debut, Infinite independently. Sadly, it was less than well received. Meanwhile back at the Mic, rap coalition’s Wendy Day had spied him in the making. Impressed by his onstage skills, she flew out fast- talkin' fella out to the 1997 La rap Olympics.

By the year 2000 the world had gone slim shady crazy. Half of us adore him, the other half are appalled by his in- your face honesty and rude lyrics. Eminem has recently been in trouble for allegedly being homophobic. Which he

made comments in his songs about gay's. But Eminem say the accusations are all false, and then proceeded to perform with gay singer Elton john.

The suing situation…

Eminem is used to visiting his lawyer, his mum sued him then his wife sued him. His mum sued him for $2 million lawsuit against him for emotional distress, Eminem was allegedly supposed to have said things that his mum disagreed with such as she was an alcoholic and a drug abuser. Eminem says he doesn’t say things that he thinks will shock people it's just the way he is, but really he's a softie at heart.

The chainsaw use…

Controversial us rapper Eminem came to Melbourne, Australia on august 26 2001 to do a concert at the Rod Laver arena where he was banned from using a real chainsaw to perform his song "the real slim shady. Rumors abounded that the Work Cover  Authority could have banned Eminem  from performing  due to the teeth of the saw, Brenda Wood said they had been assured the chainsaw met safety guidelines, and when she spoke to Eminem  about the chainsaw he told her the teeth had been removed.

D12 Single banned from UK charts…

Eminem's group D12 will loose out on their number 2 position in the world pop-

sponsored singles chart, after falling foul of chart regulations. The purple pills song, which as reported / exclusively by world pop last month was

forced to change its name from purple pills to purple hills, it has managed to

storm the UK charts despite the fact that there's been virtually no European

promotion from the group. However by the time the mistake was communicated the offending stock had already been sold.

His name is…

Eminem was born in October 17,1972 in Kansas city, USA,. His real name is

Marshall Bruce Mathers 111, he's known as slim shady, his alter- ego.

Being Discovered…

Em's big break came when hip-hop legend Dr.Dre discovered a copy of his Slim

Shady EP on a record company executive's garage floor.

His music Influences…

Eminem's fave rapper is the late Tupac Shakur, but he also likes LL cool j,

Redman,N.W.A, Dr.Dre, Ice Cube, beastie boys, Alanis Moressette and no doubt.

Albums..

*Infinite   (1997)

*Slim Shady  (Ep) (1998)

*The Slim Shady LP  (2000)

*The Marshall Mathers LP  (2000)

Singles..

*My name is  (1999)

*Guilty conscience   (1999)

*The Real slim shady  (2000)

*The way I am   (2000)

*Stan   (2000)

 Other Tracks..

*Bad Influence   From End of days soundtrack  (1999)

*My Fault   From celebrity deathmatch soundtrack  (1999)

*Murder Murder  (New Remix)  From Next Friday soundtrack  (1999)

*Any Man  From rawkus presents soundbombing 2  (1999)

                            Collaborations..

1996

*F ***ing Backstaber/ Bitterphobia   By soul intent

1998

*5 Star Generals  By shabaam shadeeq featuring eminem, kwest, skam, a.l.

*Green and Gold   By the anonymous from Green and Gold (EP)

*Trife Theives   By Bizarre from attack of the weirdos (EP)

*We Shine  By Da ruckus from Episode 1 (EP)                        

*F *** Off  By kid rock From devil without a cause

*Three Sixty Five  By old world disorder feat. eminem

*Nuthin' to Do / Scary movies  By bad meets evil  ( Eminem and Royce)

WILL THE REAL SLIM SHADY

PLEASE STAND UP?

1        Eminem enters an open Mic nights, and finds himself Immersed in detroit's rap circle. He releases an album called infinite on an independent label.

2        An eight -track demo EP called Slim shady Lands him a major record deal. Dr Dre pairs up with Em to record My name is, and the song catapults his success. The honesty of the lyrics grab audiences everywhere.

3        Eminem faces two lawsuits one is a $10 million defamation suit by his mother, who attests she's been wrongly portrayed by his lyrics. The second one is a $10 million suit by his ex-wife Kim, for the song called Kim.

Other eminem sites

      www.eminem.com       www.eminem200.com   

        www.eminem2001.com    www.eminemuk.com

            www.eminemworld.com   www.eminemtopsites.com