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Eminem Encore Concert Tickets
Those words are more than just a slogan for the Detroit
resident. "I Just Don't Give A F*ck" and "Brain
Damage" are the two songs comprising Eminem's initial
single from the Slim Shady LP. Each tune is sure to
paralyze meek listeners with their relentless lyrical
assault. Produced primarily by long-time collaborators
FBT Productions, the Slim Shady LP also features beatwork
from Aftermath CEO Dr. Dre. The N.W.A. alum handled
beats for "My Name Is" (the second single),
"Guilty Conscience" and "Role Model."
Dr. Dre was so impressed after hearing Eminem freestyling
on a Los Angeles radio station that he put out a manhunt
for the Michigan rhymer. Shortly thereafter, Dre signed
Eminem to his Aftermath imprint and the two began working
together. Thoroughly impressed with Eminem's previously
released independent Slim Shady EP, Dre said they would
include many of the EP's tracks on the album.
"It was an honor to hear the words out of Dre's
mouth that he liked my sh*t," Eminem says. "Growing
up, I was one of the biggest fans of N.W.A, from putting
on the sunglasses and looking in the mirror and lipsinking
to wanting to be Dr. Dre, to be Ice Cube. This is the
biggest hip-hop producer ever."
But like many other rappers, Eminem's rise to stardom
was far from easy. After being born in Kansas City and
traveling back and forth between KC and the Detroit
metropolitan area, Eminem and his mother moved into
the Eastside of Detroit when he was 12. Switching schools
every two to three months made it difficult to make
friends, graduate and to stay out of trouble.
Rap, however, became Eminem's solace. Battling schoolmates
in the lunchroom brought joy to what was otherwise a
painful existence. Although he would later drop out
of school and land several minimum-wage-paying, full-time
jobs, his musical focus remained constant.
Eminem released his debut album, Infinite, in 1996.
Desperate to be embraced by the Motor City's hip-hop
scene, Eminem rapped in such a manner that he was accused
of sounding like Nas and AZ.
"Infinite was me trying to figure out how I wanted
my rap style to be, how I wanted to sound on the mic
and present myself," he recalls. "It was a
growing stage. I felt like Infinite was like a demo
that just got pressed up."
After being thoroughly disappointed and hurt by the
response Infinite received, Eminem began working on
what would later become the Slim Shady EP -- a project
he made for himself. Featuring several scathing lines
about local music industry personalities as well as
devious rants about life in general, the set quickly
caught the ear of hip-hop's difficult-to-please underground.
"I had nothing to lose, but something to gain,"
Eminem says of that point in his life. "If I made
an album for me and it was to my satisfaction, then
I succeeded. If I didn't, then my producers were going
to give up on the whole rap thing we were doing. I made
some sh*t that I wanted to hear. The Slim Shady EP,
I lashed out on everybody who talked sh*t about me."
By presenting himself as himself, Eminem and his career
took off. Soon after giving the Rap Coalition's Wendy
Day a copy of the Infinite album at a chance meeting,
she helped the aspiring lyrical gymnast secure a spot
at the Coalition’s 1997 Rap Olympics in Los Angeles,
where he won second place in the freestyle competition.
During the trip, Eminem and his manager, Paul Rosenberg,
gave a few people from Interscope Records his demo and
he made his major radio debut on the world famous Wake
Up Show with Sway and Tech. Realizing that this was
the opportunity of his lifetime, Eminem delivered a
furious medley of lyrics that wowed his hosts and radio
audience alike.
"I felt like it's my time to shine," Eminem
says of that performance. "I have to rip this.
At that time, I felt that it was a life or death situation."
Eminem would soon record the underground classic "5
Star Generals." This record helped establish him
in Japan, New York and Los Angeles. It also helped him
earn a spot on the inaugural Lyricist Lounge tour, which
took him to stages from Philadelphia to Los Angeles.
Set to take the hip-hop world by storm with his unique
lyrical approach and punishing production, Eminem and
his Slim Shady LP are sure to have listeners captivated.
"I do say things that I think will shock people,"
he says. "But I don't do things to shock people.
I'm not trying to be the next Tupac, but I don't know
how long I'm going to be on this planet. So while I'm
here, I might as well make the most of it."
Bio Courtesy of Official Site Eminem.com