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'Last time I checked, freedom of speech [meant] to say what I felt.' ...
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'Dre saved my life. Just that alone is enough for me to respect that man for the rest of my life.' ...
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'I would walk away from all of this if I had to' ...
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The cheers from the fans, the props from his peers, the headlines trumpeting his name — at any given moment, the world's most controversial rapper would give it all up. If Eminem ever felt that his eminence was jeopardizing his relationship with his daughter, he would gladly close the curtain on his career and be Marshall Mathers — caring daddy, loving uncle and supportive big brother — 100 percent of the time.
Luckily for the hordes of followers who listen on tenterhooks as Em lobs his barrages of breathtaking flows (just check his delivery on "Rain Man" and "My 1st Single," from his new album, Encore), the MC hasn't yet reached the breaking point, and is still willing to juggle life as überstar and family man. Still, the Motor City motormouth isn't living a life of bliss by any means. He has the King of Pop PO'ed, the owners of The Source still don't like him, and the guy he backed for president didn't win. And with albums by Nas, Snoop Doog, T.I., Ludacris, Cam'ron, Trick Daddy, Fabolous, Lil Jon and Ja Rule all dropping in the fourth quarter along with Encore — Em's first-ever end-of-the-year release — he has his most comp ever.
Life is no cakewalk for the kid, now 32, who once dreamt of earning a couple of hundred dollars per show. Recently MTV News' Sway sat down with Em — on the 50-yard line of Detroit's Ford Field, no less — to discuss his beef with Ja Rule and the Inc., how he keeps it tight with the Shady/ Aftermath/ G-Unit collective, why the re-election of George W. Bush is a "letdown," and why Marshall is finding the sentiment of "mo money, mo problems" as true as it ever was.
Sway: On your new album, Encore, you have "Mosh," which is probably the most political I've seen you get. You actually put yourself out on a limb and made some serious statements.
Eminem: Even though Bush has been re-elected, my message for "Mosh" was not only to get people out there and vote but ... People have kind of sensed my stance a little bit since Bush took office, with what's going on in the war and what he's got our country into. I felt like I'd be letting a lot of people down if I did not speak out. And that's the way I still feel. Again, it's one man's opinion. It's my opinion and, last time I checked, freedom of speech [meant] to say what I felt.
Sway: What do you think about Bush's re-election?
Eminem: We got to see. Hopefully, he can live up to what he's promised us. He's promised us in the past. Hopefully, [Bush] can basically figure something out with this war, start pulling our troops out, because people want an explanation. They want to know. I kind of felt like Kerry could have been that hope to pull the troops out. I felt like [the election] was a big letdown.
Sway: Can we expect to hear more politically themed records in the future?
Eminem: We'll have to see. It depends on the state of the world. I usually try not to get too political; usually, I try to stay away from it. My music is based on trying to get people's minds off the problems that are going on. Make emotional music, whether it's happy or it's sad. Whatever it is, strike a chord in some way, but usually to get your mind off something — for that average teenager to be able to go into his or her room, lock the door, throw on a record and just forget about everything. That's how my music has been based so far. But "Mosh," I just felt it at the time; I wanted to get it off my chest. That's been the story since my career began.
Sway: One of your other MO's is poking fun at iconic figures. When the "Just Lose It" video came out, you caught flack from some fans and other entertainers, but the most notable was the King of Pop himself. How do you respond to Michael Jackson's statement that you attacked him, and does that influence what you do next?
Eminem: Well, the way I've always taken it is step-by-step. But as far as the Michael Jackson thing, that was never intended to be anything more than just a pun. Like, the whole concept of the video was supposed to be Eminem over here doing the one-man show, dressing up as '80s pop icons, and then the club next door was supposed to be me in the "8 Mile" club.
So it's spoofing the movie, it was spoofing pop icons from the '80s, and there was nothing that we did in the video that I felt wasn't true about Michael Jackson. With you saying that I've become a target for people to take shots at, I have. So when I f--- up or I do something that people don't agree with, then I become the target. So you've got to be able to take it as well as dish it out, and if you're going to dish it out, you got to be able to take it.
Sway: Michael retaliated by speaking out publicly against you. Will you get into an exchange of words or music with him?
Eminem: No, I wouldn't. It wasn't even intended to be that way. In all honesty, his personal business and what he's got going on, I'm neither here nor there with it. I'm not the one to judge. But as far as his music, the man is a legend. Everybody out there who is anywhere near our age range grew up listening to Michael Jackson. I mean, there was a point in time where Michael Jackson was more popular than the president. People would know who Michael Jackson was before they would know the president's name.
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Photo: Interscope
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