 
|
|
|
Page 1
|
|
|
'Last time I checked, freedom of speech [meant] to say what I felt.' ...
|
|
|
Page 2
|
|
|
'Dre saved my life. Just that alone is enough for me to respect that man for the rest of my life.' ...
|
|
|
Page 3
|
|
|
'I would walk away from all of this if I had to' ...
|
|
|
|
Browse Bands by Name
|
|
Or enter a band name below to search:
|
 Bands Main
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sway: There's some real beef you address on the album, particularly "Like Toy Soldiers." You break down the whole saga of the war of words between your camp, Ja Rule, the Inc. Records and The Source.
Eminem: "Toy Soldiers" is about walking away from the beef. Just like, "Look, I'm done. This is the last thing I've got to say, let me get this off my chest, and from our side, we're walking away from it. You guys can keep saying what you want to say and keep attacking us. Do your thing. If that's what you feel, if you want to spend all your energy and place it into one person instead of focusing on yourself, then do that." But that's my way of saying I'm turning my back on it.
Sway: In the song, you also say that you and Dre actually sat down with 50 before you signed him and told him he didn't have to respond to Ja.
Eminem: Yeah, we did. We sat down with 50 and we asked about the beef between him and Ja and he said everything was cool from his end. One of the things Dre said that stuck in my mind: "We don't want to buy a problem." You know, we're not really looking to start no beef. We're usually not the beef-starters, despite the little stabs taken at pop singers and all that stuff. That's not real beef; that's ha-ha-ha funny.
Sway: On "Like Toy Soldiers," you talk about how your crew is so tight that you picked up 50's initial beef with Ja, and 50 picked up your beef with The Source.
Eminem: I got my beef over here, 50's got his beef with Ja. All of a sudden it seemed like everyone who hates us is teaming up. So then we started inheriting each other's beef. 50 inherited mine, so now he can't be on the cover of The Source magazine 'cause I got this beef over here. He's being attacked by Ja. Ja is saying things about me, then all of a sudden comes out and says a line about my daughter — and when it got to that level, that's when it got crazy to me. That's when it got crazy. But "Toy Soldiers" is a song saying how serious the beef can get, and people can die over this sh--.
 |
 In what would later serve as inspiration for his hit movie "8 Mile," Eminem fights for respect in Detroit's underground rhyme battles.
|
 Seeking to dispel accusations of homophobia, Eminem takes the stage with Elton John to perform "Stan" at the Grammys. |
 Slim Shady goes pop, debuting on MTV's "TRL" in 1999 with his first of many hit videos, "My Name Is." |
 Hometown love reaches a boiling point as nearly 100,000 people pack Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions, to see Eminem perform. |
 Dr. Dre is introduced to Eminem and the two begin a partnership that would spawn such hits as "I'm Back" and "My Name Is." |
|
Sway: A crew of so many superstars usually doesn't stay cohesive for too long, but the Shady/ Aftermath/ G-Unit triangle has stayed strong. What's the secret?
Eminem: I think the secret to it is basically loyalty. When me, Dre, and 50 get in a room it's no envy, no jealousy, it's not somebody trying to outdo the next person. I'm not trying to make a beat that's better than the one Dre just made. That's what happens with a lot of crews. It's like somebody may get a little more light than the other person and then that person gets jealous and wants to go off on their own and create more light for themselves. We really don't trip off of it at all. We get in the room, we talk, we shoot the sh--. I mean, Dre saved my life. Just that alone is enough for me to respect that man for the rest of my life.
Sway: Obviously, one the records from Encore that has been getting attention is the title track, which features yourself, Dre and 50. Is that going to be the next single?
Eminem: We're still working out what's going to be the next single, but we released that on 12-inch [vinyl, to DJs]. It's definitely a nice collaboration. I feel like it's me, Dre and 50 coming together. You can't really hear it the way that it's mixed, but it's me and 50 singing the hook together. 50 does the lows and I do the highs on the chorus, me and Dre going back and forth.
Sway: What's that like? The record sounds like you guys were having a lot of fun while making that record. When the three of you guys are in the studio, what is that like? Is there a lot of jokes being cracked, somebody passing gas — or is it serious?
Eminem: It's all of those. You know, like I said, we shoot the sh--. We mess around, we do the chitchat and the jokes. And when it's time to get down to business, we get down to business. When we know we got something, we knock something out, then it's back to the jokes and back to the vibing. It's got to be fun. If it's tense in there, it's not going to work. If you create a tense work environment you're not going to have a work environment, period. It's just going to crumble, you're going to leave the studio at the end of the day with nothing.
Sway: On "Encore," you say you don't want to leave without saying goodbye. When you do finally bow out of the game, what do you want your legacy to be?
Eminem: If my contribution to this game is that a 40-something-year-old person walks up to me saying, "Yo, you made me like hip-hop" — if I get that one person that says, "Since I listened to you, you turned me on to rap. Now I went and bought Nelly's album, I went and bought Jay-Z's album." Whatever my contribution, if it's that, then so be it. Whatever it is to help the growth of hip-hop. From pioneers since Run-DMC to the Beastie Boys to LL, they all had a part to play. I may have a role in little Jeremy from Idaho, who we don't know about right now, who is 13 years old and coming up, that next white kid or that next rapper, period. I just want to keep hip-hop expanding and keep it moving for that next generation.
|
|
|
|
Photo: Interscope
|
|
|
|
|
