Eminem Opens Up About His Paralyzing Grief

[Veronica]

In a new memoir, rapper Eminem recalls his devastating grief after the 2006 shooting death of his close friend and fellow D12 rapper Proof.“I have never felt so much pain in my life,” he writes in The Way I Am, which hits stores Oct. 21 and features dozens of personal photos, handwritten lyrics and sketches. [...]</img> </img> </img>


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[HRSA After 10]

I bet he felt some pain. Eminem and Proof were great friends, according to what I've heard of. As much as some people may not believe it, Eminem seems to be quite the good man; just tongue-in-cheek.

 

[Obdurate]

He is. He just got a lot of shit because he was/is a master satirist and people don't seem to get it. Well they didn't, anyways. His controversy is mostly over. It was pretty ridiculous when he first became popular and everyone was up in arms over it, when he was saying he wasn't being completely serious or literal.

 

[HRSA After 10]

He is. He just got a lot of shit because he was/is a master satirist and people don't seem to get it. Well they didn't, anyways. His controversy is mostly over. It was pretty ridiculous when he first became popular and everyone was up in arms over it, when he was saying he wasn't being completely serious or literal.

I agree, and I think people didn't understand at the time because nobody was very used to that kind of in-your-face satire. Especially since there's times where he's especially serious. Not every person is intelligent enough to realize when he is and is not joking at that point. But anyway, since we have more of that kind of humor these days (South Park, Family Guy, most Adult Swim shows, lots of Comedy Central shows, etc.), he isn't so shocking anymore.

 

[Obdurate]

Exactly. I still adore his first 3 albums (I'm not counting Infinite), especially the Slim Shady LP because it's cartoon violence. It's hilarious, it's deadly serious, it's raw talent. It's everything you could possibly want from an album.

Have you heard his new song? It's got some humour but I don't know how I feel about it... I hope the album doesn't end up being another Encore.

 

[HRSA After 10]

Exactly. I still adore his first 3 albums (I'm not counting Infinite), especially the Slim Shady LP because it's cartoon violence. It's hilarious, it's deadly serious, it's raw talent. It's everything you could possibly want from an album.

Have you heard his new song? It's got some humour but I don't know how I feel about it... I hope the album doesn't end up being another Encore.

I didn't even hear that he had a new song! Yes, new album coming up, but I didn't know that he leaked a new song. Care to link me?

And IMHO, Encore wasn't TERRIBLE. Could have been better, but there are some decent songs on there. But his first albums are truly charming. You took the words right out of my mouth, too: funny, angry, sad, joyful, proud...all of those emotions you can find in every single one of his albums. I have yet to find a rap artist that can cover every single one.

 

[Obdurate]

Em was/is special, for sure. There isn't even much more to add to what you just said, but I'll just say that the fact he created a character for himself is one of many things that set him above other rappers. I've heard a lot of rap in my day but none of it compares to the SSLP. MMLP and The Eminem Show are both great as well, and I agree that Encore has a few great tracks... but it just has a bunch of garbage.

YouTube - Eminem / Relapse (Lyrics Included In The Description) / Im Having A Relapse Freestyle(CD Quality)
There's no denying the lyrics are well written and fucking HARSH. I'm just not feelin' the beat or even his voice. Though I'm still pumped for the album. And I'll admit it, I miss the olden days that he can never live again because he's too "familiar" now.

 

[HRSA After 10]

I feel the same. Something just doesn't sound very Eminem-like in there. The lyrics sounds like him, most definitely, but where's the got-you-in-the-mouth voice? The catchy beats seem to be gone from that song, too. It sounds a bit generic, in fact. But hey, it's only one track. I won't get my hopes too down there, it might end up to be a good new album. I have my fears, though, so I can't deny that.

 

[Obdurate]

Indeed. Well he's slowly gotten more generic, really. You could see it starting on The Eminem Show even though I do love the album. I don't even know how to word it properly but I'll try anyways... he just kind of blends in with other rappers now. He lost the identity that set him apart and makes more generic rap songs now. I think it's because, like I said earlier, before he was a cartoon and now he's a man. I might look back on this post later and think "God, Tyler, that was horrible wording," but whatever, I can't think now. lol

 

[HRSA After 10]

No, that was perfectly worded.. Trust me, I would have done a much, much more horrid job at it than you. But even in The Eminem Show, you could see his style is there, even a bit in Encore. But that song, quite frankly, got to me in the wrong way. I am honest to God hoping that this only one of the mediocre songs of his in the album. I bet it would have been a fine song on any other artist (though I cannot assure that completely), but on the legendary Marshall Mathers, it's probably one of his more iffy songs.

And as for his older albums, you mentioned that you weren't counting Infinite in his early albums. Have you listened to any songs from it? There's some good ones, but like mentioned a lot of times among his fans, it was his experimenting stage. I believe that Slim Shady LP is most likely his best one, however. VERY closely tied with Marshall Mathers LP.

 

[Obdurate]

Yeah, Infinite is an ace album. I just don't count it because he said it's like a demo that got pressed up. There's some very very very excellent wordplay on that album and I love it, too. He just didn't find his sound yet and I know this isn't an original thought but it really does sound a lot like Nas and AZ. Well written stuff, just not original.

SSLP just had everything. It's the perfect album to jump onto the scene with, for the reasons we've talked about.

And about his style and all that... just look at his last released songs on albums. I'm not real knowledgeable on mix-tapes but I did hear the Re-Up. I don't know if he's released any other mixtapes so my comment here might be shit.

No Apologies - An excellent song but it's from the MMLP days.
FACK - A horrid attempt at being Slim Shady-ish but without the things that made Slim Shady interesting. Worst song he's ever done.
When I'm Gone - A really emotional, fantastic song but not exactly as original as his earlier stuff.
Shake That - A club banger. Good, but still just another club banger.
You Don't Know - Again. It's a solid track but where's the originality? It would have been worse without Em because he murdered the track but it's just another song.

I think that pretty much cements the things we've been saying where he's just not sticking out as much as he did before. I understand that he was younger and hungrier in the early days but I'm just not sold on the way he has grown. I fear that Em is just getting caught up in writing "tough guy" lyrics like his label mates do, and I have for a while. It's either, he acts too tough or he acts too silly (Encore, mostly). Even when his lyrics are well written these days, they're usually just bragging and all that stuff. C'mon Em, you're better than that.

 

[Jersey]

I heart Eminem.. if there are pictures of him in that book, I'll be buying it for sure