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Early Interview With a Young Eminem: 1999


hey mojo holux I’m Dan roto and welcome
to watchmojo.com today we’re bringing
you a classic clip from the much vault
where a young mmm talks dr. Dre coming
up in Detroit and where he projects the
future of his rap game we’re guessing
Slim Shady can’t hang around a parking
lot without getting noticed anymore take
a look at this interview it was what I’m
asked to just chill on the parking lot
with there’s the man himself from Shady
Eminem hi my name is my name is going on
me alright now some people like to think
that you know you know you hook up with
the man himself dr. Dre and you got a
cool video and you think oh that’s it
that’s all you have to do maybe you you
actually because that’s how these young
people think it’s like I wish that was
all I had to do I wish that was all I
had to do there’s a whole foundation
surrounding you so why don’t you kind of
break that down for for a lot of people
cuz I mean you obviously I mean like
it’s kind of tired of talking about it
you don’t listen want to be just known
as I’ve been underground you started
from the underground in terms of like um
scene skills and that type of thing but
tell us about the foundations of what
what bright to this point what brought
me to this point I was an underground MC
for years you know I was doing my thing
I was in a lot of rap contest you know
in Detroit I won a lot of contests a lot
of battles in Detroit so exciting place
in the scribble Jam in Cincinnati went
to LA for the rap Olympics was
constantly battling
you know that was my that was my thing
that was my that was the only way for me
to get known you know that’s the only
way I knew how to get known and then
when I was in the rap Olympics back in
97 I took second place in the rap
Olympics and gave my tape to some kids
at Interscope Interscope gave the tape
that Jimmy Iovine Jimmy Iovine liked it
and he gave it to Dre he played it for
Trey Trey like to the Dre was looking
for me you know they found me like three
days later I thought Malaysia is working
I mean you’re also kind of bringing Dre
back in a way to a certain extent I mean
he’s always new though I mean he’s
always been there he’s always been doing
this thing but realistically I mean if
that means that last album really wasn’t
you know that great buddy here like I
mean everyone’s feeling that the actual
production Dre Dre was training was off
track for me you know
so he had a couple of bad years but you
know Dre is Dre Dre Dre is like a cat
jury it’s always more land on his feet
he’s always gonna land on his feet so
you know I feel like I feel like me and
Dre got a chemistry similar to to him
and snoops chemistry you know now
necessarily to compare myself to snoop
you know but there’s a certain chemistry
there and know Dre needed was to work
with the right people you know I’m
saying
Dre’s back it’s raised back in a big way
Jake didn’t me either I mean you talked
about you know in terms of how you got
your lyrical skills give me hard of
emceeing it’s kind of like this is
dwindling in terms of like the way we’re
dealing with a lot of the commercial and
end of things in terms of hip-hop but in
terms of the actual true skills I mean
is it something that’s coming back or is
it I feel like it’s coming back I don’t
feel I don’t feel it necessarily really
left you know you just got a check for
that for the right stuff you know I’m
I’m trying to I’m trying to I’m trying
to bring I’m trying to bring emceeing
and and skill and and and storytelling
to a next level though I’m trying to
bring the next level to the game
with the way that I do master
the new album has definitely sparked a
lot of controversy we’re gonna talk
about the asshole article written by
Timothy white which you know he
mentioned a couple of things in terms of
you know the obvious is the guilty
conscience in the 97 Bonnie and Clyde
thing but what do you answer that I mean
when you actually talking about you know
this like a 15 year old girl that you
know like you know hit it
Timothy Timothy white gave me a free
edge and I want to thank him for that
and I also like his bowtie it’s a nice
bowtie head if the song guilty
conscience that he’s talking about first
of all he doesn’t know hip-hop so he
doesn’t belong judging it he doesn’t
even know about it so he shouldn’t speak
on it but the song guilty conscience but
it was trying to say if he had half a
brain in his head was that these it was
it was three instances of somebody about
to do something bad and this is what was
going through their mind when they was
about to do this you know what I’m
saying there’s the good half for you and
there’s the bad half of you and 99% of
the time especially in America the bad
half always wins and that’s what I was
trying to show it’s a concept song it’s
a concept song but Timothy white didn’t
see that the concept behind it and
obviously got offended because he
probably really thinks that way you know
I’m saying I said that’s his guilty
conscience he really thinks that way and
once the claim all that is righteousness
and whatever whatever whatever you know
but his guilty conscience is making him
take it seriously I think it hit a soft
spot for Timothy white you know so he’s
not here to speak for himself but he oh
but in terms of like where you’re coming
from with with lyrically I mean you know
you talk about Slim Shady as being that
you know that side of you that you know
really you know got to the point where
you just totally pissed you Tony Tony
man I mean how you judging from the
recommended some of your lyrics I mean
like how pissed off is Eminem I mean
like he’s just like a real great ability
for you just to kind of vent in terms of
what’s on your mind at this particular
point anytime that your next trick is
done with this is what I’ve always said
in my music to me for me my music is
like therapy for me you know what I’m
saying it’s a way for me to get stuff
off my chest I wasn’t I haven’t always
been I haven’t always been pissed off I
haven’t always been mad you know it just
came to a I feel like right now is just
came to a boiling point for me you know
what I mean I’ve been through so much
stuff in my life that you know I kind of
reached the point where I was just fed
up you know I just got tired of it
and so it’s on the record all right but
but the Masters gonna have to deal with
what’s going on in your mind you know
what I mean for some people to interpret
that it’s it can be hard for some kids
you don’t necessarily understand what
you’ve been through you don’t I mean I
don’t think nobody will ever understand
what’s completely on my mind and I’m not
asking people to you know I’m kind of my
album is kind of like inviting you into
my world if you want to come into it you
do if you don’t you don’t and I feel
like one of the reasons that it’s
selling so many records is probably
because there’s so many kids that can
relate so what I’ve been doing
you know there’s kids they can listen to
the music and say I’ve been you you know
I’ve been through that so I think they
can relate to it you know it’s a lot of
there’s a lot of poor people in the
world there’s a lot of lower-class
alright there’s nothing that lovely
we’ve been talking about it to the
controversy surrounding Eminem is the
album one I’ll be cover when you’re
actually playing for us
the album cover goes along with a with
the Bonnie and Clyde 97 Bonnie and Clyde
thing and that’s one was about me he
murdered my daughter’s mother and
putting them in the trunk and at the
time when I wrote that song I really
felt like I wanted to do that and that’s
why that’s why again I say my music is
therapy for me it’s a way to get stuff
off my chest it’s a lot of people
there’s a lot of fathers that go through
a lot of stuff with their babies mothers
and they want to do that stuff but they
just don’t say it you have some other so
so much at ease I was at the time I just
wanted to murder my baby’s mother I
really did I mean honestly can you can
you say you’ve never felt like killing
somebody if you if you’ve never been so
mad at somebody has anybody ever puts
you through something through so much
crap that you actually felt like killing
them I can probably say yes but I don’t
necessarily know what that put it on the
record
well I just I was expressing my views
with whatever’s on my mind I’m gonna say
if I’m thinking it I’m gonna say it I’m
that type of person I’ve always been
that type of person you know so if I if
I’m from evil enough to think it or I’m
demented enough to think it I’m smart
enough to thank you
then I’m gonna I’m gonna say you know
whatever it is whatever it is on the
safe now the hip-hop community is
definitely feeling what’s going on with
you I mean cuz you actually knew you
collaborating with a few people in the
secular future so why you just kind of
I did some stuff with a mad rapper too
some stuff with a mr. Elliott I did some
stuff with a jazzy jeff who else who
else you know Dre’s Dre’s chronic mm
chronic – geez that’s coming out I’m on
that I had a lot to do with that project
that whole thing you know just in the
studio that’s right
I mean obvious question that you
probably asked this before being a white
rapper you know I mean it’s like it just
come down to we don’t necessarily care
what color person is it just comes down
to the credibility of their art form I
think it does I think it does there’s
still a lot of hard-headed people out in
the world it just doesn’t matter what
you bring to the table he still won’t
like you but I feel like I feel like
overall hip-hop is like any any sport
you know I’m saying it’s like basketball
the football if you can throw a football
it doesn’t matter what color you are it
doesn’t matter if you can if you can
slam dunk a basketball you know I’m
saying it just doesn’t matter it’s all
about the individual person you know and
being that if there’s not that many good
white rappers I don’t have anything to
do with that you know I’m saying all I
can do is fear for myself
this is this is me and this is home all
I can do is bring me so I think it I
think it really depends on the
individuals you know every cases every
case is suffering every case is
different
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