1 00:00:00,230 --> 00:00:05,410 Speaker 1: All right. Welcome into another Rewind episode of Disgraceland here 2 00:00:05,450 --> 00:00:08,459 Speaker 1: in the Halloween season, it being October. We are rewinding 3 00:00:08,580 --> 00:00:15,260 Speaker 1: our Eminem episode, originally released back in May of 2019. Disgraceland, 4 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:18,970 Speaker 1: the podcast, was just over a year old at that time. 5 00:00:19,030 --> 00:00:22,509 Speaker 1: And I remember my interest in Eminem was less about 6 00:00:22,870 --> 00:00:25,840 Speaker 1: sort of the, you know, the true crime, if that's 7 00:00:25,860 --> 00:00:28,480 Speaker 1: what you want to call it, aspects of his career 8 00:00:28,850 --> 00:00:32,250 Speaker 1: and some of the trouble that he got into, and 9 00:00:32,310 --> 00:00:36,809 Speaker 1: more about the horrorcore side of the music that he made. 10 00:00:36,930 --> 00:00:39,900 Speaker 1: I found it fascinating. I felt like it bookended the 11 00:00:39,940 --> 00:00:42,660 Speaker 1: big lurch story that we told a few months prior 12 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,599 Speaker 1: to this. Definitely in conversation with each other, these two 13 00:00:45,659 --> 00:00:49,600 Speaker 1: stories And as interested in Eminem as I was at 14 00:00:49,620 --> 00:00:52,500 Speaker 1: the time, I did not count myself an Eminem fan. 15 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:54,780 Speaker 1: And I said so in the intro to this episode. 16 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:58,240 Speaker 1: I said that Eminem, in the device about the Mellotron 17 00:00:58,280 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: and great music and all that, I said that Eminem 18 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:02,150 Speaker 1: did not make great music. And I believe that was 19 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:05,889 Speaker 1: the first artist where I kind of went off script 20 00:01:05,930 --> 00:01:10,850 Speaker 1: there and got negative. However, since then, partially, I guess, 21 00:01:10,870 --> 00:01:12,710 Speaker 1: in response to all the hate mail I got from 22 00:01:12,750 --> 00:01:16,280 Speaker 1: the Eminem fans... I reconsidered Eminem's music and I truly 23 00:01:16,340 --> 00:01:20,179 Speaker 1: understand what a great artist and singular artist he is. 24 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:27,250 Speaker 1: Fantastic lyricist, hip hop vocalist, producer, songwriter, pop star, whatever 25 00:01:27,270 --> 00:01:30,130 Speaker 1: you want to call him. He's all those things. And 26 00:01:30,170 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 1: here he is in Disgraceland. Disgraceland is a production of 27 00:01:34,340 --> 00:01:48,990 Speaker 1: Double Elvis. The stories about Eminem are insane. He killed 28 00:01:49,030 --> 00:01:51,490 Speaker 1: and then buried the corpse of his wife, in his 29 00:01:51,550 --> 00:01:54,970 Speaker 1: lyrics anyway, under the guise of a psychotic alter ego 30 00:01:55,010 --> 00:01:58,170 Speaker 1: he created named Slim Shady, whose lyrics set off an 31 00:01:58,350 --> 00:02:02,490 Speaker 1: avalanche of criticism from the media and cultural elites. He 32 00:02:02,570 --> 00:02:05,790 Speaker 1: feared no man or woman, real or imagined, and he 33 00:02:05,830 --> 00:02:08,250 Speaker 1: took no shit, not even from his own mom, who 34 00:02:08,290 --> 00:02:12,510 Speaker 1: eventually sued him. He was fueled by darkness and raised 35 00:02:12,570 --> 00:02:15,090 Speaker 1: in the shadows of a once great symbol of American 36 00:02:15,150 --> 00:02:19,370 Speaker 1: hard work and hustle, Detroit, Michigan. He fought his way up, 37 00:02:19,730 --> 00:02:22,430 Speaker 1: out of the city's hip-hop underground, and fought off violent 38 00:02:22,490 --> 00:02:26,989 Speaker 1: attackers along the way. Charged with beating down rival musicians, 39 00:02:27,130 --> 00:02:30,590 Speaker 1: pistol-whipping his wife's lover, and in general, for lowering American 40 00:02:30,630 --> 00:02:33,030 Speaker 1: standards of decency, Eminem made. 41 00:02:34,150 --> 00:02:37,710 Speaker 2: Hold up. For real. I don't like Eminem's music. I've tried. 42 00:02:38,050 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 1: It does nothing for me. I don't even feel nostalgic 43 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 1: for it. But in a way, I do respect Eminem 44 00:02:44,060 --> 00:02:46,540 Speaker 1: as an artist for risking it, for putting it all 45 00:02:46,620 --> 00:02:49,620 Speaker 1: out there. And I definitely respect his hustle. But at 46 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:51,960 Speaker 1: the end of the day, his music, it ain't my bag. 47 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:53,560 Speaker 1: So I can't sit here and tell you with a 48 00:02:53,580 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: straight face that he made great music. He made music. 49 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,780 Speaker 1: Some of the most compelling music ever made. Unlike that 50 00:03:01,860 --> 00:03:03,760 Speaker 1: music I played you at the top of the show. 51 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:07,950 Speaker 1: That wasn't compelling music. That was a preset loop from 52 00:03:07,990 --> 00:03:13,430 Speaker 1: my Mellotron called Trailer Park Safari MK2. I played you 53 00:03:13,470 --> 00:03:16,410 Speaker 1: that loop because I can't afford the rights to Angel 54 00:03:16,450 --> 00:03:19,510 Speaker 1: of Mine by Monica. And why would I play you 55 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: that specific slice of UK girl group cover cheese? 56 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:23,930 Speaker 2: Could I afford it? 57 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:28,320 Speaker 1: Because that was the number one song in America on 58 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:33,300 Speaker 1: February 23rd, 1999. And that was the day Eminem released 59 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:36,870 Speaker 1: the Slim Shady LP. Introducing America to one of the 60 00:03:36,910 --> 00:03:40,650 Speaker 1: most disturbed popular musicians of all time. A musician who 61 00:03:40,690 --> 00:03:43,890 Speaker 1: would eventually need no introduction, but would become reliant on 62 00:03:43,930 --> 00:03:47,730 Speaker 1: an ever-necessary straw man to compel and inspire him to create. 63 00:03:49,010 --> 00:03:54,350 Speaker 1: On this episode, pistol whippings, murderous revenge fantasies, Slim Shady, 64 00:03:54,770 --> 00:03:56,390 Speaker 1: straw men, and Eminem. 65 00:03:57,410 --> 00:04:00,620 Speaker 2: I'm Jake Brennan, and this is Disgraceland. 66 00:04:27,220 --> 00:04:31,900 Speaker 1: Out of nowhere, squealing tires, rustling, squeaking sneakers on the floor, 67 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:36,310 Speaker 1: and then the piece. Hard, steel, and in his face. 68 00:04:37,529 --> 00:04:40,250 Speaker 1: Doug Dale stared down the barrel of the gun, up 69 00:04:40,290 --> 00:04:42,290 Speaker 1: past the sight and the thumb on the hammer. 70 00:04:43,029 --> 00:04:46,330 Speaker 2: He locked into the gaze of his assailant. He was unmistakable. 71 00:04:46,870 --> 00:04:49,950 Speaker 1: Those diamond-cutter blue eyes were just as intense in person 72 00:04:50,010 --> 00:04:52,100 Speaker 1: as they were in the paparazzi pictures and in the 73 00:04:52,140 --> 00:04:56,510 Speaker 1: music videos. The eyes, the gun, the shaky shouting... They 74 00:04:56,529 --> 00:05:00,750 Speaker 1: all belonged to fellow Detroit native Marshall Mathers III. Eminem 75 00:05:00,810 --> 00:05:03,980 Speaker 1: to the Billboard charts for his third album. The self-titled 76 00:05:04,020 --> 00:05:08,020 Speaker 1: Marshall Mathers LP had debuted a month previously and immediately 77 00:05:08,180 --> 00:05:12,380 Speaker 1: broke the record for fastest-selling album of all time. But 78 00:05:12,420 --> 00:05:14,780 Speaker 1: this wasn't the Marshall Mathers who Doug Dale had come 79 00:05:14,820 --> 00:05:17,599 Speaker 1: to know growing up in the Detroit hip-hop scene. And 80 00:05:17,620 --> 00:05:20,350 Speaker 1: this wasn't the Eminem that the world was currently getting 81 00:05:20,370 --> 00:05:23,510 Speaker 1: to know through his wildly popular brand of hip-hop. No, 82 00:05:23,830 --> 00:05:27,990 Speaker 1: this sketchy dude with the 9mm semi-automatic pistol, the shaky voice, 83 00:05:28,070 --> 00:05:30,390 Speaker 1: and the faraway look in his eye was none other 84 00:05:30,750 --> 00:05:35,860 Speaker 1: than Slim Shady. The loose cannon persona Eminem had invented 85 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:39,080 Speaker 1: to give a voice to his most violent and unstable fantasies. 86 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:43,340 Speaker 1: Slim Shady was also the most successful musical alter ego 87 00:05:43,380 --> 00:05:47,339 Speaker 1: since Ziggy Stardust. Slim Shady, the deranged trickster, was an 88 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:50,940 Speaker 1: unstable danger to himself and others, but only lyrically. 89 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:52,380 Speaker 2: In theory, anyways. 90 00:05:53,310 --> 00:05:55,640 Speaker 1: But right now, with the barrel of his gun jammed 91 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:58,960 Speaker 1: into the face of Doug Dale, things weren't looking so lyrical. 92 00:06:00,420 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: Doug tried to make sense of what was happening. It 93 00:06:03,220 --> 00:06:06,320 Speaker 1: was a Saturday afternoon, early summer, the perfect day to 94 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:09,740 Speaker 1: finally trick out the sound system on his ride. He 95 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:11,980 Speaker 1: was in the parking lot of the Detroit Record Shack 96 00:06:12,060 --> 00:06:15,100 Speaker 1: in Royal Oak, watching the techs do their thing, when 97 00:06:15,140 --> 00:06:18,380 Speaker 1: Eminem came around the corner. Doug noticed, of course, it 98 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 1: was Eminem, musical rival to Doug's employers, the insane clown posse. 99 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:23,980 Speaker 2: Doug said nothing. 100 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:26,820 Speaker 1: Just turned back to the text wiring his truck, and then, 101 00:06:26,900 --> 00:06:29,430 Speaker 1: before he knew it, Eminem had his piece stuck in 102 00:06:29,470 --> 00:06:32,810 Speaker 1: Doug's face and looked to have gone full tweak. His 103 00:06:32,870 --> 00:06:35,529 Speaker 1: hand on the pistol was steady, but his voice shook. 104 00:06:36,450 --> 00:06:39,090 Speaker 1: What did you say to me? This wasn't beef. The 105 00:06:39,130 --> 00:06:41,850 Speaker 1: shit Eminem and ICP talked on records was one thing. 106 00:06:41,950 --> 00:06:45,469 Speaker 1: This was not that. This was real. This was dangerous. 107 00:06:45,490 --> 00:06:48,430 Speaker 1: But when the audio text poked their heads out from 108 00:06:48,450 --> 00:06:50,979 Speaker 1: the car to see what was going on, Some shady 109 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:54,880 Speaker 1: shrank from the unwelcome attention and split. Eminem tried to 110 00:06:54,940 --> 00:06:58,410 Speaker 1: forget the incident, but it was impossible. What he remembered 111 00:06:58,450 --> 00:07:01,130 Speaker 1: most clearly wasn't the rage or the adrenaline or even 112 00:07:01,150 --> 00:07:02,989 Speaker 1: the reason he pulled the gun in the first place. 113 00:07:03,650 --> 00:07:06,310 Speaker 1: It was the look in Doug's eyes over the gun's sightline. 114 00:07:06,950 --> 00:07:08,350 Speaker 1: That look said one thing. 115 00:07:09,330 --> 00:07:18,020 Speaker 2: Come on, man. You're better than this. Mr. Mathers, the judge's. 116 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:21,470 Speaker 1: Voice was loud, commanding. Eminem pulled his thoughts out of 117 00:07:21,510 --> 00:07:24,250 Speaker 1: the past, away from Doug Dale at the other end 118 00:07:24,270 --> 00:07:27,450 Speaker 1: of his gun. He scowled and looked up toward the judge, 119 00:07:27,810 --> 00:07:30,590 Speaker 1: Denise Langford Morris, who called the court to order for 120 00:07:30,630 --> 00:07:33,890 Speaker 1: his sentencing. He had pled no contest to carrying a 121 00:07:33,940 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 1: concealed weapon, a felony, as well as to a misdemeanor charge, 122 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,960 Speaker 1: brandishing a weapon in public, knowing full well that with 123 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:43,880 Speaker 1: the no contest plea, the judge could serve him up 124 00:07:43,980 --> 00:07:47,890 Speaker 1: five years in state prison. Eminem and his attorneys hoped 125 00:07:47,940 --> 00:07:49,900 Speaker 1: the fact that he'd left the gun empty would be 126 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:52,780 Speaker 1: enough to warrant a sentence of probation instead of prison. 127 00:07:54,100 --> 00:07:57,220 Speaker 1: His contrition was real. Prison scared the hell out of him. 128 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:00,040 Speaker 1: Eminem was on trial for brandishing a weapon, but it 129 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:02,800 Speaker 1: felt like he was on trial for something else. For 130 00:08:02,860 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 1: corrupting America's youth. He had been targeted by Tipper Gore's 131 00:08:06,940 --> 00:08:12,140 Speaker 1: lobby of concern trolls, the PMRC, a.k.a. Parents Music Resource Center. 132 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:15,020 Speaker 1: and the editor of Billboard had issued a whole column 133 00:08:15,100 --> 00:08:19,530 Speaker 1: scourging Eminem as exploitative and toxic to American culture. And 134 00:08:19,590 --> 00:08:22,030 Speaker 1: now he had offered himself up on a silver platter, 135 00:08:22,430 --> 00:08:25,930 Speaker 1: living down to their expectations, playing the perfect straw man. 136 00:08:26,850 --> 00:08:28,570 Speaker 1: So if they were going to make an example of him, 137 00:08:28,770 --> 00:08:31,530 Speaker 1: it was now or never. For all the culture warriors 138 00:08:31,550 --> 00:08:34,380 Speaker 1: who wanted to see the infamous Eminem tried for corrupting 139 00:08:34,429 --> 00:08:38,000 Speaker 1: America's youth, this was their chance. It didn't matter to 140 00:08:38,040 --> 00:08:40,760 Speaker 1: them what actually happened or how real his contrition was. 141 00:08:41,740 --> 00:08:44,140 Speaker 1: The judge patted a big stack of papers by her 142 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:45,080 Speaker 1: side and spoke. 143 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:46,120 Speaker 2: Mr. 144 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:48,760 Speaker 1: Mathers, this is just a sample of all the free 145 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:51,929 Speaker 1: advice I have received from citizens around the country. It 146 00:08:51,990 --> 00:08:54,410 Speaker 1: seems everybody has an opinion as to what I should 147 00:08:54,470 --> 00:08:58,970 Speaker 1: do with you. Stoic as his expression was, Eminem couldn't 148 00:08:59,010 --> 00:09:00,690 Speaker 1: help but flush with embarrassment. 149 00:09:01,510 --> 00:09:02,130 Speaker 2: Imagine that. 150 00:09:02,570 --> 00:09:05,830 Speaker 1: People, ordinary people, people he didn't know, taking time out 151 00:09:05,850 --> 00:09:08,270 Speaker 1: of their ordinary lives to write to this judge with 152 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:11,429 Speaker 1: suggestions on how to punish him, him, And who the 153 00:09:11,460 --> 00:09:13,960 Speaker 1: hell was he? Why did they care? And did the 154 00:09:14,020 --> 00:09:16,719 Speaker 1: judge just say just a sample? Look at that stack. 155 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:19,820 Speaker 1: Who had time for this? Didn't people have better shit 156 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:23,260 Speaker 1: to do? Judge Langford Morris pulled one sheet from the 157 00:09:23,300 --> 00:09:26,500 Speaker 1: top and began to read. Please sentence Eminem to write 158 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:29,740 Speaker 1: a song with clean lyrics. Laughs burbled up from the 159 00:09:29,820 --> 00:09:32,699 Speaker 1: audience in the courtroom. And the judge pulled another and read. 160 00:09:33,260 --> 00:09:35,540 Speaker 1: Throw the book at him, your honor. Eminem deserves to 161 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:37,740 Speaker 1: rot in jail for the rest of his life. Throw 162 00:09:37,780 --> 00:09:41,530 Speaker 1: away the key. And the laughs stopped. M & M 163 00:09:41,620 --> 00:09:44,240 Speaker 1: felt rage. It hit him like a kick to the gut. 164 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:48,459 Speaker 1: It was familiar, almost comforting. And here was the hate 165 00:09:48,500 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: he knew was lurking out there. It reinforced one of 166 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:55,809 Speaker 1: his guiding principles in life. That people sucked. The judge 167 00:09:55,870 --> 00:09:59,290 Speaker 1: looked down at M from the bench. I assure you, Mr. Mathers, 168 00:09:59,330 --> 00:10:03,579 Speaker 1: this was far from the worst punishment offered. The words, pissy, 169 00:10:03,980 --> 00:10:07,940 Speaker 1: condescending as fuck, and a word, well, judgy. And they 170 00:10:07,980 --> 00:10:10,780 Speaker 1: hit him low, made him sick to his stomach. She 171 00:10:10,820 --> 00:10:13,430 Speaker 1: was looking down on him, literally high up on her bench. 172 00:10:14,030 --> 00:10:16,490 Speaker 1: He took her taunting verbal hits, and he was nine 173 00:10:16,510 --> 00:10:19,400 Speaker 1: years old all over again. But instead of being seated 174 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:21,740 Speaker 1: in the courtroom, he was curled up on the tiled 175 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 1: floor of the school bathroom with a schoolyard bully beating 176 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:27,520 Speaker 1: the piss out of him. He didn't remember the moment 177 00:10:27,540 --> 00:10:30,130 Speaker 1: that his head had been shoved into the steel urinal handle. 178 00:10:30,610 --> 00:10:33,810 Speaker 1: He just remembered the ringing sound afterward. And then the 179 00:10:33,850 --> 00:10:38,750 Speaker 1: smell of the floor. Half piss, half ammonia. Then the punches. 180 00:10:39,090 --> 00:10:39,620 Speaker 2: The kicks. 181 00:10:40,429 --> 00:10:42,300 Speaker 1: It wasn't even the physical pain he remembered. It was 182 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:46,820 Speaker 1: the humiliation. How unnecessary it was. Reduced to a piss-soaked 183 00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:50,760 Speaker 1: punching bag. The judge gave America more time in her 184 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 1: court and read another letter. 185 00:10:52,660 --> 00:10:52,920 Speaker 2: Mr. 186 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:55,319 Speaker 1: Eminem needs to have his mouth washed out with an 187 00:10:55,480 --> 00:10:59,830 Speaker 1: old-fashioned bar of soap. Somehow, innocent as this one was, 188 00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:01,830 Speaker 1: this was the one that pissed him off the most. 189 00:11:02,450 --> 00:11:04,670 Speaker 1: It was so lazy. Where was the piss? 190 00:11:04,970 --> 00:11:06,610 Speaker 2: Pardon the pun. Where was the passion? 191 00:11:07,210 --> 00:11:11,200 Speaker 1: Come on, America. You're better than this. But Eminem swallowed it. 192 00:11:11,690 --> 00:11:16,980 Speaker 1: He endured every insult, quietly, stoically. But inside, The one 193 00:11:17,010 --> 00:11:20,860 Speaker 1: and only Slim Shady did unspeakable acts to that concerned 194 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:27,099 Speaker 1: letter-writing citizen with that seemingly innocent bar of soap. M & 195 00:11:26,740 --> 00:11:30,400 Speaker 1: M felt Slim's violent urges transform into an itch to 196 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:34,960 Speaker 1: write in his notepad, and he controlled himself. Across the courtroom, 197 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:38,079 Speaker 1: down the barrel of a different kind of gun, M & 198 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:40,640 Speaker 1: M felt the balance of power level between his eyes 199 00:11:40,980 --> 00:11:45,160 Speaker 1: and the woman holding his fate in her hands. So, Mr. Mathers, 200 00:11:45,480 --> 00:12:08,090 Speaker 1: said the judge, What should we do with you? Marshall 201 00:12:08,130 --> 00:12:11,449 Speaker 1: Mathers didn't know what to do with himself. Christmas was coming. 202 00:12:12,050 --> 00:12:15,349 Speaker 1: It was also his daughter Haley's first birthday, and it 203 00:12:15,390 --> 00:12:19,420 Speaker 1: was winter in Detroit. and he was basically homeless. He 204 00:12:19,500 --> 00:12:22,730 Speaker 1: bounced from couch to couch, from his mom's trailer to 205 00:12:22,770 --> 00:12:26,750 Speaker 1: Kim's place or to Kim's family's place. But now Kim's 206 00:12:26,790 --> 00:12:29,990 Speaker 1: was out. They were fighting again, and Kim was even 207 00:12:30,030 --> 00:12:33,500 Speaker 1: threatening to keep him from seeing Haley on Christmas. Making 208 00:12:33,540 --> 00:12:37,460 Speaker 1: matters worse, his manager at Gilbert's Lounge, the local diner 209 00:12:37,500 --> 00:12:40,660 Speaker 1: where he was a dishwasher and sometimes line cook, was 210 00:12:40,740 --> 00:12:44,380 Speaker 1: threatening to cut his shifts again. Whenever he was at work, 211 00:12:44,850 --> 00:12:47,950 Speaker 1: Kim and his mom kept calling the restaurant line incessantly, 212 00:12:48,309 --> 00:12:50,810 Speaker 1: demanding to speak with him about whatever it was that 213 00:12:50,850 --> 00:12:53,390 Speaker 1: happened to be pissing them off at the moment. It 214 00:12:53,429 --> 00:12:56,370 Speaker 1: was becoming a real problem. Add it all up and 215 00:12:56,429 --> 00:13:00,760 Speaker 1: presents for his daughter were not looking likely. Merry fucking Christmas. 216 00:13:03,620 --> 00:13:06,040 Speaker 1: Which is why he snuck in through the back, hoping 217 00:13:06,080 --> 00:13:09,219 Speaker 1: not to be seen. He was late again, but only 218 00:13:09,260 --> 00:13:11,850 Speaker 1: because he took the bus. He was at a warehouse 219 00:13:11,890 --> 00:13:15,429 Speaker 1: show late last night. pushing copies of Infinite, the LP 220 00:13:15,450 --> 00:13:19,250 Speaker 1: he'd cut with local producers, the Bass Brothers. But no luck, 221 00:13:19,330 --> 00:13:21,850 Speaker 1: so he took his lumps and indulged in sleeping late, 222 00:13:22,270 --> 00:13:25,430 Speaker 1: and ended up missing the first bus. But if the 223 00:13:25,500 --> 00:13:27,860 Speaker 1: second bus had been on time, that wouldn't have mattered. 224 00:13:28,700 --> 00:13:30,860 Speaker 1: And why was he already making excuses to the shift 225 00:13:30,900 --> 00:13:35,679 Speaker 1: manager in his head? Fuck this noise. Marshall hustled through 226 00:13:35,700 --> 00:13:38,920 Speaker 1: the tunnel to the kitchen. He passed his favorite waitress, Jen, 227 00:13:38,980 --> 00:13:40,870 Speaker 1: on her way to the floor with an order. She 228 00:13:40,929 --> 00:13:42,650 Speaker 1: winked at him, and he hushed her with a finger 229 00:13:42,690 --> 00:13:45,270 Speaker 1: to his lips as they crossed. He ducked into the 230 00:13:45,309 --> 00:13:47,570 Speaker 1: cook line, tied his apron, and sidled up to his 231 00:13:47,630 --> 00:13:49,770 Speaker 1: friend Mannix, who had hooked him up with this diner 232 00:13:49,790 --> 00:13:52,250 Speaker 1: gig and had a basement studio where they messed around 233 00:13:52,290 --> 00:13:56,429 Speaker 1: with beats. Yo, how was the show last night? Mannix 234 00:13:56,460 --> 00:13:58,560 Speaker 1: didn't miss a beat, but Marshall wasn't in the mood. 235 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:02,020 Speaker 1: He just wanted to forget his garbage life and failing record, 236 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:05,719 Speaker 1: lose himself in the job for a minute. Mannix read 237 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:09,780 Speaker 1: his sour look. You staying with your mom again or something? Marshall, 238 00:14:10,210 --> 00:14:14,030 Speaker 1: already going by Eminem, shrugged. He pulled his first order ticket. 239 00:14:14,610 --> 00:14:17,209 Speaker 1: Mannix shrugged too. He knew better than to try to 240 00:14:17,270 --> 00:14:19,430 Speaker 1: engage Marshall in a conversation when he was in a 241 00:14:19,450 --> 00:14:22,230 Speaker 1: bad mood. He turned to the grill just as their 242 00:14:22,270 --> 00:14:24,229 Speaker 1: manager poked his head in from the tunnel. 243 00:14:25,010 --> 00:14:26,910 Speaker 2: Hey Marshall, can I talk to you for a minute? 244 00:14:27,570 --> 00:14:29,850 Speaker 2: And there it was, the other shoe dropping. 245 00:14:30,510 --> 00:14:34,470 Speaker 1: Finally, Em met Mannix's gaze, saying with his eyes, see, 246 00:14:34,970 --> 00:14:42,630 Speaker 1: as he walked to his doom. fired a week before Christmas, 247 00:14:43,250 --> 00:14:46,630 Speaker 1: of course. The sad part was he didn't even blame them. 248 00:14:47,110 --> 00:14:49,430 Speaker 1: He was missing shifts again, pushing the new record, and 249 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:52,520 Speaker 1: Mom and Kim called the restaurant at all hours demanding to. 250 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:55,100 Speaker 2: Talk to him. Up until then, it had been a 251 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:55,620 Speaker 2: good year. 252 00:14:56,020 --> 00:14:59,360 Speaker 1: He'd worked hard 60-hour weeks for Haley, but it had 253 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:06,430 Speaker 1: all come to this, getting fired. He dragged himself, dejected, exhausted, 254 00:15:06,530 --> 00:15:09,070 Speaker 1: to his mother's trailer. But when he reached for the door, 255 00:15:09,410 --> 00:15:12,450 Speaker 1: a wiry, wild-eyed punk burst out, rammed him in the 256 00:15:12,490 --> 00:15:15,380 Speaker 1: gut with something heavy and knocked him back onto the crabgrass. 257 00:15:17,150 --> 00:15:19,860 Speaker 1: He heard a thud and cracking glass. Then the punk 258 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:22,360 Speaker 1: was tussling with him, rolling him over into the dirt. 259 00:15:23,020 --> 00:15:26,340 Speaker 1: Adrenaline flooded his system. Eminem felt the fight rise up, 260 00:15:26,740 --> 00:15:30,180 Speaker 1: surpassing the dejection. He felt alive, and with a sharp kick, 261 00:15:30,220 --> 00:15:33,020 Speaker 1: he separated from his attacker, looked up and saw the 262 00:15:33,060 --> 00:15:36,160 Speaker 1: thief clearly for the first time, all skin and bones 263 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:37,680 Speaker 1: minus a few of the usual teeth. 264 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:41,470 Speaker 2: He was nothing but a scarecrow. Tweaker piece of shit, 265 00:15:41,730 --> 00:15:42,510 Speaker 2: M & M screamed. 266 00:15:43,310 --> 00:15:46,370 Speaker 1: The thief's spattering ram had been M & M' s mother's TV, 267 00:15:46,650 --> 00:15:49,250 Speaker 1: which now sat broken at the bottom of the trailer steps. 268 00:15:49,910 --> 00:15:52,970 Speaker 2: Just another junkie robber. This shit was practically weekly now. 269 00:15:53,590 --> 00:15:55,690 Speaker 1: Once he'd come home to find the trailer emptied out, 270 00:15:56,010 --> 00:15:59,550 Speaker 1: everything gone except the bed. Earlier in the year, Kim's 271 00:15:59,630 --> 00:16:02,460 Speaker 1: scraped together college savings fund for Haley. Just a few 272 00:16:02,500 --> 00:16:05,760 Speaker 1: hundred dollars had been stolen from her place. And the 273 00:16:05,820 --> 00:16:08,860 Speaker 1: scarecrow caught his breath. saw the broken TV and panicked. 274 00:16:09,340 --> 00:16:14,940 Speaker 1: He took a few erratic paces around the debris. Eminem 275 00:16:14,980 --> 00:16:17,800 Speaker 1: saw his chance. He sat up and felt his head swim. 276 00:16:17,820 --> 00:16:21,400 Speaker 1: The exhaustion, the adrenaline, he could barely tell what was 277 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:24,660 Speaker 1: real and what wasn't anymore. But he lunged forward, grabbed 278 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:26,900 Speaker 1: the biggest shard of glass from the broken TV that 279 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:29,890 Speaker 1: he could, and their eyes met over the makeshift blade, 280 00:16:30,230 --> 00:16:32,070 Speaker 1: cutting the hand of the man wielding it more than 281 00:16:32,110 --> 00:16:35,120 Speaker 1: anything else. But even through his high, the tweaker could 282 00:16:35,180 --> 00:16:37,920 Speaker 1: see in those diamond-cutter blue eyes that this guy had 283 00:16:37,980 --> 00:16:40,240 Speaker 1: nothing left to lose. He was a man who had 284 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:43,760 Speaker 1: hit rock bottom. And Eminem saw something in his scarecrow 285 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:47,040 Speaker 1: attacker's eyes, too. He saw the kind of desperate, hollow 286 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:49,620 Speaker 1: man he could become if he didn't figure his shit out. 287 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:53,980 Speaker 1: He'd wind up just another slim and shady criminal. The 288 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:57,160 Speaker 1: tweaker held up his jittery hands and slowly backed off 289 00:16:57,220 --> 00:17:01,090 Speaker 1: into the darkness. Eminem held his snapped expression until he 290 00:17:01,130 --> 00:17:03,910 Speaker 1: was sure he was gone. Only then did he turn 291 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:08,580 Speaker 1: back to the trailer door. Inside, he assessed the damage. 292 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:13,179 Speaker 1: Drawers and cabinets emptied, everything scattered around the floor. The 293 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:15,520 Speaker 1: day's mail was still on the kitchen counter looking like 294 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:16,280 Speaker 1: nothing had happened. 295 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:18,540 Speaker 2: On the floor, court documents. 296 00:17:19,119 --> 00:17:21,780 Speaker 1: His half-brother Nate had been taken by social services almost 297 00:17:21,820 --> 00:17:24,399 Speaker 1: a year ago. His school had accused their mother of 298 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:28,240 Speaker 1: instability and abuse. Someone had tossed out the phrase Munchausen 299 00:17:28,260 --> 00:17:31,520 Speaker 1: by proxy. And now she was fighting to bring Nate home. 300 00:17:32,790 --> 00:17:35,869 Speaker 1: Maybe they were all sick, one way or another. But 301 00:17:35,890 --> 00:17:38,110 Speaker 1: at least for a few hours, Marshall could be sick. 302 00:17:37,950 --> 00:17:39,310 Speaker 2: On his own, in his way. 303 00:17:40,130 --> 00:17:42,560 Speaker 1: Nobody around here treated anybody else like a human being. 304 00:17:43,020 --> 00:17:45,580 Speaker 1: Not his mom, not his girlfriend, not his job. The 305 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:48,460 Speaker 1: closest person he got to tonight was the raggedy-ass robber. 306 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:50,639 Speaker 1: The only way to feel like a real person was 307 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:54,380 Speaker 1: to lash out. He could feel his jangling nerves, his 308 00:17:54,540 --> 00:17:58,290 Speaker 1: unleashed fury. The whole maelstrom of pain and passion inside 309 00:17:58,330 --> 00:18:00,970 Speaker 1: him expand out into the empty space of the trailer, 310 00:18:01,030 --> 00:18:03,790 Speaker 1: giving him at last at least the small room to breathe. 311 00:18:04,650 --> 00:18:08,149 Speaker 2: Suddenly, he really needed to take a shit. Hold up. 312 00:18:08,430 --> 00:18:08,970 Speaker 2: This is true. 313 00:18:09,390 --> 00:18:13,170 Speaker 1: Eminem claims the concept of Slim Shady came to him while, well, 314 00:18:13,210 --> 00:18:15,300 Speaker 1: you know, laying a log cabin, as Eminem calls it 315 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:20,379 Speaker 1: on the Marshall Mathers LP, too. Sitting on the throne 316 00:18:20,420 --> 00:18:22,960 Speaker 1: like Fat Elvis, he busted out his notebook and started 317 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:26,379 Speaker 1: scrawling random lines into it, page after page after page. 318 00:18:27,180 --> 00:18:30,399 Speaker 1: After that first exhale of solitude, now he was breathing 319 00:18:30,460 --> 00:18:33,380 Speaker 1: all the grit and grime of the world back in, literally, 320 00:18:33,700 --> 00:18:37,280 Speaker 1: and transforming it into lyrics. On his infinite LP, he 321 00:18:37,300 --> 00:18:40,419 Speaker 1: had mostly rapped about his impending fatherhood, his love for 322 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:43,600 Speaker 1: his at-the-time unborn daughter, the warm and fuzzy stuff. 323 00:18:44,420 --> 00:18:46,859 Speaker 2: But even that was fueled by darkness and trauma. 324 00:18:47,390 --> 00:18:50,250 Speaker 1: His burning rage towards the deadbeat dad he hadn't known 325 00:18:50,330 --> 00:18:52,990 Speaker 1: growing up, the man who had created and then abandoned 326 00:18:53,020 --> 00:18:53,920 Speaker 1: the Mathers family. 327 00:18:54,740 --> 00:18:57,080 Speaker 2: Fuck that piece of shit. He would do better. 328 00:18:58,260 --> 00:19:00,899 Speaker 1: But on Infinite, M had already begun to develop a 329 00:19:00,940 --> 00:19:05,010 Speaker 1: character called the Backstabber, who reveled in Marshall's darkness and trauma, 330 00:19:05,369 --> 00:19:08,230 Speaker 1: ate that shit up, but sort of evilbugs Bonnie Groucho 331 00:19:08,290 --> 00:19:11,970 Speaker 1: Marx as a slasher movie villain. Alone in a trailer 332 00:19:12,030 --> 00:19:16,190 Speaker 1: in the last light of 1996, That character blossomed fully out. 333 00:19:16,130 --> 00:19:21,830 Speaker 2: Of Marshall Mathers' inner demons. Slim Shady was born. We'll 334 00:19:21,850 --> 00:19:24,869 Speaker 2: be right back after this word, word, word. 335 00:19:27,470 --> 00:19:31,390 Speaker 1: Another underground show. Some industrial district just south of the airport. 336 00:19:31,930 --> 00:19:34,880 Speaker 1: He was so sick of this grind. This time was different. 337 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:38,960 Speaker 1: It was October 1997, and Eminem was taking one last 338 00:19:39,020 --> 00:19:43,070 Speaker 1: desperate swing at making it in the rap game. This 339 00:19:43,109 --> 00:19:46,980 Speaker 1: wasn't Detroit, this was Inglewood, the Proud Bird nightclub. The 340 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:49,770 Speaker 1: airport to the north was LAX. M had bit the 341 00:19:49,790 --> 00:19:52,020 Speaker 1: heads off. off of all the MCs back home in 342 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:55,300 Speaker 1: rap battles by this time last year. He'd vanquished all 343 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:57,710 Speaker 1: comers and got the infinite LP produced off of it. 344 00:19:58,160 --> 00:19:59,460 Speaker 2: And it turned out none of it mattered. 345 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:02,840 Speaker 1: He swore last Christmas he'd get real for Haley, go 346 00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:04,980 Speaker 1: straight if he had to. But in his heart, he 347 00:20:05,020 --> 00:20:07,439 Speaker 1: felt only despair at the thought. And it gave him 348 00:20:07,460 --> 00:20:11,040 Speaker 1: the creative breakthrough he needed. Now, here he was, still 349 00:20:11,100 --> 00:20:15,340 Speaker 1: pursuing rap god fantasies. The Rap Olympics was the underground 350 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:18,240 Speaker 1: battle tournament to end them all, located deep in the 351 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:21,260 Speaker 1: belly of West Coast hip-hop, organized by a group called 352 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:24,180 Speaker 1: the Rap Coalition, which sought to develop rap talent without 353 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:28,480 Speaker 1: traditional label exploitation. The best freestyle MCs from around the 354 00:20:28,540 --> 00:20:31,840 Speaker 1: country had been invited to roast each other in improvised verses, 355 00:20:32,290 --> 00:20:35,649 Speaker 1: in head-to-head, round-by-round match-ups, for the official prize of $ 500 356 00:20:35,609 --> 00:20:39,949 Speaker 1: and a Rolex watch. the real prize, was hidden in 357 00:20:40,010 --> 00:20:42,770 Speaker 1: plain sight right there in the audience that swarmed with 358 00:20:42,810 --> 00:20:45,750 Speaker 1: hip-hop tastemakers and the assistance of every A & R 359 00:20:45,810 --> 00:20:48,490 Speaker 1: rep in Los Angeles County scouting the scene for the 360 00:20:48,530 --> 00:20:52,719 Speaker 1: next big thing. Eminem had finally accepted that there was 361 00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:55,720 Speaker 1: no white trash Barry Gordy waiting for him back in Detroit. 362 00:20:56,340 --> 00:20:59,220 Speaker 1: He didn't live in the gleaming Motor City of decades past. 363 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:02,020 Speaker 1: This was the 90s. He was one of the forgotten 364 00:21:02,060 --> 00:21:05,790 Speaker 1: men of flyover country now, just another scarecrow, a straw man. 365 00:21:07,130 --> 00:21:10,050 Speaker 1: Getting ahead meant a bigger city or bust. Eminem had 366 00:21:10,130 --> 00:21:13,830 Speaker 1: no time and even less money. Success was his only option. 367 00:21:13,890 --> 00:21:16,389 Speaker 1: Failure was not. Hell, the night before we hopped the 368 00:21:16,410 --> 00:21:19,369 Speaker 1: plane here, he'd been evicted from his shitty place. He 369 00:21:19,410 --> 00:21:21,310 Speaker 1: broke in anyway and slept on the cold floor. 370 00:21:21,970 --> 00:21:22,490 Speaker 2: One more night. 371 00:21:23,430 --> 00:21:25,710 Speaker 1: Going back home meant going back to the trailer with 372 00:21:25,750 --> 00:21:27,730 Speaker 1: mom and Kim. Fuck. 373 00:21:28,210 --> 00:21:31,189 Speaker 2: So it was now or never. All or nothing. One 374 00:21:31,250 --> 00:21:32,869 Speaker 2: night only. One last chance. 375 00:21:36,590 --> 00:21:39,820 Speaker 1: With his viciousness elevated by his new slim, shady persona, 376 00:21:40,060 --> 00:21:42,600 Speaker 1: he advanced through the first round like a knife through butter. 377 00:21:43,540 --> 00:21:46,140 Speaker 1: With each cutting punchline that he spat out, he thought 378 00:21:46,180 --> 00:21:49,619 Speaker 1: back to his hellish past year. A night last winter, 379 00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:53,409 Speaker 1: staying with Jen, his waitress friend, he performed 97 Bonnie 380 00:21:53,470 --> 00:21:56,190 Speaker 1: and Clyde for her, the Eminem tune he'd written where 381 00:21:56,230 --> 00:21:58,429 Speaker 1: he and his daughter Haley get rid of the corpse 382 00:21:58,450 --> 00:22:00,770 Speaker 1: of his wife, Kim, and go on the run together. 383 00:22:01,730 --> 00:22:04,050 Speaker 1: Jen was no fan of Kim's. She understood where Eminem 384 00:22:04,090 --> 00:22:06,320 Speaker 1: was coming from emotionally. and there was a reason he 385 00:22:06,359 --> 00:22:09,109 Speaker 1: was staying with her, but still, she found the misogyny 386 00:22:09,119 --> 00:22:13,109 Speaker 1: of the punchline disturbing. Slim Shady was someone she didn't recognize. 387 00:22:14,070 --> 00:22:16,770 Speaker 1: Yet here in L.A., just as he had seen happen 388 00:22:16,830 --> 00:22:20,210 Speaker 1: in Detroit over the years, when these overwhelmingly black crowds 389 00:22:20,290 --> 00:22:23,510 Speaker 1: saw what his flow could do, he became the hot-hand underdog, 390 00:22:23,869 --> 00:22:26,830 Speaker 1: despite the color of his skin. Maybe to them he 391 00:22:26,869 --> 00:22:28,850 Speaker 1: was a carnival act, a freak show, but he was 392 00:22:28,910 --> 00:22:34,109 Speaker 1: also the best. He dominated round twos. He remembered returning 393 00:22:34,150 --> 00:22:36,770 Speaker 1: to the job at the diner one last time. Jen 394 00:22:36,810 --> 00:22:39,050 Speaker 1: and Mike putting good words and money coming in meant 395 00:22:39,090 --> 00:22:41,879 Speaker 1: seeing Kim and Haley again. So he walked up to 396 00:22:41,890 --> 00:22:44,379 Speaker 1: the service entrance where his line cook friend Mannix was 397 00:22:44,430 --> 00:22:47,619 Speaker 1: smoking out back with another local rapper, Buddha Full of Rhymes. 398 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:50,520 Speaker 1: Mannix must have played the basement demo of the track 399 00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:53,399 Speaker 1: Rock Bottom for Buddha because Buddha said, Em, why are 400 00:22:53,420 --> 00:22:54,740 Speaker 1: you talking all this guns. 401 00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:56,200 Speaker 2: And rape bullshit? That ain't you. 402 00:22:57,240 --> 00:22:59,300 Speaker 1: Fuck Buddha, my life is trash enough as it is. 403 00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:03,320 Speaker 1: I gotta be me and my rhymes too. Buddha understood 404 00:23:03,420 --> 00:23:06,410 Speaker 1: Slim Shady after that. So did the crowd as Em 405 00:23:06,470 --> 00:23:10,350 Speaker 1: entered round three. By this time, the West Coast crowd 406 00:23:10,390 --> 00:23:12,590 Speaker 1: was going wild for the Midwest. 407 00:23:12,150 --> 00:23:14,750 Speaker 2: Kid with the bars. Who was this dude? 408 00:23:15,470 --> 00:23:17,280 Speaker 1: Some of them took a free copy of Em's Hail 409 00:23:17,300 --> 00:23:22,140 Speaker 1: Mary mixtape, the Slim Shady EP. Back on stage, Slim 410 00:23:22,180 --> 00:23:24,120 Speaker 1: himself was focused solely on the win. 411 00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:27,639 Speaker 2: Round four was a formality. He didn't even have to 412 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:31,469 Speaker 2: think about it anymore. He was unconscious. The words just flowed. 413 00:23:31,869 --> 00:23:34,230 Speaker 1: He unleashed a hurricane of feeling, and he had finally 414 00:23:34,270 --> 00:23:35,730 Speaker 1: figured out how to stay in the eye of the 415 00:23:35,790 --> 00:23:39,330 Speaker 1: storm and reap the whirlwind. But the closer he felt 416 00:23:39,369 --> 00:23:41,990 Speaker 1: to the wind, the less he felt like Marshall Mathers, 417 00:23:42,350 --> 00:23:43,910 Speaker 1: and the more he felt like Slim. 418 00:23:43,730 --> 00:23:49,460 Speaker 2: Shady for real. He was so damn deep. Fuck it. 419 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:52,140 Speaker 1: If he didn't win, he would just snap, actually become 420 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:54,980 Speaker 1: a murderous criminal. That's what all or nothing is, right? 421 00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:57,380 Speaker 1: If he left all of himself on stage, what else 422 00:23:57,400 --> 00:23:59,119 Speaker 1: could he be afterwards except Slim? 423 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:03,330 Speaker 2: Slim Shady would be all that was left. Round five, 424 00:24:03,410 --> 00:24:03,889 Speaker 2: the final. 425 00:24:04,470 --> 00:24:06,410 Speaker 1: He was willing to go that far now, and this 426 00:24:06,510 --> 00:24:09,810 Speaker 1: moment would be the test. It was clear in the 427 00:24:09,869 --> 00:24:13,170 Speaker 1: moment that Eminem had won the night on points. Nobody 428 00:24:13,210 --> 00:24:15,169 Speaker 1: had seen the likes of him before, and that had 429 00:24:15,190 --> 00:24:18,210 Speaker 1: to count for something. But somehow, as if to taunt 430 00:24:18,250 --> 00:24:20,730 Speaker 1: him with success and then snatch it away, he lost 431 00:24:20,790 --> 00:24:21,550 Speaker 1: the final round. 432 00:24:22,070 --> 00:24:24,340 Speaker 2: Second place, the best loser. 433 00:24:26,460 --> 00:24:29,510 Speaker 1: As the crowd milled around and filed out, Eminem curled 434 00:24:29,550 --> 00:24:31,030 Speaker 1: up in a corner of the room with a wet 435 00:24:31,090 --> 00:24:33,609 Speaker 1: cloth over his head looking like a boxer who lost 436 00:24:33,690 --> 00:24:34,770 Speaker 1: on a standing eight count. 437 00:24:35,530 --> 00:24:36,109 Speaker 2: So close. 438 00:24:36,930 --> 00:24:40,050 Speaker 1: He was lost in himself again, confronting the life ahead 439 00:24:40,070 --> 00:24:42,800 Speaker 1: of him, scraping by, dealing with mom, dealing with Kim. 440 00:24:43,220 --> 00:24:46,680 Speaker 1: It was more daunting than the mic had ever been. Hey, 441 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:47,800 Speaker 1: you got robbed tonight, man. 442 00:24:48,260 --> 00:24:49,640 Speaker 2: You got a tape? My name's Dan. 443 00:24:50,790 --> 00:24:53,010 Speaker 1: Eminem peeked out from under the cloth and saw some 444 00:24:53,070 --> 00:24:54,560 Speaker 1: dude smirking in his face. 445 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:57,959 Speaker 2: Fuck this guy. He just wanted to be alone. He 446 00:24:58,020 --> 00:24:59,359 Speaker 2: offered Dan his EP anyway. 447 00:24:59,619 --> 00:25:02,960 Speaker 1: Here. And when Marshall Mathers flew back to Detroit, he 448 00:25:02,980 --> 00:25:04,780 Speaker 1: was convinced it had been all for nothing. 449 00:25:05,220 --> 00:25:07,160 Speaker 2: He was a failure. Chapter closed. 450 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:11,100 Speaker 1: But back in LA, Dan, with his copy of the 451 00:25:11,140 --> 00:25:14,020 Speaker 1: Slim Shady EP that Em had handed out, knew he 452 00:25:14,060 --> 00:25:17,480 Speaker 1: had something special. He dutifully delivered it to his boss, 453 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:21,600 Speaker 1: Jimmy Iovine, chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Interscope Records, who 454 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:24,010 Speaker 1: made sure it landed on the workbench full of similar 455 00:25:24,050 --> 00:25:26,889 Speaker 1: mixtapes in the garage of his newest business partner and 456 00:25:26,930 --> 00:25:31,109 Speaker 1: former top producer at Death Row Records, Andre Young, a.k.a. 457 00:25:31,530 --> 00:25:32,210 Speaker 2: Dr. Dre. 458 00:25:33,070 --> 00:25:37,219 Speaker 1: And there it sat, for months, waiting patiently to go off. 459 00:26:00,270 --> 00:26:02,850 Speaker 1: John Guerrero looked into the frosty blue eyes of Kim 460 00:26:02,890 --> 00:26:06,649 Speaker 1: Mathers as they pulled back from a kiss, only to 461 00:26:06,690 --> 00:26:08,310 Speaker 1: see growing panic in her face. 462 00:26:09,070 --> 00:26:09,689 Speaker 2: Something was off. 463 00:26:10,609 --> 00:26:12,710 Speaker 1: Before he could turn around, what felt like the butt 464 00:26:12,750 --> 00:26:14,449 Speaker 1: of a pistol, but could just as well have been 465 00:26:14,470 --> 00:26:16,710 Speaker 1: a cocked fist, cracked across the side of his head. 466 00:26:17,530 --> 00:26:20,010 Speaker 1: You fuck my wife, I'll kill you, screamed Slim Shady. 467 00:26:20,350 --> 00:26:23,090 Speaker 1: But in Guerrero's rattled brain, the sound came from anywhere. 468 00:26:24,150 --> 00:26:27,290 Speaker 1: You fucking lunatic, Kim screamed and launched herself at her 469 00:26:27,310 --> 00:26:30,919 Speaker 1: estranged husband. The gun clattered clumsily to the ground and 470 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:32,700 Speaker 1: into the sight of the rest of the 2 a.m. 471 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:36,379 Speaker 1: crowd outside Hot Rocks, a neon-stained bar in a dance 472 00:26:36,420 --> 00:26:37,480 Speaker 1: hall in Warren, Michigan. 473 00:26:38,119 --> 00:26:40,300 Speaker 2: Screams erupted. Everyone scattered. 474 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:43,200 Speaker 1: They ran and ducked out of the parking lot, women 475 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:46,280 Speaker 1: falling out of their halter tops, men ogling them, others 476 00:26:46,359 --> 00:26:49,320 Speaker 1: shielding them from the threat of the spinning pistol, someone 477 00:26:49,359 --> 00:26:52,679 Speaker 1: called the cops. But all the while, Kim and Marshall 478 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:56,090 Speaker 1: just screamed past each other in passionate but impotent agony. 479 00:26:56,770 --> 00:27:00,669 Speaker 1: John Guerrero, 6'2, a bouncer by trade, stumbled to his 480 00:27:00,750 --> 00:27:01,950 Speaker 1: feet with a hand to his head. 481 00:27:02,390 --> 00:27:05,010 Speaker 2: How did this little bastard get the jump on him? 482 00:27:05,030 --> 00:27:08,330 Speaker 1: The sidewalk was suddenly painted in siren lights, and soon 483 00:27:08,430 --> 00:27:12,580 Speaker 1: Kim and Marshall were in cuffs on the pavement, It 484 00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:14,900 Speaker 1: was only a few hours since Slim Shady had pulled 485 00:27:14,940 --> 00:27:17,840 Speaker 1: the same gun on Doug Dale from ICP and two 486 00:27:17,900 --> 00:27:20,740 Speaker 1: years since Eminem had been plucked from obscurity to record 487 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:25,179 Speaker 1: with Dr. Dre. Between those two events, everything and nothing 488 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:28,650 Speaker 1: had changed. The turning point came a few months after 489 00:27:28,690 --> 00:27:31,690 Speaker 1: his star turn at the Rap Olympics. Some say Dre 490 00:27:31,730 --> 00:27:34,510 Speaker 1: heard Eminem freestyle on morning radio and went hunting for 491 00:27:34,530 --> 00:27:37,369 Speaker 1: the tape. Some say the tape had fallen behind Dre's 492 00:27:37,390 --> 00:27:39,630 Speaker 1: workbench and he only found it again in an act 493 00:27:39,690 --> 00:27:43,379 Speaker 1: of fate. However it happened, Dr. Dre heard Eminem and 494 00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:46,359 Speaker 1: called him. Once the pair met in the studio, it 495 00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:47,859 Speaker 1: was just like it had been that night in the 496 00:27:47,900 --> 00:27:49,959 Speaker 1: tiny bathroom of the trailer or the night at the 497 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:53,460 Speaker 1: Inglewood Club. All his passion was channeled effortlessly in a 498 00:27:53,510 --> 00:27:57,970 Speaker 1: stream of consciousness creativity. Two weeks of non-stop studio sessions 499 00:27:58,050 --> 00:28:02,830 Speaker 1: produced a 20-track record, custom-built to scandalize mainstream America from 500 00:28:02,910 --> 00:28:07,310 Speaker 1: pearl-clutching sea to shining sea. After all, Eminem was a 501 00:28:07,350 --> 00:28:11,010 Speaker 1: freestyle battle rapper by trade. His most finely honed skill 502 00:28:11,050 --> 00:28:14,170 Speaker 1: was sizing up an opponent, anticipating his vulnerabilities, and then 503 00:28:14,210 --> 00:28:17,910 Speaker 1: letting the rhymes flow with intuitive grace. Bobbing and weaving, 504 00:28:17,990 --> 00:28:21,210 Speaker 1: cutting and slashing, exposing himself to abuse just so he 505 00:28:21,230 --> 00:28:22,330 Speaker 1: could go for the jugular. 506 00:28:23,250 --> 00:28:23,830 Speaker 2: And with Dr. 507 00:28:23,869 --> 00:28:26,879 Speaker 1: Dre mixing his beats across the board, his most unlikely 508 00:28:26,930 --> 00:28:30,380 Speaker 1: dreams coming true before his eyes, who was his opponent now? 509 00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:32,240 Speaker 2: America itself. 510 00:28:32,780 --> 00:28:35,580 Speaker 1: The America that had created and then abandoned him, just 511 00:28:35,619 --> 00:28:40,300 Speaker 1: like his deadbeat dad. Eminem's toxic Looney Tune act, Slim Shady, 512 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:43,420 Speaker 1: was just that, an act, but it was born from 513 00:28:43,460 --> 00:28:46,680 Speaker 1: a real primal scream aimed at his family, his country, 514 00:28:46,870 --> 00:28:51,530 Speaker 1: and its straight-laced hypocrisies. The result was both high and lowbrow. 515 00:28:51,910 --> 00:28:54,770 Speaker 1: Ancient Greek Sigmund Freud meet Beavis and Butthead by way 516 00:28:54,790 --> 00:29:01,300 Speaker 1: of Dr. Dre in Voila, a multi-platinum album. The Slim 517 00:29:01,340 --> 00:29:06,660 Speaker 1: Shady LP officially dropped on February 23, 1999. But by then, 518 00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:09,360 Speaker 1: the video for the debut single had already taken over 519 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:12,840 Speaker 1: MTV for a month. And what better introduction to Slim 520 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:16,440 Speaker 1: Shady than the single called My Name Is? And the 521 00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:19,870 Speaker 1: Slim Shady LP would remain on the Billboard 200 chart 522 00:29:19,930 --> 00:29:23,690 Speaker 1: for the next 100 weeks. If Eminem chose the American 523 00:29:23,730 --> 00:29:27,710 Speaker 1: establishment as his last best rap battle target, the establishment 524 00:29:27,750 --> 00:29:31,590 Speaker 1: responded like some dumbfounded choke artist, sputtering on the mat 525 00:29:31,650 --> 00:29:34,070 Speaker 1: in shock like Michael Spinks on the wrong end of 526 00:29:34,110 --> 00:29:35,170 Speaker 1: a Mike Tyson uppercut. 527 00:29:36,270 --> 00:29:38,400 Speaker 2: America was knocked the fuck out. 528 00:29:41,300 --> 00:29:43,260 Speaker 1: In less than a year, Em and Dre dropped a 529 00:29:43,300 --> 00:29:47,810 Speaker 1: sequel album, born in another two-week studio session fueled by weed, ecstasy, 530 00:29:47,830 --> 00:29:51,170 Speaker 1: and an already steady diet of pharmaceuticals to manage anxiety 531 00:29:51,210 --> 00:29:55,570 Speaker 1: and insomnia. The result was the Marshall Mathers LP, named 532 00:29:55,590 --> 00:29:59,950 Speaker 1: for the man's real and most vulnerable persona. The album 533 00:30:00,010 --> 00:30:03,170 Speaker 1: debuted in May 2000 to 1.76 million sales in its 534 00:30:03,230 --> 00:30:06,790 Speaker 1: first week, setting a record for fastest-selling album of all 535 00:30:06,870 --> 00:30:10,310 Speaker 1: time by a solo artist, a record that stood for 536 00:30:10,310 --> 00:30:16,750 Speaker 1: 15 years until Adele's 25 was released in 2015. Em's 537 00:30:16,810 --> 00:30:19,650 Speaker 1: battle rap strategy had worked better than he knew. He 538 00:30:19,670 --> 00:30:22,710 Speaker 1: had become the vessel through which America aired its dirty laundry. 539 00:30:23,540 --> 00:30:25,500 Speaker 1: But the pressure of that role put Eminem in a 540 00:30:25,540 --> 00:30:28,990 Speaker 1: perverse position. He spoke to and for legions of ignored 541 00:30:29,030 --> 00:30:32,310 Speaker 1: and disaffected kids, which tapped into a seismic force in 542 00:30:32,350 --> 00:30:36,150 Speaker 1: pop culture, which attracted the kind of unhinged fans portrayed 543 00:30:36,190 --> 00:30:40,150 Speaker 1: in his iconic track, Stan. For all that had changed, 544 00:30:40,170 --> 00:30:42,770 Speaker 1: the money, the new house, so much of the passion 545 00:30:42,810 --> 00:30:45,390 Speaker 1: and pain behind Slim Shady's creation. 546 00:30:44,950 --> 00:30:46,520 Speaker 2: Remained the same or got worse. 547 00:30:47,140 --> 00:30:50,080 Speaker 1: Strangers broke into his house, extended family came out of 548 00:30:50,100 --> 00:30:53,180 Speaker 1: the woodwork looking for money. When you use your whole 549 00:30:53,260 --> 00:30:55,820 Speaker 1: life as a launch pad to the stars, you can't 550 00:30:55,840 --> 00:30:59,550 Speaker 1: go home to scorched earth. Slim Shady's portrayal of his 551 00:30:59,610 --> 00:31:02,870 Speaker 1: mom as crazy, neglectful, and abusive had provoked a defamation 552 00:31:02,910 --> 00:31:05,910 Speaker 1: lawsuit from his own mother. And though he and Kim 553 00:31:05,930 --> 00:31:08,510 Speaker 1: had gotten married in the rush of increasing fame, their 554 00:31:08,550 --> 00:31:11,970 Speaker 1: relationship was as twisted and tortured as ever. It hadn't 555 00:31:12,010 --> 00:31:14,370 Speaker 1: helped that on the Slim Shady LP track, Bonnie and 556 00:31:14,410 --> 00:31:17,960 Speaker 1: Clyde 97, Slim Shady took infant Haley on a beach 557 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:21,420 Speaker 1: trip to dispose of Kim's body. while explaining the situation 558 00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:24,240 Speaker 1: to Hailey in Baby Talk. And things were looking even 559 00:31:24,300 --> 00:31:27,040 Speaker 1: worse after the prequel song, Kim, off the new album, 560 00:31:27,340 --> 00:31:33,850 Speaker 1: depicted Slim strangling Kim to death with lyrics like, Unsurprisingly, 561 00:31:33,930 --> 00:31:35,430 Speaker 1: Kim was considering a divorce. 562 00:31:36,770 --> 00:31:37,489 Speaker 2: Too famous to. 563 00:31:37,470 --> 00:31:39,790 Speaker 1: Go out in public, paranoid that everyone viewed him as 564 00:31:39,830 --> 00:31:42,060 Speaker 1: Slim Shady, it was only a matter of time before 565 00:31:42,100 --> 00:31:45,500 Speaker 1: Marshall lost control and Slim escaped into the world for real. 566 00:31:50,790 --> 00:31:53,610 Speaker 2: The judge stopped reading the letters and set the stack aside. 567 00:31:54,370 --> 00:31:57,360 Speaker 1: It had been another year, another album in development, talk 568 00:31:57,380 --> 00:32:00,040 Speaker 1: of a movie about his life. But behind the scenes, 569 00:32:00,100 --> 00:32:03,840 Speaker 1: more family drama, all these gun charges, the threat of jail. 570 00:32:04,620 --> 00:32:06,260 Speaker 1: He felt like he was back at the diner getting 571 00:32:06,340 --> 00:32:09,660 Speaker 1: fired again. Just a schmuck watching all he'd accomplished fall 572 00:32:09,700 --> 00:32:13,360 Speaker 1: back to nothing, powerless. But when the judge let him 573 00:32:13,420 --> 00:32:16,660 Speaker 1: off lightly and only gave him probation and community service, 574 00:32:17,010 --> 00:32:19,940 Speaker 1: a calm fell over him. He was respectful of her 575 00:32:19,980 --> 00:32:23,120 Speaker 1: stern tone. His only comment to the media gaggle on 576 00:32:23,140 --> 00:32:25,410 Speaker 1: his way out was that the judge and the court 577 00:32:25,470 --> 00:32:28,270 Speaker 1: treated me like any other human being, which really was 578 00:32:28,330 --> 00:32:32,270 Speaker 1: all that Eminem ever wanted. The real danger of Slim 579 00:32:32,310 --> 00:32:35,100 Speaker 1: Shady was that he was a gory public dissection of 580 00:32:35,150 --> 00:32:38,990 Speaker 1: Marshall Mathers performed by Eminem. All the pent-up rage of 581 00:32:39,030 --> 00:32:41,530 Speaker 1: a life spent scraping by in the gutter. All those 582 00:32:41,590 --> 00:32:43,920 Speaker 1: times he'd been ignored or written off before he'd ever 583 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:47,900 Speaker 1: opened his mouth. Every dehumanizing memory, freshly dug up and 584 00:32:47,940 --> 00:32:50,740 Speaker 1: spewed back at all his enemies with a twisted joke 585 00:32:50,780 --> 00:32:54,180 Speaker 1: and a smile. But now, he had looked down the 586 00:32:54,220 --> 00:32:56,160 Speaker 1: barrel of the gun and had a moment of clarity. 587 00:32:56,940 --> 00:32:59,900 Speaker 1: Unleashing Slim Shady had brought him all the success he'd 588 00:32:59,960 --> 00:33:02,280 Speaker 1: ever imagined, but he could never lose himself in the 589 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:05,320 Speaker 1: role of America's scapegoat again. He didn't need a straw 590 00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:08,440 Speaker 1: man to battle anymore, because battling himself would be more 591 00:33:08,510 --> 00:33:13,050 Speaker 1: than enough work. Marshall Mathers, underneath it all, knew any 592 00:33:13,090 --> 00:33:15,410 Speaker 1: other alternative would lead to disgrace. 593 00:33:16,470 --> 00:33:19,810 Speaker 2: I'm Jake Brennan, and this is Disgraceland. 594 00:33:27,810 --> 00:33:30,560 Speaker 1: Disgraceland was created by yours truly and is produced in 595 00:33:30,620 --> 00:33:34,040 Speaker 1: partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for this episode can be 596 00:33:34,060 --> 00:33:38,540 Speaker 1: found on the show notes page If you're listening as 597 00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:41,900 Speaker 1: a Disgraceland All Access member, thank you for supporting the show. 598 00:33:41,940 --> 00:33:43,070 Speaker 2: We really appreciate it. 599 00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:45,700 Speaker 1: And if not, you can become a member right now 600 00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:50,650 Speaker 1: by going to disgracelandpod.com slash membership. Members can listen to 601 00:33:50,910 --> 00:33:55,070 Speaker 1: every episode of Disgraceland ad-free. Plus, you'll get one brand 602 00:33:55,130 --> 00:33:59,710 Speaker 1: new exclusive episode every month. Weekly unscripted bonus episodes, special 603 00:33:59,870 --> 00:34:04,060 Speaker 1: audio collections, and early access to merchandise and events. Visit 604 00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:08,779 Speaker 1: disgracelandpod.com slash membership for details. Rate and review the show 605 00:34:08,820 --> 00:34:11,759 Speaker 1: and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook at 606 00:34:11,820 --> 00:34:16,989 Speaker 1: disgracelandpod and on YouTube at youtube.com slash at disgracelandpod. 607 00:34:17,989 --> 00:34:18,589 Speaker 2: Rock-a-rola. 608 00:34:21,050 --> 00:34:25,759 Speaker 1: He's a bad, bad man. All right, thanks for checking 609 00:34:25,780 --> 00:34:30,870 Speaker 1: out this episode on Eminem in Disgraceland. Hit us up, guys. 617-906-6638. 610 00:34:31,110 --> 00:34:34,730 Speaker 1: Voicemail and text at DisgracelandPod on the socials. Let us 611 00:34:34,790 --> 00:34:36,930 Speaker 1: know what you think of Mr. 612 00:34:36,989 --> 00:34:37,670 Speaker 2: Marshall Mathers.