Ok, so considering I write mostly about games, and my previous article was about FPS, I would like to take a time-out from all that and just pay tribute to an artist that actually has a song on one of the pre-mentioned FPS's. Call Of Duty: Ghosts has a collaboration with Rap legend Eminem. If you also add the fact that he was just handed the award for MTV's Global Icon, yeah, I think I've got a couple of good excuses to write about him.
I first came into contact with Em's music when I was in still in high-school. Immediately I began to grow attached to the raw emotion with which he would spit his lyrics! This wasn't no poppy artist that just sang the song just to get the checks every month, no. These lyrics had a deeper meaning, something ripped out of his own life that had music put into it. Something anyone could easily relate to, because life isn't always "Let me show you the shape of my heart". There are moments when you feel "Like I'm surrounded by a wall of bricks". And that is what Em has always been about!
Revealing himself to the world back in 1997, Eminem was always keeping it real in his music. He had a problem with someone, he'd straight up let'em have it! But fame and publicity was something that a young boy from a trailer-park home in Detroit would find difficult to adjust to. And to add to all that, problems at home only made things worse. His wife Kimberly Scott decided to file for a divorce after Eminem (a.k.a. Marshall Mathers 3rd) depicted her murder in the song "Kim", but they shared custody of his daughter Hailey, who has been a constant inspiration for him.
Eminem decided to use all these problems to his advantage and lashed out against practically everyone on his award winning track "The Way I Am" (which is also the first song of his I ever heard). The fans, his record company, his wife, his mother, other celebrities (most notably Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears and, more recently, Mariah Carey) were constantly mentioned in Em's tracks. Sometimes he would add a lyric that would go like "I'm not Mr. Friendly, I can be a prick if you tempt me, my tank is on empty" just to remind us all of who he is.
Against all odds, Slim Shady became a moviestar! In 2002, Em starred in the movie 8 mile, in which he pretty much played himself (a boy down on his luck that finds his way through underground rap battles). Em also released the 8 mile soundtrack that featured a number of hits, including the awe-inspiring "Till I Collapse" and the one-verse "Run Rabbit, Run".
Marshall was enjoying success and the awards were coming in one after another, but as with everything else, thing weren't as peachy as one would think. In order to keep up with his tours and exhausting daily schedules, the rapper began to grow addicted to sleeping medication. To the point where he would sleep a couple of hours a day, wake up, gobble up 40-60 pills and go off to work again. Of course his organism wasn't able to handle this routine and eventually Eminem collapsed. That's when he decided to go to rehab. During all this time (2004-2009) Eminem was absent from the music scene, so there was a lot of speculation on whether or not he has retired.
After a lot of hard work (both in the studio and on himself) Em came back in spectacular fashion. Releasing his sixth album "Relapse" in 2009 and his seventh, "Recovery" one year later, he showed the music industry that not only was he not done, but that they had a whole lot more of him to see! He went on to collaborate with Royce Da 5'9'' in a second Bad Meets Evil album in 2011 which featured a hit single with Bruno Mars, titled "Lighters". Slim Shady was back, better than ever!
Which brings us to today. Last week he released his eighth album titled "The Marshall Mathers LP 2". As I aforementioned above, MTV just awarded him the Global Icon award and he seems to be at the top of his game, even at the age of 41. A lot of people still question him to this day, but he always knows the best way to answer to his criticizers (just listen to "Rap God" and you'll understand what I mean!).
Sure, he's had his troubles with his family, his friends, the law, the celebrities, the government, even the damn president (wow!), but from day one, he's always been genuine. It's his own opinion that we hear in those songs. He never changed, he never gave in for anyone. He goes by many names... Slim Shady, Ken Kaniff, Eminem. But at the end of the day, the world should give a round of applause to a man that made a name for himself for speaking his (twisted) mind. Marshall Mathers the third.
I first came into contact with Em's music when I was in still in high-school. Immediately I began to grow attached to the raw emotion with which he would spit his lyrics! This wasn't no poppy artist that just sang the song just to get the checks every month, no. These lyrics had a deeper meaning, something ripped out of his own life that had music put into it. Something anyone could easily relate to, because life isn't always "Let me show you the shape of my heart". There are moments when you feel "Like I'm surrounded by a wall of bricks". And that is what Em has always been about!
Revealing himself to the world back in 1997, Eminem was always keeping it real in his music. He had a problem with someone, he'd straight up let'em have it! But fame and publicity was something that a young boy from a trailer-park home in Detroit would find difficult to adjust to. And to add to all that, problems at home only made things worse. His wife Kimberly Scott decided to file for a divorce after Eminem (a.k.a. Marshall Mathers 3rd) depicted her murder in the song "Kim", but they shared custody of his daughter Hailey, who has been a constant inspiration for him.
Eminem decided to use all these problems to his advantage and lashed out against practically everyone on his award winning track "The Way I Am" (which is also the first song of his I ever heard). The fans, his record company, his wife, his mother, other celebrities (most notably Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears and, more recently, Mariah Carey) were constantly mentioned in Em's tracks. Sometimes he would add a lyric that would go like "I'm not Mr. Friendly, I can be a prick if you tempt me, my tank is on empty" just to remind us all of who he is.
Against all odds, Slim Shady became a moviestar! In 2002, Em starred in the movie 8 mile, in which he pretty much played himself (a boy down on his luck that finds his way through underground rap battles). Em also released the 8 mile soundtrack that featured a number of hits, including the awe-inspiring "Till I Collapse" and the one-verse "Run Rabbit, Run".
Marshall was enjoying success and the awards were coming in one after another, but as with everything else, thing weren't as peachy as one would think. In order to keep up with his tours and exhausting daily schedules, the rapper began to grow addicted to sleeping medication. To the point where he would sleep a couple of hours a day, wake up, gobble up 40-60 pills and go off to work again. Of course his organism wasn't able to handle this routine and eventually Eminem collapsed. That's when he decided to go to rehab. During all this time (2004-2009) Eminem was absent from the music scene, so there was a lot of speculation on whether or not he has retired.
After a lot of hard work (both in the studio and on himself) Em came back in spectacular fashion. Releasing his sixth album "Relapse" in 2009 and his seventh, "Recovery" one year later, he showed the music industry that not only was he not done, but that they had a whole lot more of him to see! He went on to collaborate with Royce Da 5'9'' in a second Bad Meets Evil album in 2011 which featured a hit single with Bruno Mars, titled "Lighters". Slim Shady was back, better than ever!
Which brings us to today. Last week he released his eighth album titled "The Marshall Mathers LP 2". As I aforementioned above, MTV just awarded him the Global Icon award and he seems to be at the top of his game, even at the age of 41. A lot of people still question him to this day, but he always knows the best way to answer to his criticizers (just listen to "Rap God" and you'll understand what I mean!).
Sure, he's had his troubles with his family, his friends, the law, the celebrities, the government, even the damn president (wow!), but from day one, he's always been genuine. It's his own opinion that we hear in those songs. He never changed, he never gave in for anyone. He goes by many names... Slim Shady, Ken Kaniff, Eminem. But at the end of the day, the world should give a round of applause to a man that made a name for himself for speaking his (twisted) mind. Marshall Mathers the third.
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