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[h1]http://pigeonsandplanes.com/2014/02/early-reactions-to-eminem/s/336612/[/h1][h1]What People Were Saying About Eminem 15 Years Ago[/h1]
[img]http://pigeonsandplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/eminemleaddd-600x400.jpg[/img]
By S. Ajay Ram
15 years ago, the world was introduced to a new villain—or hero, depending on who you ask. It was February 23, 1999, and it was the day Eminem released The Slim Shady LP. From the beginning, it was obvious that the world would have a complicated relationship with this white rapper from Detroit. Now we've had 15 years of getting to know and understand the man behind some of the most controversial music that the mainstream has ever dealt with. And the relationship is still pretty complicated.
These days, you can't dismiss Eminem as a gimmick. You just can't. Even if you're not convinced by his technical skills or songwriting ability, you can't argue with the fact that by many measures, he's the most successful rapper of all time, and his impact on hip-hop has been profound. But back in 1999, when The Slim Shady LP just dropped and people were hearing this young rapper for the first time, the reactions were very mixed. Here's what people were saying about Eminem when he first arrived on the scene.
[h1]Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune[/h1]
Date: April 9, 1999
After witnessing the Chi-Town leg of Eminem's first nationwide tour in April of 1999, Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune described how Shady is much like a certain chaotic daytime talk show and how his voice sounds like an '80s TV icon's.
[h1]Noah Callahan-Bever, Complex[/h1]
Date: July 1998
Noah Callahan-Bever, Editor-in-Chief at Complex, first met Eminem back in 1998. At that time, Noah was a teenager working at BLAZE Magazine. He knew Em had something special, but he probably wouldn't have guessed that 15 years later the two would be doing stuff like this.
[h1]Riggs Morales, The Source[/h1]
Date: March 1998
One of the articles that started it all. In March of 1998, Riggs Morales formally introduced the world to Marshall Mathers via The Source's Unsigned Hype series. In an interesting turn of events, Eminem would become the sworn nemesis of the magazine (under different management) a few years later.
[h1]Unknown author, NME[/h1]
Date: March 13, 1999
An anonymous critic on NME preferred the comedic side of Slim Shady over the more serious subject matter he tackled on his debut album.
[h1]Charles Aaron, SPIN[/h1]
Date: May 1999
SPIN writer Charles Aaron chimed in about Marshall's... openness. He also, perhaps unintentionally, predicted the amount of media coverage Eminem would end up getting throughout his career.
[h1]Cage, Underground rap veteran[/h1]
Date: January 1, 1999
After the release of The Slim Shady EP, fellow white rapper Cage accused Eminem of stealing his lyrics. Over the next year, the two would exchange bars, and in an interview on the first day of 1999, Cage revealed that his feelings for Shady hadn't changed much. Responding to the question, 'How did the beef between Em and Cage start, and where does it stand now?' Cage stated:
[h1]Timothy White, Billboard[/h1]
Date: Date unknown, 1999
On the heels of the release of The Slim Shady LP, the most scathing backlash came from Timothy White, who at the time was the Editor-in-Chief of Billboard magazine. White felt that the violent and misogynistic content on the album was not only irresponsible on Shady's behalf, but also a destructive move on the label's (Aftermath/Interscope) part.
[img]http://pigeonsandplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/eminemleaddd-600x400.jpg[/img]
By S. Ajay Ram
15 years ago, the world was introduced to a new villain—or hero, depending on who you ask. It was February 23, 1999, and it was the day Eminem released The Slim Shady LP. From the beginning, it was obvious that the world would have a complicated relationship with this white rapper from Detroit. Now we've had 15 years of getting to know and understand the man behind some of the most controversial music that the mainstream has ever dealt with. And the relationship is still pretty complicated.
These days, you can't dismiss Eminem as a gimmick. You just can't. Even if you're not convinced by his technical skills or songwriting ability, you can't argue with the fact that by many measures, he's the most successful rapper of all time, and his impact on hip-hop has been profound. But back in 1999, when The Slim Shady LP just dropped and people were hearing this young rapper for the first time, the reactions were very mixed. Here's what people were saying about Eminem when he first arrived on the scene.
[img]http://pigeonsandplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/eminem14-600x400.jpg[/img]
[h1]Jim DeRogatis, Chicago writer[/h1]
Date: Date unknown, 1999
Veteran music journalist Jim DeRogatis was not pleased with Eminem's arrival upon mainstream culture, going far enough to say that not only is Shady highly offensive, but also tasteless and tacky in the way he goes about it.
[h1]Jim DeRogatis, Chicago writer[/h1]
Date: Date unknown, 1999
Veteran music journalist Jim DeRogatis was not pleased with Eminem's arrival upon mainstream culture, going far enough to say that not only is Shady highly offensive, but also tasteless and tacky in the way he goes about it.
SourceHe's a charlatan and a fraud, who is as bad musically as he is content-wise. There is talent there, but he could be doing so much more with it... There is Psycho, which is one of the best films ever made about a serial killer, and then there's Friday the 13th Part 8.
[h1]
[/h1][h1]David Browne, Entertainment Weekly[/h1]
Date: March 12, 1999
In Dan Browne's Entertainment Weekly review of The Slim Shady LP, he paints Eminem as a regressive force who threatens to destroy the progression that hip-hop was making.
Date: March 12, 1999
In Dan Browne's Entertainment Weekly review of The Slim Shady LP, he paints Eminem as a regressive force who threatens to destroy the progression that hip-hop was making.
SourceIt was bound to happen, wasn't it? What with Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu leading the charge of hip-hip soul positivity, reformed reprobates the Beastie Boys singing the praises of adulthood and Tibetan boys in hoods, and a new generation of bands like OutKast and the Roots aiming to broaden rap's musical and cranial focus, it was only a matter of time before someone applied the brakes to the new hip-hop consciousness.
Date: April 9, 1999
After witnessing the Chi-Town leg of Eminem's first nationwide tour in April of 1999, Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune described how Shady is much like a certain chaotic daytime talk show and how his voice sounds like an '80s TV icon's.
SourceEminem is like a whole week of Springer shows, with slightly better beats and fewer exposed body parts... [He] drops rhymes like Pee-wee Herman with a nasal Midwestern accent over tepid, almost inconsequential mid-tempo beats.
[h1]
[/h1][h1]Eric Weisbard, The New York Observer[/h1]
Date: March 15, 1999
Over at The Observer, Eric Weisbard likened Shady to a fifty foot tall Ghostbusters villain, a Looney Toon, a '50s children's television staple, and a psychotic Jim Carey character.
Date: March 15, 1999
Over at The Observer, Eric Weisbard likened Shady to a fifty foot tall Ghostbusters villain, a Looney Toon, a '50s children's television staple, and a psychotic Jim Carey character.
SourceHe’s the grinning demon seed on the Coney Island T-shirts. He’s Alfred E. Newman and Howdy Doody. He’s Bob’s Big Boy and the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man in Ghostbusters, wrecking buildings. He’s the cable guy but he raps like Bugs Bunny.
[img]http://pigeonsandplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/emem232323bucket-600x400.jpg[/img]
[h1]Nathan Rabin, A.V. Club[/h1]
Date: February 23, 1999
Nathan Rabin's review of The Slim Shady LP touched upon the early connection between Shady and acts like Marilyn Manson, who represented the disfranchised and outcasted youth of Middle America.
[h1]Nathan Rabin, A.V. Club[/h1]
Date: February 23, 1999
Nathan Rabin's review of The Slim Shady LP touched upon the early connection between Shady and acts like Marilyn Manson, who represented the disfranchised and outcasted youth of Middle America.
SourceLike Marilyn Manson and Insane Clown Posse, Eminem represents a new musical sub-genre of ostracized Midwestern geeks re-inventing themselves as subcultural icons.
[img]http://pigeonsandplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ememem2333332-600x400.jpg[/img]
[h1]Ad-Rock, The Beastie Boys[/h1]
Date: 1999-2000
During the beginning years of Eminem's success, Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys was both a strong critic and advocate of his controversial content. In this excerpt, Ad-Rock explains how Shady's work is much like the Beastie Boys' early material, and that despite its lack of enlightenment, it gives Ad-Rock hope for a better tomorrow.
[h1]Ad-Rock, The Beastie Boys[/h1]
Date: 1999-2000
During the beginning years of Eminem's success, Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys was both a strong critic and advocate of his controversial content. In this excerpt, Ad-Rock explains how Shady's work is much like the Beastie Boys' early material, and that despite its lack of enlightenment, it gives Ad-Rock hope for a better tomorrow.
SourceYou can't take all the blame off him, but you also got to put the blame on a society that, in America at least, raises boys to be sexist, to be homophobic, to be knuckleheads - that's the American way. Eminem, the **** that he says, is ‘Fight For Your Right To Party 2000.’ It’s ignorant (but) it gives me hope people can change.
[img]http://pigeonsandplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/eminem8-600x400.jpg[/img]
[h1]Davey D, Bay Area radio personality/DJ[/h1]
Date: May 13, 1999
In response to witnessing a brawl during Eminem's San Francisco leg of the Slim Shady tour, Bay Area radio personality and DJ Davey D wrote a review of the show on his website, expressing his disappointment in the immature behavior Shady displayed.
[h1]Davey D, Bay Area radio personality/DJ[/h1]
Date: May 13, 1999
In response to witnessing a brawl during Eminem's San Francisco leg of the Slim Shady tour, Bay Area radio personality and DJ Davey D wrote a review of the show on his website, expressing his disappointment in the immature behavior Shady displayed.
SourceWhat Slim Shady did do, was live up to all the speculation about him being a marketing tool for a music industry that is bent on finding a white rap sensation who can appeal to its large white fan base. He lived up to all the speculation that white rappers in spite being minorities in a predominantly Black field can be granted unprecedented privileges. Slim lived up to the speculation that he's a more of a gimmick as opposed to a dope emcee.
[h1]
[/h1][h1]NDN'z, Davey D's Hip Hop Corner[/h1]
Date: July 1998
A contributor to radio personality Davey D's website made an almost spot on prediction of how Eminem would surpass many black emcees in mainstream popularity. Shady never became the next House of Pain though.
Date: July 1998
A contributor to radio personality Davey D's website made an almost spot on prediction of how Eminem would surpass many black emcees in mainstream popularity. Shady never became the next House of Pain though.
SourceDon't be surprised when Eminem comes out and he just blows up because the majority of this country has more in common with him than they do with Rass Kass. Then the black folks who couldn't relate to Em in the first place are gonna dis him and his fans citing a racist society and media. Eminem will then loose his props and become the next House of Pain.
Date: July 1998
Noah Callahan-Bever, Editor-in-Chief at Complex, first met Eminem back in 1998. At that time, Noah was a teenager working at BLAZE Magazine. He knew Em had something special, but he probably wouldn't have guessed that 15 years later the two would be doing stuff like this.
SourceOnly a year into my career as a music journalist, I couldn’t articulate what made Em so compelling. Obviously, his music was strong but there was something else. From the moment we exchanged pounds I knew he had something. For lack of a better term, it was a star-charisma, unlike any other artist I’d interviewed. It’s why I bought a disposable camera and documented the trip (see inset photos). I have never taken a picture of an artist before and I haven’t done it since... So when I came back to NYC, naturally, I regaled everyone that would listen about how I’d heard the future of rap.
Date: March 1998
One of the articles that started it all. In March of 1998, Riggs Morales formally introduced the world to Marshall Mathers via The Source's Unsigned Hype series. In an interesting turn of events, Eminem would become the sworn nemesis of the magazine (under different management) a few years later.
SourcePoint blank, this ain’t your average cat. This Motor City kid is a one-of-a-kind talent and he’s about to blow past the competition, leaving many melted microphones in the dust.
[img]http://pigeonsandplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ememem2321-600x400.jpg[/img]
[h1]Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone[/h1]
Date: April 1, 1999
For Rolling Stone's review of The Slim Shady LP—coincidentally published on April Fool's Day, 1999—Rob Sheffield made an interesting suggestion of who Eminem is a direct descendant of on the white rapper family tree.
[h1]Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone[/h1]
Date: April 1, 1999
For Rolling Stone's review of The Slim Shady LP—coincidentally published on April Fool's Day, 1999—Rob Sheffield made an interesting suggestion of who Eminem is a direct descendant of on the white rapper family tree.
SourceIf Eminem has a white-rap precedent, it's Rodney Dangerfield in his strictly-for-tha-hardcore 1983 hit, 'Rappin' Rodney,' in which R-Boogie busted rhymes like, 'Steak and sex, my favorite pair/I have them both the same way: very rare.' Eminem is on some serious Dangerfield **** in loser anthems like 'My Name Is,' 'Brain Damage' and 'I'm Shady.'
Date: March 13, 1999
An anonymous critic on NME preferred the comedic side of Slim Shady over the more serious subject matter he tackled on his debut album.
SourceWhen Eminem's in obnoxious Itchy'n'Scratchy meets Benny Hill mode (like on the opening 'Public Service Announcement') he's hilarious (misogynist and homophobic but undeniably hilarious). But when he gets all pious and whining and develops a social conscience (like on 'If I Had'), then - ugh! He ******' SUCKS!
[h1]
[/h1][h1]Darin Byrne, MTV News[/h1]
Date: Early 1999
In early 1999, MTV News producer Darin Byrne sat down with Eminem for his ever MTV interview. Byrne's first impression of Em was very different from how the masses view him these days.
Date: Early 1999
In early 1999, MTV News producer Darin Byrne sat down with Eminem for his ever MTV interview. Byrne's first impression of Em was very different from how the masses view him these days.
SourceI honestly didn't think he was gonna become a superstar. Even though I heard 'My Name Is,' I didn't think it was gonna blow up as big as it did. And I didn't think he was gonna have that huge pop appeal. I thought 'My Name Is' was novelty. But lyrically and his flow both were very good. I didn't think he was like one of those Young Black Teenagers, 'Tap the bottle and twist the cap' type of rappers. I didn't think he was a flash in the pan.
Date: May 1999
SPIN writer Charles Aaron chimed in about Marshall's... openness. He also, perhaps unintentionally, predicted the amount of media coverage Eminem would end up getting throughout his career.
SourceGive this kid a magazine rack, because he's got a lot of issues.
Date: January 1, 1999
After the release of The Slim Shady EP, fellow white rapper Cage accused Eminem of stealing his lyrics. Over the next year, the two would exchange bars, and in an interview on the first day of 1999, Cage revealed that his feelings for Shady hadn't changed much. Responding to the question, 'How did the beef between Em and Cage start, and where does it stand now?' Cage stated:
SourceIt started because he is a ***** *** *****! Right now it stands with me kicking in his ******* face, real horrorshow, I ain’t lettin’ all the **** he said slide.
Date: Date unknown, 1999
On the heels of the release of The Slim Shady LP, the most scathing backlash came from Timothy White, who at the time was the Editor-in-Chief of Billboard magazine. White felt that the violent and misogynistic content on the album was not only irresponsible on Shady's behalf, but also a destructive move on the label's (Aftermath/Interscope) part.
SourceIf you seek to play a leadership role in making money by exploiting the world’s misery, the music industry remains an easy place to start.