Meeting Marshall Mathers: The Slim Shady Era

Chapter 115

After our heart to heart and more huge demands of interviews and show appearances on top of him working every single day in and out of different studios and going back and fourth to different houses over the past few weeks Marshall had decided to let the world know that he was taking some time out of the public eye to concentrate on his work and private life.

We were into the first week of February and again Kim had been back in the news, again she was charged with felony cocaine possession and two driving violations at 2:30 in the morning when she was found with two baggies containing what the court spokesperson said was "less than 25 grams" of cocaine. The drug charge was to carry a penalty of up to four years in prison, while the traffic violations could each net up to three months of jail time, her sentencing was for June. Upon this Marshall had been taking care of all three of the girls, so he didn't have time at all to be doing public appearances.

I was sat watching the MTV entertainment news because I saw that they had a piece on Marshall, he wasn't home so I turned up the volume for a cheeky listen,

[TV]

"When Eminem said he was going to take time off this year, he meant it... That includes bagging on one of the biggest entertainment events of the year. Rap star Marshall Mathers who will turn 31 this October, has been nominated for an Oscar in the best song category for the massive "8 Mile" hit "Lose Yourself," will skip the Academy Awards on March 23rd, an Interscope spokesperson said: 'The song is nominated alongside such heavy hitters as U2 ("The Hands That Built America") and Paul Simon ("Father and Daughter"), but Unsurprisingly, we were told that Eminem did not mind whether he was nominated anyway. His manager, Paul Rosenberg also added: "It's not like he gives a damn whether he gets this stuff or not. He certainly doesn't want to be seen as a movie star. He doesn't want to walk around on the red carpet. That is not his style. That's not what he wants to be."
So we take it that Mr. Slim Shady is sticking with his plan to stay out of the public eye for a while.
Among the five songs nominated in the category, only one performance has been locked in for the event so far according to a spokesperson for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Lila Downs and Brazilian legend Caetano Veloso will perform "Burn It Blue" from "Frida." But whether the Academy is ready to shun veterans like U2 and Paul Simon in favour of a controversial rapper will be among the most intriguing questions to be answered on Oscars night.
The spokesperson said the academy had not yet been notified that Eminem was declining the invitation with the exception of his Grammys performance and an all-star hometown gig scheduled for July 12th in Detroit.
Eminem is keeping busy in the studio and gearing up to take the "Anger Management" tour to Europe this summer, his spokesperson told us. We will get back to more on Eminem after this short break..."

He had been nominated for an OSCAR?! He'd left me in the dark about that! And he wasn't even going to the awards? I couldn't believe it, why wouldn't he want to attended one of the biggest award shows going? I knew he was very busy but he couldn't miss out on that surely... The commercials were over after I'd quickly been to the loo...

"Welcome back, more news on one of the biggest names in music right now, more information has come to light on all the pies that Eminem has got his fingers stuck in, and by pies we mean projects which is exciting for all the Eminem fans out there... No wonder Eminem has only one major U.S. concert planned for 2003, his studio schedule doesn't leave him any time to hit the stage!
Although Marshall Mathers' next solo album isn't due until the top end of next year, he'll have plenty to keep him occupied in the interim. Em's been living in the lab for the past few months, making sure his Shady Records empire stays on top. According to sources within his camp, Slim laid a good amount of the soundscapes for Obie Trice's spring debut and will soon be handing over the reins to Dr. Dre and Timbaland as that project which also features Rockwilder beats, closes out.
Once production on Obie's LP is completed, Em will jump headfirst into D12's sophomore effort, due this summer! The plan is for Slim Shady to produce most of the tracks and put in time in the vocal booth as well. Of course, Eminem will also be keeping an eye on Shady Records' latest phenomenon, 50 Cent. The Southside Jamaica, Queens, rapper isn't letting a couple of million records sold satiate his hunger. He's already got plans to follow up Get Rich or Die Tryin' with another record in November. Taking a cue from his boss, 50 will also be overseeing the crafting of one of his own artists on his own label. G-Unit member Lloyd Banks' debut, due in August, will drop on the Interscope-distributed G-Unit Records. Not to be left out of the mix, Em's DJ and mixtape master Green Lantern, who's signed to Shady Records as well, is putting together a compilation album. No guests have been named, but according to the Shady camp, anybody who performs on the album will have to keep their tunes in tune with a special Green Lantern theme.."