EMINEM

Mitchell JohnsonMusic 1010-042

Biography

Eminem was born Marshall Bruce Mather’s III in the Saint Joseph, Missouri in the year 1972.

Eminem was born as the only child of Marshall Bruce Mather’s, Jr and Deborah R. Nelson Mather’s-Briggs.

Musical Inflences

Ice T

Dr. Dre

LL Cool JBeastie Boys

Run DMC

Marshall Mathers Early Years

While living in Warren, Detroit as a teenager Marshall came across the Beastie Boys album License to Ill and began to gain a passion for hip-hop. At the age of 14 Marshall started performing amateur raps as “M&M” and joined a group called “Bassmint Productions”.

The group later changed their name to “Soul Intent”.

The Slim Shady LP

“The Slim Shady LP” skyrocketed and moved on to be one of the most popular albums in the year 1999.

By the end of the year the album had already gone triple platinum.

This album was described by Billboard as “light years ahead of the material he had been writing beforehand.” (Billboard Eminem “The Slim Shady LP”)

“The Slim Shady LP” has now been certified 4 times platinum by the RIAA.

The Marshall Mathers LP

“The Marshall Mathers LP” was released in the May of the year 2000.

“The Marshall Mather’s LP” went on to sale 1.76 Million copies within a week.

This album specifically faced a lot of criticism. Eminem has been sued many times but is so lyrically talented that he usually covers his bases lyrically so that he won’t get in trouble with the law.

Despite the controversy “The Marshall Mather’s LP” album has been certified 9 times by the RIAA.

The Eminem ShowIn the summer of 2002 Eminem’s third major album “The Eminem Show” was released.

“The Eminem Show” sold over one million copies in its first week out.

In this album Eminem raps openly about his family life growing up, problems in his life, and situations he had been in.

This album was the best-selling album in 2002 and has been certified 8 times platinum by the RIAA.

Encore“Encore” was set for release on November 16, 2004, but was moved up to November 12 after the album was leaked to the Internet.

Encore sold 1,582,000 copies in its first two weeks of release in the United States in November 2004, and was certified quadruple-platinum there in mid-December.

The album was nominated for three Grammys at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards including for Best Rap Album.

Curtain Call

Eminem titled his next album “Curtain Call” because he believed this could be his final album.

“Curtain Call” was released in December 2005 and became Eminem’s fourth album strait number one album on the Billboard top 200.

This album has been certified two times platinum by the RIAA.

Relapse“Relapse” was released May 15th, 2009

“Relapse” debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 608,000 copies in its first week.

It produced three singles that attained chart success and has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.It earned him two Grammy Awards and has sold over two million copies in the United States.

Worldwide the album has sold 4.5 million copies.

RecoveryIn 2010 Eminem released the album “Recovery”.

“Recovery” is currently Eminem’s latest album out.

The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 741,000 copies in its first week in the United States.Recovery received positive reviews from most music critics, who complimented Eminem's rapping and performance on the album, and earned him a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.It was the second best-selling album of 2010 and has sold 5.7 million copies worldwide as well as the best-selling digital album of all-time.

Composition History

“Stan” “The Way I Am” “Lose Yourself”

Stan

“Stan”, was written by Eminem and released late in the year 2000.

It was the third single from “The Marshall Mathers LP”.

Stan was produced by The 45 King and Eminem and incorporates a modified version from Dido’s hit song “Thank You” as its chorus.

The first three verses are delivered by Eminem as Stan (Stanley Mitchell) and the fourth verse is Eminem attempting to write to Stan, only to realize that he had already heard about Stan's death on the news.

The Way I Am

“The Way I Am”, was written by Eminem and released in the year 2000.

This song was written and produced by Eminem. (Including the music theory and beats)

“The Way I Am” was awarded the 35th best song of the decade by the magazine Complex.

In “The Way I Am” Eminem speaks out on people that he feels were pressuring him too hard. These people included record executives and overzealous fans that expected him to top his hit single “My Name Is”

Lose Yourself“Lose Yourself”, was written by Eminem and released in the year 2002

“Lose Yourself” was written and produced by Eminem and Luis Resto.

Eminem received the an Academy Award in 2003 and a Grammy in 2004 because of the hit single “Lose Yourself”. The Academy Award was for the Best Original Song.

“Lose Yourself” was the first time that a rap song had won that award.

This hit single was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for twelve weeks, making it the longest running number one single of 2002.

Listening Guide

STAN i. :00 Introduction begins with a light percussion beat, rain falling in the background and a

separate artist (dido) lightly singing the chorus of one of her songs. Dido’ singing gradually increases until forte thunder is heard.

ii. :24 Thunder is heard, 4/4 percussion beat is the same but is intensified . Very simple bass line starts consisting of three separate notes being plucked twice. All outdoor sounds are intensified giving the audience the image that they are outdoors.

iii. :48 1st Verse begins; percussion and bass line remain the same. You can hear pencils scribbling in the background. All outdoor noises are faintly heard and pencil scribbling is intensified giving the audience the image that they are indoors.

iiii. 1:37 Chorus begins; dido begins singing the same song she did in the intro. The outdoor noices are intensified. Thunder and rain take the main focus.

iv. 2:00 Verse two begins; Outdoor noises become drowned out from the noise of pencils scribbling. Once again the audience is given the image that they are indoors.

v. 3:12 Chorus begins; dido begins singing the same song she did in the intro. The outdoor noices are intensified. Thunder and rain take the main focus.

vi. 3:36 Verse three begins Eminem is rapping as Stan. This verse differs from the previous two because there are no pencil scribbles in the background. Instead you can hear driving and the song lets you know that he is talking into a recorder while driving to a bridge.

vii. 4:33 Screaming is heard during verse three and the melodies speed is increased. viii. 4:48 Verse three ends and chorus begins with the sounds of a car crashing off of a

bridge. ix. 5:23 Verse four starts; Eminem begins rapping as himself. Pencil scribbles are heard

as if Eminem is writing Stan back. Rain and thunder are no longer heard. A tv news cast is heard in the background telling the story of a car crash.

X. 6:45 Song abruptly ends.

THE WAY I AM

i. :00 Introduction begins with Eminem speaking, Static constantly playing in the backround, a rapid percussion beat, and a piano replaying a continuous melody. The piano melody and bass line act as opposites. The piano is playing rapidly and the bass line is hold out all of its notes and changing notes slowly.

ii. :25 Verse one begins with quick and powerful lyrics that are being screamed. The melody and tempo remain the same as they are heard in the intro.

iii. 1:30 Chorus begins; bells, synthesized percussion, and bass guitar join in harmony while chorus is sung. All instruments are playing the same notes combining in harmony.

iv. 1:52 Verse two begins. Melody and Baseline are still playing as opposites. At this point Eminem is singing about to different ways he is viewed. Showing why he uses the Melody and Baseline off of each other.

v. 2:48 Chorus begins; bells, synthesized percussion, and bass guitar join in harmony while chorus is sung. All instruments are playing the same notes combining in harmony.

vi. 3:10 Verse three begin. Melody and Baseline are still playing as opposites.

vii. 4:05 Chorus begins; bells, synthesized percussion, and bass guitar join in harmony while chorus is sung. All instruments are playing the same notes combining in harmony.

viii. 4:47 Background music descends to silence ix. 4:50 Song ends.

LOSE YOURSELF i. :00 Introduction begins with a piano melody gradually ascending.

At :33 a guitar riff is added to the pianos melody. Eminem enters his first verse by softly speaking to his audience.

ii. :55 Verse one begins; guitar riff continues, the piano is cut out and a slow/deep percussion is added that remains through the rest of the song.

iii. 1:44 Chorus; guitar riff is still present, piano melody comes back and synthesized beats are added.

iv. 2:02 Verse two begins; guitar riff continues, the piano is cut out. The slow and deep percussion remains constant.

v. 2:47 Chorus; ; guitar riff is still present, piano melody comes back and synthesized beats are added.

vi. 3:10 Verse three begins; guitar riff continues, the piano is cut out. The slow and deep percussion remains constant.

vii.4:16 Chorus; guitar riff is still present, piano melody comes back and synthesized beats are added.

viii. 4:40 Piano comes back with guitar riff and gradually descends to silence.

References "Chart Stats - Eminem." Chart Stats - UK Singles & Albums Chart Archive. Web. 28

Mar. 2011. <http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=401>. "Eminem â Free Listening, Videos, Concerts, Stats, & Pictures at Last.fm." Last.fm - ��

Listen to Free Music with Internet Radio and the Largest Music Catalogue Online. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://www.last.fm/music/Eminem>.

"Eminem - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004896/>.

"Eminem." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 20 Feb. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminem>.

"Stan (song)." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 20 Feb. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_(song)>.

"Just Lose It." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 18 Feb. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Lose_It>.

"The Way I Am (Eminem Song)." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 17 Feb. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_I_Am_(Eminem_song)>.

"Eminem - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 06 Feb. 2011. <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004896/>.

"Eminem Biography." Eminem. Web. 20 Feb. 2011. <http://www.eminem.net/biography/>.

"Eminem Biography." Biography.com. Web. 20 Feb. 2011. <http://www.biography.com/articles/eminem-9542093>.