Eminem Talks Shady Records, Dr. Dre, Discovering 'The Next Whatever' In New Interview
By Mike Sullivan
Complex magazine released a video about Detroit rapper Eminem and how he started his Shady Records label.
The video features interviews with a lot of different people, but is centered around Eminem and his manager, Paul Rosenberg. Here's the video, but note that it has strong language.
Eminem considers Rosenberg to be like a father figure, and he's always guided him in the right direction, but has never tried to limit or sensor him.
Eminem said, "When I'm going a little too far out on the ledge, sometimes he's talked me off it a couple of times."
Rosenberg helped Eminem create his Shady Record label, despite the backlash from some Interscope leadership.
Rosenberg explained, ""I'm not going to say names, but some people didn't want him to have a record label at Interscope. They thought that he would get distracted. They didn't really know what he, and I, were capable of yet."
It's well documented that Dr. Dre was the one who first gave Eminem a chance. Dre praised Eminem for his attention to detail and willingness to learn. He explained that Eminem is one of the few artists who actually pays attention to production and wants to learn about every button and editing tool.
Dre had nothing but good things to say about Eminem:
"There's nothing that I wouldn't do for Eminem. I have to give him as much props as he gives me. The way he puts together his lyrics, the writing process, the way he records, how particular he is about the way he sounds. Lose Yourself is one of my favorites, I mean this motherfucker won an Oscar, man. What else can you say. Eminem is a f*cking genius. "
Meanwhile, Eminem continues to credit Dre for helping make him who he is. Eminem simply said, "Me, personally, I'll never be able to touch Dre on the production end."
Eminem's passion for producing is one of the reasons why him and Paul started Shady Records. They wanted to help other artists and this desire stemmed from Eminem's old group with fellow Detroit underground rappers called D12.
Eminem made an agreement with them a long time ago, when they were all aspiring young rappers. "I had a pac with D12 that the first one who makes it, goes back and gets us. After the success of the first album, I saw it more of an opportunity to get my group signed. Paul saw it as more of an opportunity to have our own label."
Sure enough, after Eminem became famous, he laid the platform for D12 to release an album titled "Devil's Night" which went double platinum. The amazing part was that this album achieved incredible success despite never really having a single that gained nationwide radio airtime.
One of the most successful artists to ever make it big via Eminem, is rapper 50 cent.
While wearing a Detroit Lions jacket in the video, 50 said, "They (Shady Records) provided a platform for me to be 50 cent. Everybody else was afraid. If I didn't have Eminem, I would have never did what I did."
Since Eminem sobered up in 2008, he began focusing even more on his studio albums, and his label Shady Records, which has really been working on up and coming rappers the past few years.
The notable Shady Record artists right now are: Slaughterhouse, Yelawolf, and Detroit rapper Royce Da 5'9.
Royce credits Eminem for being a genius. He said, "Em, he's so humble. And sometimes he doesn't realize his capabilities."
Dr. Dre is confident that Shady Records will continue to be successful. "Him and Paul Rosenburg make a great team and whatever they decide to do, I know it's going to be big. It's going to be amazing, And it will work."
At the end of Complex's video, Rosenberg asked Eminem:
Where do you see Shady Records going in the next 15 years?
Eminem responded by saying, "Within the next 15 years, we will try to keep sh*t going, and try to sign new and exciting acts. Hopefully discover the next whatever, I don't know."
One thing's for sure. There will never be another artist like Eminem.
