Whatever You Say I Am: The Life and Times of Eminem

243 Pages·2003·3.25 MB·English

by  Anthony Bozza

praise for whatever you say I am
The Life and Times of Eminem
“Bozza avoids a gushy, insider’s love-fest. Instead, he takes advantage of his
unique perspective to paint an informative portrait of a conflicted figure whose
influence on American culture goes far beyond his own popularity.”
—USA Today
“It is time for a thoughtful look at what Eminem’s appeal really signifies, and
Bozza does a creditable job.”
—New York Times
“A provocative portrait of a young man as reviled as he’s revered … with telling
observations concerning what it says about the rest of us when such a divisive
figure becomes a pop culture phenomenon.”
—Boston Globe
“Bozza details what is perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the Eminem story:
the rapper’s determination to keep a grip on the world as the world got
ungripped around him.”
—Detroit Free Press
“Bozza deserves props for sticking to the critical high road. More that anything
else, he makes a compelling case that Eminem is the perfect voice of the post-
Sept. 11 generation: jaded but vulnerable, damaged and complicated, desperate
to be understood.”
—Cleveland Plain Dealer
“Bozza makes the case that Eminem is worth thinking—and writing—about.”
—Boston Herald
“An engaging book about a new and highly buzzing cultural manifestation.”
—The New York Review of Books
“Bozza’s unprecedented access to Mathers then and now has given rise to one of
the only fully honest accounts of the now brilliant star.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Brilliantly, Bozza tells the tale of an elusive genius in Whatever You Say I Am,
and every white-hot truth is here. This is more that the definitive portrait of
Eminem’s emergence and meaning; it’s a manual for loving music and
understanding how passion is born.”
—Cameron Crowe, writer-director
“While most scribes, with eyes closed, have long been pushing pens in hot
pursuit of international rap phenom Eminem, Anthony Bozza has wisely devoted
his time to exploring the trials and tribulations of Detroit native Marshall
Mathers III. And he who understands Mathers understands the fabric of
American society—beautiful stitches, stains, rips, and all.”
—Sacha Jenkins, former Vibe magazine music editor, writer-at-large for Spin
magazine, and coauthor of Ego Trip’s Big Book of Racism! and Ego Trip’s Book
of Rap Lists
“Anthony Bozza was granted an access to Eminem that no journalist is likely to
see again soon—and so Whatever You Say I Am offers the most intimate
glimpses yet of the most towering, complicated figure of our culture.”
—Alan Light, former editor-in-chief of Vibe and Spin magazines, and editor of
The Vibe History of Hip-Hop.

To Marshall Bruce Mathers III.
For his life as he’s lived it and as he’s told it,
and everything that he’s changed on the way.
contents
acknowledgments
introduction
i’d like to welcome y’all to the eminem show
1
this looks like a job for me the evolution of eminem
2
i only cuss to make your mom upset a lot of truth is said in jest
3
damn! how much damage can you do with a pen? marshall and the media—
from pans to fans
4
this rap game from kool herc to kool keith—a brief history of hip–hop
5
became a commodity because i’m w-h-i-t-e caucasian persuasion—flipping
the race rap
6
we call it amityville that’s the mentality here, that’s the reality here—to live
and thrive in detroit
7
if I’m a criminal, how can i raise a little girl? moms, marriage, and the
morals of marshall mathers
conclusion
watch me, ’cause you thinkin’ you got me in the hot seat from a sinner to a
saint
bibliography

acknowledgments
Without the aid, encouragement, conversation, work, and inspiration of these
people, this book would not be. Thanks to my editor, Carrie Thornton, for the
Jedi mind tricks she employed to understand me and to keep me on track and as
on time as she could. To Trisha Howell and Patty Bozza (no relation) for their
calm and patience with me. Jim Fitzgerald for his sage edit adages and everyone
at the Carol Mann Agency for their assistance and representation. My circle of
friends, peers and sounding boards, were essential to my process, particularly
Joseph Patel, Tanya Selvaratnam, Jon Caramanica, and Matt Diehl—thank you
many times for your insight and empathy. I thank Lindsay Goldenberg for her
tireless support, research assistance, observations, patience, love, and for
believing in me. To my mother and stepfather for the pep talks and advice,
respectively, and for collectively keeping me in touch with the tastes of “the
aged.” Unbeknownst to my editor, my father and stepmother provided several
necessary work breaks; I thank you, she doesn’t. Thanks to the J. Baker family,
nuclear and extended, of Minneapolis, for their prayers and votes of confidence.
They are an invaluable asset to that fine city. I would like to thank Eli 5Stone for
transforming my stream-of-consciousness ramblings on the polarity of good and
evil, shadow and light, and Eminem and Marshall Mathers into the arresting (no
pun intended) illustration on the opposite page. I also thank André from OutKast
for music as intelligent as his opinions, Dave Marsh for being as cool as I’d
hoped he’d be, and everyone interviewed in these pages, artist, critic, or other. I
am indebted to Eminem for sharing his passion, conviction, and vision and to he
and Paul Rosenberg for the preference they’ve shown me over the years, a
proximity without which this book would not be possible. Thank you, too, to
Jann Wenner for founding Rolling Stone and to former managing editor Bob
Love for promoting me—two undeniable stepping-stones in the creation of this
work.