Here is my interview with Stat Quo. We discuss his new CD, "Smokin' Mirrors," his split with Shady/Aftermath, and his desire to make his own name as an artist. We also discuss Stat's college education, his career choices, who he most admires, and the Hot 97-Funkmaster Flex-Interscope Records boycott. Enjoy!
Last Friday, an article ran in the Detroit Free Press which suggested that Eminem (born Marshall Mathers) was on the verge of retirement. The word from the
Over the weekend, as word traveled the globe that the best-selling rapper of all time was about to slip into retirement, the signs started emerging—signs that were there all along. Em’s last CD, entitled “Encore,” features the rapper on the cover taking a final bow. On the Anger Management 3 Tour, his performance features a video montage in which he points a loaded gun at his image in the mirror before turning it on himself. When it misfires, Shady says, “This is how you go out with a bang, baby!” Buried deep within the liner notes for “Encore,” there’s a handwritten note that says, “To all my fans… I’m sorry.” It is signed “
But while “no official decision” has been made,
According to sources close to the rapper, the reasons he would like to retire now are copious. For starters, Marshall Mathers is having trouble writing songs for his Eminem persona, and he’s scared of beating it to death. Also a factor: he knows all about the shelf-life of a pop icon, and is worried about stepping down after the well has run dry. That is, he wants to leave at the top of his game. He claims to want to get out of the public spotlight, focusing his attention on producing for other artists and building up his own label, Shady Records.
While fans are surely buzzing about Eminem’s retirement, a lingering doubt must exist about its veracity. After all, Jay-Z is a more prolific rapper now than he was before he stepped offstage and into retirement. Now it seems as though he is constantly trying to sidestep his retirement any way he can. He’s running Def Jam Records, making guest appearances on other artists CDs, and even showed up to perform with Kanye West at
If Eminem thinks he’s giving up the spotlight to become a producer or record exec, he better think again. A talented artist never leaves the spotlight (see Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, P. Diddy). Record execs are often as covered as the artists they sign (see Russell Simmons, Rick Rubin, P. Diddy).
Eminem, in one fell swoop, may do as much to take hip-hop off the mainstream map as he once did to put it there in the first place.
-From Pulse
July 21, 2005
Last week I read an Associated Press story about a museum exhibit opening in
I have been a closeted admirer and fan of Dylan’s for years. And I think it’s time I go public. His songs are sermons. His message is Messianic. If poetry and politics intersected at a single point, there you would find Bob Dylan.
The aforementioned AP story began with a quote from a New York Times reviewer of one of Dylan’s albums. It was from 1967. “It will be a good joke on us if, in 50 years or so, Dylan is regarded as a significant figure in English poetry.” The joke is on them.
It was on Thanksgiving Day that I read this story, sitting around with my family, and it sparked an interesting conversation on the voices of our generation. It was a conversation riddled with questions that only time can answer.
My dad asked if, in 40 years, Eminem would be regarded with the same esteem that Dylan is today. And I don’t know if he will. But if it is to be, his approach and Dylan’s are decidedly different. Dylan began his career writing and singing politically-charged folk songs, written in plain language. Eminem began with shocking lyrics, beautifully crafted, but absent of social relevance. Only recently has he ventured into the sordid realm of politics.
Eminem’s latest CD, “Encore,” features the song “Mosh,” which speaks out against Bush and the war in
But if Senator Mathers is going to become the mouthpiece of our generation, let the record show that he is something of a late-bloomer. It’s a safe bet that his place in that broad spectrum of American societal genius will fall somewhere between Lionel Richie and, well, Bob Dylan.
Eminem’s true value thus far has been poetical. The fluidity of his rhyme schemes is simply unmatched. His ability to use rhyme to establish meter is a lesson for all writers. Never before has a writer’s work been so heavily reliant on rhyme-done-well.
The only thing standing between Eminem and lasting legend is his perspective. In his mind and his lyrics, he is the perpetual victim—the underdog. That may have been true in the beginning but, after four consecutive best-selling CD’s, it’s no longer the case. There are victims out there, and Eminem is not among them.
What makes Bob Dylan a legend is the light he shines on injustice. He is John Steinbeck and Gandhi. Em ain’t yet.
But that champion of the underdog is out there. Next week we’ll talk about him. I’ll see you then, here.
-From Pulse
December 2, 2004
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