news archives

December 28, 2002 - Bill Hemmer of CNN caught up with Carson Daly to talk about the year in music, and asked the TRL host his thoughts on Eminem and whether he's suffering from being overexposed. "I don't think so. I think actually present day right now he's on that tail end of that "8 Mile" burst. I think he's going to be sort of quiet now." Read more.

December 27, 2002 - Radio 1 has a 5 minute interview with Eminem where he talks about the film '8 Mile', which opens in the UK next month. Listen to it here.

December 27, 2002 - The Bob Rivers Show has a couple of new twisted tunes including Nelly's 'Hot In Herre' parodied as 'Snot in Here' and an Eminem parody titled 'What If Eminem Did Jingle Bells?', which is basically a Santa Claus diss track. Download and listen to both here.

December 27, 2002 - MTV's John Norris and Gideon Yago both helped 'Extra' look in on the year in music. Eminem hit a high note with music from his movie '8 Mile' and the single "Lose Yourself." Norris says, "I think it’s probably his strongest single to date." Watch the video clip here.

December 24, 2002 - The New York Daily News reports Eminem is in talks with Columbia Tri-Star to star in a film about a secret agent who has a twin brother. A rep for Slim was silent about the project, but a studio rep confirmed talks are underway.

December 23, 2002 - The New York Post reports Moby is going to desperate measures to make sure Eminem fans stay away from him at his super-secret New Year's Eve party at an undisclosed downtown location. 100 people have been invited to the bash and drinks will be dropped at a separate location to make sure nobody finds out where they'll party the night away.

December 21, 2002 - 50 Cent chatted with Katrillion about his deal with Shady Records that brought him a reported $1 million to sign on. That wasn't the most he was offered though. "Bids went up to like $1.6 million," he recalled. "But I chose (Shady Records) because I knew I wasn't going to be censored. It was better creatively." Read more.

December 21, 2002 - TRL and Last Call host Carson Daly chatted with Dan Aquilante of the New York Post and told him that Eminem was the biggest story in music this year. Why? "I have a neighbor in my apartment building, she's 67, who told me, 'I just saw '8 Mile' and I get it,'" Daly explained. "She told me she thought it was just going to be a lot of bad words and this white guy who raps. She said, 'I understand it's the story of struggle.' Everybody who sees it, gets it. That's why '8 Mile' cleared $100 million so fast. That's not just MTV watchers who saw it." Read more.

December 21, 2002 - Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times says following Eminem's string of fueds against the likes of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, Moby, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and *NSYNC, "Face up to it, Eminem. You're the biggest sissy-bully in the history of pop music." He adds, "Eminem is hardly the street-tough hip-hop badass he claims to be. It's not as if he's acting out the murder of Henry Rollins onstage, or writing nasty lyrics about Mike Tyson, or calling out Vin Diesel in his videos. No, he's too busy dissing pretty boy rappers, female politicians, hip-swiveling girl singers and a hand puppet. Oooh, brave. The Powerpuff Girls, the Bush twins and Bob the Builder better watch themselves around this guy, because he takes no prisoners." Read more.

December 20, 2002 - When Blender interviewed Mariah Carey and presumed that her song 'Clown' is about Eminem, the singer laughed. "No, we can’t presume that," she says. "With all the clowns I’ve come across in my life, how the hell could we narrow it down to one?" He was rude about Carey, though, wasn't he? "For him, I don’t think he was that rude. For him, that was mild," she said. Read more.

December 20, 2002 - During Mariah Carey's interview with Larry King earlier tonight on CNN, the singer was asked about a reported relationship with Eminem, which he claimed did happen. "I hung out with him, I spoke to him on the phone," Carey said, denying she dated the rapper. "I think I was probably with him a total of four times. And I don't consider that dating somebody." Asked to explain Eminem's popularity, she said, "Well, first of all, I'm a fan of hip-hop music and I have been since I was a little kid. You know, hip-hop has been around for 20 years. It's just now that the masses are understanding, and it's becoming a worldwide thing. And I think that he's very accessible to people who might have a problem with other black artists." Because he's white? "Well, I mean it's more -- that's more acceptable to some people, you know?" Read more. 

December 18, 2002 - If you are a major fan of Eminem and you think you know everything about him, MTV is looking for you to tell his story. The network is casting right now for a new show called 'Fanography.' Let them know who you are, your age, state and what you know about Eminem by emailing them at fanographycasting@mtv.com.

December 18, 2002 - Eminem donated a pair of shoes he wore in the movie '8 Mile' to the charity 'The C.A.U.S.E.'. He has also autographed them, with a letter of authenticity. All money goes to the charity for food and toys for underprivileged children and familles. Check out the auction here.

December 18, 2002 - While Proof of D12 is hardly suicidal, he tells BET.com that he devoted a song to his group mates on his solo debut in an effort to express the daily stress of remaining relevant as a rapper. "The song 'Kurt Cobain' is a song dedicated to Eminem and D-12 and at the end of the song, I kill myself. I relate to him on that level with just the pressures of life in this industry, the struggles of the music game, the struggles within yourself - that you'd rather not be in this mother," he admitted. "Every icon that I use on there is not for namesake. Its how I relate to them," he said after singing a verse from and unnamed Janice Joplin song." Read more.

December 17, 2002 - Moby wrote on his website journal on Monday: "Oh, come on... On Wednesday I get beaten up in Boston. On Friday I get harrassed by some heavy metal fans. And then Saturday rolls around. A flight to L.A. through turbulent, typhoon-ish weather. Then I get to the relative safety and sanctuary of my hotel. And guess what (and I kid you not). Eminem is in my hotel shooting a music-video. Fu**. What are the chances? So in the interest of personal security and whatnot I've moved hotels, just to be on the safe side. Cos then I find out that Eminem is having a party on the roof of said hotel after the video shoot is over. And I really don't want to encounter 20 drunk Eminem friends/well-wishers at 2 in the morning as I'm heading out for a stroll around the neighborhood. Call me paranoid, call me a woosie, but I'd rather err on the side of non-confrontationalism. So now I'm at a nice hotel by the ocean and getting ready to fly back to NYC for a few months of cloistered music-making."

December 17, 2002 - Jeannette Walls of MSNBC reports that the Hollywood Press Association recently ruled that Eminem's first film, '8 Mile,' will be judged in the category of 'Drama' rather than 'Comedy/Musical' for the upcoming Golden Globe Awards. Tom O’Neil of Goldderby.com said, "There's enough music in it that it definitely could have been considered a musical. If he had been nominated in that category, he’d practically be a shoo-in." Instead, he's up against top notch actors and appears unlikely to be winning any awards. Read more.

December 16, 2002 - RapBasement.com spoke with 50 Cent about how he hooked up with Eminem and Dr. Dre and landed his Shady Records deal, the beefs he has going on with Ja Rule and Nas, Eminem's beef with Benzino, Ja Rule's threats against Eminem and Aftermath, and the play he's been getting for his 'Wanksta' track. Check out the transcript here.

December 15, 2002 - The Source magazine's online Editor-In-Chief Gotti put out an editorial on the ongoing beef between Eminem and Benzino. He writes, "Raymond Scott, aka Benzino, has indeed been a business partner and close friend to The Source co-founder Dave Mays for a long time, and throughout the years, Dave has supported his music. But don’t get it twisted; Benzino and The Source are not interchangeable. The Source has always made it a point to keep Benzino’s music career and the magazine business from interfering with each other. The editorial staff, including the controversial 5-mic committee, has, and always will, operate independently of any outside influences." He says of Eminem, "Unfortunately, even though he seemed to be down with us in the beginning, it appears that Eminem may be becoming a part of a dangerous, corruptive cycle that promotes the blatant theft of a culture from the community that created it. Willingly or not, he is being used as a tool by the corporate machine to steal hip-hop and make it their own." Read more.

December 15, 2002 - News of the World reports Eminem and ex-wife Kim are set to marry for a second time next year. "Em has always wanted the best for their daughter Hailie and marrying Kim is the obvious step," a source revealed. "They're planning to tie the knot in the new year, but haven't set a date. Kim accepted and Em hasn't stopped telling his mates." Read more.

December 15, 2002 - U2 frontman Bono was ask for his opinion on several subjects to the Chicago Tribune including Eminem. He opined, "Brilliant lyricist and writer who is in the tradition of [the French poet] Rimbaud and the 15th century murder ballads."

December 14, 2002 - The price on Eminem's boyhood home has plummeted from $12 million to $75,000 on the eBay after so many phoney bids were weeded out in the auction. A new round of bidding started December 5, with a minimum offer set at $120,000. Bidding ends at 8 p.m. Sunday. Read more. Check out the new auction here.

December 14, 2002 - '8 Mile' director Curtis Hanson spoke with the Sunday Mail about reports Eminem was throwing tantrums on the set until Hanson warned he would quit if this behavior continued. "We had our ups and downs naturally over the course of the thing," Hanson said. "I found him to be thoughtful, serious and extremely focused on his work. That convinced me that he would be as focused on this job as he is on his music." Read more.

December 14, 2002 - Hot97.com has Eminem's phone interview with Angie Martinez. Angie talks to Eminem about the success with his movie and he comments on his fued with Benzino and how he feels about this rap skills, and shares what motivated him to come back at the aging rapper and half owner of The Source magazine. Check out the audio here and check out a transcript of key highlights here.

December 14, 2002 - Eminem tells MTV News that despite his success in '8 Mile', he won't be doing anymore films anytime soon. "I'm staying in the studio," Eminem said on Wednesday. "I'm gonna keep plugging away at that." Slim added, "Obie is in the studio. His album is half-done. We are hoping for spring [for Obie Trice's release] and D12 in the fall. And we've already got songs for that album. We sneak [recording D12] songs in between [50 Cent's] album. And Obie's album ... expect the same quality as 50's album, from my album, from Dre's album. It's the same type of producers, it's the same type of perfectionists in the studio with every artist. We won't put it out unless it's perfect." Read more.

December 13, 2002 - Moby was attacked after a concert at Paradise Club in Boston the other night. He revealed details of the attack on his website, as many believe his attackers were Eminem fans. "I am hardly the most physically threatening person," he said. "If anyone sees me in the next couple of weeks and I have some big bruises or stitches on my face, well at least you know why. I’m not angry, I don’t feel vindictive. I just hope that at some point in these guys’ lives they come to realise that hurting other people is wrong." Check out two postings on the attack on his official website (post1 / post2).

December 12, 2002 - Sharon Osbroune is speaking about her meeting with Eminem at the MTV Movie Awards in Los Angeles in next month's edition of The Face magazine. "It happened that my daughter's dressing room was on the same floor as Eminem," she explained, "and he's got all these bodyguards and they're going: 'Don't you look down here - nobody look down here. Take your eyes off'. I'm like, fu** off. Nobody tells me where to fu**ing look and not look, and if I want to look at this raggedy little white boy's ass, I will. And Eminem's keeping his head down like this and not saying a word."

December 10, 2002 - Barbra Streisand spoke with the Associated Press and revealed that she recently went to see Eminem's hit movie debut, '8 Mile,' and had trouble following what the rapper was saying. "Most of the language I couldn't understand," she admits. It's like watching a foreign film." However, she says, "this kid Eminem is really interesting. I can relate to the truth, and I can relate to emotion, and I can relate to him in some strange way. ... I was raised in the projects. I was born in Brooklyn. We were poor. I relate to that stuff because that's my roots, my heritage." Read more.

December 10, 2002 - Craig Kilborn joked during his Late Late Show monologue on Monday, "Hear about this -- Eminem's grandmother writing a book about the rap star's early home life, his grandmother, yeah. The working title is 'I'm Eminem's Grandmother, And I'm Broke.'" He later joked in his 'In The News' segment, "More on Eminem and his ex-wife, Kim, who he sung about killing are back together. Apparently he was running out of song lyrics."

December 9, 2002 - Cedric Muhammad of BlackElectorate.com weighed in on the massive makeover and success Eminem has enjoyed with his debut film '8 Mile'. Muhammad writes, "For the first time, largely due to this one movie, White people have the basis to embrace Hip-Hop as an American cultural force. This was never the case with any Black rapper representing the artform and culture to the White masses, certainly not one like Tupac, who was, at one point, the Black leader of the counter-culture. And even the most popular White rappers from the Beastie Boys to Vanilla Ice didn't have the necessary standing to accomplish this. It took a White rapper to pimp-slap the American establishment and then make it fall in love with him the moment he took one step toward them. The Prodigal Son." Read more.

December 9, 2002 - AllHipHop.com caught up with Benzino to talk about his new album 'Redemption' and of course the ongoing fued with Eminem. "It's just a double standard," Benzino says in regards to Eminem being able to do things black artists can't and get played on TV/radio. "To me it's obvious, I'm not saying 7 million people don't go out and buy his record, I'm saying make it a even playing field and certain media portrays him to be #1 and say that he's crossing racial barriers and to me it's the old okey doke and we keep going for it. As long as we keep saying well 'it's not like that, he's nice.' It's not about him being nice 'cause his way of rhyming, if he was a person of color he wouldn't be taken that serious. I think he came into the game humble but now he starting to believe he's king of hip-hop." Read more.

December 9, 2002 - Us Weekly chatted with Eminem's brother Nathan Kane Mathers who is looking for a record deal. "I think I'm a better singer [than Eminem] but not a better rapper," he said. No responses from any major labels yet though.

December 9, 2002 - Eminem's grandmother Betty Kresin tells The New York Post that he is back with ex-wife Kim. "They're back together," Kresin said, "and I think Marshall [Eminem's real name] is very happy about it. He loves Kim and Hailie [their daughter], and Kim is the mother of his child. Marshall is a terrific father and very family-oriented. I'm not surprised he'd want that stability." Read more.

December 8, 2002 - Moby wrote on his online diary: "Oh, one thing that I forgot to mention about the thing with Eminem at the MTV-awards in September was that at one point his bodyguard gave me a drawing that they had done of Eminem choking me. It's actually a pretty good cartoon, so I've taken a photo of it and included it here on moby.com under 'moby art'/'photos'. At the time I was flattered that they went to the effort to make such a nice cartoon for me." Check out the cartoon in question here.

December 5, 2002 - Eminem, Britney Spears, and the Osbourne family are amongst the nominees for Yahoo's person of the year. They go up against the likes of Kofi Annan, Colin Powell and Martha Stewart. They specifically ask, "Who do you think was the most influential person of 2002?" Vote here.

December 5, 2002 - Flo Anthony and the K104 guys talked about Whitney Houston's interview tonight with Diane Sawyer. They say Whitney doesn't quite have the voice she used to. They also spoke about Mariah Carey's appearance on Oprah and other shows and her reaction to what Eminem has been claiming. Listen to the clip here.

December 5, 2002 - Benzino has hit back at Eminem in 'Die Another Day' and it definitely raises the bar. The track not only threatens Em but also warns that Hailie could end up like Jon Benet Ramsey... This one is gonna be tough to keep on wax now. Listen to it here.

December 4, 2002 - Mariah Carey was on Z100 earlier today where she was live from Rio De Janeiro in Brazil. Cubby asked if she was friends with Eminem and Mariah replied "not now." She added "not physical what so ever period - end of conversation." She also said she can count on one hand the men she have been with and he's not on the hand. Check out more on the interview here.

December 4, 2002 - A third Eminem home has been put up for sale, this one in Detroit just south of 8 Mile in which Eminem lived. Photos verify the home matches the cover of the 'Marshall Mathers LP'. The steps, front porch, brick front facial of the residence, tree and aluminum siding on the house all match the album cover. The residence comes complete with the following: (3) Bedrooms; (1.5) bath; living room; dining; nice size kitchen w/add on; picture window (in kitchen); new windows; new siding; new carpet; new furniture; new Marshall Mathers CD (with Eminem sitting on the front porch). The current bid is at $500,100 with the auction ending December 11th. Check it out here.

December 4, 2002 - Yet more Eminem house auctioning news. The Detroit News reports Darren Martens is the man behind the latest Eminem home being sold who had a mind boggling $99.9 million bid that was later withdrawn. "He said he talked to his bank and they wouldn't let him borrow that much," Martens said of the home he purchased from Slim for $475,000 because kids were stealing his mailbox and leaving M&M candy wrappers on his lawn. He also is writing off the next-higher eBay bid of $20 million, but says his business acumen tells him the lower bidders -- people with $2 million to spend -- have a sincere interest in taking the home off his hands. "We think we have some real bonafide offers at $2 million," Martens said. Read more.

December 2, 2002 - The New York Post reports Eminem's brother Nathan Mathers was in town last week trying to get himself a rap deal. The brothers are said to be close, but so far there are no takers from the major labels. Eminem's estranged mother, Debbie Mathers, claims Nathan will be "bigger than [Eminem]."

December 2, 2002 - MC Serch, formerly of 3rd Bass, now calls Detroit home, and hosts WJLB-FM's 'Serch in the A.M.' weekdays from 6-10 a.m. With his new position on the city's biggest urban station, he's helping lend even more credo to the notion that, in its constant mixing up and breaking down of longstanding traditional color barriers, Detroit is the most racially progressive hip-hop city in the nation. "This is black music, and I've always respected that and that's where I come from," Serch, born Michael Berrin, tells the Detroit News. "And 14 years in this business, I've never had someone bring up a race issue. I think it shows how strong hip-hop culture is." Serch, who is white, is conscious of his role in broadening hip-hop's racial scope. "It's funny that I'm here in Detroit, because the last person to kind of fill that void in hip-hop and black music has been Eminem," he says. Read more.

December 1, 2002 - Chaunce Hayden of Steppin Out magazine spoke with Ice Cube about his new movie 'Friday After Next' and asked about a fellow rapper having success on film, Eminem. "The reason I'm cool with Eminem and all the success he's getting is because he's a credible MC," Cube said. "He can rhyme and do all the things you got to do to be credible out here. I'm talking about the music, lyrics, and the flow. It's all put together right, so I have no problem with Eminem." As for a white guy getting respect he has gotten in hip hop, Cube opined, "I mean, before him we had the Beastie Boys. Put it this way, that's just the history of America. A white cat takes something invented by the black community and gets rich from it." Read more.

December 1, 2002 - Globe magazine reports Eminem saved the day in a Los Angeles suburb by breaking up a fight in the middle of a crowd of kids. Slim had seen the fighting in Baldwin Hills and asked his limo driver to pull over. When Eminem stepped into the middle of the fight, the kids recognized him immediately as silence fell. Eminem told the kids, "Yo, yo, chill," then raised the hand of the kid winning the fight, declaring him the winner. Afterwards, Eminem let loose a rhyming list of profanities that suggested fighting is stupid and pointless. The kids made their attempt at rhyming themselves. When everthing appeared to be under control, he returned to his limo, where two beefy bodyguards witnessed everthing in case he wasn't so well received by the youngsters.

Click here for November news headlines and pictures