Eminem is one of the most prominent rappers in history. But he had help getting there.
His name is listed on some of the most prolific tracks which you can probably rattle off like "The Real Slim Shady" or "Lose Yourself" Or "Monster." And then he's also one of the coolest people to collab with.But throughout it all, there was a one name that kept coming up: Dr. Dre.
Eminem was kicked out of his home and went to compete in the 1997 Rap Olympics and got himself in SECOND...
It was an annual, nationwide battle rap competition.
The CEO of Interscope Records got his hands on The Slim Shady EP and he in turn gave it to RAP STAR, Dr. Dre.
Dre was a founding member of N.W.A., founder of Aftermath Entertianment and future founder of Beats headphones.
Dre said: "In my entire career in the music industry, I have never found anything from a demo tape or a CD. When Jimmy played this, I said, 'Find him. Now.'"
But what Dre DIDN'T know was that the voice on the EP was white guy...
Eminem was constantly told to leave hip-hop and go into rock and roll. Dr. Dre said, "It's like seeing a black guy doing country & western, know what I'm saying?
"It's some very awkward sh—t," he added.
But once his associates and him found out Em was white, Dre had to explain why their fears were pointless.
He said, "I don't give a f—k if you're purple; if you can kick it, I'm working with you."
Eminem was NERVOUS: "I didn't want to be starstruck or kiss his ass too much... I'm just a little white boy from Detroit. I had never seen stars, let alone Dr. Dre."
So then they started recording...
But the MORE they recorded the more the more comfortable he got working with his IDOL.
"Guilty Conscience" defined their musical bond. And they started featuring each other on each other's albums.
Slim Shady started rising to the top and the two featured on the Up In Smoke Tour in 2001 and they actually brought down the HOUSE.
And behind the scenes....
Under Dr. Dre's Aftermath label, Eminem got his Detroit collective D12 signed.
And people say they don't even know the name of his band.
They stuck together after a French jazz pianist sued them for $10 million for claiming they used a beat from one of his instrumental tracks.
But they couldn't be torn apart, and the case was settled.
By 2008, Eminem revealed that, "Me and Dre are back in the lab like the old days, man. Dre will end up producing the majority of the tracks on 'Relapse'."
"We are up to our old mischievous ways... let's just leave it at that."
With each passing year, their families grew closer to the point that they were like brothers...
On Dre's wall there's an autographed book that mirrors a phrase from Em, and above the TV there are two photos of Em and Dre from an early photo shoot along with Em's daughter, Hailie.
And at one point there was a baby couch that Hailie used to sit on and watch TV while her dad spoke to his mentor.
Dre has this to say about Em's future: "If he remains the same person that walked into the studio with me that first day, he will be fucking larger than Michael Jackson," says a confident Dre.
"There are a lot of ifs and buts, but my man, he's dope and very humble."
COMMENTand tell us if you wish you had Dre as a mentor like Em did!
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