STACK #159 Jan 2018

MUSIC

FEATURE

March 2003 Eminem wins an Academy Award for Best Original Song for Lose Yourself , from his film 8 Mile. He’s the first rapper to ever receive the award. November 2004 Eminem’s fifth studio album Encore is released. First single Just Lose It parodies a number of musicians including Michael Jackson, which causes uproar amongst the musical community. The United States Secret Service says it’s investigating allegations that Eminem threatened the US President (George W. Bush), via the lyrics for track We As Americans. Eminem releases the video for anti-war single Mosh a week before the 2004 presidential election. George W. Bush is re-elected. December 2005 After much speculation about his possible retirement, Eminem releases Curtain Call: The Hits , a compilation album of previously released tracks. January 2006 Mathers and Scott re-marry, but divorce again by April. December 2007 Mathers is rushed to hospital after a methadone overdose; he’s told by doctors he was a hair’s breadth away from death. The next year is characterised by a repetitious cycle of stints at rehab, hospitalisation, surgery and

Jan 21, 2016 Dawn Scott – twin sister of Mathers’ now ex-wife Kim – is found dead in her Detroit trailer home of an apparent heroin overdose. October 2017 Eminem releases freestyle rap The Storm , for the 2017 BET Hip Hop awards’ annual cypher. Delivered with no backing beat and filmed in a bleak concrete carpark, the track criticises US President Donald Trump, touching on the leader’s response to Hurricane Maria, the NFL protests, and the October Las Vegas shooting.

dismisses the suit in 2003 – delivering part of her verdict in rap style – saying Mathers’ lyrics were clearly exaggerated. This month Eminem’s rap collective D12 releases their album Devil’s Night , which includes single Purple Pills ; another version of the song, omitting references to violence and drugs, is recorded and entitled Purple Hills . May 2002 Eminem releases The Eminem Show , which becomes the best- selling album of the year.

counselling. Elton John becomes a mentor to Mathers, checking in on him every week. May 2009

Eminem releases Relapse . It’s a commercial success. At the MTV Movie Awards that year, Sacha Baron

Cohen descends from the ceiling in angel wings and a jockstrap and lands upside-down with his crotch in Eminem’s face. The rapper leaves the ceremony in a rage – but a few days later admits it was staged stunt.

June 2010 The rapper releases

seventh album Recovery , his sixth consecutive

#1 album in the US. Originally intended as a sequel to Relapse (and to be titled Relapse 2 ), it spawns singles Not Afraid and Love The Way You Lie . September 2010 Eminem opens the MTV Video Music Awards, performing Not Afraid and Love The Way You Lie with Rihanna.

November 2017 The rapper releases the first single from his upcoming album, a duet with Beyonce entitled Walk On Water . De. Dre confirms Eminem’s new album Revival will be released mid-December. Dec 6, 2017 Eminem reveals the Revival tracklisting. At 19 songs long, the album’s guest vocalists include Ed Sheeran, Kehlani and Alicia Keys. Dec 15, 2017 Revival is released via Universal.

November 2002 Eminem’s semi-biographical

film 8 Mile is released, starring Mathers, Mekhi Phifer, Brittany Murphy, Michael Shannon and Kim Basinger. It’s an absolutely massive success, with critics and audiences praising the rapper’s acting as well as the film’s music. Eminem later reveals that during its production he was working 16-hour days, developed insomnia, and was taking appalling amounts of Vicodin, Ambien and Valium.

November 2013 Eminem releases The Marshall Mathers LP 2 , one of the most anticipated records of that year; its chart-topping sales earn the rapper another slew of credits including being the first artist since The Beatles to have four singles in the Billboard top 20, and the first American artist with seven consecutive UK #1 albums. He receives two Grammy Awards for the record.

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