been crying for the past hour and a half. But, Nelson Diary Entry 1: introduced me to rap and he’s the reason I started I never knew I could be this sad. I just got back from a rapping. You wouldn’t be reading this if it wasn’t for funeral; it was a funeral for my uncle Ronnie. Let me tell Ijoij Ronnie, even if it was packed with all the same s**t, you you who Ronnie is first, he was my uncle but he was very wouldn’t care, your just reading this cause it’s funny when close in age to me. We were only a few months older than I get beat senseless, that’s the next page. me and he was my uncle. And at first, that’s all he was.
But then we became friends, he was like my best friend I could tell him anything. He got me into music and the hip- hop life. He introduced me to rappers like LL Cool J, Nas,
The 2 Live Crew, and AZ. Back then we had tapes not
C.D.s so Ronnie and I would get all our favorites emcees Diary Entry 2: tapes and memorize them. Ronnie and I both liked LL Cool My mom just kicked me out AGAIN. I don’t even know J the most, we liked him a lot cause you could break what I did this time. Here’s what happened…I have a lot dance to his music. Ronnie and I would carry around a of time to write considering welcome mat and break dance anywhere to earn a little I’ll be out all night probably. So it started off yesterday bit of pocket change. We also strived to beat each other at school. Lemme’ just say Detroit schools are pretty at break dancing. That was the thing that was in at that rough. But I was in the lunch room at a table with 2 of my time so it was cool if you could break dance. Ronnie was a friends, we were all social losers. Knowing that this will huge influence on me and if it wasn’t for him I would have make the difference, we’re all white. But, we were free probably never gotten into hip hop considering I liked styling together, the kid on my left was beat-boxing for country music and the blues. a beat and the kid on my right was hitting his chest and Rest in peace to Ronnie Nelson, he died in 1992, and he drumming on the table trying to match the kid on my left. was only 19. For those of you who want to know how he I was rapping off the top of my head. I was doing good, died…he killed himself. Popped his top of with a shotgun, until some big kid walked up behind my and grabbed the funny thing is that it was an open casket funeral. I’ve
Diary Entry 3: back of my head and smashed it into the table. My head I’m so damn tired! Last night was my first recording facing the table, I was drooling, and I slipped out the session with Dr. Dre. He’s pretty chill, and he knows what words “what the f**k” and he grabbed me by my shirt he’s doing. Hanging with him in the studio is great, it’s all collar and said “white boys can’t rap”. He was black, scary laidback and everybody takes their as hell, and about a foot taller than me. I punched him in time. Maybe we took too long, cause I got home at like 3 the stomach then he dropped me in a response and I A.M., but whatever. Dre just finds an old song that isn’t punched him across the face. In the end, let’s just say it even English and cuts a part from it, and calls it sampling. didn’t end up well. I got a broken rib and a bloody lip, he He works his magic, then turns it into a great beat. On got a black eye and a few cuts. I got suspended, and I the ride home from the studio, Dre and I were talking didn’t wanna tell my mom so when she figured out I was and he said I need to be a character. home, she thought I was skipping school. That was the exact opposite than I expected. This is when I noticed being a good, white rapper isn’t gonna be fail and I’m going to have to take a lot of sacrifices to make it far.
But, I believe in myself and I think I can take it because thanks to being bullied for years and Proof I’m tough for a white skinny kid. Right now, I’m outside walking to the Hip Hop Shop to meet Proof, is that a good enough I need to have a specific style. I told him I imagined sacrifice? myself as a psychopath who makes listeners laugh. I
freestyled a little rap of the top of my head and it was
crazy and funny at the same time, when I finished Dre
looked me in the eye and started cracking up. At that
moment I knew I was in the path of success. My image is
going to reflect over D12, because we can’t be making
gangster raps and then have the white boy on the cover. people start actually noticing me and talking to me. It just doesn’t work out. So we go with rapping about What’s different from now and a month ago. What’d I drugs and the stupid s**t we can think of. We just kept get a tan? (Kidding) It just pisses me off that people pay that picture in our head of being the sick f**ks. attention to me now that I’ve made some change. I’m just the same old Marshall. What do you think if we talk for a little I’ll pay you or something? What do you get out of talking to me? But besides that, my life is growing into
Diary Entry 4: something and I’ve made it this far in hell and it’s time
This life is slowly getting better. I keep hearing good for the fun part! news after good news. First of all, I wanna thank Proof. About 8 months ago, he started taking me to the Hip Hop Shop everyday. I can’t believe how much it’s paid off! It made my rapping skill 100% better. Something about making fun of someone and if I did it good hearing hundreds of people saying “ohhhh” just pleases me. It Diary Entry 5: makes me feel like I’m doing something good. Anyways, I What the hell?! Hailey is only 4 years old, and I’m already just released my first album signed to Interscope dealing with the b******t of being a father. Kim and I
Records, and it was more fun than it was work. It got a have been saving up a college fund for Hailey so she can lot of good feedback, which is great for my first album live a better life than mine. My life was so bad growing up basically…besides that album I made when I was 14, but I can’t even put Hailey at the same level (Kidding). But that doesn’t count. My new album is called “Slim Shady anyways, back to the college fund. We figured as parents
LP” and it has sold 400,000 copies in the first 2 weeks! we got to put up with Hailey’s crap until she hits college,
That’s better than the 15 copies my first album sold. A then she’s out for good. So we mine as well make it as lot has changed in such a little amount of time. I moved good as we can, right? Kim and I have been saving up for out of that s**t hole trailer to a nice apartment. Also, almost a year, and we just reached a little bit above one thousand bucks. That was the hardest
money I’ve ever made. Hailey just got into preschool so
we figured we’d take some change out of her college fund and take her out to dinner. So we did, it was great to see the smile on her face…especially with that pancake syrup all over her face (Laughing). We come home and what do we fricken see? The door to our piece of crap trailer kicked in. I say to Kim stay in the car so I can see what’s most valuable thing we have is the little amount of food in the fridge and Hailey’s The dream was that Hailey was 18 and she had a baby. thing we have is the little amount of food in the fridge She was in the same position as me, she couldn’t mature and Hailey’s college fund. So I check that first, I can’t down. So I was home alone with my grandson while Hailey find it!! I remembered putting it back in my mattress. was out getting smashed. It was like Deja-Vu for my mom Somebody stole it! At first, I was so pissed I was gonna (Kidding.) grab the car and go find whoever did it and kill them
(Kidding). The next thing I see is Kim walking in with
Hailey in her hands, Kim had her hands over Hailey’s ears and asked me what happened. I told her and the first thing she said was “Oh I told you to get a bank account, and a buncha other b******t.” So I couldn’t take out my anger on her because it was ‘my fault’. So this is my Added 2 Years Later: After I read this I realized how safest way to get out my anger, f*****g talk to myself in far I’ve gone. First of all…Thank God!!! I used to barely this journal. All I was thinking was this robber couldn’t afford for Hailey now she’s living in my big house; not to have a conscious and realize I was only 26 trying to be cocky or anything (Laughing). Her life is so much support a family. Life used to be fun and fooling around, better, and that’s exactly what I wished for. I wished now it’s diapers, baby food, and cleaning up (Laughing). that I could make enough cash for her to live better than I’m not even used to being so mature yet. I can’t even I did. My entry 2 years ago also made me remember how afford diapers for my daughter. And on top of that, Kim bad my relationship was with my wife, and my daughter. I thinks she can tell me what to write in my songs cause it’s barely talked to Hailey, and the only time I talked to Kim a bad influence to Hailey. She’s 4!!! She can’t even read was if we were fighting. The rest of my life was yet! Like, if I am gonna support this family, I need to work, work, work, sleep, work, work, go back to sleep, rap. Rapping is all I’m good at so that’s the only way your wake up, drink coffee, and work again. The one bad thing gonna have food on the table, so deal with it. I had a about this new life is that I still don’t see my daughter dream 2 nights ago, and it really made me realize how very often. Since I’ve become famous, I’ve been on tour much s**t I’m into and how bad my ‘life’ is (Kidding).
and the only time I talk to my little girl is on the phone. I s****y job, my friends, my rap career, and my wife. knew there had to be a downside to this rich life! Plus, I get to rap the entire time! Me and the music guy sat down and picked some songs for the soundtrack. I get to make 3 songs, and the company is supplying me with the beats and all that. It’s perfect to make a hit. My
Diary Entry 6: friend just hooked me up with some more of those I can’t go to sleep! I tired as hell, and I can’t fall asleep. sleeping pills, so I can finally sleep. I just got home from the 8 Mile recording set, and the director gave me some orange pills and recommended me taking them. He said I’m gonna need them to stay up, he said they give you energy basically. I’ve been taking them for 2 weeks now, and they work pretty good. I need them a few times a day because the shifts are 16 hours long; and I’m the main character so I work NON-STOP! Proof Diary Entry 7: keeps telling me “Don’t take them, after a while you can’t Looking back I found the source of my problems. Since I function without them, blah blah blah!” It turns out…he was a child, seems like everything I ever did was putting was wrong, but there is a problem. I’m up all day, and all me against serious problems. Until this day I have still, night, I can’t sleep. I found an answer for my problem not met my father. In my childhood years I was lost though. I take some sleeping pills I bought. Compared to without a fatherly figure. My uncle Ronnie was a good the money I’m going to be making from 8 Mile, the pills fatherly figure until Mom decided to move, and I started will be as cheap as Hailie’s allowance (Kidding). Proof seeing him less and less. Then I discovered he had killed keeps telling me something about addiction, but he was himself, and I was stuck without anyone to guide me wrong last time, so I’m not taking his word this time. The through my life. By the time I was twelve years old, I had
8 Mile movie should help me get over double the fans I moved about eight times, and I thought I was going to have now according to the director. It really explains my stay in Detroit. I had lived in the old, southern trailer life pretty good. In about 2 hours, it talks about my
park with my mom. I finally discovered a best friend; Diary Entry 8: everybody called him Proof. Although, he was a different I have no idea what the hell happened today; all I know is skin color, we looked beyond that. Proof and I were like I woke up in the hospital and the doc’ told me I over brothers. He was very popular compared to me (laughs). dosed. Let me tell you what happened before anything When I started rapping, he would always take me down to else. Well, that’s kinda hard considering I forget what the Hip Hop Shop and get me more practice every the hell happened last night. But, I do know I took so weekend. Proof taught me everything. He was the first many methadone, valium, and who knows what else I could one to teach me how to fight, we used to full out fight a taken, but the doc’ said it was equivalent to 4 bags of and he would always win. But every time, I would tough it heroin! I woke up from a comma about 2 or 3 hours ago, out and keep getting back up bruised and bleeding, no and I’m messed up. I’m sitting in this hospital bed, matter what. That would piss Proof off…the fact that I watching a news report about what happened…they know would keep getting up and not stopping. On top of being more than I do! There saying some s**t about me gaining crazy, I was socially awkward. In school, it was so 4 pounds in 1 night. I think it’s bulls**t, but I have no difficult for me to make friends; that’s why Proof was clue. Every time I woke up I’d be hungry (the pills made such a big help to me, he was my connection in a way. me hungry) so I’d take a pound of raw beef, microwave it
Proof was not always there; one time I was in the school and smother it in nacho cheese. That and another few bathroom, and some kid told me he was going to kill me. pills just hit’s the spot! I was trying to write some lyrics He kicked my ass; I was bleeding out of my ear. Turns while I got all this spare time. I was trying to get some out I got brain damage, no big deal (laughs). This was only lines down and I went completely blank, I guess this is the beginning to my problems. what writer’s block is like. That’s why I’m writing this
crap, I need something to take the time of my hands, and
I can’t rap so I’m stuck with this. I have no inspiration to write at all, and it didn’t help when my baby daughter called saying get better and all that. That just made me
sad, I could sorta deal with that but then I was
thinking…Hailey is at Kim’s (my wife) house, and she Fan mail, fan mail, fan mail, fan mail, my mom, fan mail, didn’t even care to say she hopes I feel better. fan mail. I didn’t open one letter; threw them all in the Whatever, she’s just a b***h; forget her. I have no trash. An hour later I get a prank call from a fan, by now privacy between the nurse giving me s**t loads of fan I still haven’t realized this is all a good sign. After that I mail and people I don’t even know getting in my face. remember I was sitting in the kitchen with a notebook
This is the reason I took the f*****g pills in the first and tapping a pencil against my head; puzzled. I’m just place. Nobody can leave me alone!! It drives me crazy! dozing off and I happen to be looking at the trash and while staring at it like it was a book of lyrics or a pot of gold I see the name Dr. Dre. I couldn’t see why a fan
would pretend to be writing from Dre so I looked at the Diary Entry 9: letter. I opened it and it was actually from Dr. Dre, it How did this all start? This is just crazy, just thinking said something about starting a record label from back of when I was poor and lived in that trailer. Now I scratch, I was so happy. I tossed that paper onto the can buy an entire trailer park just for kicks. When I counter and behind it was a check…$700,000 to spend released “My Name Is” which was the single for my on recording my next album!!! I was ecstatic! I went to album, “The Marshall Mather’s LP”. I remember this one watch T.V. and I hear Hailey running down the stairs like day like it was just 8 years ago (Kidding). Okay, lets she’s an elephant. Hailey was wicked happy for some begin. I remember I woke up at about noon from my damn reason to this day I still don’t know. But strangely doorbell ringing nonstop. I wasn’t really pissed, more like enough, she wanted to watch a movie with me. At that frustrated that someone has been ringing the doorbell moment I realized one thing. Thank you Dr. Dre! for 15 minutes and woke me up. At least they couldn’t have understood I’m either sleeping or I don’t wanna see them. I walk to my front door…now remember my house is pretty big now. I open the door I see 3 kids all blonde, white kids running away. I yell at them and walk out to go get my mail. While grabbing my mail I just noticed I’m wearing pajamas and no shirt. Whatever, but then some a*****e drives by beeping and honking his horn yelling some s**t. Let’s pretend that I just waved to them and didn’t use my middle finger for a day (Kidding). I walked inside after that and I start to flip through my mail.
Diary Entry 10: and focus on my life and my career. I cleaned everything I just got back from the Grammy’s and it went great. My up with Kim and my family. In conclusion, my latest album single from the album won “Best Solo Rap Song of the is 100% different and I switched everything up, from Year”. I had a great feeling about that song. Everybody beats to topics. said they loved my latest album, it was called “Recovery”. If you ask me, the beats were sorta weak,Dr.
Dre only produced one song, that really disappointed me. I made it up to him by being in one of his recent singles Diary Entry 11: called “I Need A Doctor”. Dre and I teamed up and I just got back from a party and I’m bored as hell. I got performed that tonight. After the night was over, on my nothing to do, but I can’t fall asleep…I must a drank too way home I got tons of questions on the big difference much. But anyways, it was a party for D12. I have no idea between Recovery and my other albums. Let me explain what the reason for the party was, but a party is a party. everything. First of all, the lyrics, are just as good, if not I remember back in the day when D12 was just 7 friends better. The album has some crazy metaphors. I just rapping for fun. Let me tell y’all what happened. D12 had changed up my style completely. 7 members, Me, Bizarre, Porter, Kuniva, Swift, Proof, and
Bugz. We started off all fooling around, a buncha kids
from Detroit just havin’ fun. Then I got a deal, so I was forced to leave “The Dirty Dozen” (our nickname). I put out my album “Encore” and it was a great success. It topped the charts! But then, I went back to D12 to let
It was the best idea considering I had stopped rapping them join the fun. They put out two albums after the for 5 years after relapsing. It was the best way to come first album Bugz died, and after the second, Proof died. back and shoot to the top. During those 5 long years, I Proof was my very best friend, ever since I was little. became a lot more mature. Not only that, but I became But that story is for another page. They had over 5 hit more of a family man. When relapsing, almost facing songs death, it changed my ideas towards everything so it effected my music. My new s**t is more mature, you can tell I’ve grown. I’m smarter, more advanced, and most importantly I’m not looking back. I faced one of the largest struggles in my entire life, and it helped me sober up and focus on that reached the number 1 spot. I was so proud for my listening. It had a lot of potential, so I listened to more old friends. When they were in the gutter I came up and of his s**t. He was great, I was thinking what I could helped them, I got them famous. And I know they would do with him. I gave him a call when the plane landed, told do the same for me. I remember I had “beef” with other him who I was and what I do and by then he was yelling. I rappers and they backed me up every single time! They signed him and he released his album “Get Rich or Die would take a bullet for me, and I would do the same for Tryin’”, it sold over 15 million copies worldwide. That was them…maybe not all 7, just 1 would be fair (Kidding). like hitting the jackpot! Then he started his own label
and signed a few other artist so I got a portion of all
their money that they brought in. I recently signed Slaughterhouse and Yelawolf. I see a good future for them, Slaughterhouse is a team of geniuses. And Yella’ is a one man army. They both have a lot of potential. My
Diary Entry 12: record label was a great success and it would be nothing What was the reason why my record label blew up? without Dr. Dre and all the others that helped mysuccess There’s probably a million reasons. Here’s the main spots in rap and hip-hop. that helped the growing of my record label. 50 Cent was a huge success. Let me tell you a story of how I discovered him. Back in 2002, I was on a plane going across the country for a show and I had my iPod. It had some application on it called Pandora Radio. You typed in a artist and it played some songs by that artist and artists that are like the artist you typed in. So I was bored outta my mind and I typed in my name, Eminem, and a song by 50 Cent came on. It was on an album called “Guess Who’s Back”, I had never heard of it so I kept
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Autobiography: The Way I Am Author: Eminem Project created by: Mark Mahoney Purple #14