July 2005

Eminem retires? - Posted by Denz on Friday, July 15 2005

Rap superstar Eminem plans to make his last solo performance in Ireland in September, the Detroit Free Press, his hometown newspaper, said on Friday. Citing sources close to the 33-year-old rapper, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, the daily also said his current album "Encore" would probably be his last as he moves to full-time work as a record producer. The final solo appearance of Mathers, the best-selling hip-hop artist ever, would be at a concert in Dublin, Ireland, on September 17, the Free Press said. The newspaper quoted his manager, Paul Rosenberg, as saying no official decision had been made about the future of the Grammy and Oscar-winning artist who has recorded three top-10 albums. But Rosenberg said Mathers' current multi-platinum album was "certainly the cap on this part of his career." Mathers' spokesman at Interscope Records in Los Angeles could not immediately be reached for comment. The Free Press said the rapper, who has sold more than $1 billion worth of records, has grown weary of the media spotlight and may be musically spent. "Marshall feels he's said everything he can say as Eminem," one insider was quoted as saying. "The idea that he intended this ("Encore") to be his last record is something that everyone on the inside circle has known for a while." Another source said "Encore," which was released last year, had been an especially difficult record for the artist to make. "Marshall really struggles to write for himself now, to speak through the voice of Eminem," the source said. "He knows as well as anybody that there comes a point where you risk beating this thing to death." The cover shot on "Encore" shows Mathers taking a bow, and its closing song is entitled "Curtains Down." In the album's liner notes, and in his current concert tour, Mathers has also played up the figurative death of Eminem. "This is how you go out with a bang, baby," Mathers says in one video," after pulling the trigger of a pistol that misfires on himself.

Bus Crash - Posted by Denz on Thursday, July 14 2005

An Anger Management 3 tour bus whose passengers included Eminem's DJ, Alchemist, and the Detroit rapper's latest protégé, Atlanta's Stat Quo, collided with a pair of tractor-trailers just outside Odessa, Missouri, before overturning Wednesday night, triggering a six-vehicle pileup that left 11 people seriously injured. The injured were rushed to hospitals — some of them, via helicopter. Seven tour bus passengers sustained injuries, although police did not disclose specific details on what or how severe those injuries were. Stat Quo was taken to Independence Regional Health Center in Independence, Missouri, where he was treated for bumps and bruises and later released, according to a hospital spokesperson. Stat's manager, Joseph Fendrick, was transported to the same hospital, where he's listed in fair condition; he sustained a broken arm and ankle. Scott Cherry, a Shady Records bodyguard who protects 50 Cent and Eminem, was treated at and released from St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. Alan Maman, better known as Alchemist, is still being treated at St. Luke's for broken ribs and a collapsed lung; his brother and co-manager, Neil Maman, also remains under hospital care, but his injuries were not known as of press time. Both are listed in good condition. The bus' driver, Charlie Gilligard, and the tour's trainer, Robert Haddoni, were listed as being in stable condition at Independence Regional and Lee's Summit Hospital in Kansas City, respectively. Four others — drivers and passengers of the other vehicles involved — were treated and released, according to a police spokesperson. According to a Missouri Highway Patrol accident report, the crash occurred just after 6 p.m. Wednesday on a heavily trafficked stretch of Interstate 70 outside Odessa. The bus — bound for Denver, the site of Thursday night's (July 14) Anger Management 3 tour stop — was "traveling at a high rate of speed" when its driver swerved onto the highway's shoulder to avoid the slower-moving tractor-trailers. The bus slid off the right side of the roadway but then veered sharply to the left and back onto the highway, clipping one of the trucks. The force from the impact shot the truck across several lanes of traffic and over the highway median, into the oncoming-traffic lane. The bus continued its trajectory, striking a second 18-wheeler. The brunt of that collision forced the bus onto its side; the vehicle came to rest on the highway's median, with a portion of the bus protruding into the eastbound lanes. Four other vehicles, including two motorcycles, collided with truck and bus debris. According to the Kansas City Star, the driver of one of the tractor-trailers, Breck Wyngarden, estimated the bus' speed at 85 mph. According to an Interscope Records spokesperson, the accident will not affect the remainder of the tour — which features 50 Cent, Eminem, Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, G-Unit, D12, Obie Trice and Stat Quo — or the Denver concert. A substitute DJ is being sought to fill in for Alchemist until he's well enough to return to the tour. Currently, Stat Quo's status is in limbo, with label reps saying it is quite possible he will not take the stage in Denver.

Music Videos - Back online - Posted by Denz on Monday, July 4 2005

The music video downloads section is back online & happy independence day, America. Have fun.

Ghetto Gospel - Posted by Denz on Sunday, July 3 2005

Ghetto Gospel by the late rapper Tupac Shakur has held on to the top of the UK singles chart for a second week. The track, which features vocals from Elton John, is produced by Eminem and is taken from an album released last year, Loyal to the Game. The song shook off competition from Charlotte Church who entered the chart at number two with Crazy Chick.

Eminem & Mayor - Posted by Denz on Friday, July 1 2005

Grammy award winning multi-platinum recording artist Eminem joined the undisputed Hip Hop Mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick to help raise money for a local Detroit organization during Wednesday’s fireworks celebration in downtown Detroit. Eminem performed before a $175-a-ticket crowd, atop a parking structure overlooking Detroit’s riverfront. Mayor Kilpatrick, a young eloquent African American man, has been dubbed the Hip Hop mayor, because of his ties to the Black community, and his affinity for hip hop culture. Although most people use the term affectionately, there are others who use it to connote a negative, thuggish image. People are coming to see the largest fireworks display in the country, there’s a family atmosphere, a lot of food, a lot of fun. This is what Detroit is about. I don’t mind it ( the term Hip Hop Mayor). It’s been used here to be a negative thing in our press; but that’s how I grew up. I grew up listening to rap, I grew up on hip hop and I don’t want to run away from it, but I want people to know that there’s much more to the hip hop community than just songs and music. There’s dynamism, there’s creativity, and there’s electricity. Together with all those components we can do anything. And that’s what I want people to know as well. I put a call in to him, asked him to come out and do it. He said yes, if he could do it for the city that he would. That’s a good man. He wants to do more and more for the city. He recognizes that he got his start, his grittiness, his style from the city of Detroit, and we’re thankful that he came out to represent his city. The event raised an estimated $350,000 for The Parade Company, which organizes the fireworks and the Thanksgiving Day parade. Slim Shady also heads the Marshall Mathers Foundation, a non-profit group which seeks to benefit children in southeast Michigan.