Yes, Eminem is fake. He's a character - a persona on a beat. So is 'Marshall Mathers' and Slim Shady. The lyrics, delivery, the chosen emotion are devices used to to portray the man in a certain light. What isn't fake is the mood behind his chosen mood - his real mood.The chosen mood is the mood he wants to convey i.e. Being angry on Recovery when in reality he's happier than he's been in ages and sober and humbled. His real mood is sub-commnicated through his delivery.
In My First Single, Marshall is attempting to come across as a variation of Slim Shady, perhaps making a parody of his previous Celeb-bashing singles such as The Real Slim Shady and Without Me. In it he sounds cocky, "Look at me work wizardry with these words," but his delivery, it's flat, flat and bored; he knows what he's saying is filler and he isn't passionate and he's probably tired. It's that self-awareness that's real, not what he's saying. His bored delivery is a reflection of the real artist at the time and that's what makes most of Encore as a whole compelling. It's filled with sub-text. He's wearing a facade that is so thin that it leaves him looking transparent and vulnerable. He was at a point where he felt uninspired lyrically and he was losing passion. He says that in his songs by not saying it. He says so much by saying nothing. That's why I like Eminem no matter what he brings out, you can always figure out how the artist really feels.
With Encore, it's not about him being a funny cartoon clown or an angry man who has a score to settle with the media, it's about the artist feeling content, bored and perhaps even depressed. I would go as far to say that yes on the surface, the MMLP is about Eminem being angry at the media, but I believe there is a lot of happiness and excitement from the artist that flows through those songs. By this point he had a mansion, his first album was a huge success and he was going places. He was filled with energy, excitement and anticipation and that's how he was able to deliver his lyrics with so much energy, conviction and wit, I believe he was in a good place even while delivering Kim, he may have sounded angry and probably was but he was enjoying himself a lot. He was zoned in and you can tell, his delivery is absolutely astounding on that song.
He made Relapse, advertised Relapse 2 both on-record and in the media. Relapse didn't sell well so he changed his game plan. That's the real Eminem… not the persona on Relapse or Recovery. The man wants to make money and be successful, at his level it's not about you or me it's about numbers. That doesn't make him fake or a sell-out, it's just the level he's at.