Could Eminem have avoided the "gangster" era?

[tadpole25]

em's verse on welcome to detroit was kind of like a favor.

kind of like when a woman tells her sugar daddy, "make it quick".

[CanadaPure]

em's verse on welcome to detroit was kind of like a favor.

kind of like when a woman tells her sugar daddy, "make it quick".

According to that one interview with Trick Trick, Em gave him a CD randomly that already had the Em verse and hooks on the beat, sort of as a present. I guess they knew each other for a long time, but Trick never asked for a collab because he didn't want to be on his coat-tails or something.

[ShadyxEminem]

I awkwardly like Eminem's verse in Who Want It

[CanadaPure]

I awkwardly like Eminem's verse in Who Want It

So do I tbh.

Me too.

[UofLCard]

It's not much of a coincidence that Em started his 'do-rag phase' around the time he hooked up with 50 Cent.

altough that song is pretty dope, I agree to the fullest with you.

^^^

[Blu]

Oooh wow! Look at the bitches up in this thread,
Man I'm comin' back with Swift and then we're gettin us some head.

Stay on topic please.

I'll have to warn you next time.

[EminemInsider]

What else was Eminem going to do? He was high on pills during that period. None of this would have happened if he hadn't done 8 mile. Sometimes I'm wondering if it was worth it just to get "Lose Yourself."

Sure, not having Lose Yourself would be a shame, but he may have made up for it with 50 other brilliant songs that we'll never get now.

[Chet Starr]

Cause uh, somethin' smells a lil' fishy
And I don't like the way his boys keep lookin' at me

that always makes me laugh for some reason.

I don't blame the pills or 50 cent. If it wasn't 50, Eminem would of found some other awful rapper, and still emulated the whole "gangsta" image

[Blu]

How is this thread stupid? It's a legitimate discussion. Everyone would agree that Eminem's career would have benefited had this era never happened.

I question your maturity when you find threads that start discussion stupid but spamming a picture of Swifty is funny and benefiting the forum.

[Nick419]

Pistol Poppin was his worst gangster phase verse imo

[CanadaPure]

Pistol Poppin was his worst gangster phase verse imo

He sounded so zombied out on that verse, it's kind of depressing.

[AbramIsaac]

To answer the original question, I do think that Eminem could have avoided the "gangster" era of his career. I also think in order to understand how it happened though, you have to examine the context within which that style developed. Looking back, it seems so unnatural, but it happened under a specific set of circumstances beyond just signing gangster rappers.

The transformation happened over time, arguably starting with his signing of D12. That's not to say that they influenced him in a negative way, but in order to make it work with them, he had to pull from that street style and upbringing that he shared with them in Detroit. It was always a part of him, but it would be more apparent when he was with D12. Not long after that, you have the weapons charges, and the swirling media attention surrounding them. The Eminem Show talked about that, but also put forth an air of sensitivity not seen prior to that album.

Now, the stage is set for what really ignited the transformation. The signing of 50 Cent and the Murder Inc/Source Magazine beefs brought in a new element to Eminem's life. His security concerns were no longer crazed fans or angry fundamentalists. Now, there was a sense of actual criminal danger from the people associated with Murder Inc. The "extortionists" that he spoke of around that time, criminals that provided an entourage for Ja Rule that he may or may not have had to pay for protection.

This was no time to be soft. This was no time to be the Eminem of The Eminem Show or a sensitive guy like his character in 8 Mile. This was a time to stand up, and to put his chest out. He couldn't show weakness, because now it could actually spill over into violence, and intimidation was now a legitimate preemptive approach. If they thought they could scare him easily without consequences, why wouldn't they? It makes sense that he started surrounding himself with thugs at that time.

People mention 50 Cent and G-Unit, but those weren't the guys that were there in a serious and sustainable way. That was a business association, regardless of their personal friendships. They were aligned by business, and their mutual interest in the beef, but 50 Cent and G-Unit were not Eminem's entourage. They weren't the people that were around him enough to seriously influence him on a day to day basis. Those are the people you want to look at if you're talking about influence.

The guys who seriously brought the "gangster" out in Eminem at that time, if you ask me? The Runyon Avenue soldiers that were mentioned and displayed prominently in the D12 and Eminem songs at that time. He needed security, he needed an entourage that could match that of a street gang, people that he didn't have to pay or get extorted by. The guys from Runyon Ave were people from Detroit, people that he knew already. There were also a lot of them, and they are the types of street guys that were around him at the time.

That's why they were mentioned back then. That's why they were shown in the "40 Oz" video, and why they were even thanked in "It's Been Real" for holding things down when shit got serious. That's also probably why Trick Trick actually got Eminem features, regardless of whether or not he'll say it. Those were the people that influenced Eminem the most, and it wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the fact that he felt like he had to put on a strong front to address the possibility of actual violent conflict. So it did spill over into his rap, and the pills were probably a byproduct of that lifestyle as well...it was a complex set of circumstances that led to that though.

That's how I see it, when I look back at it anyway. View some of the songs and videos from that time with that mindset, and I think you might agree. He wasn't just sponging style from these guys he looked up to or something, he was reacting to a potentially dangerous situation in the only way that he knew how. Because regardless of what they thought about him, his potential enemies needed to know that he had more than enough money to be dangerous (as he talked about putting a million dollars on someone's head a few times) and the people and resources to address any threat that he might come up against.

[ShadyxEminem]

@AbramIsaac Dude, you're like one of the best posters here