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Music

Drug Addiction, Zane Lowe, and the 'Marshall Mathers LP 2': Deconstructing Eminem

There's been a universal sense of missing the point.
Ryan Bassil
London, GB

Zane Lowe has done extended interviews with two of the biggest rappers in the world: Kanye West and JAY Z. On Monday night he rounded off his rap interview trilogy in the form of an hour long chat with Eminem.

The JAY Z and Kanye West interviews were both incredibly revealing. Jay told Zane how he and Kanye had a four day fall-out while making Watch The Throne, and Kanye aired his thoughts on everything from Lady Gaga - “what the fuck does she know about cameras?” - through to racial limitations, flip flops, and VERSACE VERSACE VERSACE VERSACE VERSACE. After these quotable megalith interviews, the premise of an extended chat with Eminem could have provided the biggest scoop of all, a moment to bring to light an artist that resides in relative publicity darkness. He’s over an addiction, and has just released one of the most revealing records of his career. Zane, with his encyclopedic knowledge and fandom, could provide the big interview that ESPN College Football couldn’t quite muster.

It’s not like Eminem needs the press. He’s sold upwards of 220 million records worldwide, making him the best selling global artist of the 2000s. His latest record, the Marshall Mathers LP 2, has had the second-best first week sales of 2013, topping everyone from Daft Punk and Bowie through to Yeezy and Miley Cyrus.

Monday was the night that we’d see beyond the numbers, the lyrics, and the bleach blonde hair. It promised an in-depth character profile. an exciting in-depth insight into the psyche of one of modern music’s most perplexing, outrageous, and autobiographical artists.