Eminem
It'd be stupid for me to sit here and say that there aren't kids who look up to me, but my responsibility is not to them. I'm not a baby sitter.
I want to solidify as an artist and show that as I grow as a person and make mistakes and learn from them, I'm going to grow artistically.
There was a while when I was feeling like, 'Damn, if I'd just been born black, I would not have to go through all this'.
I want to keep making records as long as I can, but I don't know how long you can be taken seriously in rap.
Sporadic thoughts will pop into my head and I'll have to go write something down, and the next thing you know I've written a whole song in an hour.
Certainly I'm not going to sit on the Internet all day and read what Sam from Iowa is saying about me. But I'm a sponge. I've always been a sponge.
Hip hop has always been braggin' and boasting and 'I'm better at you than this' and 'I'm better at you than that.'
I've accomplished enough with the music that I haven't had to go out there and do other things to over-saturate.
The details surrounding both my marriage and subsequent filing for divorce are private, and I had hoped to keep them that way for the sake of my family.
I always say this about my music, and music in general: Music is like a time capsule. Each album reflects what I'm going through or what's going on in my life at that moment.
When 'Paul's Boutique' came out, I was one of the fans that didn't get it.
Being a student of hip-hop in general, you take technical aspects from places. You may take a rhyme pattern or flow from Big Daddy Kane or Kool G Rap.
When Bugs Bunny walks into rehab, people are going to turn and look. People at rehab were stealing my hats and pens and notebooks and asking for autographs. I couldn't concentrate on my problem.
As for my stuff, I'm just doing guest verses for other people's records. I try to stay recording, because if I don't, I get rusty.
There was certainly, like, a rebellious, like, youthful rage in me. And there was also the fact of no getting away from fact that I am white, and you know, this is predominantly black music, you know.
I don't know if I ever feel totally great about a record when I put it out. With every record that I put out, someone has literally got to come pry it from me because when I listen to my own music, I just hear flaws in it.
Somewhere deep down there's a decent man in me, he just can't be found.
I am whatever you say I am; if I wasn't, then why would you say I am.
Dealing with backstabbers, there was one thing I learned. They're only powerful when you got your back turned.
I'm stupid, I'm ugly, I'm dumb, I smell. Did I mention I'm stupid?
These times are so hard, and they're getting even harder.
Nobody likes to fail. I want to succeed in everything I do, which isn't much. But the things that I'm really passionate about, if I fail at those, if I'm not successful, what do I have?
I am who I am and I say what I think. I'm not putting a face on for the record.
I always wished for this, but it's almost turning into more of a nightmare than a dream.
I was a smart kid, but I hated school.
I was poor white trash, no glitter, no glamour, but I'm not ashamed of anything.
I need to keep working on myself for a while.
My thing is this; if I'm sick enough to think it, then I'm sick enough to say it.
Honestly, I never really put the mic down.
To the people I forgot, you weren't on my mind for some reason and you probably don't deserve any thanks anyway.
Guns are bad, I tell you.
Anything I've ever said, I certainly was feeling at the time.
I've been running a lot, taking care of myself.
You're not going to say anything about me that I'm not going to say about myself. There's so many things that I think about myself; if someone really wanted to get at me, they could say this and this and this. So I'm going to say it before they can. It's the best policy for me.
I come from Detroit where it's rough and I'm not a smooth talker.
It sometimes feels like a strange movie, you know, it's all so weird that sometimes I wonder if it is really happening.
I love the attention but I don't like too much of it.
I have a slight bit of OCD, I think. I'm not walking around flipping light switches. But when I say I'm going to do something, I have to do it.
I'm very much a creature of habit.
Hip-hop saved my life, man. It's the only thing I've ever been even decent at. I don't know how to do anything else.
If there's not drama and negativity in my life, all my songs will be really wack and boring or something.
Rap was my drug.
I'm not really book-smart.
Touring is hard on the body.
The kids are old enough now - I just want to let them be kids. I don't want to comment on them too much. They're at an age where I just want to let them be kids.
It feels good to have your work respected again.
I do say things that I think will shock people. But I don't do things to shock people. I'm not trying to be the next Tupac, but I don't know how long I'm going to be on this planet. So while I'm here, I might as well make the most of it.
It creeps me out sometimes to think of the person I was. I was a terrible person. I was mean to people.
It's just hard to meet new people, in my position.