1999, a Saturday arvo, hungover, super bleary and sitting in my then wife's Civic as she drove us to sushi for a late get the fuck better feed of sashimi and avocado salmon ships, Triple J, one of the world's greatest alternate radio stations back then, buzzin in the background . . . . then on it comes . . . . "hi, waaa, my name is, waaa, my name, vvttt vvttt, Slim Shady . . . . " I was sold, lock, stock and two throbbing temples, I wasn't sure if whoever it was making this rap-racket was black, white or a little green man from Planet Get the Fuck Outta Town, but this was the dope, this was pure China White, raw Golden Brown, this was the shit a guy like me can O.D on forever, it fucked with my cerebral cortex like few tunes ever have . . . .
To steal one of Mr Kanno's lines, dis was Eminem, aka 'Slim Shady', real name, Marshall Mathers, this was the Thin White Duke of the modern musical era, not, like his prat, pretender predecessor Ice Ice Baby, the Great White Hype, rather the whiter than white Hyper Real Deal right from the start . . . . even my ex picked the effect it had on me, she simply said, "you like this, don't you ?" . . . . fuck yeah I like it !!!!! The hangover cleared instantly, I had been moved. He had gone beyond what the Beasties had been putting down and taken it to a new, intergalactic level.
The rest, as you all know, is history, the personal, behind the scenes shit doesn't matter a fuck, the reality is that Slim Shady, in cahoots with rap/hip hop Godfather and ultra legend, Dr Dre, acting as producer and spiritual adviser, went on to become the white dude who influenced the way even the 'Brothers' delivered their spiels . . . . he changed patterns, timing, phrasing, the entire fucking caper was tweaked by this one kid from the arse end of Detroit, almost like Miles Davis had done with Jazz and the Be Bop bomb fifty years prior.
The haters and the clowns living in denial of his significance in popular music can stick it up their arses, you don't have to like it, just like I think a lot of Led Zep, Sabbath and Deep Purple is pretty dull, monotonous drivel, but you can't deny them, or Eminem, his due for what he brought to the table over a decade ago . . . . nobody saw it comin, except Dre, and by the time they did it was all over bar the copying . . . . so, won't you please stand up, please stand up, for the Real Slim Shady.
To steal one of Mr Kanno's lines, dis was Eminem, aka 'Slim Shady', real name, Marshall Mathers, this was the Thin White Duke of the modern musical era, not, like his prat, pretender predecessor Ice Ice Baby, the Great White Hype, rather the whiter than white Hyper Real Deal right from the start . . . . even my ex picked the effect it had on me, she simply said, "you like this, don't you ?" . . . . fuck yeah I like it !!!!! The hangover cleared instantly, I had been moved. He had gone beyond what the Beasties had been putting down and taken it to a new, intergalactic level.
The rest, as you all know, is history, the personal, behind the scenes shit doesn't matter a fuck, the reality is that Slim Shady, in cahoots with rap/hip hop Godfather and ultra legend, Dr Dre, acting as producer and spiritual adviser, went on to become the white dude who influenced the way even the 'Brothers' delivered their spiels . . . . he changed patterns, timing, phrasing, the entire fucking caper was tweaked by this one kid from the arse end of Detroit, almost like Miles Davis had done with Jazz and the Be Bop bomb fifty years prior.
The haters and the clowns living in denial of his significance in popular music can stick it up their arses, you don't have to like it, just like I think a lot of Led Zep, Sabbath and Deep Purple is pretty dull, monotonous drivel, but you can't deny them, or Eminem, his due for what he brought to the table over a decade ago . . . . nobody saw it comin, except Dre, and by the time they did it was all over bar the copying . . . . so, won't you please stand up, please stand up, for the Real Slim Shady.
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