In Review

07 January 2009 12:44 BST

Eminem: The Way I Am by Marshall Mathers

Published by Orion, out now, 208pp, £20.

In a nutshell...

Sprawling, unfocused, candid, cautious, honest.

What's it all about?

The Way I Am - with the help of never-before-published photographs, artefacts, and mementos from his life - sees Eminem sharing some stories about a childhood bouncing from school to school, his struggles to support his young family on Detroit's East Side, the challenges of learning the rap game, and what his daily life is like now. The memoir also showcases Eminem's songs, with in-depth discussions of his writing process and his work in the studio with Dr Dre. Original lyric sheets for hits such as Lose Yourself and Stan are printed as facsimiles in the book along with loads of personal snapshots and Polaroids, original illustrations by Eminem himself, concert flyers, a visual tour of the star's Detroit haunts, and behind-the-scenes photos of concerts and life on the road.



- Courtesy of Orion Books

Who's it by?

Born Marshall Mathers in St Joseph, Missouri, Grammy and Oscar-winning rapper, producer and actor Eminem went triple platinum with his debut album The Slim Shady LP, the mixture of his caustic, controversial rhymes and hip-hop legend Dr Dre's production overcoming prejudices about listening to a white rapper. He broke records and barriers with his sophomore effort The Marshall Mathers LP, decrying accusations of homophobia by performing his emotive hit Stan (the launchpad for Dido's career) live at the Grammys with Sir Elton John. Album three The Eminem Show continued to dwell on his explosive relationship with on-off partner Kim, his love for his daughter Hailie, his status within the hip-hop world and being brought up on assault charges over a 2000 incident involving a bouncer who kissed his wife. He released his last album Encore in 2004, a politically-charged effort preceding a hiatus heightened when his best friend and former D12 member Proof was shot and killed outside a Detroit nightclub.

Despite rumours of painkiller addiction, reclusive behaviour and ballooning weight, Eminem recently ended the wait for a new album when he announced that his fifth LP - entitled Relapse - would be released in early 2009.

As an example...

"After [Proof] passed, it was a year before I could really do anything normally again. It was tough for me to even get out of bed, and I had days where I couldn't walk, let alone rhyme. When I tried to put my thoughts together - well, I wasn't making sense when I spoke, so everyone was trying to keep me away from TV and the press." - pii

"When we were making the first album together, Dre had been saying: 'We got the record, we just need an image.' But I never thought much about what Slim Shady looked like. Then one day, I was high on E, walking the streets… We went into a drugstore and bought a bottle of peroxide. I had taken two hits of Ecstasy - I was out of my mind. The next day I looked in the mirror and I'd forgotten I'd did it. I woke up at 2 o'clock in the afternoon and was like 'Holy s**t!' I looked like a skunk." - p35

Likelihood of becoming a Hollywood blockbuster

Well, we've basically had one - Curtis Hanson's 8 Mile, despite telling the story of the fictional Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr, was a chronicle of Mathers' tough road to stardom, through trailer parks, factory jobs and mid-90s rap battles to breaking through as the unlikeliest of stars.

What the others say

"The ultimate scrapbook for fans. It's not just you [Eminem] giving people an insight and your own thoughts on your journey so far, but lots of cool archive material." - Zane Lowe, Radio 1

"Essentially a series of brief reminiscences scattered among reproductions of handwritten lyric pages, candid photos, and a plethora of pics that make Detroit look like the wasteland wherever The Road takes place, the book doesn't offer much in the way of rich literature or keen insight. Motley Crue's The Dirt, by comparison, reads like Dylan's Chronicles. It's not that The Way I Am doesn't have enough salacious stories or life-inside-the-fishbowl revelations, though the book could use more of both. It's that it does nothing to enlarge our understanding of Eminem." - David Marchese, Spin

So is it any good?

That really depends on what you're looking for. For the majority of Eminem fans, this book will be a godsend, with the scrappy lyric sheets, previously unreleased photos and revelations helping to complete a perception they probably already have of one of the most pioneering musicians of all time.

For anyone looking for anything a little deeper, The Way I Am comes up short - given the power and potency of his rhymes, it's disappointing to find that Mathers has such an undeveloped, repetitive vocabulary when it comes to reminiscing and some tighter editorial control wouldn't have gone amiss. At times the book feels as if it's been compiled by a kid with ADHD - being famous is scary! I like free things! I'm quite withdrawn! - and weighty issues within hip-hop and music in general are grazed rather than explored. Just as he launches into a discussion of his growing interest in production or using compound syllables in rap, the rhythm is broken by the inclusion of new pictures or album artwork, while a climactic opportunity to discuss Nas' notion that "hip-hop is dead" is given a cursory glance and no more.

That said, a window of sorts is opened on his dysfunctional upbringing and home life. While it never goes to the lengths of mudslinging explored in his songs, there's something humanising about the admission of the pain caused by his father's departure, his concern for his family and his own self-loathing.

His attempt to explain the line between Slim Shady and Eminem is also compelling, explored without the pretension of Beyonce's Sasha Fierce alter-ego and with a tongue firmly in cheek.

But as David Marchese commented above - The Way I Am teaches us very little about Eminem.

It does, however, reinforce the realisation that he is a rapper of extreme ability and drive, a caring family man and a more complex individual than he himself believes.

7/10

Lewis Bazley

"Well, I've been waiting ages for the book to come out, and I'm surprised... It was actually amazing. It provided a good insight into his early childhood, how he feels. Eminem truly is the biggest and best rap superstar to ever grace the genre. 10/10." - Autumn Hyndman