Nijmegen enjoys an angry Eminem

But why is the American rapper, now 45, so popular that the concert was sold in twenty minutes? In terms of success, its peak was years ago. And in the hip-hop scene too, Eminem has long been overtaken by rappers such as Drake, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar and Macklemore. And rebel incidents around the controversial artist have barely been there. picture: ANP

Much of the assistance probably comes from nostalgic considerations. Teens of this era are now in their twenties and thirties because a new audience has not really been able to exploit Eminem in the last few years. And it's special that it's on Dutch soil. The last time was fifteen years ago and the rapper does not shoot very often, so it's a unique opportunity to see the phenomenon live at work once.

Slim Shady

Marshall Mathers 's in the early 90' s hard to break through. As a white rapper, hip-hop is not an obvious scene until it is noticed by the rap legend. Dre and make a new album under his wing. The The Slim Shady LP presents a new alter-ego, Slim Shady. The raps are usually full of humor and self-deprecation, but also with controversial texts and insults from other artists and the glorification of drug and alcohol use.

This is typical for the rest of his career. The album hits and in the early 2000s it makes a number with Dr. Dre, Forget the Dr. The video clip shows all that Eminem means. He drives into a drunken garden and walks away with his pants on the shoes and scolds the owner of the house completely rotten. Moments later, the house is on fire and a reporter reports for a live report, where Eminem is quoted as a witness: "I was listening to my Will Smith CDs above and suddenly I saw all those flames. " And then he screams through the live report

Hated by the establishment and described as a bad example for young people, but his fan base is growing exponentially. His next album The Marshall Mathers LP is a mega-hit

Eminem becomes the most popular rapper in the world. Rude texts and insults are back. But there is also a very different side of the rapper. His anger and aggression. His personal suffering is clearly reflected in his words. Eminem reacts with her mother in different songs ("She uses more drugs than me") and her ex-wife Kim, which he even kills in a song. And his greatest success is Stan a duet with the English singer Dido, with a violent video clip. He plays Stan himself, who is an obsessed fan of Slim Shady and is angry that he did not get a signature after a concert. He writes letters and kills himself and his pregnant girlfriend because his idol does not react fast enough to his fan mail. In the end, Slim Shady reads the letters and discovers the connection with his dismay. These are these kinds of songs and clips, following which he is taken more and more seriously as an artist.

Actor

Eminem also adventure as an actor in the film 8 Mile, partly autobiographical about a rapper trying to punch raptors in Detroit. The film and the performance of Eminem receive rave reviews. And this gives him the greatest success of his career, Lose Yourself, which becomes number 1 virtually everywhere in the world. In this phase, the rapper is the best artist in the world and, during his world tour in 2003, also goes to Amsterdam. Although the songs are not so good to live and Eminem is often sloppy and not always inspired, the concerts are a huge success. And he continues to be successful, both with songs full of humor and anger in a song like Cleaning Out My Closet

On his next album Marshall Mathers also gives a more political sound. Mosh is an indictment against President Bush in a manner that few artists dare to express and in [Toyium] he condemns violence in the world . Among other things, for private reasons, the rapper resumes the gas, because he wants to pay more attention to his daughter Hailee. He rapped about it in When I'll be gone. His daughter travels to Sweden, when she learns that Eminem is touring there. She gives him a coin with Number 1 Dad. photo: ANP

In the years that followed, he became more and more calm around Eminem. Occasionally, he releases albums and songs. Especially two duets with Rihanna are still a great success and in Rap God he improves a record with 1560 words in six minutes. He also works a lot with fellow colleagues like Dr. Dre and 50 Cent. He still barely gives concerts. At the end of 2017, there will be another album, Revival, which will be received alternately. But for the first time in five years, Eminem again enjoys worldwide success with River, a collaboration with Ed Sheeran. The rapper seems old-fashioned again in this song and he is still at his best. For fans who come to see Eminem / Marshall Mathers / Slim Shady tonight, it would be nice if he could put his sincere anger in his songs, so it could be a memorable concert.