Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Will the Real Slim Shady please stand up?
He’s standing up alright. Eminem, who goes by the alter ego of Slim Shady, won Artist of the Year at the first Youtube Awards, which were streamed live from Pier 36 in New York on Sunday. On the same day, the world-famous rapper and music producer also clinched the No 1 spot in the UK charts with his new single, The Monster, his first big hit since 2006. The track, which features Rihanna, is on Eminem’s eighth studio album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, which is released this week.
Marshall Mathers being his real name…
Spot on. Marshall was born in Missouri into a life of poverty and rapping became an escape route. He would take part in rap battles under the stage name M&M, which he later changed to Eminem. In 1996 he released his first album, Infinite, to little critical acclaim. Then came The Slim Shady LP. Slim was a far more aggressive and raw character than Eminem and the album was picked up by Dr Dre and released in 1999 to huge commercial success. The rest, as they say, is history.
Ok, so tell me more about the Youtube Awards
They were all about innovation and creative director Spike Jonze wanted the event to be as spontaneous as possible. Hosts Jason Schwartzman and Reggie Watts had to improvise from a list of bullet points and live music videos were created on stage. The winners were decided by YouTube users: Eminem was the most watched, shared, liked and subscribed-to artist on the website.
But hasn’t he been a bit quiet over the past few years?
Not exactly. The rapper took an official hiatus between 2005 and 2009 and his last album, Recovery, was released in 2010. In the interim he has been on a worldwide tour and has appeared in documentaries, including How To Make Money Selling Drugs.
How did he collect the award?
During the evening, he performed his song Rap God alongside Denaun Porter, who is his hype man or backup rapper. In true Eminem fashion he said, “I just wanna say real quick thanks to all the fans, everyone who voted. To YouTube, I’m out, peace!”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments