Eminem Talks Signing 50 Cent, ‘Detroit Vs. Everybody’ And The History Of Shady Records

Eminem and Shady Records are celebrating their 15th
anniversary this year, and they’re commemorating it
with the release of a new double-disc album, Shady XV,
next week. And ahead of the release of the project, Em
and his longtime manager, Paul Rosenberg, sat down
with Shade45 to reflect on the label’s rich history —
including signing 50 Cent .
“I think I was riding around bumping that sh– more
than anything I was recording myself,” Em said of first
hearing 50′s music, around the time he was shooting “8
Mile.”
“I think there was something also to be said about the
same credibility factor [Dr.] Dre gave to me, we could
use that with Fif. Because anybody who had their
doubts about me signing him, or anything like that…
Dre’s stamp could not hurt in any way you go. It was
more about making sure that we didn’t f–k this up.
Especially back then — anybody who hated me is just
gonna turn his music off.”
Of course, they didn’t, and Fif went on to sell millions
and millions of records. Part of that, as well as the
success of the label, is thanks to the meticulousness of
their releases. Rosenberg credited that approach to Dr.
Dre.
“Time doesn’t exist for Dr. Dre,” he said. “He doesn’t
care about anything except making sure the music’s
right. So we learned that from him. Nothing else
matters. Because [if] you put the sh– out because of
some external pressures, and it’s not ready, you ain’t
gonna have another shot to put it out. You gotta make
sure everything’s right. That’s the most important
thing.”
As the hour-long interview wound down, they touched
on a few of the joints on the new album. Em opened up
a bit about one that had people excited in recent days,
“Detroit vs. Everybody.” The track features Royce da
5’9″, Big Sean, Danny Brown, Dej Loaf and Trick Trick,
and is an anthem for the city.
“It feels like we’ve always been an underdog,” Slim said
both of the D, and his career and label. “Given that
mentality, I think it inspired, and inspires people still to
this day, to try to — rappers — to try to rap as well as
they can.”