S. Samuel
Starting off the year with acquiring Slaughterhouse and Yelawolf to his roster, Grammy-winning rapper Eminem speaks on his further plans to strengthen his Shady Records imprint.
Em credits his inspiration to rebuild Shady Records to rap quartet Slaughterhouse’s impression on hip-hop.
“The whole Slaughterhouse thing and what Royce [Da 5’9] was doing when they formed that group, it was exciting to me just because, aside from the Detroit connection that I already had with Royce, to me it’s just exciting for hip-hop because it’s so new and fresh and different,” Slim Shady said. “And also, at the same time, I feel like I’m kinda taking this year to try and reestablish and rebuild the label back too.” (MTV)
Last summer, Em’s manager Paul Rosenberg revealed the rapper’s determination to give Shady Records a makeover.
“I think he’s really focused on the creative side. He’s never been someone who’s set out to have a bunch of different companies out there, sort of playing the system. He’s just not that kind of guy.” The one project Eminem and Rosenberg are focused on is the rebuilding of their label, Shady Records. “What we mean by that is finding great new artists,” Rosenberg says. “That’s one of the things he is passionate about.” Eminem has cited underground all-star group Slaughterhouse as his first planned signing, and he says more artists are on the table but not ready to be announced. (Billboard)
Atlanta rapper Bobby Creekwater announced his Shady Records departure in 2009.
“We parted ways, it was a business decision,” Creekwater revealed in an interview. “Just so you know, labels, in some cases, can choose to be a**holes, hold the artists on the label — put an artist through a whole bunch of bullsh*t to get free but they didn’t. They understood my plight and I appreciate [manager Peter Rosenberg] for that, him and Em…I’m officially off of Shady…Basically it was this, Em, or Shady had to pay some bills. They had released some projects that didn’t do as well as they planned or what have you so Em had to go and make that right. In Em making that right, Creekwater would have had to do more waiting and it’s one of those things as an artist, you’re your first concern…I couldn’t afford to do any more waiting. It was the time to move on.” (YouTube)
With a roster including 50 Cent and D12, the label previously released artists Stat Quo and Obie Trice.
“Shady Records has agreed to allow Obie Trice to pursue his craft in a different forum free from the constraints of the current major label model,” Em’s manager Paul Rosenberg said in a statement. “Eminem will continue to support and work with Obie on many levels of his career. He remains a close friend and member of the Shady family.” (Rap Basement)
Check out a recent Eminem interview below:
