1. Eminem
I’m trying to remember when I first heard Eminem. I wouldn’t say I was the first to ever discover him – I wasn’t, by any means – but I understood that he was a great wordsmith quite early on. He had that song out, ‘Stan’, that was like a movie script in three minutes. It tells an extraordinary story. And that skill, to do that, alone – that stood him apart from everybody else.
‘Lose Yourself’ has got such a great message in it. One chance, one opportunity. That is such a great mantra. When things open up for you, don’t fuck it up. Early on in his rapping career, he stood up in a rap battle, and he had to do it right, in his real life. That, to me, is such a strong message, very simply put, that has never left me.
I am very sensitive to the fact that [rap] is Black culture, and he’s a white guy with a desire to be accepted into it. Are we supposed to approve of that? That was kind of at the back of your mind at the time, and it’s still on people’s minds, very much so, more so than ever. White people have stolen black music for such a long time and that should not be allowed to happen anymore.
