Eminem returns to Hawaii, still angry after all these years

Eminem is the top-selling rapper in music history. His last nine albums have debuted at No. 1. He’s won 15 Grammy Awards and an Oscar. (Halfway to an EGOT!) And nearly two decades into his career, his latest impressive feat was accomplished in 2018.

The artist born as Marshall Mathers had two No. 1 albums last year: “Revival” and “Kamikaze.” Only two other artists have matched him — Korean boy band BTS and slain rapper XXXTentacion — and both named him among the reasons they became performers.

Such has been the career of Eminem, who performs tonight at Aloha Stadium, his first major-venue show in Hawaii.

THE RAPPER from Detroit has remained relevant for 20 years in the quick-turnover world of hip-hop, where rappers routinely come in like meteors and flame out like falling stars, where the parade of trends can make hits from five years ago sound dated. (His debut single, “My Name Is,” was released in January 1999 and the album “The Slim Shady LP” a month later.) Only Jay Z can boast of such staying power, with maybe Kanye West and the now-inactive Beastie Boys — to whom Em paid homage on the cover of his August release, “Kamikaze” — coming close.

For some context, take a look at the other five rappers who had No. 1 albums in 2000, the year Eminem first topped the charts with his sophomore effort, “The Marshall Mathers LP.” DMX, Nelly and Ja Rule were among America’s biggest at the time and for a few years after, but haven’t put out a gold record in 10 to 15 years. LL Cool J is a truly old-school rap legend who was 15 years into his career 20 years ago; “G.O.A.T.” was LL Cool J’s first No. 1 and started his decline as a rap presence as he focused on acting. Jay-Z was the fifth — the only rapper in Em’s class in record sales and cultural influence.

Most of the rappers who were big when Eminem became a star are long gone, while at age 46 he’s still going strong.

Part of Em’s success is his extraordinary flow — his talent for spitting fast or slow, his large vocabulary and his ability to contort words into rhymes. A peak example of that last skill is his verse on the 2000 single “Forgot About Dre” from his mentor Dr. Dre’s 1999 album, “2001.”

For something a little more suitable for publication, look at his jaw-dropping opening verse on “The Monster,” his chart-topping 2013 collaboration with Rihanna, in which Em rhymes the following: Newsweek, choosey, music, excuse me, blew see, confusing, do’s be, Bruce Lee, loose leaf, abused ink, blew steam, ooh-wee, used mink, lose sleep, two sheep, kooky, Kool Keith and you think.

It’s a breathtaking, tongue-twisting display, mixing end rhyme with internal rhyme across 16 bars.

But Eminem has always been as much about substance as style, so what makes the verse is not just the delivery, but that it’s an honest look at the inner turmoil that success has brought him.

IN THE first part of Eminem’s career, his often-brutal honesty was especially fascinating, as he rapped extensively about his dysfunctional relationship with his mother, Debbie, and his hot-and-cold relationship with his wife/ex-wife/wife/ex-wife, Kim. That honesty sometimes veered into violent fantasy.

In his own defense, Eminem said his songs should be viewed the same as movies, telling the L.A. Times in 2000, “I don’t think music can make you kill or rape someone any more than a movie is going to make you do something you know is wrong.” (The Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s requests for an interview were declined.)

He pointed to the controversy caused by a rape fantasy verse in the song “Guilty Conscience” from his debut album and noted that it was based on a scene from the film “Animal House, “which is a movie that everyone thinks is funny and wonderful.”

Em also addressed the issue in “Stan,” one of the high points of his follow-up album “The Marshall Mathers LP,” which sold more than 10 million copies in America alone and took him from rapper of the moment to global superstar. The first three verses are letters from the title character showing his devolution from fandom to obsession to a reenactment of “’97 Bonnie and Clyde” from “Slim Shady,” in which Em has killed his wife and takes their baby daughter along for the ride as he dumps the body.

In the final verse of “Stan,” Em drives home how his persona in song differs from who he is in real life, speaking as himself (presumably) while writing a letter back to Stan before being faced with the idea that his violent lyrics have have influenced a fan.

Eminem has since moved on from directing his rage in song at his mother and ex. The primary targets on “Kamikaze” are the media and young rappers, with shots at Migos, Lil Yachty and Machine Gun Kelly (a favorite target since the Cleveland rapper tweeted in 2012 that Em’s then-teenage daughter was “hot”), among many, almost as if the vitriol is oxygen to him.

“I’m not gonna lie, there’s something inside me that is a little more happy when I’m angry,” he told Sway Calloway in an interview for Shade 45, a Sirius XM channel that features songs from Em and his imprint, Shady Records.

But Em has also been open about his respect for the younger MCs he feels are worthy. He traded verses with Kendrick Lamar on “Love Game” back in 2013 when the rapper — now a Pulitzer Prize winner – was still rising. He featured Joyner Lucas on “Lucky You” off the new disc, after praising him in a 2017 interview with Vulture. J. Cole and Big Sean are others Em has listed among his recent faves, calling all four “super complex but also digestible.”

He shows further support for young talent on the bill for tonight’s show, with young rappers (and an old friend) guesting on Eminem’s first nonfestival date in support of “Kamikaze,” and his only scheduled so far for the U.S. He’s hitting Hawaii — specifically, Aiea, as his website notes — on his way to five gigs Down Under.

IN HAWAII, three rappers will join him, each accomplished in his own right.

Logic is best known for the single “1-800-273-8255,” which featured Alessia Cara and Khalid and sought to bring attention to suicide prevention. The track sold 3 million copies and was nominated for a Grammy for song of the year. The album that spawned the single, “Everybody,” went to No. 1, as did last year’s mixtape, “Bobby Tarantino II.”

Sheck Wes gained notice last year when his 2017 single “Mo Bamba” became a hit and went double platinum.

Royce da 5’9” and Eminem go back more than 20 years, to Detroit before Em was a superstar. The two recorded an album together as Bad Meets Evil. “Hell: The Sequel” went to No. 1 in 2011 and spawned the hits “Fast Lane” (which features rapping as high-speed as you would expect from a song of that name) and the double-platinum “Lighters,” the latter with a chorus sung by Bruno Mars.

EMINEM BY THE NUMBERS

>> 5 No. 1 singles: “Lose Yourself”; “Crack a Bottle” featuring Dr. Dre and 50 Cent; “Not Afraid”; “Love the Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna; and “The Monster,” with Rihanna.

>> 25 combined weeks at No. 1 for those five songs.

>> 9 No. 1 albums, tied for sixth-most ever with Garth Brooks and the Rolling Stones. Only the Beatles, Jay-Z, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand and Elvis Presley have had more. All Eminem’s debuted at No. 1, surpassed only by Jay-Z’s 14 to do the same.

>> 47 million albums sold, more than any other rapper. 2Pac is second with 40 million.

>> 124 million singles sold, second among rappers to Drake’s 222 million.