Working with a rap legend like Eminem can be both an intimidating and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Coming from the cold nature of Detroit's battle rap scene, Eminem is known for his crazy work ethic, and he wouldn't be where he's at today if it wasn't for his strong determination. He's a go-getter who always goes the extra mile to get whatever he wants in life and doubtlessly gives zero space for slow-moving and negligent people.
So, what does it feel like to work with the Rap God? Worry less, because these ten people will give you the answer.
10 Byron 'Big Naz' Williams, Former Bodyguard
Back in the early days of The Slim Shady LP, Byron' Big Naz' Williams worked with Em as his bodyguard from May to December 1999. At that time, Eminem was pretty much new to fame, thus giving him pressure after pressure. It would eventually turn into a severe decline in his health and lead to his overdose in 2007.
According to the former bodyguard, guarding Eminem was like 'babysitting him 24/7.' In his book Shady Bizzness: Life as Marshall Mathers' Bodyguard in an Industry of Paper Gangsters, Big Naz recalled the time during the Warped Tour when the rapper would take 14 different drugs, ranging from ecstasy to shrooms.
9 Cara Lewis, Agent
Agents are one of the most important cornerstones for a celebrity's development as artists because they're arranging dates for tours and interviews. For hip-hop artists, Cara Lewis is no strange woman as she represents the likes of Eminem, Pusha-T, Travis Scott, Kanye West, and Tupac Shakur. She was the key person of the iconic 2000 Anger Management Tour, which lineup includes Em, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, and others, and The Monster Tour by Eminem and Rihanna.
Although there is no direct link about her personal relationship with Em, there's a massive likelihood that the two share the same work ethic.
8 Paul Rosenberg, Manager & Fellow Shady Records Founder
Paul Rosenberg has been with Eminem since day one, and even to this day, he still serves as the rap star manager. Speaking to Billboard, the Goliath Artist honcho described his first meeting with Eminem at Detroit's very own Hip-hop Shop. He recalled Eminem's late best friend and fellow rapper of D12, Proof, pulled him aside at the Shop to check Eminem's freestyles.
" I thought he was really talented, but at that point he hadn't figured out who he was yet as an artist," Rosenberg said. "(On his debut album Infinite) he was trying to sound like other people, like Nas."
7 Akon, Collaborator
Akon described how it feels like working for Em, notably for Smack That from Akon's 2006 sophomore album Konvicted and its remix on Shady Records' The Re-Up compilation album. According to him, Eminem treats rap as a 9-to-5 job and is pretty disciplined with his time.
"The first day I come, I come around 6 AM," he recalled at Hot 97. "Like we going to do an evening session. I get to the studio; they said 'Em just left!' He said, 'I am out of here!' I said, 'I just got to the studio, you coming back here?' He said, 'yeah, I'll be back there at 9 AM."
6 Candice Pillay, Collaborator
Candice Pillay is the female vocal behind Dr. Dre's Genocide and Medicine Man featuring Eminem from the Doctor's 2015 Compton album. Speaking to MTV News, the South African crooner said that it's a blessing to work with two rap legends.
"Being from South Africa, we never got all the rap music that you got in the States," she said. "We got the most popular so it was Dre, Snoop, Em, Biggie and Pac. And I've always been a huge Em fan. So, it was a blessing for me to have the opportunity."
5 Sway Calloway, 'Sway In The Morning' Host Of Shade45 Radio Station
Before the fame, Eminem and Sway Calloway had always shared a mutual admiration for each other. Before diving into presenting, Calloway was a part of the Sway & King Tech hip-hop group and worked with Eminem on The Anthem from their 1999 album This or That.
"I felt proud," Calloway recalled to The Source about hearing the news of Dr. Dre co-signing Eminem following the Slim Shady EP release. "(It's) like a family member watching another family member graduate into their life doing what they always wanted to do."
4 Angela Yee, Former Shady Limited Clothing Company & Former Shade45 Host
Upon the launching of Shade45, Angela Yee served as a host of The Morning Show program from 2008 to 2010. She's now one of the three Breakfast Show on Power 105.1 alongside Charlamagne Tha God and DJ Envy.
However, on an exclusive interview with 50 Cent's ThisIs50 hip-hop news outlet, Yee played a 'smash-or-pass' game between Drake, 50 Cent, and Eminem with Hynaken & PowTV. The answer? The score goes to her former employer, Eminem.
3 Yelawolf, Shady Records Former Signee
Eminem signed former XXL Freshman Yelawolf to his Shady Records venture in January 2011. Unfortunately, the two had a not-so-easy patch and creative clashes along the way, which eventually led to Yelawolf departing Shady in 2018.
"It was like, 'Oh Marshall signed a white boy.' Everybody wanted a piece of that fu*king project," Yelawolf recalled to HipHopDX about producing his debut with Shady, Radioactive, and hyped because Yela was the first white rapper Eminem signed. "Producers were coming out of the woodworks, writers were coming out of the fu*king woodworks, and all these songs were being pitched to me and Marshall," he added.
2 Boi-1da, Eminem's Producer
Boi-1da produced Eminem's chart-topping single, Not Afraid, from Eminem's Recovery album back in 2010. The two would continue collaborating until their latest release was Lucky You from the 2018 Kamikaze album.
"It was surreal; I almost didn't believe it — until it came out and I heard it," the Canadian producer recalled the day when Not Afraid was released. "That changed my life in a sense, like, I took my career seriously. I really realized that I had a gift. It was really motivating and I just wanted to continue to do my best at all times."
1 Mike Mazur, Former Cook Manager
Before Paul Rosenberg and becoming the venom-spitting rapper we know today, Eminem was a cook at Gilbert's Lodge and worked under a manager named Mike Mazur. Quoting Salon.com, the manager recalled that the rap star was so problematic back in the days, moving from one address to another, but he was a model employee who worked for 60 hours a week.
"He didn't want his daughter to grow up like he did, living from day to day and moving from week to week," Mazur said. "He would come in to work and worry and say, 'The b*tch took my daughter and won't let me see her. I don't know what I'm going to do, I don't know what I'm going to do.'"
