2. Interview:
You should document the process of getting your interview. You should produce a range of questions and also a list of
interviewees.
You should provide an unedited transcript of the interview as well as at least one draft of it.
Interviews can be written in whatever style you prefer.
3. Interview:
My interview will follow a question and answer format. The interview will be with a fan of the hip hop artist Eminem.
Question 1 – When was the first time you listened to Eminem and why did you decide to listen to his music?
Question 2 – After you began listening to his music, did you find an album you would consider your favourite and what were your overall impressions of this album?
Question 3 – What is your favourite all time song of Eminem and why? Do you find it relatable or is it a song that means something to you?
Question 4 – Eminem has appeared in a few films such as “The Wash”, “8 Mile” and “The Interview”, would you say his acting is as good as his music?
Question 5 – Whilst we are on the subject of films, Eminem has also made music for films as well such as “Southpaw”. Is his film music more relevant than his studio music due
to the fact it reaches out to a different audience?
Question 6 – What is your opinion on Eminem’s new music compared to his older music? Would you say that it has improved or would you agree with the minority that he is
“washed out”?
Question 7 – Were you surprised at his most recent release “Kamikaze” and how would you rate it out of 10 in comparison to “Revival”?
Question 8 – Do you think the recent beef with Machine Gun Kelly was entertaining and who do you think came out on top?
Question 9 – Would Eminem be in your top 5 music artists of all time and if he is, what place would he be?
Question 10 – Finally, would you consider Eminem the Greatest Of All Time?
4. Copy:
All the other written elements of your fanzine are up to you but should be documented here. If you decide to write a
review, a polemic, an article or anything else, it needs to be documented here.
Drafts are good so it is worth writing a first draft then producing a second which not only checks for spelling and grammar
errors but also ensures that your work has a consistent style, quality and structure.
Recording your research, as and when it happens, is also a very strong idea. If you need to look up a fact or read an article,
record that.
5. Page 1:
Title: Hip Hop Block
Introduction: In this special edition fanzine, you will find out about each
of the main eras of Hip Hop from the 1980s to the late 2000s. This fanzine
will include ratings, interviews, rare images and more. Most of this fanzine
will be based on the writers opinion on artists and albums apart from any
interviews and any official ratings that the writer reports on. This fanzine
will take you through a journey of hip hop from the early 80s to the late
00s.
Contents:
Page 1 & 2 – Introduction and 80s Title Page
Page 3 & 4 – 80s era page 1 and 80s era page 2
Page 5 & 6 – Interview, ratings and rappers
Page 7 & 8 – 90s title page and 90s era page 1
Page 9 & 10 – 90s era page 2 and 00s Title page
Page 11 & 12 – 00s Page 1 and 00s Page 2
Page 2:
80s
6. Page 3:
List of my top 5 rappers/rap groups from that era:
1. N.W.A
2. LL Cool J
3. Eric B & Rakim
4. Beastie Boys
5. Public Enemy
List of my top 5 albums from those artists:
1. Straight Outta Compton
2. Radio
3. Paid in Full
4. Licensed to Ill
5. It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
Background information on my favourite artist from that era:
N.W.A – This group was formed mainly by Eazy-E after he used his money from dealing drugs and turned it into the record label “Ruthless Records”. The members included Arabian Prince, Dr
Dre, DJ Yella, Eazy E, Ice Cube and MC Ren. The first hit they put out was “Panic Zone” which was included in the album “N.W.A and The Posse”. This album also included hits such as “Dope
Man”, “8 Ball” and Eazy’s solo hit “Boyz-N-The-Hood”. This was the beginning of the gangsta rap/reality rap era which lead to them selling over 10 million units in the U.S.A alone. A year after
this album came out, the group began production on their album “Straight Outta Compton”. This album tells people of the groups reality with lyrics that people considered were an attack on
Federal Agencies. The album ended up going double platinum and was one of the first albums to receive the “Parental Advisory” stickers. Ice Cube left the group in December 1989 due to a
dispute of royalty issues. Ice Cube had written over half the lyrics for the groups “Straight Outta Compton” album and had barely received any profits. After a lawsuit was settled out of court
Ice Cube got to work on his first solo album; “AmeriKKKas Most Wanted”. N.W.As album “EFill4Zaggin” included a diss to Ice Cube due to his absence from the group. Ice Cube returned the
favour with the release of the track “No Vaseline”. This feud publicly settled when Dr Dre assaulted Dee Barnes after the “Pump It Up” TV Show which covered the beef between N.W.A and Ice
Cube. The group parted ways in 1991 after Dr Dre and others signed at Ruthless left to join Death Row Records. This lead to a feud between Eazy-E and Dr Dre as Eazy was coerced into signing
away Dr Dres (and other artists from Ruthless) contracts from Ruthless Records. This feud lasted a while until Eric “Eazy-E” Wright died of AIDS on the 26th March 1995. Before Eazy died, MC
Ren had a very small feud with Eazy however this was squashed very quickly. The group has had some reunions since the break up in 1991 such as a performance at Coachella Valley Music
and Arts Festival and the premiere of N.W.As biopic “Straight Outta Compton”. The groups influence is still heavy today and they are considered one of the most influential groups of all time.
Their legacy will live on.
7. Page 4:
ALBUM: Licensed to Ill
ARTIST: Beastie Boys
RELEASE DATE: 15th November 1986
PRODUCER: Rick Rubin . Beastie Boys
LABEL: Def Jam . Colombia
Released in late 1986, this album had a great impact on the public. As one of the first white hip hop groups and also the first Jewish Hip Hop group to receive 5 mics in “The Source” magazine,
this album has been named “the best debut album of all time”. 12 years after the albums release, the album was selected as one of “The Source” magazines Top 100 Best Rap Albums. Then in
2003, the album was ranked number 217 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2006, Q magazine placed the album at number 16 in its list of "40 Best
Albums of the '80s".
So why was the album received so well and why is it still selling today?
According to Slant Magazine, it listed the album at number 12 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s" saying "Rife with layer upon layer of sampling, start-stop transitions, and aggressive
beats, it helped transform the genre from a direct dialogue between MC and DJ into a piercing, multi-threaded narrative" and "helped set an exciting template for the future". This album
inspired many artists today such as Eminem. Eminem said that the album is one of his all time favourites and that the album changed hip-hop forever. He has even made a tribute to the album
in his newest album “Kamikaze”, making the artwork resemble “Licensed to Ill”.
When one of the members of the group, Adam Yauch AKA “MCA” died in 2012, sales of Licensed to Ill surged as a form of a tribute to the artist. This rush of sales resulted in the album
reaching number 1 on Billboard’s Catalog Album Charts. The album has been certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2015 and is still listened to daily by many.
CHART 1987 PEAK
POSITION
AUSTRALIA 62
US Billboard 200 1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
(Billboard)
2
REVIEW SCORES
SOURCE RATING
AllMusic 5 Star
Christgau’s Record Guide A+
Orlando Sentinel 4 Star
Pitchfork 7.8/10
Q 4 Star
The Rolling Stone Album Guide 5 Star
Spin Alternative Record Guide 10/10
8. Page 5:
An interview with a long term Eminem fan:
Interviewer – Harry (H)
Interviewee – Dylan (D)
Question 1: When was the first time you listened to Eminem and why did you decide to listen to his music?
(H)
Answer: I began listening to his music in 2009 when his music was on a trailer and I thoroughly enjoyed the
song I heard. (MW2 Trailer – Till I Collapse).
(D)
Question 2: After you began listening to his music, did you find an album you would consider your favourite
and what were your overall impressions of this album?
(H)
Answer: My favourite album of his is “Curtain Call: The Hits”. My overall impressions of it is that the album is
filled with a lot of great songs, ranging from inspirational to relatable songs. I have a lot of respect for him
after this specific album.
(D)
Question 3: What is your favourite all time song of Eminem and why? Do you find it relatable or is it a song
that means something to you?
(H)
Answer: My all time favourite song by Eminem is “Not Afraid”. This song is incredibly inspirational and I relate
heavily to it.
(D)
Question 4: Eminem has appeared in a few films such as “The Wash”, “8 Mile” and “The Interview”, would you
say his acting is as good as his music?
(H)
Answer: I’ve only seen Eminem’s acting in 8 Mile but his acting was excellent and perfect throughout that
entire film.
(D)
Question 5: Whilst we are on the subject of films, Eminem has also made music for films as well such as
“Southpaw”. Is his film music more relevant than his studio music due to the fact it reaches out to a different
audience?
(H)
Answer: I personally feel like his studio music is more relevant as not all is inspirational or deep. Film music is
related to the film the majority of the time so not all passion and emotion is put into it.
(D)
Question 6: What is your opinion on Eminem’s new music compared to his older music? Would you say
that it has improved or would you agree with the minority that he is “washed out”?
(H)
Answer: His newest music is just like his old music, if anything, its improved. I like to call myself a long
time Eminem fan and I still love his music now just as much as I used to.
(D)
Question 7: Were you surprised at his most recent release “Kamikaze” and how would you rate it out of
10 in comparison to “Revival”?
(H)
Answer: I was very surprised with Kamikaze. The album drop was very unexpected and I would rate it a
9/10. Kamikaze is heavily preferred over Revival in my opinion .
(D)
Question 8: Do you think the recent beef with Machine Gun Kelly was entertaining and who do you think
came out on top?
(H)
Answer: The “beef” was fairly entertaining to watch and listen to HOWEVER Eminem absolutely
demolished MGK!!
(D)
Question 9: Would Eminem be in your top 5 music artists of all time and if he is, what place would he be?
(H)
Answer: Absolutely I would say Eminem would place in at #1.
(D)
Question 10: Finally, would you consider Eminem the Greatest Of All Time?
(H)
Answer: Without a doubt.
(D)
10. Page 7:
90s
Page 8:
List of my Top 5 rappers/rap groups from that era:
1. Big L
2. 2Pac
3. Nas
4. Biggie Smalls
5. Wu-Tang Clan
List of my top 5 albums from those artists:
1. Lifestylez OV Da Poor And Dangerous
2. Until The End Of Time
3. Illmatic
4. Ready To Die
5. Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Background information on my favourite artist from that era:
Lamont Coleman (Big L) was one of the best lyrical rappers to have ever released a record. He was known mostly for his clever wordplay and witty lyricism. Born on the 30th may 1974, Coleman
became a hip hop fan at the age of 12, freestyling with his Harlem neighbourhood friends. Coleman formed a group known as “Three the Hard Way” in 1990, however this was quickly broken up due
to a lack of enthusiasm amongst members. Coleman started to become known as “Big L” around this period. Coleman would begin his big break in the summer of 1990 when he would meet hip hop
record producer Lord Finesse at an autograph signing on 125th Street. After a Coleman freestyled, he and Finesse exchanged numbers. Big L began writing songs in 1990 and started recording demos
in 1991, some of which appeared in his first studio album “Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous”. He also formed a group named “Children of the Corn”. In 1992, Big L signed for Colombia Records and
also joined Lord Finesse’s group DITC (Diggin’ In The Crates Crew). Sometime in 1993, Coleman released his first promotional single, "Devil Son", and claimed it was the first horrorcore single
released. He said he wrote the song because "I've always been a fan of horror flicks. Plus the things I see in Harlem are very scary. So I just put it all together in a rhyme. “In 1994, he released his
second promotional single "Clinic". On July 11, 1994, Coleman released the radio edit of "Put It On", and three months later the video was released. In 1995, the video for the single "No Endz, No
Skinz" debuted, which was directed by Brian Luvar. His debut studio album, Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous, was released in March 1995. The album debuted at number 149 on
the Billboard 200 and number 22 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Lifestylez would go on to sell over 200,000 copies as of 2000. Three singles were released from the album; the first two, "Put It On"
and "M.V.P.", reached the top twenty-five of Billboard's Hot Rap Tracks and the third "No Endz, No Skinz" did not chart. Even though the album received a three star rating from Allmusic, it was an
AMG Album Pick. In 1996, Big L was dropped from Colombia Records due a dispute over Big L’s rapping style and Colombia’s production. In 1997, Big L began work on his second studio album; “The
Big Picture”. Coleman’s group, “Children of the Corn”, folded in 1997 when one of the members, Bloodshed, died in a car accident. A year later in 1998, Coleman started work on his own label;
Flamboyant Entertainment. During this time,Coleman caught the eye of Damon Dash, the CEO of Roc-A-Fella Records, after the release of "Ebonics". Dash wanted to sign Lamont to Roc-A-Fella, but
Coleman wanted his crew to sign. On February 8, 1999, Coleman, Herb McGruff, C-Town, and Jay-Z started the process to sign with Roc-A-Fella Records as a group called "The Wolfpack“.
Unfortuneately, this would not happen as Big L was tragically killed in a drive by shooting on 45 West 139th Street in Harlem on the 15th February 1999, after being shot nine times in the face and
chest in a drive-by shooting. Gerard Woodley, one of Big L's childhood friends, was arrested three months later for the crime. "It's a good possibility it was retaliation for something Big L's brother did,
or Woodley believed he had done," said a spokesperson for the New York City Police Department. Woodley was later controversially released, and the murder case remains unsolved. The place
where Big L was shot is near the place where the picture for the album cover of “Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous” was taken.
11. Page 9:
Eazy-E: 7 September 1964, Compton, California, United States - 26 March 1995, Los Angeles, California, United States
2Pac: 16 June 1971, East Harlem, New York City, New York, United States - 13 September 1996, University Medical Center,
Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, United States
Biggie: 21 May 1972, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States - 9 March 1997, Los Angeles, California, United
States
Big L: 30 May 1974, New York City, New York, United States - 15 February 1999, Harlem, New York City, New York, United
States
Summary of the East Coast vs West Coast rivalry:
The East Coast/ West Coast hip-hop rivalry was a feud between Bad Boy Records and Death Row Records, and the artists
and fans of each record label.
New York was the birthplace of hip-hop, but in the early 1990s the West Coast started to become the epicentre of rap
music, thanks in large part to Death Row Records' release of Dr. Dre's 1992 album The Chronic and Snoop Doggy Dogg's
1993 album Doggystyle. Los Angeles was beginning to take over New York's throne for hip-hop supremacy.
In 1993, Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs founded Bad Boy Records, based in New York. The following year, Bad Boy released
debut albums from New York rappers The Notorious B.I.G. and Craig Mack. The albums' successes rejuvenated East Coast
hip-hop.
Oakland based rapper Tupac Shakur then created a rivalry with Biggie, alleging him and Puff Daddy to have created an
incident in which Tupac was robbed and shot five times in the lobby of a New York recording studio. Biggie's track "Who
Shot Ya?" was released soon after Tupac's attempted murder. Biggie and Puff Daddy denied involvement in the shooting
and claimed that "Who Shot Ya?" was recorded prior to the incident, but Tupac and the majority of the hip-hop community
viewed the track as a taunt at Tupac.
At the Source Awards in New York in August 1995, Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight aimed a shot at Puff Daddy,
referencing his habit of ad-libbing on Bad Boy tracks and appearing in Bad Boy videos. This jibe was seen as a dig at the
entire East Coast rap scene. Later that year, Knight caused tensions to rise further when his friend was shot in the arm at a
party in Atlanta. Knight accused Puff Daddy of being involved with the shooting. He also posted $1.4 million bail for Tupac
in exchange with him signing with Death Row Records. After his release, Tupac joined Knight in his campaign against Bad
Boy.
Tupac then began appearing on tracks making derogatory remarks about and to Biggie, Bad Boy, and anyone affiliated with
either. The most notable song was Tupac's "Hit 'Em Up", in which he made comments about sleeping with Biggie's wife.
During this time, the national media began reporting on the feud, causing fans to take sides and giving further legs to the
rivalry. The feud did not end until both Tupac and Biggie were tragically murdered in drive by shootings on September 7th
(died September 13th) 1996 and March 9th, 1997.
Page 10:
00s
12. Page 11:
List of my top 5 rappers/rap groups from that era:
1. Eminem
2. Proof
3. 50 Cent
4. The Game
5. Lil Wayne
List of my top 5 albums from those artists:
1. The Eminem Show
2. Searching For Jerry Garcia
3. Get Rich Or Die Tryin’
4. The Documentary
5. Tha Carter III
Background information on my favourite artist from that era:
Eminem, born as Marshall Bruce Mathers III on the 17th October 1972, is an American rapper, actor,
record producer, record executive and songwriter. During Marshall’s childhood, his father, Bruce, left
and moved to California. Marshall would send many letters to him but his mother, Debbie, said that they
were all sent back with ‘return to sender’ written on them. Eminem also moved a lot during his
childhood. Him and Debbie shuttled between Michigan and Missouri, rarely staying in one house for
more than a year or two and living primarily with family members. In Missouri, they lived in several
places, including St. Joseph, Savannah, and Kansas City. These were predominantly black
neighbourhoods so Eminem, being white, was often beaten a lot. As a child he was interested in
storytelling, aspiring to be a comic-book artist before discovering hip hop. Eminem heard his first rap
song ("Reckless", featuring Ice-T) on the “Breakin’” soundtrack, a gift from Debbie's half-brother Ronnie
Polkinghorn, who was close to him and later became a musical mentor to him. When Polkinghorn
committed suicide in 1991, Eminem stopped speaking for days and did not attend his funeral. At age 14,
Eminem began rapping with high-school friend Mike Ruby; they adopted the names "Manix" and
"M&M", the latter of which evolved into "Eminem”. Eminem snuck into neighbouring Osborn High
School with friend and fellow rapper Proof for lunchroom freestyle rap battles. On Saturdays, they
attended open mic contests at the Hip-Hop Shop on West 7 Mile, considered "ground zero" for the
Detroit rap scene. Struggling to succeed in a predominantly black industry, Eminem was appreciated by
underground hip hop audiences. At age 17, Marshall would drop out of high school after failing 9th grade
multiple times. As Eminem’s reputation grew, he was recruited into several rap groups, the most famous
being D12. Eminem was soon signed to Jeff and Mark Bass's FBT Productions, and recorded his debut
album Infinite for their independent Web Entertainment label. However, this album was considered a
“flop” and didn’t receive much radio time. Combining this with his personal problems, substance abuse
and the fact he was fired from a job just before Christmas where he would work 60 hours a week,
Eminem attempted suicide in 1997. Eminem attracted more attention when he developed Slim Shady, a sadistic, violent
alter ego. The character allowed him to express his anger with lyrics about drugs, rape, and murder. In the spring of 1997
he recorded his debut EP, the Slim Shady EP, which was released that winter by Web Entertainment. The EP, with
frequent references to drug use, sexual acts, mental instability and violence, also explored the more-serious themes of
dealing with poverty and marital and family difficulties and revealed his direct, self-deprecating response to criticism.
Hip-hop magazine The Source featured Eminem in its "Unsigned Hype" column in March 1998. After the EP’s release,
Eminem competed at the Rap Olympics, placing second but also gaining recognition from Interscope Records CEO;
Jimmy Iovine. Iovine would then show Eminem's EP to Dr Dre which would lead to the creation of The Slim Shady LP that
released in 1999. The album ended up going triple platinum in a year and has since achieved quadruple platinum.
Eminem’s second studio album; “The Marshall Mathers LP”, released in 2000, would kick start Eminem’s record of having
9 consecutive number 1 albums. In its first week it sold over 1.7 million copies. The album is known for controversial
lyrics and celebrity disses. 2 years later in 2002, Eminem released his 3rd studio album; “The Eminem Show”. This album
gained the status of “Best selling album of 2002” whilst selling over 27 million copies worldwide. In 2002, Eminem’s
acting in 8 Mile would achieve him an Oscar. He would work up to 12 hours a day on this film. In 2004, Eminem released
“Encore” which again got the number 1 spot and sold 21 million copies worldwide. At this time, Eminem was warned
that he was being looked into by the US Secret Service for “death threats against the President” within his lyrics. During
the period of 2004 – 2007, doubters believed that Eminem would retire and become a record producer. However, he
released 2 compilation albums in this time as well as a radio station named “Shade 45”. In 2007, Eminem nearly died
from a drug overdose (methadone). The doctors said that he consumed the equivalent of four bags of heroin and if he
had checked in 2 hours later, he would not have survived. Eminem was soon back popping pills a month later so turned
to a counsellor. Elton John would help him through this recovery stage calling him once a week. After 5 years without
releasing an album, Eminem returned to the hip-hop world with his release of “Relapse”. This album wasn’t received too
well but still gained number 1 and sold 5 million copies worldwide. In 2010, Eminem released “Recovery”. This album
was received a lot better and sold many more units than “Relapse”. 2 of the singles from that album have hit over 1
billion views on YouTube, whilst another song from the album was used to advertise a “Call of Duty” game. In 2013,
Eminem released “The Marshall Mathers LP 2”. This was the “most anticipated albums of 2013”. Once again, one of the
songs on this album was used for a “Call of Duty” game. On November 3 2013, Eminem was named the first YouTube
Music Awards Artist of the Year. In 2014, Eminem released “SHADYXV”, a compilation album to celebrate 15 years of
Shady Records. The album sold 138,000 copies in its first week. Then, in 2015, Eminem released a vinyl set of all his
albums including Infinite, Curtain Call: The Hits and The 8 Mile Soundtrack. In 2017, Eminem would appear on Big Sean’s
song “No Favours” where he would verbally attack the POTUS. He would then verbally attack him again on The BET
Awards 2017 with a cypher named “The Storm”. After many teasers throughout the year, Eminem released his 8th studio
album; “Revival”. This was heavily criticised by critics but still sold 197,000 copies in its first week. On August 31st of
2018, Eminem surprisingly released “Kamikaze”. This album had no promotion and was kept secret until release and still
sold 437,000 copies in it first week. A final achievement to note is that Eminem announce that he has been sober for 10
years. Eminem suffered from drug addiction where he would take 30 pills of Valium, 40 to 60 of Vicodin and some
Ambien on top of that. He consumed this many daily and put on a lot of weight where he would eventually be as heavy
as 230kg.
Eminem is considered one of the best hip hop artists ever. He has suffered a tough childhood, poverty, dead end jobs,
family troubles, his best friends death, drug addiction and heavy criticism but did not fail to become one of the best
selling artists of all time. His legacy will live on and he will always be an inspiration. You really can do anything if you set
your mind to it.
