MADE IN THE SHADY
Eminem and his Shady Records label are ready to come out of the corner swinging.
Shaking off the controversy with The Source, the World’s Greatest Rapper and manager Paul Rosenberg have a slate of Shady Records releases for the year, including a new Eminem album "by third quarter," which means expect it around September.
Em’s been busy in L.A. producing the new D-12 album, the follow-up to the 2001 smash, Devil’s Night, which is slated for release on Shady Records through Interscope in April.
Atlanta rapper Stat Quo has been inked as the second artist on Marshall and Dre’s Shady/Aftermath, following in the footsteps of multi-Grammy, multi-platinum hip-hop superstar 50 Cent, whose Get Rich or Die Tryin’ was the best-selling album of 2003.
Quo, like Fitty, was discovered by Eminem and Dre through his best-selling mixtapes, Underground Atlanta Mixtape Vol. 1 and 2.
MTV.com reports Quo graduated from the University of Florida in 2000, majoring in economics and international business, and seriously contemplated law school until Def Jam South’s legendary Scarface, whose sister was friends with Stat, told him he should pursue a career as a rapper.
Fellow Atlanta rapper Ludacris' longtime associate Chaka Zulu listened to Stat's demo and passed it on to an executive at Aftermath, where it eventually found its way into Dre's hands.
On "The Future," Quo raps, "Dough is long, yours is short like Gilbert Gottfried/ Life's a crap game, but I'm trill in Yahtzee/Boss Hoggin', who they gonna get to stop me?/ It's the S.T.A.T., all you can do is pay me."
An extended eight-minute version of the track is slated to appear on an upcoming mixtape from Shady labelmate Green Lantern, Em’s d.j., who is working on his label debut as well. Stat is also slated to appear on Dre's upcoming Detox album.
Back on the 50 Cent tip, The Sopranos screenwriter Terry Winter is currently working on a script for a biopic on the rapper similar to Eminem’s smash debut, 8 Mile, though there’s no truth to the rumor it’s being called 9 Bullets.
