Eminem in Court

Marshall looks forward to putting weapon charges behind him. Grammy Award-winning performer Eminem pleaded guilty to a concealed weapons charge Wednesday after prosecutors agreed to drop a felony assault charge against him. According to Interscope publicist Dennis Dennehey, "Marshall is looking forward to putting this matter behind him." The charges against Eminem -- who has come under fire for lyrics that deal with, among other things, killing his wife and engaging in incest -- stemmed from a June incident outside a Detroit-area nightclub,Hot Rocks in Warren, Michigan. Prosecutors said the artist, whose real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III, brandished an unloaded gun and began fighting with a man after seeing him kissing his wife, Kimberly Mathers. Mathers applied for a permit to carry a gun in October but had failed to attend a required safety course. According to Marlinga, should Eminem receive a sentence that he and his attorneys find unsuitable, he is able to withdraw his guilty plea and send the case to trial. "It's certainly his right that he's presumed to be innocent, even at that point," Marlinga says. "His guilty plea is conditional, and it can't be used against him. It's a very valuable procedural thing we do in Michigan that helps speed things up, so that the person doesn't have to agonize over, 'What will the judge give me?' and make the call. This way the judge says what he has in mind, and the person can either withdraw the plea or accept it. But note, of course, that if you want to withdraw the plea, it's not likely to get any better for you in the trial." Should the case go to trial, the start date would be several months after the April hearing.Despite today's plea, Eminem still faces another charge of allegedly carrying a concealed weapon in nearby Oakland County, Michigan, from a June 3rd incident in Royal Oak Michigan in which he allegedly threatened a member of the Insane Clown Posse's posse. Judge Anthony Viviano, of the Macomb County Circuit court, set sentencing for April 10. Prosecutor Carl Marlinga has said Mathers could be sentenced to as much as 17 months in prison. Mathers' lawyers have asked that he be sentenced to probation.

Eminem wows London with Dido

Eminem surprised fans at last night's London Arena show by bringing British star, Dido, onto the stage to perform his number one hit, 'Stan'. Introducing her as 'the woman who helped me take this song to number one', Eminem looked on as Dido enjoyed rapturous applause from the crowd. The rapper also repeated the performance from the other night's Manchester show, claiming to have taken Ecstasy given to him by support act Xzibit and asking the crowd, "Do you like popping pills London?" However, following the frenzied media response stimulated by this part of his performance in Manchester, sources close to the star were forced to confess that the 'so-called' Ecstasy was, in fact, chewing gum and that the bottle of Bacardi that the star appeared to be swigging from was a rather less intoxicating substance, water. As predicted, Eminem rounded off his big night by playing a not very secret show at London superclub, the Ministry of Sound. Joined onstage by Xzibit and up and coming Detroit crew D-12, he played three songs: 'Sh*t On You', 'Purple Pills' and 'Unda The Influence'. Guests at the most unlikely gig to take place at a Garage club night ever included Shaznay from All Saints, Roni Size, Artful Dodger and Jordan

Grammy Performance

Eminem's four nominations have raised the a lot of controversy from gay rights activists, many of whom will join the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to protest the rapper's nominations at the awards show. Ever since it was announced last month that Eminem had been nominated for four Grammy Awards, including the coveted Album of the Year, two questions have hung in the air: Will he attend the show? Will he perform? Well, Eminem has finally answered one of those questions. He stated to MTV Europe that when the music industry hands out this year's crop of Grammy's on February 21, he will be on hand. With regard to the controversy surrounding his armload of nominations he cited that, "It's hilarious, you know what, and that's why I'm gonna go," "It's because everyone doesn't want my ass there, so I'm going to sit my stinking ass down next to 'NSYNC and flick pennies at them and f---ing just stand in everybody's face and say 'kiss my ass.' " Eminem hadn't at that time expanded on the possibility of whether he will perform on the show. The controversial rapper has been taking his nominations in stride, "To be honest, I can't even tell you how I feel [about the nominations], because I get nominated for a lot of awards and lately have been winning a lot of awards." "I guess it's an accomplishment," he continued, "and it's not that I don't appreciate it, but I don't focus on it. I just kind of keep going with my music. ... [Awards are] great, but that doesn't mean for me to stop or that I can lay back and say 'I've accomplished this, I'm straight, I don't need to keep working.' It's just, OK, that happened.' Good or bad, I take the good with the bad."

Shock Rap meets Shock Rock on Opening Night of European Tour

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01/31/00 Shock Rap meets Shock Rock on Opening Night of European Tour Eminem's European tour kicked off last night at the Hamburg Sportshalle in suitably controversial style, with him brandishing a chainsaw onstage, taking drugs, faking his own electrocution as he did on previous Anger Management Tours. However Eminem was not alone in performing at the Hamburg Sportsalle, he was joined for the song 'The Way I Am,' by none other than a barechested, leathered trousered, Marilyn Manson who also appeared in the video for the song, in which the rapper namechecks him. The controversial rapper opened his set by screening a short film. The film showed two people breaking into Eminem's home, before being attacked with a chainsaw. As the film ended, Eminem appeared onstage to perform 'I'm Back', dressed in a 'Friday the 13th' face mask and wielding the same industrial chainsaw. Eminem's set was a mock-up of his childhood home. Then after a short cartoon video (Slim Shady World) plays his set is now made to look like a castle looking prison, and he reentered the stage strapped to an electric chair before the song 'Criminal'. Later on, he consumed what he claimed to be Ecstasy tablets. He told the crowd that he had been given them by a friend backstage, before joking that it "better be good stuff". He was then joined on stage by his Detroit crew, D12, whom roared through their hit single "Shit On You". Others also attending the big show was Eminem's hennessey drinking, platinum-selling, fellow Detroiter now Golden State boy Mr. X to the Z Xzibit as well as one of the greatest hip-hop groups in the world today, Outkast, whose recent single, "Ms Jackson" has hit the top of the charts on the US Rap Charts.

Should Eminem Give A Damn About A Grammy?

There is a strong possibility that Eminem may be performing at the 43rd Annual Grammy on February 21st but we need you, the fans, to help.

Eminem may not give a damn about the Grammys, but the Grammys apparently give a damn about him.

The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences said Tuesday (January 23) that the controversial Album of the Year nominee has been invited to perform at this year's 43rd annual awards ceremony along with U2 and Madonna.

An Interscope spokesperson said the rapper has not yet decided if he wants to be among the night's 10 to 12 performers. The ceremony will be held February 21 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and broadcast on CBS.

Eminem Readies Pay Per View Performance - Controversial rapper Eminem will present his case to the people with a pay-per-view concert on Feb. 17. The show, to be taped Jan. 20 in Los Angeles, will mark the first nationally televised full-length concert performance by the hip-hop star. The program, presented by In Demand, will also feature a set by Eminem's side-project, D-12. The suggested retail price for the event is $19.95. In other Eminem news, the rapper has grabbed six nominations at this year's NME Awards. Winners are chosen by the readers of the popular British weekly publication and will be announced on Feb. 6. "The Marshall Mathers LP" has been named in the best album category, while "Stan" made the cut as one of the best singles. Eminem also received nominations for best solo artist, best hip-hop artist and ironically in the both the hero and villain of the year categories. Eminem's six nominations topped any British acts named.