Eminem and Paul Rosenberg partnered to launch Shady Records in 1999. Fifteen years later, they're now celebrating the label's anniversary with the Shady XV compilation, a double-disc album containing a mix of Shady Records songs old and new, including the project's lead single, Eminem's "Guts Over Fear."
Above, in this rare video footage of an interview with Eminem in the weeks before the release of his Interscope debut, the acclaimed Slim Shady LP, Video Music Box co-host Ray Dejon gets Eminem to summarize the origin of his Slim Shady persona, and to explain the distinction between the manic, wanton Slim Shady and plain ol' Eminem.
"Everybody's got two sides to them," Em explains. "Slim Shady's just an angry side for me to vent. Eminem is just me. [...] When I sit down with a pen, sometimes I write Eminem rhymes, sometimes I write Slim Shady rhymes. It just depends on what type of mood I'm in that day."
After the platinum-selling success of Em's debut single, "My Name Is," in January 1999, The Slim Shady LP would eventually sell more than seven million units worldwide, and Eminem would go on to become one of the best-selling rappers of all time.
