The hidden pre-fame connection between Eminem and Tupac revealed
Eminem has always paid homage to the legends that came before him. Whether it’s LL Cool J or Treach, he has consistently paid respect to those who made him fall in love with hip-hop. One of those artists was Tupac Shakur. However, during a sit-down conversation, the A&R who found the Detroit lyricist unveiled that Em had a deeper connection to 2Pac that many don’t know about.
During a recent appearance on the Behind The Wall podcast, former Interscope A&R, Evan ‘Kidd’ Bogart spoke about how he found Eminem and revealed, during that period, he was meant to be curating and overseeing the handling of the posthumous Tupac project which the label was working on at that time.
However, he revealed that a DJ friend of his was insistent that he attend the Rap Olympics in Los Angeles to check out a young, up-and-coming emcee from Detroit. Bogart unveiled that he was initially hesitant about neglecting the Tupac project but eventually decided to go.
Speaking with the host, Daniel Wall, Bogart recalled, “I was like, ‘Oh man, I’m gonna get fired. I’m supposed to not take my eyes off [the Tupac album],’ but I played hooky because [my friend] DJ Cassidy was dead serious. I went down to this freestyle contest in Inglewood, walked in, and I proceeded to watch Eminem in this freestyle battle.”
Bogart recalled it being like the 2002 movie 8 Mile, stating, “It was 8 Mile-esque. I called my friend, who I was in a rap group with, this kid Aristotle, to come down there. I was like, ‘Yo, you gotta come down here and see this s**t.'”
After seeing Em for the first time, the A&R recounted that he called another friend at Interscope who came with Aristotle to see Eminem. Bogart admitted that although the Detroit lyricist lost in the final round, he was so impressed that he introduced himself. The Curtain Call creator introduced him to his then-manager Marc Kempf and his then-lawyer Paul Rosenberg.
Bogart was given a cassette of The Slim Shady EP, and he admitted that the tape blew away Aristotle and his other A&R friend. However, an unknown fact about Em’s journey is that Bogart told many higher-ups at Interscope to sign Eminem, and they shot down the idea. It wasn’t until the tape ended up in Jimmy Iovine’s hands that the Interscope head arranged a meeting.
After meeting with Eminem, Dr Dre told Jimmy Iovine he would be a star. Within a year of signing with Interscope, Dre and Eminem had created The Slim Shady LP, which boasted the Grammy-award-winning lead single, ‘My Name Is’. Still, Eminem was only found because Kidd Bogart decided to play hooky during the creation of a posthumous Tupac album.