Souls of Mischief and Eminem are vastly different, to put it lightly. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t appreciate one another for their unique skills, or, as it turns out, perform on the same lineup.
However, it should be mentioned that this happened early on in Eminem’s career—evidently, making it a much more special experience for him. That’s a special thing to share, especially when it comes to the early days of someone’s career.
Tajai of Souls Of Mischief was asked about his favourite moment of Eminem’s, he said, “Eminem’s first big show, he opened for us. This is in 1996 or something in Detroit. The promoter is like ‘We got this kid and he’s a big fan. Is it cool if he hops on?’ and he gave us his demo. He was super humble and super cool.”
He continued, “He was about to move to Cali and go to this battle and shit. To see him go from there to Eminem—you know what I’m saying? That’s why I say The Slim Shady LP. I heard it in the rough, I saw the raw form, and then to see it go to where it went—I mean he exploded immediately. He was definitely hella humble and hella skilled—you could tell even at the show.”
“Then the next time I see him-he’s signed to Aftermath. Like ‘Oh that’s that guy!’ He’s a big Hieroglyphics fan, like if you watch 8 Mile he’s got a Hiero sticker in his studio.” He said, “Em and Proof were big fans of us, Proof’s little brother said they used to sit, take our patterns, and go back and forth. All of D12 is good people.”
When speaking of the Slim Shady LP era, he also said, “He was new and fresh. This dude is rapping in plain English but he has complex rhymes and he’s wacky. ‘Just The Two of Us’ is another crazy song. He brought the elements together really well. He gave us his demo so I heard a couple of the demo songs on there, so it’s kinda of cool to see him go from that.”
While some other people who have shared their favourite Eminem stories that involve watching his success or seeing him blow up, this one is a sort of wholesome example of being able to participate in that success. Plus, it’s a great little-known fact that Eminem opened for Souls of Mischief, simply because of how unexpected it is.
It’s clear how much respect they have for one another, and that’s an incredible thing in any part of the industry.
