I remember the first time I heard 'Eminem'. I was in sixth grade, sitting in the cafeteria. My lunch was a slice of pizza, a pretzel and an orange juice. God was I a terribly unhealthy middle schooler. One of my classmates, I can't even remember his name, was walking past me. He was large, chubby faced, short brown hair, wearing jeans and a white t-shirt. However, that t-shirt caught my eye.
In the middle of the shirt was a large printed on name tag. Not a real name tag, a design. The kind of tag that said 'Hi... my name is,' with a big white area for you to leave your name. Slim Shady? Who the hell is that?
You see, I just happened to hate boy bands. Backstreet Boys, N*SYNC, Hansen if they were out yet, I don't remember. I did have a Limp Bizkit thing going on, but I guess so did every adolescent kid at that time. Something about hating everyone because everyone hates you... yeah, that resonated with most of us.
I I wasn't the quietest kid, but compared to how I am now I guess I would say I was. I had a good group of friends, but I would rarely talk to those outside of the group. Maybe I was intimidated of them, maybe I just didn't care. I don't think I got bullied or anything, but damn, I was defiantly different than I am today. I guess I'm grown up. I guess I'm matured. I'm happy about it. But something that day, something about that shirt, maybe something about that kid, I asked. Who the hell is Slim Shady.
So I was given the name. Eminem. M&M? At least, thats how I spelled it in my head. M - and - M. Yeah, right, OK. Another boy band, thats what I thought. From the moment I heard M n M, I hated him. I wanted to run around the school making fun of anyone who listened to him; I was just so fed up with the Backstreets and N*SYNCs. Everyone I asked had heard of him, everyone seemed to know his name already, everyone seemed to like him. But I wasn't like everyone - right? I had my Limp Bizkit CD in my walkman, earphones latched onto my ears tighter than the lock on a Swiss Bank safe. You weren't taking me away from my music, my world... my way or the highway baby! I would not listen to him. I refused. Absolutely not.
A few days later and my anger subsided, a bit. I managed to avoid hearing this Em and Em. Something about that made me very happy, it almost didn't make sense. It was like I was scared of hearing him, scared to listen to what everyone else liked. You know what the truth is? Its because I was scared I would like it. That wasn't me, I did my own thing, I didn't follow the crows. I hated the radio, thought all of that pop-crap belonged in the trash. But I was just scared, because if I liked what the group liked I would be just another follower. I needed people to know I was a true fan of what I liked, not just another body packed into the bandwagon.
I've always been like that too. I'm from New York, but I hate the Yankees. Damn band-wagoners, they're the same ones with a Jordan jersey and a hat with the Cowboys star on it. Damn band-wagoners, that isn't me. I know it isn't. I just didn't get why it was so important for me to prove it to others.
It had been almost a week since I heard the name. Slim Shady, M-n-M. I was in the backseat of a car with a couple of friends of mine. My friends father was driving the car. I honestly don't remember where we were going. Probably someplace cool. Maybe it was winter? Maybe we were skiing? Maybe it was summertime and we were headed to a baseball game? (Probably the Yankees...) Maybe it was the spring and we were going camping? I guess it doesn't matter. I had my CD player in hand, with a Limp Bizkit CD locked and loaded. Ready to go, I was set, leave me alone. My buddy was next to me with a walkman of his own, his earphones already on, already in his own world. Suddenly, he takes them off, turns to me. Here... check this out. I didn't have a choice, I didn't even see it coming. Didn't even know what was about to hit me. His headphones were on my ears before I could even remember what the hell that new boy bands name was. He hit play.
"Hi... My name is..."
Thats when it all changed.
- The Bomber










