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Can't Forget The Motor City: Detroit from Hitsville to 8 Mile

Nick Hasted, Omnibus Books, Summer 2003

The Dark Story of Eminem is the first book by Nick Hasted, whose work has previously appeared in The Independent, the Guardian and Uncut magazine. In researching this first serious biography of rap’s biggest superstar he spent time in Detroit and tracked down friends and foes of Marshall Mathers III, and he paints a vivid portrait of a troubled yet driven boy who triumphs not just against his unusually disadvantaged upbringing but in a culture at total odds with his ethnic background. In this extract, we begin at the beginning, in the ravaged city where Eminem came of age. Here in Detroit, once the pulsating heart of the American car industry, the American dream has faded into a grim reality of unemployment, derelict buildings and unchecked crime. Fighting his way out of this urban wasteland was the first challenge that Marshall faced.

Total word count of piece: 5537

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