Eminem

From the personal collection of Mark Guglielmo aka Vesuveo, executive producer and co-writer of “Green and Gold"

On the same fateful day that he lost the 1997 Rap Olympics emcee battle, a young Eminem—still a hungry, struggling artist waiting for his his big break —wrote and recorded these lyrics to “Green and Gold” in Los Angeles. Fateful, as this would be the day the young rap hopeful would give a demo tape to young fan who would turn out to be an intern at Interscope Records, who would somehow get that tape to Jimmy Iovine, who would then play this tape for Dr. Dre who would then broker the major label deal that would permanently transform Marshall Mathers into the global force we know as Eminem just a few weeks later.

The present lot offers a window into Eminem’s mental state at this pivotal moment of in his life and career — homeless after getting evicted and jobless with an infant daughter . The lyric’s Eminem penned here capture the rapper’s nascent Slim Shady persona, the early days of the evil alter ego that would soon catapult him to super stardom. A testament to Eminem’s unique artistry, this manuscript illuminates his writing process—through his minute, precise penmanship, the meandering form the words take on the page, and the numerous strikes and re-writes we peek behind the scenes of his singular, outrageous brand of storytelling that would soon take the world by storm.

A collaboration between Eminem and Los Angeles-based underground rap group The Anonymous, “Green and Gold” was released on GoodVibe Recordings in the fall of 1998. The title track to their third studio album, it rose to #9 on the U.S. Rap radio charts a few months before Eminem’s first major label single. This manuscript sheet represents possible the most complete version of the working lyrics before recording, much of what is on the page is what you hear in the actual track. The collaboration between The Anonymous and Eminem came about when the group’s front man, Vesuveo set up a makeshift booth on the Venice Beach boardwalk to market his music. There, he bumped into Eminem’s manager, who suggested a collaboration the next time Eminem was in town. The song was written and recorded in Vesuveo’s studio in a small, old bungalow on a side street of Venice — the same location used just months later as The Dude’s residence in the Coen Brother’s cult classic The Big Lebowski.