Not Afraid

The Evolution of Eminem

By: Anthony Bozza

Narrated by: Peter Vellios

The sequel to The New York Times best seller Whatever You Say I Am, chronicling the past 20 years of rapper Eminem's life, based on exclusive interviews with the artist, his friends, and associates.

"A passionate look at the Detroit rapper's music...an expert and thoughtful assessment." (Booklist)

In 1999, a former dishwasher from Detroit named Marshall Bruce Mathers III became the most controversial and polarizing musical artist in the world. He was an outlier, a white artist creating viable art in a black medium, telling stories with such verbal dexterity, nimble wit, and shocking honesty that his music and persona resonated universally. In short, Eminem changed the landscape of pop culture as we knew it.

In 2006, at the height of his fame and one of the biggest-selling artists in music history, Eminem all but disappeared. Beset by nonstop controversy, bewildering international fame, a debilitating drug problem, and personal tragedy, he became reclusive, withdrawing to his Detroit-area compound. He struggled with weight gain and an addiction to prescription pills that nearly took his life. Over the next five years, Eminem got sober, relapsed, then finally got and stayed clean with the help of his unlikely friend and supporter, Elton John. He then triumphantly returned to a very different landscape, yet continued his streak of number one albums and multiplatinum singles.

Not Afraid picks up where rock journalist Anthony Bozza's best-selling Whatever You Say I Am left off. Capturing Eminem's toughest years in his own words, as well the insights of his closest friends and creative collaborators, this book chronicles the musical, personal, and spiritual growth of one of hip hop's most enduring and enigmatic figures.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Anthony Bozza (P)2019 Da Capo Press

Repetitive

I feel like there’s too much political talk about racism then there is about Eminem. And that carries over into the second book. I appreciate that I use the same writer for both of them, but it didn’t give me much of a glimpse into the understanding of his life or where he came from in actuality.

for any fan of hip hop

This is supposed to be a follow up to later parts of Eminem's life from the same author that wrote Whatever You Say I Am. WYSIA was way more interesting because the author actually talked with Em for it. In this book he interviewed some people close to him so it wasn't the same. They did say some interesting things that I hadn't heard before so it's worth reading for any fan. Also, the author went into great detail about individual songs of his in the second half of his career. That was great. You can definitely tell what a big fan of rap overall the author is. He's knowledgeable. He kind of gives a history of rap overall and tells about many different songs and groups through the years. I would say even someone who isn't a huge Em fan but is a huge hip-hop fan would really enjoy this book.

insightful

very good book covering Em's history and inspiration along with who he has inspired.

great book if your a fan. detailed and depth.

love it and I highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of eminem.

Boring

Was all over the place and contradictions was a put together Dollar grab. Not at one time did you feel connected

40% of the book is about Eminem

…..the other 60% is about random other things (entire chapters about other white rappers, what psychologists say about fame, the history of auto tune..) this is probably the 8th book by Bozza I’ve read and have always loved his work…until now.

Bias narrator which lends to a false rattling of history based on writers opinion. Should have been titled an op ed

The authors clear bias towards the subject caused the material and story telling to suffer.

Do not waste your credit on this

Disappointment doesn't even scratch the surface of this book unfortunately, DO NOT WASTE A CREDIT ON THIS BOOK. A far more explanatory review is below but in simple terms, this isn't worth your credit in the slightest.

DETAILS:
This book had basically nothing to do with Eminem. The author talks more about "the unfair advantages whites have" than Eminem himself then tries using this to basically discredit Marshall. Yes Eminem benefited from being white on a popularity scale but people don't realize what it took for Eminem to even get a shot. The idea of a white rapper was laughed at when Em was trying to come up in the game.

Our author makes the entire book all about race when it's not even about race. His success is about how talented he is. It's also very ironic the author talks about how horrible my brothers were treated and yes they WERE treated terrible, my ancestors were treated just as poorly as any of my fellow brotha's but that isn't current.

Blacks were treated terribly but that's in the past. I can't make up for what my ancestors mistakes. But what I can do is make sure they are treated fairly by me and my generation (which they are). No one is trying to stop blacks from doing anything but my fellow African Americans are still trying to keep white people out of the rap game.

Racism is segregating an individual based off the color of their skin or their nationality. If our author is so hell bent over the racial divide that did plague our country why is he okay with racially dividing now? Why is it okay for him to segregate whites who want to rap if it was wrong for blacks to be segregated against? I'll explain more later but yes I am African American and even I can see this. I could write an entire book discrediting everything our author said in this book.
Once again just to be clear, in terms of sells Eminem benefited from being white but even that was only ON THE BACK END OF HIS COME UP. Had it not been for one of the greatest producers in the game taking an unreal amount of slack over signing Eminem he would be laughed at in Detroit for claiming to be a rapper.

The very idea our author constantly saying Eminem is what he is because he is white is the most farce statement I have ever heard.

I really did want to enjoy this book but the author is stating his opinion as fact and is trying to say everything is just because of race when its not the case. He also brings up several completely irrelevant topics while trying to make everything about race such as the "bhad barbie" or whatever "catch me outside girl" saying if she was black she would have been arrested; I'm an attorney and this is just one of WAY TO MANY examples when the author is stating something as factual information when it's not even close to the case. At very best its speculation and if you asked any attorney I promise we'll all tell you the same thing: "that is a baseless claim with no evidence or factual proof to back it up". I could walk you through hundreds of times he states an opinion as fact which ruins the read.

Yes I'm an attorney I read all the time and I understand fully a book is an authors opinion but if that's the case he should be wording it as such. He ruined any chance he had of a good book by discrediting himself.

I would also like to add, no I am not a white rich attorney that had everything handed to me. I was the only black kid in my high school in Oregon, my parents got divorced when I was 4, I lost my dad to gang violence (in San Fran). My mom worked as a garbage truck driver and delivered mail after just to make ends meet. The odds weren't in my favor and I can still see rapping has nothing to do with race. Eminem is at the top because he is the most talented at what he does. I am so sick of the segregation this country has become.

Racism is a VERY SMALL ISSUE today and the reason its an issue at all is because of people like this that drive a divide. I don't look at my fellow brothas any different than I do my white friend Tanner and I don't look at him different than an asian kid named Luthior I met in law school. This "racial barrier" doesn't exist, the media is creating it to push their narrative. Wake up America.

I'm sorry but I feel when I'm talking about our author as discredited I felt I needed to explain why what I'm saying is credited.

ehh

more about other rappers than it is about Marshall. The first book "Way I Am" was much better.