Eminem Talks Shady Records Revival And His Inspirations

Eminem's Shady Records label was quite the monster in the early 2000s thanks to platinum albums from the likes of 50 Cent and D12. But just as Marshall reestablished his career with the release of his 2009 LP, Relapse, he also is out to revamp his imprint, with signees Slaughterhouse and Yelawolf.

On Wednesday, Eminem and Slaughterhouse member Royce Da 5'9" appeared on MTV's "RapFix Live," and the Shady CEO talked to Sway about his motivation to get his label back in motion.

"The whole Slaughterhouse thing and what Royce was doing when they formed that group, it was exciting to me just because, aside from the Detroit connection that I already had with Royce, to me it's just exciting for hip-hop because it's so new and fresh and different," Slim Shady said. "And also, at the same time, I feel like I'm kinda taking this year to try and reestablish and rebuild the label back too."

Part of the rebuild is Em's upcoming joint EP with Royce — the duo, who go by the name Bad Meets Evil, are preparing to drop Hell: The Sequel. With Slaughterhouse and Alabama rookie rapper Yelawolf in the fold, the Shady head talked about the "very fun, competitive-type atmosphere" that now exists around the label. "I need things like this to feed off of," Em explained.

Eminem, who is regarded as one of the all-time great rap lyricists, also revealed that things got so competitive while recording with Royce for Hell: The Sequel that he felt a bit of pressure. "There was a few moments on the EP where I really had to like — there were a couple of things that I wanted to go back in and rewrite once I heard his verse," he admitted.

Bad Meets Evil's Hell: The Sequel will hit stores on June 14, while Slaughterhouse say they hope to release their Shady Records debut around Christmas time.