Eminem: 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Marshall Mathers LP
1. The Album Was Almost Titled 'Amsterdam'
Amsterdam is the capital city of the Netherlands and is widely known for its relaxed laws surrounding the use of drugs, such as Marijuana. Coincidentally, Eminem decided to write a large chunk of 'The Marshall Mathers LP' in the city.
Eminem and friends enjoyed the high life in Amsterdam shortly after the recording of ‘The Slim Shady LP’ wrapped up and managed to find some creative inspiration during their stay.
According to Mike Rubin in an article for SPIN Magazine in 2000, Dutch journalists also influenced some tracks on the album by asking some questions which irked Eminem during his stay and inspired him to write four tracks about them on his flight home.
It is unclear which songs were directly inspired by Eminem’s trip to the Netherlands as a lot of the songs on ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’ reference drug use. But it’s clear that the city was integral to the writing of the album, which led to Eminem initially choosing the title of ‘Amsterdam’ for the record, before it was later changed.