Twenty-nine years ago this October, Eminem lost a rap battle in Los Angeles. On October 24, 1997, a broke 25-year-old from Detroit finished second at the Rap Olympics near LAX. He did not win the $500 or the Rolex. He did leave with something bigger: a copy of his tape in the hands of an Interscope intern, and a path that ran straight to Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre.
Most origin stories are about winning. Eminem’s starts with a loss, and it happened in our city.
At a glance: the 1997 Rap Olympics
- Event: The Rap Olympics, a freestyle battle competition
- Date: October 24, 1997
- Location: Los Angeles, near LAX
- Organizer: Wendy Day, founder of the Rap Coalition
- Prize: $500 and a Rolex watch
- Winner: Otherwize
- Eminem’s finish: Second place
- What it led to: An Interscope intern passed the Slim Shady EP to Jimmy Iovine, who played it for Dr. Dre. Dre signed Eminem to Aftermath on March 9, 1998.
What was Eminem’s life like before the Rap Olympics?
By the fall of 1997, Marshall Mathers had already tried the traditional route and it had not worked. His debut album, Infinite, came out in 1996 and went nowhere commercially. In the spring of 1997 he recorded the Slim Shady EP, the first project built around his darker, funnier alter ego. It would be released that winter.
His personal life was falling apart at the same time. According to his Wikipedia biography, he had been fired from his job and evicted before he made the trip to Los Angeles. He turned 25 on October 17, 1997. One week later he was on a stage near the airport, battling for a prize he badly needed.
He was not an unknown battler. Back home, he had sharpened his skills at the Saturday open mics at the Hip Hop Shop on West Seven Mile Road in Detroit, hosted by his best friend, Proof. Those battles later inspired the scenes in 8 Mile. But Detroit’s battle scene did not have record label executives in the crowd. Los Angeles did.
What happened at the 1997 Rap Olympics?
The Rap Olympics name dates back to 1993, when it began as a competition in New Jersey. The 1997 Los Angeles edition was organized by Wendy Day, the founder of the Rap Coalition, an advocacy group for rap artists. The prize was $500 and a Rolex watch.
Eminem battled his way to the final, where he lost to a rapper named Otherwize. The details of the individual rounds are thin. Only partial footage of the event is known to survive, and the Lost Media Wiki still lists the battle as “partially found.” What every account agrees on is the result: Eminem came second.
For a broke artist who had just been evicted, second place meant going home without the money. It felt like another loss. It turned out to be the most important night of his career.
How did a second-place finish get Eminem signed?
An Interscope Records intern named Dean Geistlinger was at the Rap Olympics. He was impressed by Eminem even though he lost, and he asked for a copy of the Slim Shady EP. Geistlinger sent it to Interscope CEO Jimmy Iovine.
Iovine played it for Dr. Dre. Dre, who had launched Aftermath Entertainment the year before, heard something nobody else in the industry had caught yet. On March 9, 1998, less than five months after the Rap Olympics, Dre signed Eminem to Aftermath.
The Slim Shady LP came out in February 1999. “My Name Is” made Slim Shady a household name, and the album went on to win the Grammy for Best Rap Album. Every record Eminem has made since traces back to that one tape changing hands in Los Angeles.
Why does Eminem’s story belong to Los Angeles too?
Eminem is Detroit to the bone, and he has never pretended otherwise. But the deal that made him happened because of Los Angeles. The competition was here. The intern worked for Interscope, one of LA’s biggest labels. The producer who signed him was from Compton and ran Aftermath out of LA.
That is the part of the story Detroit fans sometimes skip and LA fans rarely hear. The city that gave the world West Coast gangsta rap also gave a white rapper from Michigan his first real shot, at a time when a white rapper from Michigan was a hard sell.
What can independent artists learn from Eminem’s Rap Olympics loss?
For the independent artists who read The LA Note, this story is more useful than any “how I made it” interview. Three lessons stand out.
- Have the music ready before the moment comes. Eminem had a finished EP to hand over when someone asked. If he had shown up with nothing to give, the intern’s interest would have gone nowhere.
- A loss in the right room beats a win in an empty one. He lost in front of people connected to the industry. That was worth more than winning a battle nobody important saw.
- The gatekeeper is not always the CEO. The person who changed Eminem’s life was an intern. Treat everyone in the room like they might be the one who passes your music along.
If you are working on getting your own music in front of the right people, our guide to music promotion options under $200 for independent artists is a good place to start.
Frequently asked questions
When did Eminem compete in the Rap Olympics?
Eminem competed in the Rap Olympics on October 24, 1997, in Los Angeles, near LAX. He had turned 25 one week earlier.
Who beat Eminem at the 1997 Rap Olympics?
A rapper named Otherwize won the 1997 Rap Olympics. Eminem finished second.
What was the prize at the 1997 Rap Olympics?
The winner took home $500 and a Rolex watch. Eminem, as runner-up, did not win the prize.
How did Dr. Dre discover Eminem?
An Interscope Records intern named Dean Geistlinger saw Eminem at the Rap Olympics and asked for a copy of the Slim Shady EP. He passed it to Interscope CEO Jimmy Iovine, who played it for Dr. Dre.
When did Eminem sign with Aftermath?
Dr. Dre signed Eminem to Aftermath Entertainment on March 9, 1998, less than five months after the Rap Olympics. The Slim Shady LP followed in February 1999.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Rap Olympics
- Wikipedia: Eminem
- Eminem Wiki: 1997 Rap Olympics
- The Lost Media Wiki: Rap Olympics 1997 (partially found)
- Wikipedia: Hip Hop Shop
Image credits
- Featured image: Los Angeles from the air in the 1990s, the city Eminem came to in October 1997. Photo: P,TO 19104 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- The Theme Building at LAX. The 1997 Rap Olympics was held near the airport. Photo: Junkyardsparkle via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0.
- Interscope co-founder Jimmy Iovine (left) with Mary J. Blige in Hollywood in 2010. Iovine was the executive who played Eminem’s tape for Dr. Dre. Photo: Angela George via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
- Eminem and Dr. Dre on stage together in April 2012, 14 years after Dre signed him to Aftermath. Photo: David Hwang via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
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