Eminem Too Soft? D12 Talks Slim Shady Evolution Amid New Album 2016 Buzz [WATCH]

Before Eminem, there was renowned NYC rapper AZ. Apparently, the (now legendary) Detroit emcee finally discovered his own sound after creating the infamous Slim Shady persona.

When Em first released Infinite back in 1996, some critics claimed that he wasn't "original" enough. That really inspired the "Berzerk" lyricist to make a name for himself.

According to D12 bandmate Kuniva, the "real" Marshall Mathers quickly evolved into a bada$$ hip-hop phenomenon:

"To me, that's what he sounded like, at first. That was the pinnacle of him being polite and cool. Em was really a straight up cool cat, but the frustration came out when he started getting the criticism about the Infinite shit, like, 'It's kind of soft. You sound like this person/that person'" (via VladTV).

And controversy surrounding Shady's work hasn't stopped since. He opens up about this transition in "Guts Over Fear" (via MTV):

"Had to change my style, they said I'm way too soft/ And I sound like AZ and Nas/ Out came the claws/ And the fangs been out since then/ But up until the instant/ that I went against it/ It was ingrained in me that I wouldn't amount to a sh*tstain, I thought."

Bizarre also adds:

"Basically the whole thing of D12 is everybody has an alter ego, so try to be the villain, a person completely different from who you are. That's when he took the name Slim Shady."

Will the MMLP2 superstar continue shocking fans with another surprise album in 2016, or is he just getting too old now? Sound-off in the comments section below, MstarsNews readers! And keep an eye on Instagram for any further updates on new #Stan projects.

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