Eminem Enters Rehab

Eminem has been hospitalized and is undergoing treatment for dependency on sleep medication. The news of the Detroit rapper's habit comes just three days after he cancelled his European tour, which was set to begin September 1st in Hamburg, Germany, citing exhaustion and "other medical issues."

Eminem wrapped the North American leg of his Anger Management 3 tour -- also featuring 50 Cent, G Unit, D12 and Lil Jon -- in his hometown on August 13th before announcing that the tour would be cut short. (50 Cent is currently making arrangements for a solo European stint.)

The rapper, 32, is also facing legal trouble: His uncle and aunt, Jack and Betty Schmitt, filed a lawsuit against him last week for more than $350,000 and possession of the home Eminem (born Marshall Mathers III) built for them. The couple claims they received an eviction notice, and that the rapper has yet to make good on his promise to give them $100,000 a year for five years.

Eminem recently revealed that he planned to take a break from recording.

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

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