Matt Cord Was The First DJ In Philly To Interview Eminem Back In 1999
If I said the name Eminem in 2024, everyone in the room would instantly know who I am talking about — how could you not?
Eminem is by far the highest-selling rapper of all time with over 220 million records sold worldwide — with over 60 million of those coming in the United States alone.
That is not the only record he holds amongst hip-hop artists.
He also holds the record with six diamond certifications — it takes over ten million albums or singles sold to achieve this status.
The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show, and Curtain Call: The Hits, are his diamond albums, and Lose Yourself, Not Afraid, and Love The Way You Lie, are his diamond singles.
But don’t try to just pin him down as a rapper, he is also the tenth highest-selling artist across all genres of all time.
Matt Cord Interviews Eminem…
I say all of this to take you back to a time when Eminem was not a household name.
25 years ago this past February as a matter of fact.
It was February of 1999 when this bleached blonde-haired kid came into my studio, and I was the first DJ in Philly to interview the rap phenom.
Yes, you read that right — I was the first DJ in Philadelphia to interview Marshall Bruce Mathers, aka Eminem!
Back then, I was working at Y-100 doing the afternoon drive show from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m.
And we had just begun playing this new rap song called “My Name Is.”
Eminem’s first breakout song.
Y-100 was an alt-rock station that broke new bands, and some of our fanbase was a little confused saying things like, “Why are you playing rap?”
It was a catchy song at the time, but I don’t know if anyone could see the future that he had in store.
As for the interview, it was just ok.
You can check it out here!
Like I said, this was 25 years ago, and there was very little information on him since he was a new artist, and this was before you could just hop on the computer and Google somebody!
Eminem himself was actually very nice and took the time to pose for some pictures after the interview — broken wrist and all.
Funnily enough, on his way out, he requested that I play “Don’t Speak” by No Doubt.
Wow, I can’t believe that was 25 years ago!
