Eminem explains how he came up with 'mom's spaghetti' lyric that's become so iconic
Eminem shared an insight into how he creates lyrics for his songs in a recent interview.
Since bursting onto the scene at the turn of the millennium, Eminem - real name Marshall Mathers - has gone on to become one of the most successful musicians of his generation.
His songs often receive praise - and also backlash - for the bold and daring lyrics where he opens up about his turbulent childhood and also takes aim at dozens of different celebrities.
The 52-year-old has also penned a number of unique and downright bonkers lyrics over the years.
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Take his famous 'mom's spaghetti' line from 'Lose Yourself' for example, how does one create something which sounds completely innocuous yet also iconic?
Well, the rapper has now given us a brief glimpse into how he comes up with his 'wicked rhymes'.
Chatting about his songwriting process during an interview with DJ Whoo Kid at the end of last year, Mathers explained that he would initially scratch his lyrics down on any old piece of paper available before finally investing in a dedicated lyric book.
"Now I save every book," he said. "I've got bags full of f**king books now."
So what does the inside of an Eminem lyric book look like? Well, the rapper famously released some of his handwritten notes in his 2008 book The Way I Am — however don't expect to be able to decode his inner musings.
"No one will ever understand what is in my book because it's just scribble scrabble," Mathers said.
"Nothing's really connected, there's no rhyme or reason to it it's just me writing the thought down as soon as I get it."
Like most artists, Eminem's inner thoughts would likely look like a page of nonsense to most of us, but to the rapper it's organised chaos.
"Sometimes I'll make rhyme schemes and I'll never use it and I'll be like 'oh s**t' a couple years ago I remember this thing I was thinking of, let me go find that."
Flipping back through years of lyrical drafts can be a pretty arduous task for the rapper, but they can also provide inspiration. Such as the case of his famous 'mom's spaghetti'.
"When you're going through the book there's like f**king spaghetti stains on it the page, like eating spaghetti... f**k it, mom spaghetti there you go," he said.
And just like that, musical history is made.
For such a throwaway line, mom's spaghetti has gone on to be a pretty iconic part of his career, considering he's even been able to open a spaghetti-themed restaurant off the back of the lyric.
Which is pretty good going for a pasta stain on the page of an old notebook.
Brenna Cooper