Eminem treats his music seriously but makes sure he has time to live his life, explains Akon who has learned a lot from Em’s working schedule.
Making press rounds before his three albums will drop in October, Akon shared some behind-the scenes stories about “Smack That” recording sessions with Eminem. Apparently, Mr.Mathers has very strict work ethics, Akon reports:
He comes in at 9am every day to the studio, takes his lunch break at 1, and is out of there by 5pm. It’s like a schedule. I didn’t expect that from him. The first day I come, I come around 6. Like we’re going to do an evening session. I get to the studio, they said “Em’s just left!” He said, “I’m out of here!” I said, “I just got to the studio, you coming back here?” He said, “Yeah, I’ll be back there at 9am.”
Eminem got in the studio precisely at 9am and dived back into work. Until leaving for his lunch. By the end of the day, he was ready to stop according to his own schedule. Akon recalls:
He goes into his verse. 5 PM comes. He’s halfway in. He’s like “Alright bro, I’ll see you tomorrow.” At this point, I’m like “Yo, this is crazy right?!”
He tried to convince Eminem to stay and finish the verse, not to lose the vibe, but Em had some wisdom to share with Akon:
“I just like to be here,” said Em. “I treat it like a real job. I don’t make it no more than what it’s supposed to be. I don’t let it stress me out, stay longer than I have to. I got a family, I got a daughter. I want to make time.”
It made Akon think about his own working style:
I was like ‘damn, he’s right. Some days I’m in the studio three, four days. I don’t come out. Don’t see my kids, don’t call my wife, none of that. I’m sitting here like, [Eminem’s way] makes a lot of sense. Ain’t nothing gonna change between today and tomorrow.
“He was the first artist I worked with who treated the business like a real job,” notes Akon. This is something to admire in an artist.
Watch Akon telling his story below:
Akon explains Eminem’s process in the studio. This is hilarious lol pic.twitter.com/3LtEWYIDkT
— Navjosh (@Navjosh) September 11, 2019
