Infinite is the debut studio album by American rapper Eminem, released independently through the label Web Entertainment on November 12, 1996. Recording sessions took place at the Bass Brothers' studio, with production on the album handled by Denaun Porter and Eminem himself. Physical copies were released on cassette and vinyl, where he sold the copies from the trunk of his car in Detroit.
The album was regarded as a commercial failure, only selling around 1,000 copies, though in his autobiography The Way I Am (2008) he stated that it sold "maybe 70 copies". It has 11 tracks, and is his shortest full-length album to date. It features contributions from several underground rappers. The lead and title track, "Infinite," is available on Spotify and Apple Music.
In celebration of the album's 20th anniversary, a remix to the title track was released.[1] A mini-documentary was also released by the Bass Brothers, entitled Partners in Rhyme: The True Story of Infinite, which included archival footage and interviews.[2]
Background[]
Mark "Marky" Bass discovered Eminem through his open mic session with WJLB-FM host Lisa Orlando. Mark called the radio station and requested to connect with Em, wanting the rapper to come to the studio. At around four in the morning, Eminem and his friends showed up. Mark was impressed by the rapper's talent: "For me, Marshall was able to put rhymes together rhythmically that looked like a drum solo. He was able to change rhythms in the middle of his phrases. He had great metaphors. Honestly, I had to turn to [Kevin Wilder] and say, 'I think we should do this. Let's go ahead and do it.'"[3]
Eminem recorded Infinite when he was 23, right after his daughter Hailie Jade was born, and ended the sessions around June 1996. At the time, Mr. Porter was a novice producer, though took it seriously where he spent all his money at the studio. He clicked with Eminem, who had a similar work ethic. The first song they did from the project was "Backstabber". They leaned more into making music for radio play, where they were influenced by Nas, AZ, and LL Cool J. Porter recalled not having the latest music equipment, where he made the album "on a Akai SO1, which didn't even have a sequencer. I did all of that stuff by hand."[4]
The Bass Brothers launched the new record label, Web Entertainment, though the album received little fanfare. Em was initially disheartened, remembering, "'I said, 'this is the best thing I can do. If this doesn't work, then it's not gonna happen.'" Most DJs picked up on "Tonite" due to its club feel, though had no offers from major labels.
They had no distributors for the cassettes and vinyls, meaning they were the ones who handed it out. Mark estimated they had a few vinyls and around 250 cassette tapes. Jeff chimed in, "We couldn't sell anything. We couldn't get arrested back then. It was, like, 'Oh, here comes the white rapper.' It was very difficult to break him in the beginning of our careers together. So our intentions were to release singles like anything else, but we had a hard enough time getting rid of the album." Kevin Wilder, who was a co-producer on the album, was credited as "Slim". One day, Em walked into the Bassment Sound studio, and told Wilder he was stealing his name.[3] With factors of the album flopping and "shit" going on in Em's life, he developed the persona Slim Shady that performed more violent and explicit lyrics.
Track listing[]
All music composed by Jeff Bass and Mr. Porter.
| NO. | TITLE | LENGTH |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Infinite" | 4:04 |
| 2. | "W.E.G.O." (Interlude) (feat. Proof & DJ Head) | 0:26 |
| 3. | "It's O.K." (feat. Eye-Kyu) | 3:33 |
| 4. | "Tonite" | 4:14 |
| 5. | "313" (feat. Eye-Kyu) | 3:46 |
| 6. | "Maxine" (feat. Mr. Porter & Three) | 3:58 |
| 7. | "Open Mic" (feat. Thyme) | 4:06 |
| 8. | "Never 2 Far" | 3:41 |
| 9. | "Searchin'" (feat. Mr. Porter & Angela Workman) | 3:48 |
| 10. | "Backstabber" | 3:26 |
| 11. | "Jealousy Woes II" | 3:20 |
Sample credits
- "Tonite" contains a sample of "Let This River Flow" by Googie & Tom Coppola
- "Maxine" contains a sample of "Dolphin Dance" by Grover Washington, Jr.
- "Open Mic" contains a sample of "Give Me Your Love (Love Song)" by Curtis Mayfield
- "Never 2 Far" contains a sample of "Right on Time" by Maze
- "Backstabber" contains samples of "Jealous" by LL Cool J and "Fuckin' Backstabber" by Soul Intent
- "Jealousy Woes II" contains samples of "The World Is Yours" by Nas, "Jealous" by LL Cool J, and "Butter" by A Tribe Called Quest
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ James, Andy (November 18, 2016). "How the Failure of 'Infinite' Turned Eminem Into Slim Shady". DJBooth.
- ↑ Mench, Chris (November 18, 2016). "New Documentary Digs Into the Making of Eminem's Debut Album 'Infinite'". Complex.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Reeves, Mosi (November 17, 2016). "Eminem's 'Infinite': Producers Revisit, Remix MC's Inauspicious Debut". Rolling Stone.
- ↑ Findlay, Mitch (November 22, 2022). "Denaun Porter, In-Depth: Working with Eminem & Dr. Dre, Making 'Devil's Night,' & 'Infinite'". HotNewHipHop.
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