"Shady Bizzness: " Life as Eminem's Bodyguard in an Industry of Paper Gangsters" (16 page)

Finally, she decided to get off the bus. She was making a big scene
in front of his fans, saying how he’s not a good father and he didn’t want
his daughter on the tour bus with him. She was really trying to demean his
character. They gave me like $500 to give to her if she decided to stay, so
I took it up to her room, and she said to me, “You know, Naz, all you guys
do is kiss his ass. He’s always wrong, but you guys all kiss his ass. ” I told
her, “First of all, you don’t know anything about me, because I took a leave
from my job to do this, so when I quit working for him I have a job to go
to. So, I don’t have to kiss anybody’s ass. Second of all, you have got to be
the biggest idiot I have ever seen. You have a man out here busting his ass
making money, taking care of you. He acknowledges his daughter, he takes
care of his daughter, he gives you the world, and he takes care of you and
your whole family. You don’t show him any support whatsoever. All you do
is come out here and bust his balls. I don’t know what he does to you when
we are not around to make you act this way. He is trying; you aren’t even
trying. You don’t even try to support him. You don’t even try to let him be
the man because you are such a bully. You need to realize what you’ve got
and stop being so foolish. I know marriage isn’t easy because I’m married.
But there are a million women out here that would love to be in your shoes,
and you want to give all that up? You need to think about that. I’m out. ”

Honestly, I hope the two of them can be friends if their marriage
fails because right now they are on two different pages. I refer to a passage
in the Bible, Ecclesiastes Chapter 7 Verse 17, which states, “Do not be
overly wicked nor be foolish. Why should you die before your time?”

Slim called me and told me he wanted to go get his gun registered
and get his gun permit. I told him, “Cool, because I need to check on some
of my personal gun permits as well. ” I took my older son along with me,
and we picked Slim up from his mother-in-law’s house. Slim and my son
were laughing together, and my son said to me, “Daddy, you have a belly
and you are bald headed. ” I said, “Yes, son, I do have a belly and I am bald
headed. My father has a belly and is bald headed, too. It runs in the family.
Therefore, when you grow up you will have a belly and be bald headed, as
well. ” He just stood there with this dumbfounded look on his face. I guess
he was trying to imagine himself bald headed with a belly, and everyone
in the place got a kick out of that. My son didn’t think that was funny
at all; he didn’t like that too much. But I thought it was funny, and so
did everyone else. Anyway, we were in this place getting Slim’s concealed
weapons permit, and I didn’t feel comfortable because he hadn’t gotten
Paul’s permission. I knew somehow that it would come back on me, since
Paul was his manager. I told Slim I don’t go behind peoples’ backs, that’s
not how I do business, but I guess he felt that since he was home and Paul
was in New York that he could do some things on his own. I told him, “OK,
but when Paul has questions about it, I am just letting you know that you
deal with him because all I did was bring you here, and me and him are
already on different pages. ”He was like, “OK, no problem. ”When it came
time for him to pay for his permit, he didn’t have any checks on him, just
like I figured he wouldn’t. That’s why I had made it a point to grab my
checkbook. Slim told to me that he needed a check because Paul had all of
that stuff in New York, so I wrote out the check for him. He took the test,
and they told him it would be few months before he received his permit.

before they paid it, and I told her to tell Paul to call Slim to
find out about
it. She was like, “Well, we can’t pay you any money until we know, ” and I
was like, “Whatever. Just have Paul talk to Slim and pay me my money. ”

Paul still tried to come to me with this middleman shit, and I again
told him he had to talk to Slim about the permit. I told him the same
thing I had told Slim about the permit situation, that I wasn’t dealing
with Paul on that. The next day, I got another call from Paul about the
cell phone bill. I told him the same thing I told Slim’s accountant. Slim
was responsible for half because he didn’t have a phone while we were
in California, and he always used mine. Paul said they weren’t going to
pay it, and I was like, “What the hell do you mean you aren’t going to
pay it? Slim made the calls and y’all owe me that money. ” We went back
and forth, and he said he had to talk to Slim about it first. I was like,
“Whatever. Do what you got to do. If y’all would have set up a petty cash
fund for Slim like I told you this would not even be an issue. ” All in all,
the total correct amount that I should have gotten reimbursed was $850,
but I only got $450, which wasn’t even enough to cover my phone bill. My
phone ended up getting shut off for about a week.

Then the next day, I got a call from Slim, and I thought he might
need me for something, so I was like, “What’s up man?”Then he said, “We
got to talk. Paul says you’re trying to get more money out of me, man. ”
I was like, “What are you talking about?” He was like, “He says you are
trying to get me to pay your cell phone bill. ” I explained to him, the same
as before, that it was only half, and he was responsible for it. He was like,
“Man, I didn’t know you were charging me, man. ” I said, “Slim, I don’t
make money like you do, so all that talking you did to your girls and shit
I need to be reimbursed for. ”He was like, “What about all the times we
went out and I paid for your dinner, man?” and I was like, “What about all
the times we went out and I paid for everything? But look, I’m not about
to go tit for tat with you over this shit.What is your point? We never had a
problem over this before, so why now? You called me with this shit. Paul is
trying to make it seem like I’m trying to steal from you. I told you, I don’t
have to steal from you. Before I met you I had nice shit, and after I leave
you I’m going to have nice shit. Plus, if I’m going to steal from you, I’m
damn sure going to steal more than $600.You’ve got millions! You need to
get Paul out of your head because he is brainwashing you, and if anyone
is stealing from you it’s him. Everyone doesn’t have fat bank accounts like
you and Paul. This issue is petty to y’all, but it’s serious to me. I spent that
money out of my own pockets, and I need to be reimbursed. If that’s going
to be a problem, then you need to let me know right now. But you are
calling me accusing me of stealing, so what is this, are you saying you are
firing me? Is that what this is?” He was like, “Na, man, I’m just saying do
you like your job?” And I said, “What does that shit mean, don’t you get
taken care of? Why would you ask me something like that? I take care of
you as if you were my own son. ” He was like, “That doesn’t have anything
to do with anything. ” I said, “Yes, it does matter. I take care of you, Slim.
After all I do for you, you call me with this bullshit, man. I never got to
steal from you man. Y’all are getting on my bad side now accusing me
of this shit. That night when Kim got arrested and you were drunk, Paul
gave me three grand to give to you, and I didn’t steal any of that, and
every time I held money for you, I had receipts accounted for. You need
to watch Paul because he is fucking with your brain. I know that’s your
boy, but he has you thinking that everyone around you is stealing from
you, and that’s some bullshit. He’s making everyone else look like the bad
guy while he’s the fucking villain. I don’t have to steal from nobody, and
I never have because I have always had. ”

We continued to go back and forth and he said, “I talked to Bruce,
too. ” I was like, “Yeah, and?” And he said, “You are the only one keeping
up trouble. ” I said, “Keeping up trouble? How’s that?” and he was
like, “You are always complaining. ” I was like, “Look, any time there’s
money missing out of my check I need to know why. I need to have those
questions answered, man. When they take money out of your check they
are supposed to list on there why they took the money out, and they
don’t do that, man. Y’all mutha fuckas got millions man, I’m just making
this little $1, 300 a week, and y’all call here insulting me like I’m trying
to steal from y’all. ” So he was like, “Well, we just wanted to know if you
like your job, man, ” and I was like, “Yeah, I like my job, but that doesn’t
mean you can call here and accuse me of shit and insult me. If y’all are
going to fire me then do what you got to do. I can walk away from this job.
Just let me know. Paul is your man; he doesn’t have shit to do with me. I
would appreciate it if you would keep him out of your head when it comes
to me because he obviously has something against me. I intimidate him
because I am an intelligent big black man with my own connections and
I don’t ask y’all for shit. I don’t like the way he treats me, as a matter of
fact. He won’t take my phone calls at his office or the cell phone; he only
talks to me on the SkyTel pager. I think that’s why he bought it because
he is scared to talk to me for some reason. I am closer to you than he is. I
am on the road with you all the time and you let him get into your head
about me? That’s real fucked up, man. You need to reevaluate that. I see
where I stand now, man. ”

Then Slim said I was tripping and brought up the fact–one I didn’t
like–that we might have to do something in December, and I was like, “You
are damn right. I have been on the road with you all for eight months, and
you promised me the whole month of December off, and I made plans
with my family. You already fucked up this weekend for me that I was sup
posed to have off because you have to do something with Dre. ” He was
like, “Well, shit comes up man. ” I was like, “Well, I can’t plan shit because
y’all’s word doesn’t mean shit.You tell me one thing, then you do another.
I got guys that’ll cover you who you are familiar with. You’ve seen these
guys work. If they are good enough for Dre and Funkmaster Flex, they are
damn sure good enough to work for you, so what’s the problem?” He was
like, “Well, they ain’t you. I feel like if some shit jumps off, they can’t cover
me. ” I said, “Come on, now. These guys are cops, they are professionals,
and they have been in the business way longer than I have. I know they
would do top-of-the-line work. ” He was like, “Naw, man. They aren’t you,
man. I want you there.You always get to be with your family. ”I said, “Look,
my family comes first. You are not first, my family is first and foremost. ”
And he said again, “Well, we just want to know if you like your job, man.
” I said, “Look, if you are going to fire me then let me know so I can call
GM and tell them I will be at work in the morning, because I don’t have
time for this shit, man. Y’all have thoroughly insulted me today. ” He was
like, “Alright then, ” and I said, “Alright, I’m out. Peace. ” And that is how
that conversation ended.

The cost of fame is too expensive for my taste. The next day after
the discussion with Slim, I felt like we had both cleared the air. My
decision was made because I was finished working with Slim and Paul.
They treated me like I was a slave and as if I had nothing else better to
do. I basically called my job and told them that I was going to be coming
back at the end of the year. I interviewed for a promotion within the union
at GM because that was the best thing for me. I had seen the disturbing
side of the industry, not just with Slim but in the entire industry. In the
music business, people acted as if they owned you, and nobody owned me.
It was their fault that they didn’t have a contract with me, and if we had
a contract none of these problems would have occurred. We both would
have been legally bound to our expectations and our duties. But that’s
their loss and nothing but gain for me. It gave me time to spend with my
wife and kids and try to get myself together because I gained everything
I could from working with Paul and Slim, and I felt as though there were
nothing else for me to gain.

Paul and Slim weren’t going to offer my group a deal on their label,
and it wasn’t because my group wasn’t any good, but that their pride
wouldn’t allow them to ask me for anything. So I did my interview, and
everything went very well, and I’ll be getting the position. Ironically, on
the way home from my interview I noticed a package on my front porch.
It was the platinum plaque awarded to me for my contribution to the
success of the Slim Shady Tour. I wasn’t sure whether to throw it away,
sell it, or what, but I knew I wasn’t putting it on display at my house. I
wasn’t going to put it up until I saw something positive come from the
situation. Meanwhile, I was trying to adjust to the so-called flexible month
of December. I was supposed to get time off to spend with my family, but
it was difficult to plan because every time something came up on the
tour, like when Slim was supposed to record a song or something, it was
canceled. I had to cancel plans that I already made because I was told that
I was going to have the whole month of December off. My backup help,
Rock and Noel, had the same problem with the planning and canceling
that occurred in the month of December, and they missed out on a lot
of money because of this. This is where they began to see what I was
going through working security for Paul and Slim, and how Paul had no
regard for other people’s time or money. Paul and Slim always acted like
everyone’s bank account was on their level, but unfortunately that’s not
the case. I always told Paul that he needed to understand that playing
with people’s money and time was dangerous. It got to the point where
Rock and Noel would come to me and say,“Naz, what is Paul going to do?”
I told them that I was supposed to be the one running security, but Paul
kept intervening because he wanted to be a control freak. Any questions
they had regarding the pay, reservations, and commitment should be
directed to Paul. All I could do is tell them when we were supposed to be
leaving, but they keep canceling everything. Then, Paul came to me and
told me that we were going to be doing New Year’s Eve in New York.

I really didn’t like this idea because so many plans had been made
and then canceled that month, I really had no quality time to spend with
my family. I couldn’t take any vacations with my family or visit family
members in other states because my plans kept being rearranged. It was
just a big mess. The closer and closer it got to January, the more antsy
I got because I was ready to go back to work. Working with Slim and
Paul, I was being totally disrespected as a businessman. They had an
“either you do as I say or you’re out” attitude. In January, I went back
to work and got the rest of my retainer money. If they would have gone
anywhere, of course, I would have had to go as well, but I was just trying
to get through the month of December. Some other things were going on
as well. My wife had come down with pneumonia and was supposed to
check in to the hospital, and I had no plans to leave her in that condition.
They wanted to keep her when she went in, but she didn’t want to be
in the hospital for the holidays so she didn’t stay, but she was pretty
sick. That helped me to make my decision as well. I told Paul the day
after Christmas on his answering machine that we needed to talk, and it
couldn’t wait.