DJ Paul Reacts to Eminem’s Lil Wyte CD Shout Out in His Book

In a recent interview on The Bootleg Kev Podcast, Three 6 Mafia co-founder DJ Paul shared a surprising discovery regarding Eminem’s musical influences. Reflecting on Slim Shady’s 2008 autobiography, The Way I Am, Paul recalled spotting a piece of Memphis rap history sitting on Eminem’s desk. The legendary producer expressed his shock at seeing a Lil Wyte CD—an artist signed to his own Hypnotize Minds label—among Eminem’s personal collection of scrapbooks and lyrical drafts.

Discussing the moment with Bootleg Kev, DJ Paul said: “If you look in the book that Eminem wrote, he got a page on there that shows all of his kind of influence, like his raps and scrapbooks and this and that and he got CD that I produced in that book on his desk. It’s a Lil Wyte CD. And I was like ‘damn, Eminem is listening to Lil Wyte?! Who would have thought?‘”

The specific album seen in the book’s photography is Lil Wyte’s 2004 sophomore project, Phinally Phamous. The CD, which DJ Paul produced alongside Juicy J, is visible in a snapshot of Eminem’s home studio environment. It sits near other mid-2000s staples like Yung Joc’s Hustlenomics, offering a rare glimpse into what the Detroit legend was actually spinning during his hiatus and the creative process behind his later work.

This “Easter egg” has long been a point of pride for Memphis hip-hop fans, as it validates the reach of the Three 6 Mafia sound within the highest echelons of the genre. Eminem has rarely spoken publicly about his specific listening habits from that era, but as DJ Paul noted, the visual evidence in the book speaks for itself. Seeing the “Phinally Phamous” disc on the desk of one of the greatest lyricists of all time serves as a testament to the underground influence of Lil Wyte and the production powerhouse of Hypnotize Minds.

DJ Paul Eminem