Business & brands / Music / Law
Paul Rosenberg
born 1971 · talent manager, record executive, former entertainment lawyer
Detroit-born lawyer turned manager who guided Eminem from the local scene to world fame, co-founded Shady Records and later ran Def Jam.
- Born
Detroit area, Michigan
age 55- Detroit years
- 1970s–1990s
- Field
- Business & brands, Music, Law
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Paul Rosenberg is a Detroit-area native who trained as an attorney. In 1996 he set up the management firm Goliath Artists, and the following year, while Eminem was working on the Slim Shady EP, he agreed to act as the fellow Detroiter's manager and lawyer at once. The partnership became one of the longest in hip-hop. When Eminem's success brought him his own label in 1999, Rosenberg co-founded Shady Records and served as its president, signing D12 and Obie Trice from Detroit and brokering the 50 Cent deal with Dr. Dre's Aftermath. His voice became familiar to millions through the “Paul” skits on Eminem's albums, in which he plays the worried adviser. He produced the Detroit drama 8 Mile (2002) and the 2019 virtual-reality documentary Marshall from Detroit, and from 2018 to 2020 he was chairman and CEO of Def Jam Recordings. He also managed Detroit rapper Danny Brown.
Highlights
- Eminem's manager since 1997 through Goliath Artists.
- Co-founder and former president of Shady Records (1999).
- Producer of 8 Mile (2002), whose “Lose Yourself” won an Oscar.
- Chairman and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, 2018–2020.