Eminem: Price of Fame

By Stephen M. Silverman

08/28/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Grammy winner Eminem, 27, grew pensive this holiday weekend. The best-selling rapper told his hometown paper, the Detroit Free Press, that he always wanted to be famous, but that now that he is, the limelight isn't all it's cracked up to be. "It's almost turning into more of a nightmare than a dream," said Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III. "I miss going to the park and playing basketball," he said. "I was never that person who wanted the big cars and (Mercedes) Benzes. All I really wanted was to have a career in hip-hop." Eminem currently faces weapons charges in his homestate. He also faces a civil suit by a man who says Eminem attacked while in possession of a gun.