biography eminem english

Eminem is an American rapper, record producer and actor known as one of the most controversial and best-selling artists of the early 21st century.

1972-present

Who Is Eminem?

Rapper, actor and music producer Eminem is one of the best-selling musicians of the 21st century and one of the most influential rappers of all time.

Born Marshall Bruce Mathers III in 1972 in Missouri, Eminem had a turbulent childhood. He dropped out of school in the ninth grade and worked odd jobs until finally making it as a rapper upon the release of The Slim Shady LP in early 1999. The album went multi-platinum, garnering Eminem two Grammy Awards and four MTV Video Music Awards.

In 2000, Eminem released The Marshall Mathers LP , which was noted as the fastest-selling album in rap history. Two years later, he delivered the Academy Award-winning song "Lose Yourself," from the semi-autobiographical drama 8 Mile .

In 2010, he released the Grammy-winning album Recovery , a highly autobiographical attempt to come to terms with his struggles with addiction and experience with rehabilitation.

The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013) also garnered numerous accolades, and the rapper later followed with Revival (2017), Kamikaze (2018) and Music to Be Murdered By (2020).

Eminem's Mom and Dad

Eminem never knew his father, Marshall Mathers Jr., who abandoned the family when Eminem was still an infant and rebuffed all of his son's many attempts to contact him during his childhood.

As a result, Eminem was raised by his mother, Deborah Mathers. Eminem has been scathingly critical of the way his mother raised him. Through his song lyrics, he has publicly accused her of being addicted to prescription drugs as well as subjecting him to emotional and physical abuse.

Deborah has vehemently denied all such accusations, and in 1999 she filed a $10 million defamation lawsuit against her son. They settled the case for $25,000.

In 2008, Deborah published My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem: Setting the Record Straight on My Life As Eminem's Mother , a memoir recounting her side of the story and their complicated relationship. In the book, she claims to have never exploited her son, and that her only concern was for her children.

Early Life and Education

Eminem was born Marshall Bruce Mathers III on October 17, 1972, in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Eminem's mother never managed to hold down a job for more than several months at a time, so they moved frequently between Missouri and Detroit, Michigan, spending large chunks of time in public housing projects.

"I would change schools two, three times a year," Eminem later recalled. "That was probably the roughest part about it all."

This itinerant lifestyle left a large impact on his personality. He had no close friends, kept almost entirely to himself and was treated like an outcast at each new school. "Beat up in the bathroom, beat up in the hallways, shoved into lockers," he remembered.

Eminem attended Lincoln High School in Warren, Michigan, where he failed the ninth grade three times and eventually dropped out at the age of 17. Yet despite being a poor student, Eminem always had a deep affinity for language, devouring comic books and even studying the dictionary.

"I found that no matter how bad I was at school, like, and no matter how low my grades might have been at some times, I always was good at English ... I just felt like I wanna be able to have all of these words at my disposal, in my vocabulary at all times whenever I need to pull 'em out. You know, somewhere, they'll be stored, like, locked away."

Ex-Wife and Daughter

Eminem was just 15 when he met 13-year-old Kim Ann Scott at a house party. Kim, who claimed that she didn't know her father and had been sexually abused by her stepfather, came to live with Eminem and his mother Deborah.

Eminem and Kim soon began dating, but their relationship was turbulent from the start. Deborah threw the couple out when Eminem dropped out of school. In 1995, the couple had a daughter named Hailie Jade Scott. The couple broke up and got back together many times, finally marrying just before Eminem left on his first major tour in 1999. They divorced in 2000.

Kim and Eminem continued to maintain a tumultuous off-and-on relationship until remarrying in 2006, then divorcing again several months later. Following their second divorce, the exes began a protracted, ugly and highly public custody dispute over their daughter Hailie.

Eminem has rapped about Hailie throughout his career, including on the 2004 song "Mockingbird" and throughout his 2017 album Revival. Hailie graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in psychology and has become an Instagram influencer.

Although at the time rap music was almost exclusively produced by Black people, Eminem, who has pale white skin and bright blue eyes, nevertheless entered into the Detroit rap scene as a frequent competitor in rap "battles"—competitions in which two rappers take turns insulting the other through improvised rap lyrics. Eminem proved highly skilled at such verbal sparring and, despite his race, quickly became one of the most respected figures in Detroit's underground rap scene.

He recalled, "I finally found something that yeah, this kid over here, you know, he may have more chicks, and he may, you know, have better clothes, or whatever, but he can't do this like me. You know what I mean? He can't write what I'm writing right now. And it started to feel like, you know, maybe Marshall's gettin' a little respect."

This period in Eminem's life—working odd jobs to make ends meet while participating in rap battles and desperately attempting to land a record contract—was later dramatized in Eminem's semi-autobiographical film from 2002, 8 Mile .

Eminem went on to become one of the most acclaimed rappers in the genre's brief history. As much as any other individual artist, he is responsible for rap's transformation into a mainstream music genre.

Albums and Songs

'infinite' (1996).

Inspired by the birth of his daughter Hailie to make a living as a rapper, Eminem released his first independent rap album, Infinite , in 1996.

Though the album displayed flashes of his verbal prowess, biting wit and flair for storytelling, the low-budget record failed to turn a profit or attract more than local attention.

'The Slim Shady EP' (1997) & 'The Slim Shady LP' (1999)

In 1997 Eminem released The Slim Shady EP , which was discovered by Dr. Dre , the legendary rapper and former producer of Eminem's favorite rap group N.W.A.

After Eminem traveled to Los Angeles and became runner-up in the 1997 Rap Olympics MC Battle, Dre listened to the rapper's cassette in the basement of executive Jimmy Iovine's home. Dre was so impressed that he signed Eminem to his Interscope Records label. In 1999, after two years of working with Dre, Eminem released The Slim Shady LP .

The heavily hyped record became an instant success, going on to sell over three million copies. Eminem's first single, "My Name Is," mixed a childish humor and energy with rampant profanity and flashes of violence — a potent and fascinating combination that felt different from anything else in rap.

'The Marshall Mathers LP' (2000)

Eminem released his second studio album, The Marshall Mathers LP , in May 2000. The album showed off Eminem's poetic talents as well as his emotional and artistic range. His songs vary from manically funny ("The Real Slim Shady") to heartbreakingly poignant ("Stan") to explosively violent ("Kim") to disarmingly self-critical ("The Way I Am").

The Marshall Mathers LP sold over 19 million copies worldwide, won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, received a nomination for Album of the Year and is widely considered among the greatest rap albums of all time.

Nevertheless, The Marshall Mathers LP also came under a firestorm of criticism for its excessive profanity, glorification of drugs and violence and its apparent homophobia and misogyny.

While Eminem attempted to mitigate such criticism by maintaining that his raps simply use the rough language he has been surrounded by since childhood, and later by performing a duet with Elton John at the 2001 Grammy Awards to demonstrate his openness to the gay community, Eminem nevertheless remains reviled in some quarters for his offensive lyrical content.

'Devil's Night' (2001)

In 2001, Eminem reconnected with several of his friends from the Detroit underground rap scene to form the group D12, recording an album called Devil's Night featuring the popular single "Purple Pills."

'The Eminem Show' (2002)

In 2002, Eminem released a new solo album, The Eminem Show , another popular and critically acclaimed album highlighted by the tracks "Without Me," "Cleaning Out my Closet" and "Sing for the Moment."

That same year, the artist was all over the airwaves with the 8 Mile track "Lose Yourself," which went on to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

'Encore' (2004)

Eminem's next album, 2004's Encore , was less successful than his previous efforts. It still featured popular songs such as "Like Toy Soldiers" and "Mockingbird."

For the next several years, Eminem recorded very little music and was largely consumed by personal problems. Following his second divorce from Kim in 2006, Eminem slipped further into alcoholism and addiction to sleeping pills and prescription painkillers. In December 2007, he overdosed and nearly died. "If I would have got to the hospital two hours later, that would have been it," he said.

'Relapse' (2009)

By early 2008, Eminem had managed to kick his addictions to drugs and alcohol and returned to recording music. He released his first album of new music in five years, Relapse , in 2009, featuring the singles "Crack a Bottle" and "Beautiful."

'Recovery' (2010)

In 2010, Eminem released another album, Recovery , a highly autobiographical attempt to come to terms with his struggles with addiction and experience with rehabilitation. His most acclaimed album in years, Recovery struck a somewhat gentler and more inspirational tone than his previous music, with the popular song "Love the Way You Lie."

Eminem said, "I don't want to go overboard with it but I do feel like that if I can help people that have been through a similar situation, then, you know, why not?" The revealing album won Eminem a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.

After 10 years and seven albums, the rapper who shocked, appalled and fascinated the music world with the unbridled rage of his youthful music is reinventing himself as a mature artist.

"I started learning how to not be so angry about things, learning how to count my f---ing blessings instead. By doing that, I've become a happier person, instead of all this self-loathing I was doing for a while," Eminem said. "The music, I wouldn't say it's gotten happier, but it's definitely more upbeat. I feel like myself again."

'MMLP2' (2013)

Eminem released his eighth album, MMLP2 , on November 5, 2013. The announcement for the future Grammy-winning album, formally titled The Marshall Mathers LP 2 , was made during the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.

On the awards show, Eminem leaked a snippet of the first single from the album, entitled "Berzerk." He went to reach of the top of charts with "The Monster," a track that also featured Rihanna and earned a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

'Shady XV' (2014)

In 2014, Eminem celebrated the 15th anniversary of his Shady Records label with a special two-CD set called ShadyXV . The collection features the label's most popular songs as well as some new material. The single "Guts Over Fear" quickly rose up the charts after its late October debut.

'Revival' (2017)

At the end of 2017, Eminem released his ninth studio album, Revival . Its first two singles, "Walk on Water" and "River," featured collaborations with pop superstars Beyoncé and Ed Sheeran .

The album as a whole divided critics and failed to garner the accolades notched by his previous efforts. None of the songs reached the Top 10 on the Billboard 100, while each of his three previous albums resulted in at least one No. 1 hit.

'Kamikaze' (2018)

While nearly four years passed between Eminem's eighth and ninth albums, fans only had to wait a few months before he dropped his next studio effort, Kamikaze , on August 31, 2018.

The surprise album kicked off with "Ringer," which featured the rapper diving right back into his disdain for President Donald Trump . In October 2017, Eminem had made headlines for a freestyle segment taped for the BET Hip Hop Awards, in which he ripped into Trump.

The single "Not Alike" attacked rapper Machine Gun Kelly, known as MGK, for lewd comments he had made several years before about Eminem's then-underage daughter, Hailie. After MGK replied with the track "Rap Devil," Eminem followed up with the single "Killshot," a barrage of insults about MGK's talents and lack of success, which shot to number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The album helped Eminem rebound from Revival. However, beyond the album's successes, Eminem was criticized for homophobic insults on the tracks "Killshot" and "Fall."

'Music to Be Murdered By' and 'Music to Be Murdered By – Side B' (2020)

As with Kamikaze , Eminem dropped Music to Be Murdered By with no advance warning in January 2020. The 20-track album was accompanied by the release of a video for "Darkness," which recalled the deadly mass shooting at the 2017 Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas and urged viewers to vote to change gun laws.

The following month, the rapper made a surprise appearance at the Academy Awards to perform his winner from the 2003 ceremony, "Lose Yourself."

In December 2020, the rapper released the follow-up album, Side B .

QUICK FACTS

• Birth date: October 17, 1972
• Birth State: Missouri
• Birth City: St. Joseph
• Astrological Sign: Libra

Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn’t look right, contact us !

• There's obviously a limit to what people want to know, but I've pretty much put most of it out there.
• The emotions in a song, the anger, the aggression, have got to be legitimate.
• I think my first album opened a lot of doors for me to push the freedom of speech to the limit.
• My father? Never knew him. Never even seen a picture of him.
• I'm not afraid to take a stand.
• Opportunity comes once in a lifetime.
• Anything I've ever said I certainly meant at the time. But I think I've calmed down a bit.
• Whoever likes my stuff, likes my stuff. But just know that 'Slim Shady' is hip-hop. I grew up on hip-hop. It's the music that I love and the music I respect.
• A lot of my rhymes are just to get chuckles out of people. Anybody with half a brain is going to be able to tell when I'm joking and when I'm serious.
• There's a difference between realness and an act, and they're an act and they know they're an act. And they even say they're an act. They even say they're cornballs. They admit it."[On hip-hop group ICP.]

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• Born October 17 , 1972 · St. Joseph, Missouri, USA
• Birth name Marshall Bruce Mathers III
• Height 5′ 8″ (1.73 m)
• Eminem was born Marshall Bruce Mathers III in St. Joseph, Missouri, to Deborah R. (Nelson) and Marshall Bruce Mathers, Jr., who were in a band together, Daddy Warbucks. He is of English, as well as some German, Scottish, and Swiss-German, ancestry. Marshall spent his early childhood being shoved back and forth from Kansas City and Detroit. He settled on the Eastside of Detroit when he was 12. Switching schools every two to three months made it difficult to make friends, graduate and to stay out of trouble. Marshall attended Lincoln High School in Warren, Michigan, 1986-1989. Being a rap fan for most of his life, Marshall began rapping at the early age of 4. Rhyming words together, battling schoolmates in the lunchroom brought joy to what was otherwise a painful existence. At the age of 14, he began to get very serious about his rapping but it wasn't until he was 17 that he actually made a name for himself, becoming M&M, which he would later respell as "Eminem". Being rejected by most fellow rappers because of his race, Marshall grew an anger that flows through his music to this day. After failing the 9th grade for three times in a row, he quit school, but has remarked that he does not consider himself stupid and does not advise that people should follow his example. He says that it just wasn't for him. Forcing himself on radio shows, freestyle battles, Marshall threw himself head first into the rap game, where he was swallowed up most of the time. His very first album was titled "Infinite" and, while the album sold less than a thousand copies, it was the gearing up stages for the rapper who became a millionaire. It was then that his daughter, Hailie Jade Scott, was born on December 25th of 1995 with long time girlfriend Kim Scott. Having nothing to lose at all, flat broke and not knowing where he would be living the next week, Marshall set out to rant about life in general, the set quickly caught the ear of hip-hop's difficult-to-please underground. What came out of this was the Slim Shady EP, the early work for the later Dr. Dre revised Slim Shady LP. Down to nearly his last dime, he went into the 1997 Rap Olympics in Los Angeles, basically hoping to win the $1,500 cash prize which he badly needed. After battling for an hour and throwing back every race diss thrown at him, Marshall made it to second place losing in a slip up. Furious that he had lost, Marshall didn't even notice that he had been spotted. In the crowd were a few producers from Interscope, and they were handed a copy of the "Infinite" tape by way of a demo. Dr. Dre got to hear it and eventually tracked him down. The two instantly hit it off, recording four songs in their first six hours of working - three which made it to his first LP. After the album was finished, Dr. Dre asked Marshall to come work with him on his new album. He helped produce several tracks and was on the best songs of the album. Now officially making it, Marshall and Dre set to make his second LP. The album became the Marshall Mathers LP and won 3 Grammies and was the first rap album ever to be nominated "Album of the Year", selling more than 8 million records in the United States alone. He also stunned critics when he shot down all homophobic remarks by performing "Stan" with Elton John . Eminem made a movie, 8 Mile (2002) . Though 2001 was a rough year for the rapper, being charged with weapon offenses, divorcing his wife, and almost going to prison, Marshall has explained his life in one word: "Claimer". - IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous and Rod Reece
• Eminem is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive and actor. He is one of the most successful artists of the 21st century. In addition to his solo career, Eminem was a member of the hip hop group D12. He is known for collaborations with Detroit-based rapper Royce da 5'9"; the two are collectively known as Bad Meets Evil. Eminem starred in the drama film 8 Mile (2002) playing a fictionalized version of himself, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Lose Yourself", making him the first hip hop artist to ever win the award. He has made cameo appearances in the films The Wash (2001), Funny People (2009), and The Interview (2014), and the television series Entourage (2010). Eminem is among the best-selling music artists of all time. The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show, "Lose Yourself", "Love the Way You Lie" and "Not Afraid" have all been certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Eminem has won numerous awards, including 15 Grammy Awards, eight American Music Awards, 17 Billboard Music Awards, an Academy Award and a MTV Europe Music Global Icon Award. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Tango Papa
• Spouses Kimberly Anne Scott (January 14, 2006 - December 19, 2006) (divorced) Kimberly Anne Scott (June 14, 1999 - October 5, 2001) (divorced, 1 child)
• Children Alaina Scott Mathers Whitney Scott Mathers Hailie Jade Mathers
• Parents Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr. Deborah R. Nelson
• Relatives Nathan Kane Samara (Half Sibling) Sarah Mathers (Half Sibling) Michael Mathers (Half Sibling) Michigan Colo (Cousin)
• Dark brown hair and bright blue eyes
• Dying his hair blonde
• Dark and twisted lyrics
• Often mentions his mother, ex-wife Kim Scott and his daughters in his songs
• Known for bending words in his rhymes to be more creative
• Adopted his ex-wife's, Kimberly Anne Scott , other daughter with another man. Her name is Whitney (b. April 16, 2002).
• In his interview with Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes (1968) , he admitted he does not allow the same amount of profanity he uses in his songs in his house.
• Has custody of his niece Alaina Marie Scott , Lainie for short. Lainie and his daughter Hailie Jade Mathers have been brought up together and are considered sisters and he refers to both as his daughters. Lainie was mentioned in the song Mockingbird on the "Encore" album.
• Adopted niece, Alaina Marie Scott , giving her his last name.
• Has said that he would like his daughter, Hailie Jade Mathers , to become an actress.
• I don't want them once they turn 18 - On Britney Spears & Christina Aguilera .
• At this point, I'm like "Come up with something new. I hate the same old questions. But it seems like "white" magazines such as Spin and Rolling Stone focus on my "whiteness" more than Black magazines" --On his colour
• Why is it so hard for people to believe that white people are poor?! I wouldn't say I lived in a ghetto, I'd say I lived in the 'hood. The same friends I had back then are the same people on tour with me now
• There's a difference between realness and an act, and they're an act, and they know they're an act, and they even say they're an act, they even say they're cornballs, they admit it. --On Insane Clown Posse
• My family has never been there for me. They expect things because we're blood. --On his family
• 8 Mile (2002) - $3,000,000

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Eminem Biography

Eminem, born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, 17 October 1973, Kansas City, Missouri, USA. This white rapper burst onto the US charts in 1999 with a controversial take on the horrorcore genre. Mathers endured an itinerant childhood, living with his mother in various states before eventually ending up in Detroit at the age of 12. He took up rapping in high school before dropping out in ninth grade, joining ad hoc groups Basement Productions, the New Jacks, and D12. The newly named Eminem released a raw debut album in 1997 through independent label FBT. Infinite was poorly received, however, with Eminem earning unfavorable comparisons to leading rappers such as Nas and AZ. His determination to succeed was given a boost by a prominent feature in Source’s Unsigned Hype column, and he gained revenge on his former critics when he won the Wake Up Show’s Freestyle Performer Of The Year award, and finished runner-up in Los Angeles’ annual Rap Olympics. The following year’s The Slim Shady EP, named after his sinister alter-ego, featured some vitriolic attacks on his detractors. The stand-out track, “Just Don’t Give A fuck”, became a highly popular underground hit, and led to guest appearances on MC Shabaam Sahddeq’s “Five Star Generals” single and Kid Rock’s Devil Without A Cause set. As a result, Eminem was signed to Aftermath Records by label boss Dr. Dre, who adopted the young rapper as his protege and acted as co-producer on Eminem’s full-length debut. Dre’s beats featured prominently on The Slim Shady LP, a provocative feast of violent, twisted lyrics, with a moral outlook partially redeemed by Eminem’s claim to be only “voicing” the thoughts of the Slim Shady character. Parody or no parody, lyrics to tracks such as “97 Bonnie & Clyde” (which contained lines about killing the mother of his child) and frequent verbal outbursts about his mother were held by many, outside even the usual Christian moral majority, to be deeply irresponsible. The album was buoyed by the commercial success of the singles “My Name Is” and “Guilty Conscience” (the former helped by a striking, MTV-friendly video), and climbed to number 2 on the US album chart in March 1999.

Eminem subsequently made high profile appearances on Rawkus Records’ Soundbombing Volume 2 compilation and Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott’s Da Real World. He was also in the news when his mother filed a lawsuit claiming that comments made by the rapper during interviews and on The Slim Shady LP had caused, amongst other things, emotional distress, damage to her reputation and loss of self-esteem. None of which harmed the sales of Eminem’s follow-up album, The Marshall Mathers LP, which debuted at number 1 on the US album chart in May 2000 and established him as the most successful rapper since the mid-90s heyday of 2Pac and Snoop Doggy Dogg. By the end of the year, however, his troubled personal life and a serious assault charge had removed the gloss from his phenomenal commercial success. Despite criticism from gay rights groups, the rapper swept up three Grammy Awards the following February. He also reunited with his D12 colleagues to record the transatlantic chart-topping Devil’s Night.

Eminem’s new studio album, The Eminem Show, was premiered by single “Without Me”. The track, which debuted at UK number 1 in May 2002, featured a sample from Malcolm McLaren’s “Buffalo Girls” and was supported by a controversial video which saw the rapper dressing up as Osama Bin Laden. The album debuted at number 1 on both sides of the Atlantic. Later in the year, Eminem made his mainstream acting debut in 8 Mile. The lead single from the soundtrack, “Lose Yourself”, gave the rapper his first US number 1 single in November.

Eminem Biography 2

Although he’s only been in the public eye since 1999, Marshall Mathers (aka Eminem) has crammed at least a decade’s worth of career highs and lows into those few short, high-profile years. The Detroit-based Dr. Dre protégé has invoked the wrath of women and homosexuals with his offensive lyrics; become enemies with Moby, Everlast, Fred Durst, and Christina Aguilera; provided tabloids with plenty of gossip fodder regarding his personal life…and in the process become just about the biggest rock star on the planet. This is because Eminem isn’t just about controversy and shock value: This often misunderstood major talent has actually given white rappers genuine credibility in this post-Vanilla Ice age with his string of dynamic hits (both solo and with his side group, D12), his plethora of Grammy nominations, his critically acclaimed film 8 Mile, and his three multiplatinum studio albums, which–once one gets past the hype and hullabaloo that surround them–are some of the most creative, original, and exciting releases of the rap genre (or any musical genre) in the past decade.

Mathers was born into a poor, working-class family on October 17, 1972 in St. Joseph, Missouri, though he spent much of his youth in Detroit, the city he would eventually put on the rap map. Originally taking on the stage name M&M (later changed to its current spelling), at age 14 he became a battle rapper, competing against other Detroit MCs in local clubs. After a short stint with a rap act called New Jacks, in 1995 he made his recording debut with a group called Soul Intent, which introduced him to a rapper named Proof, who appeared on that single’s B-side. Eminem and Proof soon started a new group called D12 with four other MCs (Bizarre, Kon Artis, Swift, and Kuniva), while Eminem simultaneously launched his solo career with two independent releases, 1996’s Infinite and 1997’s The Slim Shady EP, which featured his trademark dark, disturbing, angry lyrics. Eminem drew from his troubled personal life when penning such bleak words: He had just had a daughter with his on/off girlfriend, Kim, with whom he had a very tumultuous relationship; he was estranged from his mother, with whom he also frequently butted heads; he was abusing alcohol and drugs with alarming frequency; and he had attempted suicide on at least one occasion. Though these harrowing experiences provided inspiration for some brilliant if nasty and offensive lyrics, Mathers was at such a low point in his life that it seemed there was nowhere to go but up.

Enter Interscope Records honcho Jimmy Iovine, who–impressed by Eminem’s fresh and bold style–approached the struggling rapper after seeing him take second place in the freestyle category at 1997’s Rap Olympics. Iovine later played Eminem’s demo tape for super-producer and former Death Row Records chief/NWA member Dr. Dre, who immediately liked what he heard, contacted Eminem, and started a fruitful creative partnership with Eminem that exists to this day. (Legend has it that the two recorded Eminem’s first big hit single, “My Name Is,” within an hour after first meeting each other.) Interscope quickly signed Mathers, and Dre produced his major-label debut album, The Slim Shady LP, which was released in February 1999 to both massive acclaim and derision, eventually going triple-platinum.

Eminem’s follow-up, 2000’s Marshall Mathers LP, was an even bigger phenomenon, selling almost 2 million copies in its first week of release alone, thus becoming the fastest-selling hip-hop album of all time. However, the album stirred up even more of an uproar than its predecessor, making Mathers the target of much public hatred. Among other conflicts and controversies, the album created a feud with pop princess Christina Aguilera (the single “The Real Slim Shady” alleged that she had performed oral sex on both Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst and MTV’s Carson Daly); led his mother to file a defamation lawsuit against him (a judge later dismissed the case); and generated accusations of homophobia and sexism mostly centering around the songs “Kill You” and “Kim” (the latter a rant about the mother of his child, whom he had recently married but would soon divorce, and later reconcile with yet again). But Eminem thrived on the controversy, becoming an even bigger superstar and racking up a surprising number of Grammy nominations in 2001, much to the chagrin of his many outspoken detractors. And he kept people guessing about how much of the Slim Shady “character” was really the real deal, when he performed a duet version of his single “Stan” with the openly gay Elton John at the Grammys ceremony, even warmly hugging Elton onstage. Mathers won three Grammys that night–Best Rap Solo Performance (for “The Real Slim Shady”), Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group (for his work on the Dr. Dre duet “Forgot About Dre”), and Best Rap Album (for The Marshall Mathers LP)–adding to the two statuettes he’d won the previous year for “My Name Is” (Best Rap Solo Performance) and The Slim Shady LP (Best Rap Album).

There seemed no stopping Eminem–not even convictions on weapons and assault charges (stemming from separate incidents involving his estranged wife with another man and rival Detroit rap act Insane Clown Posse). Eminem was sentenced to community service and kept on recording, releasing Devil’s Night with old group D12 in 2001 and then The Eminem Show, one of the most critically heralded albums of 2002 and his most personal work yet. He also revealed more of his real-life persona in 8 Mile, a Rocky-style feelgood flick lensed by L.A. Confidential/Wonder Boys director Curtis Hanson that presented a sort of cleaned-up version of Eminem’s rags-to-riches life story. Eminem put on such an impressive performance in the film that there was actually speculation that he would receive a Best Actor nomination at the Oscars in 2003.

While Eminem may have seemed like a novelty act at first–with his shocking, four-letter lyrics, cartoonish bad-boy image, and, of course, pale skin color (a real anomaly in hip-hop)–he has since established himself as one of the most important artists of his time and a true force to be reckoned with, continuing to cross both color boundaries and genre boundaries with his edgy, rock-tinged raps. With his turbulent personal life, powder-keg temper, and tendency to tangle with the law, it is still uncertain how long his career will last before he burns out, but it’s already obvious that his music had made history and will long outlast any controversy that dogs him.

– Lyndsey Parker

Eminem Biography 3

In a few short months, Eminem has gone from being one of the most heralded emcees in independent hip-hop to one of the most provocative, controversial rappers in contemporary pop music. The overnight success of his debut album, The Slim Shady LP, literally rocked the rap world, making him one of the biggest music success stories of 1999. But Eminem is more than the latest rap artist to blow up. He’s spent the last several years paying his dues, and his lyrics, which cover topics such as poverty and single parenthood, reflect a rough upbringing. His unlikely acceptance by the pop mainstream has made some wonder how his popularity will affect the future of hip-hop music.

Before he had the world singing along to “My Name Is …,” he was Marshall Mathers, a poor kid growing up in Warren, Mich. “It’s like the real, stereotypical, trailer park, white trash,” Eminem told Rap Pages earlier this year. As a child, he and his mother moved constantly, staying at relatives’ homes in places as disparate as Warren and Kansas City, Mo. As a result, Marshall found it difficult to make friends, and he retreated into his comic books and television. “I didn’t really start opening up until eighth grade, going into ninth,” he said.

When Mathers was 12, his mother finally settled down on the east side of Detroit. There, he attended Lincoln Junior High School and Osbourne High School, hanging out with friends and listening to artists like LL Cool J and the 2 Live Crew. He battled against other rappers at his high school, and quickly gained a reputation as a nimble rhymer. But his penchant for skipping school led him to fail the ninth grade. After dropping out of high school, he held down several odd jobs, while continuing to work on his craft. “I tried to go back to school five years ago,” he said, “but I couldn’t do it. I just wanted to rap and be a star one day.”

Mathers rapped in several groups such as Basement Productions, the New Jacks, and Sole Intent, before deciding to go solo. In 1997, he released an album, Infinite, through a local company called FBT Productions; it was met with derision from the local hip-hop community. “I was getting a lot of feedback saying I sounded like Nas or Jay-Z,” he admitted. Despite the criticism, Eminem continued to promote himself through shows and appearances at radio stations and freestyle competitions across the nation. His perseverance garnered him a notice in the Source’s influential “Unsigned Hype” column. Later that year, he won the 1997 Wake Up Show Freestyle Performer of the Year from L.A. DJs Sway and Tech, and earned second place in Rap Sheet magazine’s “Rap Olympics,” an annual freestyle rap competition.

In 1998, Eminem put out The Slim Shady EP, which contained the original version of “Just Don’t Give A Fuck” “Slim Shady is the evil side of me, the sarcastic, foul-mouthed side of me,” he said during an interview with the Source. The EP made him an underground star, and Eminem was invited to appear on underground MC Shabaam Sahdeeq’s “Five Star Generals” single, Kid Rock’s Devil Without a Cause, and other rap releases. At the end of the year, Eminem put out a popular 12-inch, “Nuttin’ to Do/ Scary Movies,” with fellow Detroit rapper Royce the 5’9″.

Meanwhile, a copy of The Slim Shady EP made its way into the hands of Dr. Dre, the legendary creator of The Chronic and N.W.A., and current president of Aftermath Entertainment. Dr. Dre quickly signed Eminem to his label, and the two began preparing The Slim Shady EP for a full-fledged release, adding songs like “My Name Is …” and “Guity Conscience.” Early in 1999, Eminem made the world take notice with his charismatic video for “My Name Is …” parodying everyone from Marilyn Manson to the President of the United States. Shortly afterward, The Slim Shady LP debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Album Chart. Its sensationalistic depiction of rampant drug use, rape, sex, and violence horrified some; equally disturbing was Eminem’s various four-letter-word insults directed at his mother and songs like “’97 Bonnie and Clyde,” where Eminem fantasized about killing the mother of his child.

In defense, Eminem claimed that he was just speaking his mind. “I do feel like I’m coming from a standpoint where people don’t realize there are a lot of poor white people,” he explained in the Source. “Rap music kept my mind off all the bulls–t I had to go through.” His cynical take on life struck a chord with millions of rap fans, and drove The Slim Shady LP to double-platinum-plus sales. He began to tour, including a solo jaunt with the Beatnuts and Mixmaster Mike.

While most in the hip-hop community greeted Eminem with open arms, others took a more cautious approach, wondering why rock stations across the country who never played rap music added “My Name Is …” to their playlists. Was it because Eminem was the first “legitimate” white rapper to gain widespread popularity? “I’m white in a music started by black people. I’m not ignorant to the culture and I’m not trying to take anything away from the culture,” he said in his defense. “But no one has a choice where they grew up or what color they are. If you’re a rich kid or a ghetto kid you have no control over your circumstance. The only control you have is to get out of your situation or stay in it.”

Throughout the year, Eminem has continued to record for other artists, making appearances on Sway and Tech’s This or That compilation, DJ Spinna’s Heavy Beats Vol. 1, Missy Elliott’s Da Real World, the Soundbombing 2 compilation, and Dr. Dre’s highly anticipated sequel to The Chronic, Chronic 2001: No Seeds. And in June and July of 1999, the rapper took to the road with the Warped tour, filling in for Cypress Hill, who decided to forgo the tour in favor of recording its next album.

After wrapping up his touring commitments, Eminem plans to take a short break before returning to the studio to record the follow up to The Slim Shady LP. In the meantime, he can bask in the glow of his many awards. Not only is he up for Best New Artist in the Source’s Hip-Hop Music Awards, he also garnered four MTV Video Music Awards — “My Name Is …” nabbed nods for Best Male Video, Best New Artist, and Best Director, and “Guilty Conscience” earned him a Breakthrough Video nomination.

– Mosi Reeves, Wall Of Sound

Eminem Biography 4

The average rapper wouldn’t be able to grace the pages of Rap Pages, VIBE, Rolling Stone, Spin, The Source, URB and Stress and go on a national tour months before their major-label debut album is released. Then again, Eminem isn’t an average rapper. He’s phenomenal.

The impending release of the The Slim Shady LP, his first set on Aftermath/Interscope Records, already has underground hip-hop heads fiending for Eminem. Chock full of dazzling lyrical escapades that delve into the mind of a violently warped and vulgar yet extremely talented wordsmith, the 14-cut collection contains some of the most memorable and demented lyrics ever recorded.

For Eminem, his potentially controversial and undoubtedly offensive songs will strike a chord with a multitude of hip-hop loyalists who believe they have little to lose and everything to gain.

“I’m not alone in feeling the way I feel,” he says. “I believe that a lot of people can relate to my shit–whether white, black, it doesn’t matter. Everybody has been through some shit, whether it’s drastic or not so drastic. Everybody gets to the point of ‘I don’t give a fuck.'”

Those words are more than just a slogan for the Detroit resident. “I Just Don’t Give A Fuck” and “Brain Damage” are the two songs comprising Eminem’s initial single from The Slim Shady LP. Each tune is sure to paralyze meek listeners with their relentless lyrical assault. Produced primarily by long-time collaborators FBT Productions, the Slim Shady LP also features beatwork from Aftermath CEO Dr. Dre. The N.W.A. alum handled beats for “My Name Is” (the second single), “Guilty Conscience” and “Role Model.”

Dr. Dre was so impressed after hearing Eminem freestyling on a Los Angeles radio station that he put out a manhunt for the Michigan rhymer. Shortly thereafter, Dre signed Eminem to his Aftermath imprint and the two began working together. Thoroughly impressed with Eminem’s previously released independent Slim Shady EP, Dre said they would include many of the EP’s tracks on the album.

“It was an honor to hear the words out of Dre’s mouth that he liked my shit,” Eminem says. “Growing up, I was one of the biggest fans of N.W.A, from putting on the sunglasses and looking in the mirror and lipsinking to wanting to be Dr. Dre, to be Ice Cube. This is the biggest hip-hop producer ever.”

But like many other rappers, Eminem’s rise to stardom was far from easy. After being born in Kansas City and traveling back and forth between KC and the Detroit metropolitan area, Eminem and his mother moved into the Eastside of Detroit when he was 12. Switching schools every two to three months made it difficult to make friends, graduate and to stay out of trouble.

Rap, however, became Eminem’s solace. Battling schoolmates in the lunchroom brought joy to what was otherwise a painful existence. Although he would later drop out of school and land several minimum-wage-paying, full-time jobs, his musical focus remained constant.

Eminem released his debut album, Infinite, in 1996. Desperate to be embraced by the Motor City’s hip-hop scene, Eminem rapped in such a manner that he was accused of sounding like Nas and AZ.

“Infinite was me trying to figure out how I wanted my rap style to be, how I wanted to sound on the mic and present myself,” he recalls. “It was a growing stage. I felt like Infinite was like a demo that just got pressed up.”

After being thoroughly disappointed and hurt by the response Infinite received, Eminem began working on what would later become the Slim Shady EP — a project he made for himself. Featuring several scathing lines about local music industry personalities as well as devious rants about life in general, the set quickly caught the ear of hip-hop’s difficult-to-please underground.

“I had nothing to lose, but something to gain,” Eminem says of that point in his life. “If I made an album for me and it was to my satisfaction, then I succeeded. If I didn’t, then my producers were going to give up on the whole rap thing we were doing. I made some shit that I wanted to hear. The Slim Shady EP, I lashed out on everybody who talked shit about me.”

By presenting himself as himself, Eminem and his career took off. Soon after giving the Rap Coalition’s Wendy Day a copy of the Infinite album at a chance meeting, she helped the aspiring lyrical gymnast secure a spot at the Coalition’s 1997 Rap Olympics in Los Angeles, where he won second place in the freestyle competition. During the trip, Eminem and his manager, Paul Rosenberg, gave a few people from Interscope Records his demo and he made his major radio debut on the world famous Wake Up Show with Sway and Tech. Realizing that this was the opportunity of his lifetime, Eminem delivered a furious medley of lyrics that wowed his hosts and radio audience alike.

“I felt like it’s my time to shine,” Eminem says of that performance. “I have to rip this. At that time, I felt that it was a life or death situation.”

Eminem would soon record the underground classic “5 Star Generals.” This record helped establish him in Japan, New York and Los Angeles. It also helped him earn a spot on the inaugural Lyricist Lounge tour, which took him to stages from Philadelphia to Los Angeles.

Set to take the hip-hop world by storm with his unique lyrical approach and punishing production, Eminem and his The Slim Shady LP are sure to have listeners captivated.

“I do say things that I think will shock people,” he says. “But I don’t do things to shock people. I’m not trying to be the next Tupac, but I don’t know how long I’m going to be on this planet. So while I’m here, I might as well make the most of it.”

– Official Site, Eminem.com

Eminem Biography 5

Who would have guessed that a white boy from Michigan would be the one to move today’s jaded hip-hop world? Without any warning, Eminem burst onto the rap scene spouting more vulgarity than ever with his first 14-cut collection, The Slim Shady LP, distributed by Aftermath/Interscope Records. “I Just Don’t Give a F–k,” the signature piece on his demented album, and “Brain Damage,” which literally did just that to listeners, are the two most notable songs exhibiting for his dirty mouth. So good, in fact, that legendary rap artist/producer Dr. Dre scouted the angry chirpster after hearing him freestyle on the radio to collaborate on Dre’s own label, Aftermath. The impressed Dre did not hesitate to include many of Slim’s independently released EP tracks as Eminem jumped at the offer to work with “the biggest hip-hop producer ever.”

As randomly offensive as his lyrics may seem, Eminem has mastered his talent into a form of reclaiming his pride. He spent his childhood roaming from his birthplace, Kansas City, to Detroit with his mother, never being able to find a stable hometown and school. Hence he pursued a life and identity in the hip-hop culture by releasing a debut album, Infinite, in 1996. Ironically, the response to his debut stifled his self-expression as he was labelled as a Nas and AZ sound-alike. Ripe for revenge, Eminem bombarded his critics with The Slim Shady EP, which not only gave the rapper a chance at originality but also at stirring controversy with his remorseless tunes of fury.

Yet it would do him no justice to dismiss him as a spiteful cursing machine. His fascinating freestyle ability is easy to underestimate or even recognize with the scorching flames blowing out of his mouth. At the start of his rap career, Eminem personally sent a copy of his overlooked debut album to Wendy Day from the Rap Coalition. Her nod of approval got him into the Coalition’s 1997 Rap Olympics in Los Angeles, where he was honoured with second place in the freestyle competition. With the help of his manager, Paul Rosenberg, Interscope Records got a hold of his demo. Finally Eminem decided that it was his “time to shine” on his radio debut on the world-famous Wake Up Show with Sway and Tech by spewing a most ferocious lyrical mix that literally slapped the faces of the hosts and listeners wide awake. His underground classic “5 Star General” stretched out to Japan, New York, and Los Angeles, which also won him a spot on the inaugural Lyricist Lounge tour.

Before long, Eminem was a superstar and one of music’s most controversial figures. His shocking lyrics (both solo and with side posse D12), his duet with Elton John, his public trials with his on/off wife and estranged mother…all of these things and more kept him in the public eye so often, he made Tommy Lee look like a social recluse. But Eminem’s music kept his profile high too, as his Slim Shady and Marshall Mathers LPs sold by the millions; the latter was even nominated for several Grammys, including album of the year.

In the age of bored and hungry hip-hopsters, Eminem, with his fiery eyes and blazing lyrics, has broken into the rap and hip-hop dome by melting the image of the sold-out Vanilla Ice. You may hate his anger, but it’s his only ammunition, and as long he is who he is, Eminem is going to take nothing back.

– Interscope

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Eminem was one of the greatest MCs of his generation – rapid, fluid, dexterous, and unpredictable, as capable of pulling off long-form narrative as he was delivering a withering aside – and thanks to his mentor Dr Dre, he had music to match.

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To call Eminem Hip Hop’s Elvis is correct to a degree, but it’s largely inaccurate. Certainly, Eminem was the first white rapper since the Beastie Boys to garner both sales and critical respect, but his impact exceeded this confining distinction. On sheer verbal skills, Eminem was one of the greatest MCs of his generation — rapid, fluid, dexterous, and unpredictable, as capable of pulling off long-form narrative as he was delivering a withering aside — and thanks to his mentor Dr Dre , he had music to match: thick, muscular loops that evoked the terror and paranoia Em’s music conjured. And, to be certain, a great deal of the controversy Eminem courted — and during the turn of the millennium, there was no greater pop cultural bogeyman than Marshall Mathers — came through in how his violent fantasias, often directed at his mother or his wife, intertwined with flights of absurdity that appealed to listeners too young to absorb the psychodramas Eminem explored on his hit albums, The Slim Shady LP and The Marshall Mathers LP .

With hits ‘My Name Is’ and ‘The Real Slim Shady’, he ruled the airwaves, but it wasn’t long before some detractors acknowledged his depth, helped in part by singles like the mournful ‘Stan’, written from the perspective of an obsessed fan. Eminem capitalized on this forward momentum by crossing over onto the big screen with 8 Mile , earning acclaim for his performance and an Oscar for the film’s anthem ‘Lose Yourself’, but a number of demons led him to shut down for the second half of the decade, an absence that proved life is indeed empty without Em before he returned in 2009 with Relapse .

‘Fear Of A Black Planet’: How Public Enemy Hit Back Against The World

Born Marshall Mathers in the Kansas City suburb St. Joseph, Eminem spent his childhood between Missouri and Michigan, settling in Detroit by his teens. At the age of 14, he began rapping with a high-school friend, the two adopting the names “Manix” and “M&M,” which soon morphed into Eminem. Under this name, Mathers entered battle rapping, a struggle dramatized in the fictionalized 8 Mile. Initially, the predominantly African-American audience didn’t embrace Eminem, but soon his skills gained him a reputation, and he was recruited to join several rap groups. The first of these was the New Jacks, and after they disbanded, he joined Soul Intent, who released a single in 1995. This single also featured Proof and the two rappers broke off on their own to form D-12, a six-member crew that functioned more as a Wu-Tang-styled collective than a regularly performing group.

As he was struggling to establish his career, he and his girlfriend Kim had a daughter, Hailey, forcing him to spend less time rapping and more time providing for his family. During this time, he assembled his first album, Infinite, which received some underground attention in 1996, not all of it positive. After its release, Eminem developed his Slim Shady alter ego, a persona that freed him to dig deep into his dark id, something he needed as he faced a number of personal upheavals, beginning with a bad split with Kim, which led him to move in with his mother and increase his use of drugs and alcohol, capped off with an unsuccessful suicide attempt. All this Sturm und Drang was channelled into  The Slim Shady EP , which is where he first demonstrated many of the quirks that became his trademark, including his twitchy, nasal rhyming and disturbingly violent imagery.

The Slim Shady EP  opened many doors, the most notable of them being a contract with Interscope Records. After Eminem came in second at the 1997 Rap Olympics MC Battle in Los Angeles, Interscope head Jimmy Iovine sought out the rapper, giving the EP to Dr Dre, who proved eager to work with Eminem. They quickly cut Em’s Interscope debut in the fall of 1998 — during which time Marshall reconciled with Kim and married her — and  The Slim Shady LP  appeared early in 1999, preceded by the single ‘My Name Is’ Both were instant blockbusters and Eminem turned into a lightning rod for attention, earning praise and disdain for his violent, satirical fantasias.

Eminem quickly followed  The Slim Shady LP  with  The Marshall Mathers LP  in the summer of 2000. By this point, there was little doubt that Eminem was one of the biggest stars in pop music: the album sold by the truckload, selling almost two million copies within the first two weeks of release, but Mathers felt compelled to tweak other celebrities, provoking pop stars in his lyrics, and Insane Clown Posse’s entourage in person, providing endless fodder for tabloids. This gossip blended with growing criticism about his violent and homophobic lyrics, and under this fire, he reunited his old crew, D-12, releasing an album in 2001, then touring with the group.

During this furore, he had his biggest hit in the form of the moody ballad ‘Stan’. Performed at the Grammys as a duet with  Elton John , thereby undercutting some accusations of homophobia, the song helped Eminem to cross over to a middlebrow audience, setting the stage for the ultimate crossover of 2001’s  8 Mile . Directed by Curtis Hanson, best known as the Oscar-nominated director of  L.A. Confidential , the gritty drama fictionalized Eminem’s pre-fame Detroit days and earned considerable praise, culminating in one of his biggest hits with the theme ‘Lose Yourself’ (available on the  8 Mile  soundtrack), which won Mathers an Oscar.

After all this, he retreated from the spotlight to record his third album,  The Eminem Show . Preceded by the single ‘Without Me’, the album turned into another huge hit, albeit not quite as strong as its predecessor, and there were some criticisms suggesting that Eminem wasn’t expanding his horizons much.  Encore , released late in 2004, did reach into a more mature territory, notably on the anti-George W. Bush ‘Mosh’, but most of the controversy generated by the album was for behind-the-scenes events: a bus crash followed by cancelled dates and a stint in rehab. Rumours of retirement flew, and the 2005 appearance of Curtain   Call: The Hits  did nothing to dampen them, nor did the turmoil of 2006, a year that saw Mathers re-marrying and divorcing Kim within a matter of four months, as well as the shooting death of Proof at a Detroit club.

During all this, Em did some minor studio work, but soon he dropped off the radar completely, retreating to his Detroit home. He popped up here and there, most notably debuting the Hip Hop channel  Shade 45 for Sirius Satellite Radio in September 2008, but it wasn’t until early 2009 that he mounted a comeback with  Relapse , an album whose very title alluded to some of Mathers’ struggles with prescription drugs, but also announced that after an extended absence, Slim Shady was back.

2010 also brought Eminem back together with Royce da 5’9″ under the Bad Meets Evil moniker. In turn, June 2011’s  Hell: The Sequel marked the release of their first EP as a duo and — barring the previous month’s release of key EP track ‘Fastlane’ as a single — was their first batch of new material since a 1999 double A-side. After an intense period of recording, Eminem released his next solo album – the nostalgically themed set of new material entitled  The Marshall Mathers LP2 , which was released in early November 2013.

Brock Campbell (Soups)

February 2, 2023 at 11:26 pm

All this info is great and all… but like where’s a link on how to contact doody!? I just want to intrude his messages while I sit in the nude, I’m just a unique white dood living in Waterloo. Gotta slaughter foo, the game I’d like to break into With lyrical contraband to blow up a stage, Seee I’m the man that wants what he got, so why don’t you let slim know I’m the one steaming like a tea pot. Names brock, but they call me soups Cause my last names campbell and I’m an animal An Mc hungry cannibal with off the top steady flow Ready to grow, with unsigned dreams, I’ll only settle for a Marshall and Andre team You know what I mean? Contract? Nope. Just so know slim, I’m in on the joke 😉 And I also seek buttons to poke , all the while finding muffins to stroke. If you want some proof hit me up and You see , “One time for that tango and crash came to mangle and blast Together tougher than Alzcatraz prison bars, drivin foreign cars…” Remember that one dooooody?

Lol for real hit up my email and give me a shot. Beiber and drake aren’t representing south western Ontario correctly in the mainstream. If I caught the right eye… maybe its time for soups to speak.

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50 years of Eminem: the rapper who survived addiction and controversy capable of ending any career

The detroit artist celebrates half a century of life as one of the most influential and defining figures in the music industry.

Even the most egocentric and controversial of rappers, Kanye West , acknowledged with unusual lucidity the feelings of the entire recording industry, and the hip hop genre in particular, toward Eminem: “No one is going to be bigger than him.” The Detroit-born pioneer brought hip hop closer to the masses, rhyming with the cadence of a machine gun. He became a cultural phenomenon. He broke all album sales records, and he proved his critics wrong with dozens of Grammys and an Oscar. Today, he is more than aware of his status as the greatest rap icon of his generation. His successes at the top of the charts, and the $220 million that make up his fortune, confirm that status. Above all, though, his significance is underlined by his continued relevance, despite the fact that his glory days are behind him.

In less than two years, his legacy has been vindicated with performances at two of the most-watched events on television: the Oscars and the Super Bowl . He took the stage with none other than his most successful and long-lived work, the award-winning Lose Yourself , which 20 years after its release remains the most-listened to rap song of all time, far exceeding one billion views on both Spotify and YouTube. The motivational anthem has such significance that even US President Joe Biden asked permission to use it during his presidential campaign. Eminem celebrated his 50th birthday on October 17 by leveraging his greatest hits to stay current in the charts with the compilation Curtain Call 2 .

Eminem’s rise to stardom, back in 1999, made him a scourge of the syrupy late-nineties pop scene. But he also managed to alter stereotypes about the criminality of the rap genre in the eyes of the general public. He dominated the portable CD players of turn-of-the-century youth, who emulated his style by dying their hair blonde and donning tank tops and oversized pants. “If I had been black, I wouldn’t have sold even half of it,” he acknowledged in one of his songs. With his debut album, The Slim Shady LP , and his cartoonish punk attitude, he was the first rapper to give a voice and lyrics to the disaffected and disadvantaged white families disparagingly termed as “white trash.” He turned hip hop into the favorite genre among the new generation, above stalwarts such as rock and pop, a trend that continues to this day.

Eminem’s provocative lyrics , littered with homophobic and sexist rhymes and profanity-laden attacks on all manner of public figures, caused a scandal. He transformed this controversy into a platform for his alter ego, Slim Shady, who became one of the great antiheroes of his time. The mainstream media branded him a “public menace” and theorized about the reasons for his excesses. When criticism threatened to slow down his rise to the top, the Detroit rapper turned to allies such as Elton John, the first big, socially acceptable global star to dare to defend and legitimize the Eminem’s lyrics and talent. His success shot to a new level in 2002 when he emerged as a cinematographic rebel without a cause, but with a hoodie, in the semi-autobiographical movie 8 Mile, which earned him an Academy Award for best original song.

But nobody has been a bigger target for the anger and resentment in his lyrics than those closest to him: his father, who he never met in person, abandoned him and his teenaged mother shortly after his birth. He found a way out of the street gangs and continuous fights with his mother - whom he publicly accused of mistreating him and initiating him into the world of drugs - through freestyle rap battles. During his time in high school, he met Kimberly Scott, whom he married and separated from twice, most recently in 2006. The result of their relationship was 26-year-old Hailie Jade, who currently earns her living as an influencer and model with nearly three million followers on Instagram. In addition to his biological daughter, Eminem is the adoptive father of two other young women, Alaina and Whitney Mathers, 29 and 20 years old respectively and the niece and daughter of his ex-wife, who has also been a regular target of his ire. Secretive about his private life, Eminem has not been known to have been in a stable romantic relationship for more than a decade and he admitted in an interview with Rolling Stone that he continued to have problems “trusting women.”

The rapper hit rock bottom shortly after his second separation. But recurring controversies and brushes with the law - which almost sent him to jail - failed to undermine a triumphant career. Addicted to sedatives, at one stage taking between 75 and 80 Valium a night, and hospitalized in 2007 for a methadone overdose that caused him to be deemed clinically dead, he disappeared from the public eye for several years and put on 40 kilos (88 pounds). Addiction also killed his creativity: he has acknowledged that it took his brain “a long time” to function properly again. “I don’t know how the hell I’m still here,” he said in a podcast. After relying again on his friend Elton John to begin the rehabilitation process, the rapper periodically celebrates each new milestone in his fifteen years of sobriety on his social networks. His legacy is undeniable: millennial successors like Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Machine Gun Kelly have all acknowledged Eminem’s influence on their sound.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Marshall Mathers (@eminem)

More information

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Eminem Biography

Grammy Award-winning controversial hard-core rap artist who burst on the music scene with the release of 1999's The Slim Shady LP, a double platinum recording that shocked many with its lyrics about drug use, rape, and murder. However offensive his lyrics, Eminem has earned praised for his nimble-tongued rhyming ability.

A high-school dropout, Eminem performed with a number of rap groups, including Soul Intent, before embarking on a solo career. In 1997 he released Infinite on an independent label. That same year he competed in several rap contests, placing second in Los Angeles' Rap Olympics. The rap community began to take notice. His The Slim Shady EP (1998) landed him guest appearances on MC Shabaam Sahdeeq's single “Five Star General” and Kid Rock's Devil without a Cause album. Impressed with Eminem's ability, Dr. Dre signed the rapper to his Aftermath label, and The Slim Shady LP was released in early 1999 and debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard charts. He is perhaps the first white rap artist to gain a wide following, as well as healthy record sales. He won two Grammy Awards in 2000 for Best Solo Performance for the single “My Name Is” and for Best Rap Album. Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP was released in May 2000. While the album went straight to No. 1 on the Billboard charts, selling more than 1.7 million copies in its first week, it also created more controversy over sexist and homophobic lyrics

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Billboard hot 100™, love the way you lie, the monster, lose yourself, mockingbird, forgot about dre, cleanin' out my closet, i need a doctor, drop the world, the real slim shady, just lose it, sing for the moment, crack a bottle, when i'm gone, like toy soldiers, the way i am, we made you, ass like that, you don't know, one day at a time, roman's revenge, that's all she wrote, walk on water, guts over fear, kings never die, old time's sake, those kinda nights, you gon' learn, unaccommodating, premonition (intro), leaving heaven, the adventures of moon man & slim shady, last one standing, from the d 2 the lbc, use this gospel (remix), in too deep, remember the name, hell breaks loose, won't back down, talkin' 2 myself, cold wind blows, welcome 2 detroit, stepping stone, untouchable, beautiful pain.

Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Billboard Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Hip Hop Scriptures

Eminem Digital Biography

Famous rapper Eminem was born Marshall Bruce Mathers III on October 17, 1972 in Saint Joseph, Missouri, USA. He is the son of a fifteen-year-old mother at the time of his birth and a father who left six months later and never returned. Spending most of his childhood moving back and forth between Saint Joseph and suburban Detroit, Michigan, he finally settled on the Eastside of Detroit when he was 12. 

Formerly studying at Lincoln High School in Warren from 1986 to 1989, Marshall often switched schools every two or three months. It made him difficult to make friends and stay out of trouble. Failing at the 9th grade three times until finally dropping out, he said he wasn't stupid. He said he was not interested in school because all he wanted to do was rap. 

Marshall began rapping at the early age of 4 and started pursuing career seriously at the age of 14. That was the time when he began performing rap in the basement of his high school friend's home. At 17, he eventually made a name for himself, Eminem, which was taken from his initials M(arshall) M(athers).

The local Hip-Hop community, used to black rappers, at 1st refused the white Eminem. But in the end, he found the easiest way to win in the underground hip-hop society was by becoming a battle rapper - performing in several clubs and forcing himself on radio shows. 

He wasn't immediately accepted by public, but as time went by he proved himself as a qualified rapper. He began getting some offers to join several other rappers to start a group, Em joined the New Jacks and then moved to Soul Intent and produced his first recorded single with them in 1995. It was a rapper named Proof who then asked Eminem to start a new group because he enjoyed working with him. With their 4 other friends, Proof and Eminem were both in one group named D12, each of whom ended up focusing more on their solo careers rather than their collaboration, leading to a career break. 

It was the birth of Em's first child, Hailie Jade Scott on December 25, 1995 with longtime girlfriend Kim Scott, that encouraged him to work harder for the money his family needed. It was difficult for him who had nothing except the "life sucks" experiences he used as the topic of his rap lyrics. One year later, in 1996, Eminem recorded his first album "Infinite", only to receive few favorable reviews. 

Learning from his previous failure, he soon introduced Slim Shady, an alter ego that wasn't afraid to say whatever he felt. Working on the song with all his heart and strength, Em poured his heart out and reflected his feelings toward his mother who was accused of physically and mentally abusing his younger brother. 

In 1997, Kimberly Ann Scott left him and forbade him to see their child. The frustration sent Eminem to a frequent rate of drug abuse and alcohol that surely affected his composition. Once committing suicide, he finally realized the best and only way to escape from his unhappy life was his musical ambition. Such depression led him to release the brutal "The Slim Shady EP", which he actually filled with some of the composition he had written long time before. Due to his distinctly-exaggerated, nasal-voiced rapping style and his skin color, many people named him music's next "great white hope." 

He finally signed a contract with Interscope and was taken under Dr. Dre 's wing, allowing him to record a full-length CD. Both then started to record "My Name Is" before Dre finally agreeing to produce Em's first album, with "Just Don't Give A F*ck" single as the album preview. A reconciliation with Kimberly Ann Scott led them to a marriage held in the fall of 1998. 

In early 1999, he released "The Slim Shady LP" that spawned hits "My Name Is" and "Guilty Conscience". Over the next years the album went triple platinum, leaving the pros and cons over the album's lyrics far behind. His success continued with "The Marshall Mathers LP" released in the summer of 2000. It sold 1.76 million copies in its first week of release in the U.S., a record for a solo artist, successfully won 3 Grammys and became the first rap album ever to be nominated Abum of the Year. 

As the fame and popularity came, many more controversies arose due to some riots Eminem had caused, including a scuffle with the Insane Clown Posse's employees in a car stereo shop; a battle with pop singer Christina Aguilera; a lawsuit from his mother; and a brawl with Detroit club goers. 

Those accusations inspired him to produce two other songs, entitled "Kill You" and "Kim." In the latter song, he rapped about violently murdering his own wife that in reality drew her to a suicide attempt before they finally got divorced. Kim was at first granted physical custody of their daughter, financial support, a personal driver, and reinstatement of her credit cards, but Eminem later got the joint custody of daughter, Hailie Jade. 

In 2001, he met his Detroit old friends and re-formed D-12 who all together in that summer released an album and hit the road. This was followed by an acting debut in "8 Mile", a film loosely based on his life directed by Curtis Hanson. He won the 2003 Academy Award for the soundtrack titled "Lose Yourself". Then came "The Eminem Show" album, which despite its popular second single "Cleanin' My Closet" that revolved around his dysfunctional childhood and his hatred towards his mother, provoked many critics. Regardless, it was a huge success commercially. 

Another well-received album "Encore", which reunited him with his old buddies in D12, soon followed in 2004. It was nominated for three Grammys and made digital history back then for becoming the first album to sell 10,000 digital copies in one week. Apparently to return the favor, he later hit recording booth with pals for a "D12 World" album in 2005. 

While he was at the peak of his career, Em was rumored going to retire from music industry. But he denied it, "When I say I'm taking a break, I'm taking a break from my music to go in the studio and produce my other artists. Despite his self-defense, the rapper apparently got caught in worse situation as he once was sent under treatment to overcome his dependency on sleep medication. This obviously provoked public worldwide to have a worsening perception on both his personal and musical career. 

Indeed, Em kept working on his music career. A greatest hits compilation "Curtain Call: The Hits" was released on December 6, 2005. Just like its predecessors, the new set scored great success, bowing atop of the Billboard album charts. Things also turned better in his love life as he revealed that he's back together with ex-wife, Kimberly. "We have reconciled and are probably going to remarry," he said back then. They finally remarried, but it only lasted less than three months. Kim cited Em's dependency to the sleep-medication as the reason behind their latest breakup. 

But Em denied it as saying, "Her allegations regarding my status post-rehab are both untrue and unfortunate.... she was aware that I was filing for divorce. We both tried to give our marriage another chance and quickly realized that a wedding doesn't fix the underlying problems." 

After "Encore", he took a break from recording. He said he was "in limbo" and "debating" about when and if he would release another album. He said, "I'm always working I'm always in the studio. It feels good right now, the energy of the label. For a while, I didn't want to go back to the studio ... I went through some personal things. I'm coming out of those personal things [and] it feels good." 

In May 2009, his fans rejoiced as a comeback album "Relapse" was rolled out that year. Featuring hits like "Crack a Bottle", "We Made You" and "Beautiful", it topped Hot 200, marking the umpteenth time he sat at the top spot of the U.S. album chart. As one of the most-awaited album of the year, the record became the best-selling rap CD by the end of December. 

New music kept coming from the rapper as he dropped another album "Recovery" in the following year. Not only did it produce smash hit singles like "Not Afraid" and "Love the Way You Lie" but it also became his ticket to collect more Grammy Awards. He even scored his best-selling single to date with 10.25 million sold worldwide for the Rihanna-assisted track. 

Despite being one of the best-selling rapper in the world, Em never forgot his roots. Besides his reunion with D12, he also got back together with another of his Bad Meets Evil homie, Royce 5'9'' for "Hell: The Sequel" album. The CD was released a year after his "Recovery". 

Fans' demand for new music after two years of absence was answered by Eminem in 2013. He announced "The Marshall Mathers LP 2" with "Berzerk" as a lead single. Although it was only previewed with one single, the album was already lauded by critics. It was named one of the most anticipated albums of 2013 by multiple music magazines.

(source: aceshowbiz.com ) 

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