Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), better known by his stage name Eminem, is an Oscar winning[2] American rapper, record producer, and actor from Detroit, Michigan. Having sold over seventy million albums worldwide,[3] Eminem is one of the highest-selling musicians of the early 2000s and one of the highest-selling rap artists of all time.[3] Eminem was discovered by rapper and producer, Dr. Dre. When Dr. Dre first heard Eminem's mixtape, he thought Eminem was black.[4] Dr. Dre later signed Eminem to his record label, Aftermath Entertainment.
Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney has praised Mathers for his "verbal energy" and for arousing popular interest in poetry and lyrics.[5] Eminem is infamous for the controversy surrounding many of his lyrics. With the success of his highly acclaimed album,[6] The Marshall Mathers LP and its subsequent nomination for four Grammy awards including Album of the Year,[7] critics such as GLAAD denounced his lyrics as homophobic and misogynist, while others claimed that it promoted violence. [8] In 2002, he starred in the semi-autobiographical movie
Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney has praised Mathers for his "verbal energy" and for arousing popular interest in poetry and lyrics.[5] Eminem is infamous for the controversy surrounding many of his lyrics. With the success of his highly acclaimed album,[6] The Marshall Mathers LP and its subsequent nomination for four Grammy awards including Album of the Year,[7] critics such as GLAAD denounced his lyrics as homophobic and misogynist, while others claimed that it promoted violence. [8] In 2002, he starred in the semi-autobiographical movie
Eminem was born in St. Joseph, Missouri to Deborah (née Nelson) and Marshall Bruce Mathers II, of Scottish, German, and English descent.[9] Shortly after his birth, his father walked out, leaving Debbie and Marshall alone. Until he was 12, he and his mother moved to and fro between St. Joseph and Warren, Michigan, a Detroit suburb, where he met D12 rapper Proof.[10] He was reportedly interested in hip hop from a young age. Mathers began performing as early as 13 in a group called Bassmint Productions where they produced an EP called Steppin' onto the Scene. In 1995, he recorded his first official tape, Fuckin’ Backstabber/Soul Intent. In 1996, he released an independent underground album named Infinite. Eminem recalls: "Obviously, I was young and influenced by other artists, and I got a lot of feedback saying that I sounded 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. It was a growing stage. I felt like Infinite was like a demo that just got pressed up."[11][12] Mathers followed Infinite with The Slim Shady EP, which saw his lyrics take a decidedly darker turn, in songs like "No One's Iller" and "Murder Murder", the latter of which he talks about having to commit crimes to feed his daughter.
After this album he received much attention and mixed reviews in the hip-hop underground scene, due to his distinctive style and the fact that he was white in a predominantly black genre.
Mathers had done a notable amount of rapping with fellow Detroit MC Royce da 5'9" early in his career. They referred to themselves as Bad Meets Evil, with Eminem playing 'The Bad' and Royce playing 'The Evil'. Royce da 5'9" and Eminem were once considered to be two of the greatest underground MCs in Detroit and were noted for their lyrical ability.
Rise to fame
After being signed to Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records, Eminem released The Slim Shady LP, which went on to be one of the most popular albums of 1999, going triple platinum by the end of the year.[13] With the album's popularity came controversy surrounding many of the album's lyrics. In "'97 Bonnie and Clyde", he describes a trip with his infant daughter, disposing of the body of his wife. Another song, "Guilty Conscience", ends with him encouraging a man to murder his wife and her lover. "Guilty Conscience" also marked the beginning of the powerful friendship and musical bond that Dr. Dre and Eminem would share. The two label-mates would later collaborate on a line of hit songs, including "Forgot About Dre" and "What's the Difference" from Dr. Dre's album 2001, "Bitch Please II" from the Marshall Mathers LP, "Say What You Say" from The Eminem Show and "Encore/Curtains Down" from Encore.
The Marshall Mathers LP was released in May 2000, and quickly sold two million copies. It was Eminem's fastest selling album to date.[14] The first single released from the album, "The Real Slim Shady", was a success and created some buzz by insulting celebrities and making dubious claims about them; he implies, among other things, that Christina Aguilera performed oral sex on Fred Durst (of Limp Bizkit) and Carson Daly (of MTV's Total Request Live).[15] In his second single, "The Way I Am", he reveals to his fans the pressures from his record company to top "My Name Is" and sell more records. Although Eminem had parodied shock rocker Marilyn Manson in the video "My Name Is", the artists are now on good terms. They have performed a remix of the song "The Way I Am" together in concert.[16] In the third single, "Stan" (which samples Dido's "Thank You"), Eminem attempts to deal with his new-found fame, taking on the perspective of a deranged fan who kills himself and his pregnant girlfriend, mirroring "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" on The Slim Shady LP. It was named as the third greatest rap song of all time in a list compiled by Q Magazine,[17] and came 10th in a similar survey conducted by Top40-Charts.com.[18] The song has since become highly acclaimed and was ranked 290th in Rolling Stone Magazine's "500 Greatest Songs Of All Time".[19]
Mathers' third major album, The Eminem Show, was released in summer 2002 and proved to be another hit for the rapper reaching number one on the charts and selling well over 1 million copies in its first week of release.[13] It featured the single "Without Me", an apparent sequel to "The Real Slim Shady", in which he makes derogatory comments about boy bands, Limp Bizkit, Moby, and Lynne Cheney, among others. The album reflected on the impact of his rise to fame, his relationship with his wife and daughter, and his status in the hip-hop community. He also addresses the charges he faced over assaulting a bouncer he saw kissing his wife in 2000. While there is clear anger present on several tracks, this album was considerably less inflammatory than the previous, and as such did not face any protests of misogyny and homophobia that had plagued The Marshall Mathers LP.
The year 2004 saw the release of Mathers' fourth major album, Encore. The album was another chart-topper for the rapper, driven by the single "Just Lose It", notable for being disrespectful towards Michael Jackson.[20] Despite the comedic theme of the lead single, Encore also had its fair share of serious subject matter, including the anti-war track "Mosh". By the end of 2005 Mathers released the single, "When I'm Gone", recorded for the greatest-hits set Curtain Call: The Hits.
Eminem often said that one of his most influential rappers in his career was Tupac Shakur, during an interview for the Tupac: Resurrection documentary
After this album he received much attention and mixed reviews in the hip-hop underground scene, due to his distinctive style and the fact that he was white in a predominantly black genre.
Mathers had done a notable amount of rapping with fellow Detroit MC Royce da 5'9" early in his career. They referred to themselves as Bad Meets Evil, with Eminem playing 'The Bad' and Royce playing 'The Evil'. Royce da 5'9" and Eminem were once considered to be two of the greatest underground MCs in Detroit and were noted for their lyrical ability.
Rise to fame
After being signed to Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records, Eminem released The Slim Shady LP, which went on to be one of the most popular albums of 1999, going triple platinum by the end of the year.[13] With the album's popularity came controversy surrounding many of the album's lyrics. In "'97 Bonnie and Clyde", he describes a trip with his infant daughter, disposing of the body of his wife. Another song, "Guilty Conscience", ends with him encouraging a man to murder his wife and her lover. "Guilty Conscience" also marked the beginning of the powerful friendship and musical bond that Dr. Dre and Eminem would share. The two label-mates would later collaborate on a line of hit songs, including "Forgot About Dre" and "What's the Difference" from Dr. Dre's album 2001, "Bitch Please II" from the Marshall Mathers LP, "Say What You Say" from The Eminem Show and "Encore/Curtains Down" from Encore.
The Marshall Mathers LP was released in May 2000, and quickly sold two million copies. It was Eminem's fastest selling album to date.[14] The first single released from the album, "The Real Slim Shady", was a success and created some buzz by insulting celebrities and making dubious claims about them; he implies, among other things, that Christina Aguilera performed oral sex on Fred Durst (of Limp Bizkit) and Carson Daly (of MTV's Total Request Live).[15] In his second single, "The Way I Am", he reveals to his fans the pressures from his record company to top "My Name Is" and sell more records. Although Eminem had parodied shock rocker Marilyn Manson in the video "My Name Is", the artists are now on good terms. They have performed a remix of the song "The Way I Am" together in concert.[16] In the third single, "Stan" (which samples Dido's "Thank You"), Eminem attempts to deal with his new-found fame, taking on the perspective of a deranged fan who kills himself and his pregnant girlfriend, mirroring "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" on The Slim Shady LP. It was named as the third greatest rap song of all time in a list compiled by Q Magazine,[17] and came 10th in a similar survey conducted by Top40-Charts.com.[18] The song has since become highly acclaimed and was ranked 290th in Rolling Stone Magazine's "500 Greatest Songs Of All Time".[19]
Mathers' third major album, The Eminem Show, was released in summer 2002 and proved to be another hit for the rapper reaching number one on the charts and selling well over 1 million copies in its first week of release.[13] It featured the single "Without Me", an apparent sequel to "The Real Slim Shady", in which he makes derogatory comments about boy bands, Limp Bizkit, Moby, and Lynne Cheney, among others. The album reflected on the impact of his rise to fame, his relationship with his wife and daughter, and his status in the hip-hop community. He also addresses the charges he faced over assaulting a bouncer he saw kissing his wife in 2000. While there is clear anger present on several tracks, this album was considerably less inflammatory than the previous, and as such did not face any protests of misogyny and homophobia that had plagued The Marshall Mathers LP.
The year 2004 saw the release of Mathers' fourth major album, Encore. The album was another chart-topper for the rapper, driven by the single "Just Lose It", notable for being disrespectful towards Michael Jackson.[20] Despite the comedic theme of the lead single, Encore also had its fair share of serious subject matter, including the anti-war track "Mosh". By the end of 2005 Mathers released the single, "When I'm Gone", recorded for the greatest-hits set Curtain Call: The Hits.
Eminem often said that one of his most influential rappers in his career was Tupac Shakur, during an interview for the Tupac: Resurrection documentary
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