Name	Game
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Jayceon Terrell Taylor
Born	November 29, 1979Los Angeles, California, United States
Origin	Compton, California, United States
Genre	Hip hop, West Coast hip hop, gangsta rap
Occupation	rapper, actor
Years active	2002–present
Label	BWS, Aftermath, Interscope
Associated acts	Dr. Dre, Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Lil Wayne, Nas, Fabolous
Url

Jayceon Terrell Taylor (born November 29, 1979), better known by his stage name Game, formerly The Game, is an American rapper and actor. As a member of G-Unit, he rose to fame in 2005 with the success of his debut album, The Documentary, which earned him two Grammy Award nominations. Followed by two more successful albums his second album Doctor's Advocate in 2006, and his third album LAX in 2008. Game also runs his own record label The Black Wall Street Records. Since then, he is considered to be a driving force in reviving and bringing back the West Coast hip hop scene, which had been overshadowed by artists from the East and South.

Early life

The Game was born Jayceon Terrell Taylor on November 29, 1979 in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in Compton, California in a primarily Crip gang neighborhood known as Santana Blocc, although he grew up to become a member of the Bloods. He was born into a life of gang-banging and hustling. In an October 2006 interview with MTV News correspondent Sway Calloway, Game described his family as "dysfunctional" and claimed that his father molested one of his sisters. When later interviewed, Game stated that at a young age, he recalled seeing both of his parents preparing to do drive-bys. His father was a Nutty Block Crip and his mother a Hoover Crippelette. Drugs and guns were all around Taylor while he was growing up. At around the age of 6, Game stated that a friend of his was murdered in the neighborhood by a teenager, for his clothes and shoes.

At the age of 7, Game went into foster care. In foster care he was teased by other children, he didn't go unnoticed however. Game's intelligence was acknowledged by his caretakers and he usually helped his foster brothers and sisters with their homework. Around 1989, Game met his idol, Eric Wright also known as Eazy-E founder of the rap group N.W.A, this being a defining moment in his life. Game's adolescence was one of many hardships, at 13, one of Game's older brothers, Jevon who was just 17 at the time was shot at a gas station. His brother had just received a record deal. Game stated that he felt his father played a hand in this by not being there and felt that if he had, his brother would not have been shot. Jevon died the day after Game visited him in the hospital promising that things would be better and lost time would be made up. Two years later at the age of 15, teenage Jayceon was removed from the foster care system and back into his mother's home. Taylor and his mother, Lynette, had a tumulutous relationship at first and Taylor's father was no longer around. Game enrolled at Washington State University on a basketball scholarship. In his first semester, however, Taylor was caught with drugs in his possession prompting the university to revoke his scholarship. He was suspended from athletics in his first semester because of drug allegations. However, the university's athletic department refutes these claims.

It was then that Taylor started fully embracing street life and turning towards selling drugs and running with gangs. Game and his brother Big Fase owned an apartment on the outskirts of Compton in Bellflower. Shortly after moving there, they quickly had a monopoly on the drug trade, but the operation was short-lived. In October 1, 2001, while Taylor was in the apartment alone, he heard a knock on the door at 2 a.m. Expecting a late night sale, Taylor opened the door to see a regular customer. The man, however, was accompanied by two other visitors and a fight ensued between Taylor and another man. Before he was able to reach for his pistol, Taylor was shot execution style by one of the assailants five times. After laying still for several minutes, Game used his cell phone and called an ambulance. Due to the severity of his wounds, Taylor went into a three-day coma. His stage name was coined by his grandmother cause he stated that she used to call him Game saying he was game for anything. Game first gained prominence when he attended a hip-hop summit hosted by Russell Simmons and Louis Farrakhan, After fully recovering, Big Fase and Game made a mixtape together. Releasing his first mixtape You Know What It Is Vol. 1 in 2002, followed by a record deal with the independent label, Get Low Recordz owned by JT the Bigga Figga.

Game's mixtape reached the hands of Sean Combs founder of Bad Boy Records who originally was on the verge of signing him to his label,. Five months later, he was discovered by Dr. Dre who listened to the mixtape produced by his brother, Dr. Dre contacted Game and signed him to his Aftermath Entertainment label in 2003. In late 2003, Interscope Records CEO Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre decided to have Game also work with 50 Cent and G-Unit. The arrangement was to help build a growing buzz around Game which would also fuel interest in G-Unit. Since then, he made numerous cameo appearances in music videos by 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, and Fabolous, first appearing on the music video of "In da Club", dancing with a girl. Game spent the next two-and-a-half years working on his debut album and being mentored by Dr. Dre.

The Documentary and feud with G-Unit (2004–2005)

(left) in New York City, New York, November 2004]] Not having dropped an yet album despite being signed onto Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records for awhile, Game still created hype around just his image alone. He appeared in ads for Sean Combs's Sean John clothing company and had an endorsement deal with Boost Mobile appearing in a commercial alongside Kanye West and Ludacris. Game also appeared heavily on the mixtape circuit and guest starred on mixtapes for DJ Green Lantern, The Diplomats, and G-Unit. The first single released with Game on it was "Certified Gangstas". Game guest starred on it alongside Jim Jones and Cam'ron. Though the single wasn't considered mainstream, the buzz increased around the west coast rapper.

His first promo single from his debut album was "Westside Story" it released on September 28, 2004. The original title of his debut album was Nigga Wit' An Attitude Volume 1 (as heard in the lyrics to "Dreams"), but an injunction filed at the request of Eazy-E's widow prevented him from using N.W.A.'s name in the album title. Dr. Dre and 50 Cent were executive producers on Game's debut album, The Documentary, which spawned the hit singles "How We Do" and "Hate It or Love It" (the latter receiving two Grammy nominations). The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and was the tenth best selling album of 2005 in the United States. It also debuted at number seven in the United Kingdom and sold over five million copies worldwide. In October 2004, he released his first album Untold Story through Get Low Recordz, which sold over 82,000 copies within its first three months. The album featured artists like Sean T, Young Noble (of the Outlawz), and JT the Bigga Figga. Game also appeared on various mixtapes hosted by DJ's such as DJ Kayslay, DJ Whoo Kid, and DJ Clue. Game also released a second mixtape You Know What It Is Vol. 2 through his own record label and appeared on the video game NBA Live 2004 on a song produced by Fredwreck called "Can't Stop Me".

Later that year Lil Eazy-E, a young rapper and son of rapper the late Eazy-E, entered a feud with Game. The two used to be close associates and even recorded music together. Lil' Eazy-E has since directed numerous diss songs targeting the rapper and expressed his anger over what he felt was Game misusing his father's name. Game responded by claiming that Lil' Eazy-E was trying to establish himself off the success he had made since releasing The Documentary. Game responded on a song titled "120 Bars" where he claimed that Lil' Eazy-E does not write his own lyrics. However, Game stated on the same track that he would rather not feud with Lil' Eazy-E due to the deep respect he feels for his father. Lil' Eazy-E later responded with "They Know Me". On October 30, 2006, Game went on KDAY and said that he and Lil' Eazy-E had ended their feud.

Dr. Dre's nemesis Suge Knight had an ongoing feud with Game stemming from when Yukmouth claimed that Game had been slapped by Suge Knight. Game responded on his website, saying that if Suge Knight had ever touched him, he would be "six feet under". After the 2005 BET Awards, associates of Death Row Records had their invitations to a party hosted by Ciara rescinded. Supposedly, a member of Death Row Records tried to steal Game's chain. Game stated on his Black Wall Street website that he disliked Suge Knight because of "the lives he has endangered". In Miami for the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, Suge Knight was shot and wounded at Kanye West's party by an unknown gunman. Game vigorously denied involvement in the shooting, but the incident renewed efforts to pacify hip hop feuds and Game has consequently been discouraged from attending certain events in hopes of averting retaliation. Later, Game and various representatives of California's rap cliques formed a West Coast "peace treaty" to end many rivalries between West Coast rappers. Although Suge Knight did not attend, he and Game declared their feud over.

In early 2005, Game entered a feud (or "beef") with G-Unit. Even before Game's debut album was released and their feud became public, there was tension between Game and 50 Cent. Soon after The Documentary's release, 50 Cent talked about an accident that occurred in the strip club by stating that he felt that the rapper's actions on not partnering with 50 Cent to react to Fat Joe and Jadakiss after the New York song written by Ja Rule were wrong and then booted Game out of G-Unit. 50 Cent also claimed that he was not getting his proper credit for the creation of the album and he claimed that he wrote six of the songs, which Game denied. During that dispute, a member of Game's entourage was shot after a confrontation at the Hot 97 studio in New York City. After the situation between them escalated, 50 Cent and Game held a press conference to announce their reconciliation. Fans had mixed feelings as to whether the rappers created a publicity stunt to boost the sales of the two albums the pair had just released. G-Unit continued to feud with Game, denouncing his street credibility in the media and claimed that without their support, he would not score a hit if he would make his second album. Game responded during a performance at Summer Jam and launched a boycott of G-Unit called "G-Unot".

After the performance at Summer Jam, Game responded with a song titled "300 Bars and Runnin'", an extended "diss" aimed at G-Unit as well as members of Roc-A-Fella Records on the mixtape You Know What It Is Vol. 3. The track is unique in that it is nearly 14 minutes long, in which Game criticises all members of G-Unit, amongst others. 50 Cent responded through his "Piggy Bank" music video, which features Game as a Mr. Potato Head doll and also parodies other rivals. Since then both groups continued to attack each other. Game released two more mixtapes, Ghost Unit and a mixtape/DVD called Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin. 50 Cent's rebuttal was "Not Rich, Still Lyin'" where he mocks Game. In addition, G-Unit started to respond on numerous mixtapes and then-new G-Unit member Spider Loc began dissing Game. Game responded with "240 Bars (Spider Joke)",

Doctor's Advocate and LAX (2006–2008)

Due to his disputes with 50 Cent, Game left Aftermath Entertainment and signed with Geffen Records another label under Universal Music Group's Interscope-Geffen-A&M; division to terminate his contractual obligations with G-Unit in the summer of 2006. The rapper's second album Doctor's Advocate was released on November 14, 2006. This album was set out by Game to prove that he was still able to make good music and be a successful artist without the help of Dr. Dre or 50 Cent. He was also working on getting his own label, The Black Wall Street Records, signed to a distribution label. While Game originally claimed Dr. Dre would still do production on the album in the November issue of XXL magazine, he admitted in September after the XXL interview was conducted during an interview on radio station Power 105 that Dr. Dre would not be producing any tracks although four previously unreleased tracks produced by Dr. Dre were released on the internet, but no reason was given as to why they were not included on the album. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling over 358,000 copies its first week.

In October 2006, Game extended a peace treaty to 50 Cent, which was not immediately replied to. However, a couple days later on Power 106, he stated that the treaty was only offered for one day. On Game's album Doctor's Advocate, he says the feud is over on a few of the songs. The feud seemed to have gained steam after Tony Yayo allegedly slapped the fourteen year old son of Czar Entertainment CEO Jimmy Rosemond. Game responded with "Body Bags" on You Know What It Is Vol. 4. Since Young Buck was dismissed from G-Unit by 50 Cent, there has been interviews from both Game and Young Buck stating they never had a problem with each other. In an interview Young Buck said he was aware of Game's support and that Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo did not reach out to him.

Game's third album, LAX, went head to head with heavy metal band Slipknot's All Hope Is Gone on the Billboard 200, seeing that both albums were released on August 22, 2008, therefore both albums were competing for the number one spot on the Billboard 200 albums charts. LAX ended up debuting at number two on the Billboard 200, at first it looked like LAX had debuted ahead of All Hope Is Gone by 13 copies, with such a close difference. Initially, Billboard published an article stating that The Game had secured the top spot with a margin of 13 units, in what was described as the "closest race for number one since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking Data in 1991". Slipknot's labels Warner Music Group and Roadrunner Records asked for a soundscan recount, a historic first. Nielsen proceeded to the recount, which placed LAX at number two with 238,382 copies, and Slipknot in first position with 239,516 copies scanned, a margin of 1,134 copies. After the recount 12 hours later, the article was rewritten and Slipknot was awarded the number one spot, having sold 239,516 units.

The R.E.D. Album (2009–present)

It was confirmed in May 2009 that Game began working on a new album. On June 26, 2009 Game released a song titled "Better on the Other Side" a Michael Jackson tribute, the day after Jackson's death. It features Diddy, Mario Winans, Chris Brown, Usher & Boys II Men. On October 3, 2009, Snoop Dogg posted a picture on his Twitter of himself, Dr. Dre and Game in the studio working together, The picture was taken a day earlier and it marked the first time Game had worked with Dr. Dre for some years since the beef with former fellow G-Unit labelmate 50 Cent caused him to release his two following albums on Geffen Records. Later in early January 2010 Game posted a twitpic of him wearing a lot of Aftermath chains with a caption saying "It's funny how things come Full Circle". Later it was confirmed that he had returned to Aftermath Entertainment.

Other ventures

As a result of his fame, Game ventured into areas outside of rap. He was chosen to play and had bought a large selection of shares for the now defunct Inglewood Cobras, an ABA basketball franchise team.

Game also ventured into acting. In 2004, he had a minor role voicing the character "", in the video game . He also voiced a character in the video game . In 2006, he made his film debut in Waist Deep as a character named "Big Meat" and is currently filming two more movies.

Game has also partnered with 310 Motoring to create his own shoe called The Hurricanes. A portion of the proceeds of the shoe are donated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Personal life

Family and relationships

Game has three children, two sons and a daughter. His first son is named Harlem Caron Taylor and was born on June 30, 2003. The Los Angeles Times reported that as of 2006, Game is a resident of Glendale, California after purchasing a home in the Kenneth Village neighborhood.

Game announced that he was engaged to actress and model Valeisha Butterfield, the daughter of U.S. Congressman G. K. Butterfield. The couple were set to marry in March 2007, but the engagement was called off in June 2006.

Legal issues

Game, Snoop Dogg, and Tha Dogg Pound, were sued for assaulting a fan on stage at a May 2005 concert at the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, Washington. The accuser, Richard Monroe, Jr., claimed he was beaten by the artists' entourage while mounting the stage. He alleged that he reacted to an "open invite" to come on stage. Before he could, Snoop's bodyguards grabbed him and he was beaten unconscious by crewmembers, including the rapper and producer Soopafly; Snoop and Game were included in the suit for not intervening. The lawsuit focuses on a pecuniary claim of $22 million in punitive and compensatory damages, battery, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The concerned parties appeared in court in April 2009.

On October 28, 2005, Game was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in Greensboro. At one point, police said his companions were pepper sprayed when they surrounded officers in a threatening manner. Mall security officers said the rapper was wearing a full-face Halloween mask, filming shoppers, cursing loudly, and refused to leave when asked. Game continued to act up and was arrested, a police statement said. Game claimed that officers overreacted and that he did nothing wrong when he was pepper sprayed by the mall security. which has yet to be taken to court.

On May 11, 2007, Game was arrested at his home reportedly in connection with an incident at a basketball game in South Los Angeles in February 2007. He is alleged to have threatened a person with a gun. The arrest took place after his home was searched for three hours. Game was released early the next day after posting $50,000 bail. On January 9, 2008, a Los Angeles judge scheduled February 4 as the beginning date for Game's trial on assault and weapons charges. After pleading no contest to a felony weapons charge on February 11, Game was sentenced to 60 days in jail, 150 hours of community service, and three years probation. Game was refused entry to Canada for alleged gang ties in LA; concert organisers said he was associated with the Bloods.

Discography

;Studio albums

The Documentary (2005)

Doctor's Advocate (2006)

LAX (2008)

The R.E.D. Album (2011)

Filmography

{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%;" |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Film |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! Year ! Film ! Role ! Notes |- |2006 |Waist Deep |Big Meat | |- |rowspan="2"|2008 |Street Kings |Grill | |- | |G | |- |}

Awards and nominations

|- |rowspan="7"|2005 |rowspan="4"|The Game |BET Awards - Best New Artist | |- |Billboard Music Awards - Rap Artist of the Year | |- |Billboard Music Awards - New Artist of the Year | |- |rowspan="2"|2006 |Grammy Awards - Best Rap Song | |- |2008 |The Game |Ozone Awards - Best West Coast Rap Artist | |}

References

External links

Game at Facebook

Game at MTV

Game at Myspace

Game at Ning

Game at Twitter

Category:1979 births Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:Actors from California Category:African American actors Category:African American rappers Category:Aftermath Entertainment artists Category:American shooting survivors Category:Bloods Category:Interscope Records artists Category:Living people Category:People from Compton, California Category:Rappers from Los Angeles, California Category:World Music Awards winners

Name	Tila Tequila
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Tila Nguyen
Alias	Tila Tequila
Born	October 24, 1981Singapore is a Singaporean-born American model, singer, rapper, and television personality. She is known for her appearances in the men's magazines Stuff, Maxim, Penthouse, her role as host of the Fuse TV show featuring performance striptease, Pants-Off Dance-Off and her position as the most popular artist on MySpace (according to page views) circa April 2006, along with Jeffree Star. She was raised in Houston, Texas, and now lives in Los Angeles, California. Her MTV reality show A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila aired for two seasons.
Name	Tequila, Tila
Alternative names	Nguyễn, Tila
Short description	Singer-songwriter, glamour model
Date of birth	October 24, 1981
Place of birth	Singapore

Category:Living people Category:1981 births Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:21st-century women writers Category:American actors of Asian descent Category:American bloggers Category:American female singers Category:American memoirists Category:American musicians of Vietnamese descent Category:American people of French descent Category:American pop singer-songwriters Category:American television personalities Category:American women writers Category:American writers of Asian descent Category:Lesbian actors Category:Lesbian musicians Category:Lesbian writers Category:LGBT Asian Americans Category:LGBT musicians from the United States Category:LGBT television personalities Category:LGBT writers from the United States Category:Musicians from Houston, Texas Category:Musicians from Los Angeles, California Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Queens Category:Singaporean immigrants to the United States

Name	Ras Kass
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	John Austin IV
Alias	"The Waterproof"
Born	September 25, 1973 in Watts, California, USA
Origin	Carson, California, USA
Genre	Hardcore hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, Producer
Years active	1994 - present
Label	Priority, Zoo Life
Associated acts	The HRSMN, Xzibit, 40 Glocc, Krondon, Phil Da Agony, Immortal Technique, Da Beatminerz, Dr. Dre, Mack 10, Crooked I, Teedra Moses, NameBrand, Coolio, Jaz-O, M.O.P., Wu-Tang Clan, Joell Ortiz
Url	www.raskass-central.com

John Austin IV, (born September 25, 1973) better known by his stage name Ras Kass, is an American rapper. He is also a part of hip hop supergroup The HRSMN along with Canibus, Killah Priest, and Kurupt.

Biography

Austin was born in Watts, California on September 26, 1973.

Early career

Ras Kass sent waves through the hip-hop world with his debut independent single release "Remain Anonymous," earning him a Hip-Hop Quotable in The Source Magazine. Before his signing with Priority/EMI Records, Ras Kass began making guest appearances on several records and freestyles on numerous radio shows, further solidified the emerging lyricist's notoriety. Recorded guest appearances include Sway & King Tech's "Come Widdit" (feat. Ras Kass, Ahamad & Saafir) (Priority Records) and their "Wake Up Show Anthem ’94" (feat. Ras Kass, Nas, Lauryn Hill, Chino XL, Organized Konfusion & Saafir), as well as Chino XL's "Riiot" American Records, and KeyKool & Rhettmatic's "E=MC5" (feat. Ras Kass, LMNO, Meen Green & !) Up Above Records.

Soul on Ice & Rasassination

From a young age, Austin was influenced by hip hop music, inspired by a variety of emcees including Ice Cube, Rakim, Scarface, and KRS-One. His first album, Soul on Ice, was released in 1996. Taking its name from a book by Eldridge Cleaver, Ras addressed racial relations in the same manner, most notably with "Ordo Abchao" and "Nature of the Threat." The album was released on Priority Records, as was the follow-up, Rasassination, which featured beats from Easy Mo Bee and guest appearances by RZA, Twista, Xzibit, Mack 10 and Dr. Dre. Lead single "Ghetto Fabulous" featured Dre and Mack 10 and was pushed by a lavish video shoot. The album received generally positive reviews, and shortly afterward the MC announced his third album, Van Gogh.

Priority Issues, Van Gogh & Goldyn Chyld

During the recording of Ras's intended third album, Van Gogh, Priority Records merged with Capitol Records, which acquired the emcee’s contract and his material. Initially near completion, the album was heavily bootlegged before any single or promotion could be prepared. In fact, the would be single "Van Gogh" was even played on an episode of The Sopranos. Ras went back to work overhauling the project, procuring tracks from DJ Premier, Hi-Tek, and Dr. Dre and retaining songs from Rockwilder and Battlecat. Tensions arose during the re-recording, from budget restrictions to lack of promotion:

Ras Kass was also involved in The HRSMN, sometimes called the 4 Hrsmn, consisting of himself, Kurupt, Killah Priest, and Canibus. The Horsemen Project, a white-label of rough tracks by the four, was released in 2003, but no other releases have been subsequently forthcoming. Finally, nearing the completion of his album, the MC and Priority disagreed over the lead single. Originally pushing "Goldyn Chyld," produced by DJ Premier, Priority executives decided to try to release the Dr. Dre-produced "The Whoop" instead, against the wishes of both Ras Kass and Dr. Dre. As he was finishing up Goldyn Chyld, Kass was pulled over in California and arrested for a D.U.I., marking his third; though sentenced to jail time, he was given an extension. Two weeks before the start of his sentence, Priority informed him of their decision not to put out Goldyn Chyld after all. Becoming a fugitive, Ras attained the masters to his project, recorded some music, and finally turned himself in to police. During this time, he also had minor problems with producer the Alchemist, who sold Ras a beat that he later re-sold to rapper Jadakiss, which ultimately formed the basis for the track "We Gon' Make It."

Incarceration, Institutionalized, Priority Release

After serving only 19 months for his D.U.I. charge, Ras Kass recorded the album Institutionalized and began seeking release from his contract with Priority/Capitol Records. Though intended to be an album, it was released as a mixtape, generating a moderate buzz despite Capitol's alleged reluctance. In October 2007, Kass finally succeeded in being released from his record contract. he was again incarcerated, this time for violating his parole by flying to the 2007 BET Awards. During this time, he put out the album Institutionalized Vol. 2 on Babygrande Records. After nearly two years of incarceration, Ras Kass was released from jail at the end of May 2009.

Rass Kass talks about his arrest and incarceration in the 2011 film Rhyme and Punishment which documents Rap artists who have spent time behind bars.

The Quarterly

Featured in HipHopDX's Underground Report, Ras Kass revealed that his next release would be a project called The Quarterly. Originally intended to be completed within the fourth quarter of 2009, it comprises a song a week released in the fashion of fellow west coast emcee Crooked I's Hip-Hop Weekly and Freeway's Month of Madness. Though released in this format, the collected songs was released as an album. "The Quarterly" was released on November 23, 2009 via www.raskass-central.com and includes nineteen tracks featuring collaborations by Killah Priest, Mistah F.A.B. and Krondon of Strong Arm Steady, with production from Pete Rock, Veterano, and others.

A.D.I.D.A.S. Kickstarter Project & Save The Ras Kass

In 2010 Ras Kass launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the manufacture of 1000 CDs and 500 vinyls for his A.D.I.D.A.S. project and a viral marketing campaign called Save The Ras Kass, which included a series of satirical webisodes about the plight of the endangered emcee. In an interview with MTV UK writer Han O'Connor he explained his decision to use Kickstarter, stating "we started trying different angles at solving old problems. Kickstarter was the natural evolution of trying creative new business models. When we put out The Quarterly there were people that said, ‘well how come you didn’t create a CD for this?’ and I’m like ‘well if I have to spend that $5000 and you want one, I appreciate it but there’s the small problem that I spent $5000.’" His webisodes document the downfall of an emcee, as he explained, "You just see this downward spiral; it’s just that fall from grace and I’m kind of making fun of that and using me as the vehicle for it."

Discography

Studio albums

{|class="wikitable" |- !rowspan="2"| Year !rowspan="2"| Title !colspan="2"| Chart positions |- ! U.S. Billboard 200 ! U.S. R&B; |- |1996 |Soul on Ice

Released: October 1, 1996

Label: Priority

|align="center"|169 |align="center"|35 |- |1998 |Rasassination

Released: September 22, 1998

Label: Priority

|align="center"|63 |align="center"|11 |- |2010 |A.D.I.D.A.S

Released: July 20, 2010

Released: December 21, 2010 (A.D.I.D.A.S. Relaced Version)

Label: Reup Entertainment

|align="center"| |align="center"| |- |}

Mixtapes and Unreleased Albums

"Van Gogh" (2001)

"Goldyn Chyld" (2002)

"Institutionalized" (2005)

"Eat Or Die" (2006)

"Revenge Of The Spit" (2006)

"Chinese Graffiti" (2007)

"Institutionalized Vol. 2" (2008)

"Quarterly" (2009)

Singles

Filmography

1997 Rhyme & Reason

1998 I Got the Hook Up

2000 Brothahood

2011 Rhyme and Punishment

References

External links

Official website

Category:Living people Category:Rappers from Los Angeles, California Category:Priority Records artists Category:African American rappers Category:Members of the Nation of Gods and Earths Category:1973 births

Name	Eminem|Img
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Marshall Bruce Mathers III
Born	October 17, 1972 Saint Joseph, Missouri, U.S.
Origin	Warren, Michigan, U.S.
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, producer, actor, songwriter
Years active	1992–present
Label	Interscope, Aftermath, Shady
Associated acts	D12, Dr. Dre, Royce da 5'9", Bad Meets Evil, 50 Cent
Url

Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), better known by his stage name Eminem, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Eminem quickly gained popularity in 1999 with his major-label debut album, The Slim Shady LP, which won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. The following album, The Marshall Mathers LP, became the fastest-selling solo album in United States history. It brought Eminem increased popularity, including his own record label, Shady Records, and brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition.

The Marshall Mathers LP and his third major album, The Eminem Show, also won Grammy Awards, making Eminem the first artist to win Best Rap Album for three consecutive LPs. He then won the award again in 2010 for his album Relapse and in 2011 for his album Recovery, giving him a total of 13 Grammys in his career. In 2003, he won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Lose Yourself" from the film, 8 Mile, in which he also played the lead. "Lose Yourself" would go on to become the longest running No. 1 hip hop single. Eminem then went on hiatus after touring in 2005. He released his first album since 2004's Encore, titled Relapse, on May 15, 2009. Eminem is the best-selling artist of the decade on the US Nielsen SoundScan, and has sold more than 86.5 million albums worldwide to date, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. In 2010, Eminem released his seventh studio album Recovery. It became Eminem's sixth consecutive number-one album in the US and achieved international commercial success, charting at number one in several other countries. It stayed at number-one on the US Billboard 200 chart for five consecutive weeks and a total of seven weeks. Recovery was also reported by Billboard to be the best-selling album of 2010, making Eminem the first artist in Nielsen SoundScan history to have two year-end best-selling albums. Recovery is also the best selling digital album in history. Recovery was also named the best selling album worldwide of 2010 joining The Eminem Show which was the best seller of 2002 giving him 2 worldwide year end number 1 albums.

In 2005, Eminem was ranked 79th on the VH1 100 Greatest Artists of All-Time. He was also ranked 82nd on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He was also named the Best Rapper Alive by Vibe magazine in 2008. Including his work with D12, Eminem has achieved nine No. 1 albums on the Billboard Top 200, 7 solo (6 studio albums, 1 compilation) and 2 with D12. Eminem has had 13 number one singles worldwide. In December 2009, Eminem was named the Artist of the Decade by Billboard magazine. His albums The Eminem Show, The Marshall Mathers LP, and Encore (in order) ranked as the 3rd, 7th, best-selling albums of the 2000–2009 decade by Billboard magazine. Also according to Billboard, Eminem has two of his albums among the top five highest selling albums of the 2000s. In the UK, Eminem has sold over 12.5 million records. Eminem has also sold more than 33 million track downloads and 39.6 million albums in the United States alone. In 2010, MTV ranked Eminem as the 7th biggest icon in pop music history. During 2010, Eminem's music generated 94 million streams, more than any other music artist. Eminem has scored over 1 billion views on his official Vevo page on YouTube.

Early life

Eminem was born Marshall Bruce Mathers III on October 17, 1972 in Saint Joseph, Missouri, as the only child of Deborah R. Nelson Mathers-Briggs and Marshall Bruce Mathers, Jr. English, German, Swiss, Polish, and possibly Luxembourgian ancestry. His father abandoned the family when he was 18 months old, and he was raised solely by his mother in poverty. By the age of 12, Mathers and his mother had moved between various cities and towns in Missouri (including Saint Joseph, Savannah, and Kansas City) before they settled in Warren, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.

After procuring a copy of the Beastie Boys album Licensed to Ill as a teenager, Mathers became interested in hip hop, performing amateur raps at age 14 under the pseudonym "M&M;" and joining the group called "Bassmint Productions" and released their second EP, Steppin' Onto The Scene. They later changed their name to "Soul Intent" and around 1995 they released their first single called "Fuckin' Backstabber" under the record label Mashin' Duck Records. Despite a well-documented struggle succeeding in a predominantly African-American industry, he gained the approval of underground hip hop audiences. After repeating the ninth grade twice due to truancy and near-failing grades,

Musical career

1992–1996: Early career and Infinite

Mathers was initially signed to FBT Productions in 1992, run by brothers Jeff and Mark Bass. Mathers also held a minimum-wage job of cooking and dishwashing at the restaurant Gilbert's Lodge at St. Clair Shores for some time. In 1996, his debut album Infinite, which was recorded at the Bassmint, a recording studio owned by the Bass Brothers, was released under their independent label Web Entertainment. Eminem recalled, "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." Subjects covered in Infinite included his struggles with raising his newborn daughter Hailie Jade Mathers while on limited funds and his strong desire to get rich. Early in his career, Eminem collaborated with fellow Detroit MC Royce da 5'9" under the stage name Bad Meets Evil. After the release of Infinite, Eminem's personal struggles and abuse of drugs and alcohol culminated in an unsuccessful suicide attempt. Iovine played the tape for record producer Dr. Dre, founder of Aftermath Entertainment. The two began recording tracks for Eminem's upcoming major-label debut The Slim Shady LP, and Eminem made a guest performance on the album Devil Without a Cause by Kid Rock.

1997–1999: The Slim Shady LP

According to Billboard Magazine, at this point in his life Eminem had "realized his musical ambitions were the only way to escape his unhappy life". After being signed to Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records in 1998, Eminem released his first major studio album, The Slim Shady LP, heavily based on the production by Dr. Dre, one year later in 1999. Billboard praised the album as "light years ahead of the material he had been writing beforehand". It went on to be one of the most popular albums of 1999, going triple platinum by the end of the year. 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 his wife's body. Another song, "Guilty Conscience", ends with his encouraging a man to murder his wife and her lover. "Guilty Conscience" marked the beginning of the 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, "Encore/Curtains Down" from Encore and "Old Time's Sake" and "Crack a Bottle" from Relapse. Dr. Dre would go on to make at least one guest appearance on all of Eminem's studio albums under the label Aftermath. The album has now been certified 4x platinum by the RIAA.

With the release of this album, Mathers was accused of imitating the style and subject matter of underground rapper Cage.

1999–2001: The Marshall Mathers LP

The Marshall Mathers LP was released in May 2000. It went on to sell 1.76 million copies in its first week, breaking the records set by Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle as the fastest-selling hip hop album and Britney Spears' ...Baby One More Time as the fastest-selling solo album in United States history. The first single released from the album, "The Real Slim Shady", was a success and created some controversy by insulting celebrities and making dubious claims about them; he states, among other things, that Christina Aguilera performed oral sex on Fred Durst and Carson Daly. 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 reportedly on good terms. They performed a remix of the song "The Way I Am" together in concert. In the third single, "Stan" (which samples Dido's "Thank You"), Eminem attempts to deal with his new-found fame, taking on the persona of a deranged fan who kills himself and his pregnant girlfriend, mirroring "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" on The Slim Shady LP. In the music video of "Stan", Eminem was shown writing with his left hand, ending the fan debate over his dominant hand. Q magazine named "Stan" the third-greatest rap song of all time, and the song came tenth in a similar survey conducted by Top40-Charts.com. The song has since become highly acclaimed and was ranked 290th in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list. In July 2000, Eminem became the first white person to be featured on the cover of The Source magazine. the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), an organization that perceived Eminem's lyrics to be homophobic, condemned the openly gay John's decision to perform with Eminem. Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "It was the hug heard 'round the world. Eminem, under fire for homophobic lyrics, shared the stage with a gay icon for a performance of "Stan" that would have been memorable in any context." On February 21, the day of the ceremony, GLAAD held a protest outside the Staples Center, the venue where the Grammy ceremony was held. Music tours that he participated in for 2001 included the Up In Smoke Tour with rappers Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, and Ice Cube and Family Values Tour with the band Limp Bizkit.

2002–2003: The Eminem Show

Eminem's 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. However, L. Brent Bozell III, who previously criticized The Marshall Mathers LP for perceived misogynistic lyrics in the album, noted The Eminem Show for its extensive use of obscene language, giving Eminem the nickname "Eminef" for the of motherfucker, an obscenity prevalent in the album. The Eminem Show was the best-selling album of 2002.

2003–2005: Encore

On December 8, 2003, the United States Secret Service admitted it was "looking into" allegations that Eminem had threatened the President of the United States. The lyrics in question: "Fuck money/I don't rap for dead presidents/I'd rather see the president dead/It's never been said, but I set precedents ..." The song in question, "We As Americans", wound up on a bonus CD accompanying the album.

In 2004, Eminem released his fourth major album, Encore. The album was another chart-topper, as it was driven by the single "Just Lose It", notable for being disrespectful towards Michael Jackson. On October 12, 2004, a week after the release of "Just Lose It", Eminem's first single off Encore, Michael Jackson called into the Los Angeles-based Steve Harvey radio show to report his displeasure with the video, which parodies Jackson's child molestation trial, plastic surgery, and an incident in which Jackson's hair caught on fire while filming a Pepsi commercial in 1984. The lyrics to "Just Lose It" refer to Jackson's legal troubles, however he does state in his song "... and that's not a stab at Michael/That's just a metaphor/I'm just psycho...." Many of Jackson's supporters and friends spoke out about the video, including Stevie Wonder, who called the video "kicking a man while he's down" and "bullshit", and Steve Harvey, who declared, "Eminem has lost his ghetto pass. We want the pass back."

Regarding Jackson's protest, "Weird Al" Yankovic, who parodied the Eminem song "Lose Yourself" on a track titled "Couch Potato" on his 2003 album Poodle Hat, told the Chicago Sun-Times, "Last year, Eminem forced me to halt production on the video for my "Lose Yourself" parody because he somehow thought that it would be harmful to his image or career. So the irony of this situation with Michael is not lost on me." Black Entertainment Television was the first channel to stop airing the video. MTV, however, announced it would continue airing the video. The Source, through its CEO Raymond "Benzino" Scott, wanted not only the video to be pulled, but the song off the album, and a public apology to Jackson from Eminem. In 2007 Jackson and Sony bought Famous Music LLC from Viacom. This deal gave him the rights to songs by Eminem, Shakira and Beck, among others.

Despite the comedic theme of the lead single, Encore had its fair share of serious subject matter, including the anti-war track "Mosh". On October 25, 2004, a week before the 2004 US Presidential election, Eminem released the video for "Mosh" on the Internet. The song featured a very strong anti-Bush message, with lyrics such as "fuck Bush" and "this weapon of mass destruction that we call our president". The video features Eminem gathering up an army of people, including rapper Lloyd Banks, presented as victims of the Bush administration and leading them to the White House. However, once the army breaks in, it is revealed that they are there to simply register to vote, and the video ends with the words "VOTE Tuesday November 2" on the screen. After Bush was re-elected, the video's ending was changed to Eminem and the protesters invading while Bush was giving a speech.

2005–2007: Musical hiatus

In 2005, some industry insiders speculated that Eminem was considering ending his rapping career after six years and several multi-platinum albums. Speculation began in early 2005 about a double-disc album to be released late that year, rumored to be titled The Funeral. The album later manifested itself as a greatest hits album under the name in December. In July 2005, the Detroit Free Press broke news of a potential final bow for Eminem as a solo performer, quoting members of his inside circle who said that he will begin to fully embrace the role of producer and label executive. On the same day of the release of the compilation album, Eminem denied that he was retiring on Detroit-based WKQI's "Mojo in the Morning" radio show, but implied that he would at least be taking a break as an artist, saying "I'm at a point in my life right now where I feel like I don't know where my career is going ... This is the reason that we called it 'Curtain Call', because this could be the final thing. We don't know." He released The Re-Up with the members of his record label, Shady Records. It was released in 2006.

In 2005, Eminem was a subject of Bernard Goldberg's book, 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America; he ranked No. 58. Goldberg cited a 2001 column by Bob Herbert of The New York Times claiming, "In Eminem's world, all women are whores and he is eager to rape and murder them." Goldberg cited Eminem's song "No One's Iller" from The Slim Shady EP as an example of misogyny in his music. In summer 2005, Eminem embarked on his first US concert run in three years, the Anger Management 3 Tour, featuring 50 Cent, G-Unit, Lil' Jon, D12, Obie Trice, The Alchemist, and others. In August 2005, Eminem canceled the European leg of the tour and subsequently announced that he had entered drug rehabilitation for treatment for a "dependency on sleep medication".

Curtain Call: The Hits was released on December 6, 2005, under Aftermath Entertainment. In its first week it sold nearly 441,000 copies in the US and was Eminem's fourth straight No. 1 album on the Billboard Hot 200. The album has been certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA.

2007–2009: Relapse and Relapse: Refill

In September 2007, Eminem called into New York radio station Hot 97 during an interview with 50 Cent and 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."

Eminem made an appearance on his Sirius channel Shade 45 in September 2008 in which he said, "Right now I'm kinda just concentrating on my own stuff, for right now and just banging out tracks and producing a lot of stuff. You know, the more I keep producing the better it seems like I get 'cause I just start knowing stuff." It was around this time that Interscope finally confirmed the existence of a new Eminem album, with Spring 2009 later being stated as the period span in which the album is due. In December 2008, he gave more details on the album, which he recently reported was being titled Relapse. He said, "Me and Dre are back in the lab like the old days, man. Dre will end up producing the majority of the tracks on 'Relapse'. We are up to our old mischievous ways ... let's just leave it at that."

On March 5, 2009, Eminem reported in a press release that he would be releasing two new albums that year. Relapse, the first album, was released on May 19, while "We Made You", the first official single and its music video, were released on April 7. While Relapse didn't manage to sell as well as Eminem's previous efforts, it was still a commercial success that received some critical acclaim, while also re-establishing his presence in the hip hop world. Relapse was named one of the top albums of 2009. Relapse has sold more than five million copies worldwide. During the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, Sacha Baron Cohen descended upon the audience wearing an angel's costume and landed on top of Eminem with his buttocks facing towards Eminem's face, resulting in Eminem storming out of the awards ceremony in disgust. Three days later, Eminem stated it was a staged act that they had planned together. On October 30, Eminem performed at the Voodoo Music Experience in New Orleans as a headliner in his first full performance in 2009. The performance included several songs from Relapse, as well as many of Eminem's older hits and an appearance by D12. On November 19, Eminem announced on his website that Relapse: Refill would be released on December 21. The album was a re-release of the Relapse album with seven bonus tracks, including "Forever" and "Taking My Ball". In a statement he described the forthcoming CD:

2010–present: Recovery

On April 14, 2010, Eminem tweeted, "There is no Relapse 2", to his followers. When he tweeted this, people started to believe that he was not releasing an album at all, but it simply meant that the album title would be changed to Recovery. He confirmed this by tweeting, "RECOVERY", with a link to his website. Eminem said, "I had originally planned for Relapse 2 to come out last year. But as I kept recording and working with new producers, the idea of a sequel to Relapse started to make less and less sense to me, and I wanted to make a completely new album. The music on Recovery came out very different from Relapse, and I think it deserves its own title." His seventh studio album, Recovery, was released on June 21. In the US, Recovery sold 741,000 in its first week to land atop the Billboard 200. The first single, "Not Afraid", was released on April 29, and debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, followed by a second single, "Love the Way You Lie," which debuted at number 2 and then rose. Despite some criticism towards its consistency, Recovery received positive reviews from most music critics. , the album had sold three million copies in the US.

Eminem appeared at the 2010 BET Awards, performing "Airplanes Part II" with B.o.B and "Not Afraid". He also performed at the Activison E3 concert. In June 2010, Eminem and Jay-Z announced they would perform together in a pair of concerts in Detroit and New York. The event was dubbed The Home & Home Tour. The first two concerts rapidly sold out, prompting the scheduling of an additional show at each venue. BET also named Eminem the #1 rapper of the 21st century.

Eminem opened the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010, by performing "Not Afraid" and "Love the Way You Lie", with Rihanna performing the chorus. Due to the success of Recovery and the Home & Home Tour, he was named the 2010 Hottest MC in the Game by MTV and "Emcee of the Year" by Hip-Hop news website HipHopDX.

Eminem and Rihanna collaborated once again to make "Love the Way You Lie (Part II)", the sequel to their hit single "Love the Way You Lie". Rihanna is the lead singer, as opposed to Eminem being the main singer in the original "Love the Way You Lie". The song is said to be from the female perspective. Nicki Minaj collaborated with rapper Eminem on a song titled "Roman's Revenge" that appears on her album Pink Friday album. The song references Minaj's alter-ego Roman Zolanski and features Eminem's alter-ego Slim Shady. He also featured on I Need a Doctor, the second single from Detox, as well as its third upcoming single, "Die Hard"

In December 2010, in Billboards "The Top 25 Music Moments of 2010", The "Great Eminem Recovery" was named the number one music moment of 2010. Eminem appeared at the 2011 Grammy Awards on February 13, 2011, by performing "Love the Way You Lie (Part II)" with Rihanna and Adam Levine, and "I Need a Doctor" with Dr. Dre and Skylar Grey. In February, 2011, it was announced that "Space Bound" would be released as the fourth single off of Recovery along with a music video for the song currently being shot with former porn star Sasha Grey.

A track titled "Echo" also leaked featuring Royce Da 5'9, possibly indicating a "Bad Meets Evil" sequel. The sequel, , was later confirmed to be slated for release in June 2011. He was featured on 'Writer's Block' with Royce Da 5'9 that was officially released on 8 April 2011. On May 3 they release the lead single Fast Lane for the upcoming sequel.

In March 2011, within days of each other, both The Eminem Show and The Marshall Mathers LP were certified diamond by the RIAA. This makes Eminem the only rapper to have two diamond-certified albums.

Other ventures

Shady Records and D12

As Eminem succeeded in multi-platinum record sales, Interscope granted him his own record label. He and his manager Paul Rosenberg created Shady Records in late 1999. He followed this by signing his own Detroit collective D12 and rapper Obie Trice to the label. In 2002, Eminem signed 50 Cent through a joint venture between Shady and Dr. Dre's Aftermath label. In 2003, Eminem and Dr. Dre signed Atlanta rapper Stat Quo to the Shady/Aftermath roster. DJ Green Lantern, the former DJ for Eminem, was signed to Shady Records until a dispute related to the 50 Cent and Jadakiss feud forced him to depart from the label; he is no longer associated with Eminem. The Alchemist is now officially Eminem's tour DJ. In 2005, Eminem signed another Atlanta rapper, Bobby Creekwater, to his label along with West Coast rapper Cashis.

On December 5, 2006, Shady Records released compilation album, . It started out as a mixtape but Eminem found that the material was better than expected and released it as a full album. It was meant to help launch the new artists under the roster, like Stat Quo, Cashis and Bobby Creekwater. Around the time of recording Infinite, Eminem and rappers Proof and Kon Artis gathered the group of rappers now collectively in the group D12, short for "Detroit Twelve" or "Dirty Dozen", performing in the manner of the multi-man group Wu-Tang Clan. In 2001, Eminem brought his rap group, D12, to the popular music scene, and the group's debut album Devil's Night came out that year. The first single released off of the album was "Shit on You", followed by "Purple Pills", an ode to recreational drug use. For radio and television, the censored version "Pills" was heavily rewritten to remove many of the song's references to drugs and sex and was renamed "Purple Hills". While that single was a hit, the album's second single, "Fight Music", was not as successful.

After their debut, D12 took a three-year break from the studio, later regrouping to release their second album, D12 World, in 2004, which featured the popular hit single release "My Band". D12 member Bizarre said that Eminem is not featured on his new album Blue Cheese & Coney Island because "he's busy doing his thing".

Acting career

Although he had a cameo in the 2001 film, The Wash, Eminem made his official Hollywood acting debut with the semi-autobiographical 8 Mile, released in November 2002. He has said the movie is not an account of his life, but a representation of growing up in Detroit. He recorded several new songs for the soundtrack, including "Lose Yourself," which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2003. However, the song was not performed at the ceremony, due to Eminem's absence at the ceremony. His collaborator, Luis Resto, who co-wrote the song, accepted the award.

Eminem has participated in various voice acting roles. Some of these include the video game , where he voices an aging corrupt police officer who speaks in Ebonics and guest spots on the Comedy Central television show Crank Yankers, and a web cartoon called The Slim Shady Show, which has since been pulled off-line and is instead sold on DVD. He will be involved in either the soundtrack or scoring. He was also in the running for the part of David Rice in 2008's film Jumper after Tom Sturridge was dropped just two weeks before filming. Concerns over not having a more prominent actor prompted the director, Doug Liman, to consider other actors for the role. He eventually selected Hayden Christensen over Eminem. He also had a cameo appearance in the 2009 movie Funny People, in which he is involved in an argument with Ray Romano.

It was reported on November 8, 2009, that Eminem will star in the upcoming 3D horror anthology, Shady Talez, directed by John Davis. A four-issue comic book series based on the film is also expected to be published sometime in 2010.

Eminem appeared alongside Christina Aguilera on the Entourage Season 7 finale titled 'Lose Yourself' as himself. In December 2010, Deadline Hollywood announced that Eminem will star in the upcoming boxing drama, Southpaw, to be written by Kurt Sutter. Will be released in 2013. In January 2011, a report surfaced that Eminem will star in the upcoming thriller, Random Acts of Violence.

Memoir

On October 21, 2008, Eminem released a tell-all autobiography entitled The Way I Am, which details his struggles with poverty, drugs, fame, heartbreak and depression, along with stories about his rise to fame and commentary on past controversies. This book also contains some of the original lyric sheets from songs such as "Stan" and "The Real Slim Shady."

Advertising

Eminem was featured in two commercials that aired during Super Bowl XLV. The first, for Lipton's Brisk Iced Tea, was a one-minute spot that featured him as a claymation figure. The other was a two-minute ad, the longest in Super Bowl history, for the Chrysler 200. It featured Eminem driving through Detroit and ended with him taking the stage at the Fox Theatre with "Lose Yourself" playing as the soundtrack.

Artistry

Influences and rapping technique

Eminem has named several MCs who influenced his rapping style, in-addition to his mentor, Dr. Dre, who share the same type of music: thick, muscular loops that evoked the terror and paranoia that his music conjured, these influences included Esham, Kool G Rap, Masta Ace, Big Daddy Kane, In the same book, Eminem is praised for various aspects of his rapping technique by numerous other MCs – these techniques include: his varied and humorous subject matter, connecting with his audience, carrying a concept over a series of albums, complex rhyme schemes, his ability to bend words so that they rhyme, his use of multisyllabic rhymes, complex rhythms, clear enunciation, use of melody, and syncopation. He is also known to write the majority of his lyrics down on paper, as documented in his book The Way I Am, as well as taking a few days or a week to craft lyrics, being a “workaholic”, and “stacking” vocals.

Alter egos

Eminem uses alter egos in his song to use different styles of rapping and subject matters. His most famous and popular alter ego, "Slim Shady" originated from The Slim Shady EP. While under this personality, Eminem makes violent and dark songs with a comical twist. Though his Slim Shady persona has remained, Eminem did not include it in Recovery as much because he didn't feel it fit the theme. Eminem is considered to be an alter-ego itself, with his true self being Marshall Mathers. Another character Eminem has portrayed is Ken Kaniff, originally played by a friend of Eminem in the Slim Shady LP, but the Marshall Mathers LP and onwards has been played by Eminem. In his Ken Kaniff personality, Ken is a homosexual who pokes fun at Eminem's songs.

Featurings and productions

Although he typically collaborates with various rappers under Aftermath Entertainment and Shady Records, such as Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, D12, and Obie Trice, Eminem has collaborated with many other artists, including Redman, Kid Rock, DMX, Missy Elliott, Jay-Z, Method Man, Jadakiss, Fat Joe, Sticky Fingaz, T.I. and others. Eminem rapped a verse in a live performance of Busta Rhymes' "Touch It" remix at the 2006 BET Music Awards on June 27, 2006. Eminem was featured on Akon's single "Smack That" which appeared on his album Konvicted. He was featured on Lil Wayne's hit song Drop the World.

Eminem is also an active rap producer. Besides being the executive producer of D12's first two albums, Devil's Night and D12 World, he has executive produced Obie Trice's Cheers and Second Round's on Me as well as 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' and The Massacre. In addition, Eminem has produced songs by other famous rappers, such as Jadakiss' "Welcome To D-Block", Jay-Z's "Renegade" and "Moment of Clarity" Lloyd Banks' "On Fire", "Warrior Part 2", and "Hands Up", Tony Yayo's "Drama Setter", Trick-Trick's "Welcome 2 Detroit", and Xzibit's "My Name" and "Don't Approach Me". Most of The Eminem Show was produced by Eminem himself, with co-production from longtime collaborator Jeff Bass. He split the production with Dr. Dre on Encore. In 2004, Eminem was the Executive Producer of 2Pac's posthumous album Loyal to the Game with 2Pac's mother Afeni Shakur. He produced the UK No. 1 single "Ghetto Gospel" which featured Elton John. He has produced "The Cross" off Nas's album God's Son. On August 15, 2006, Obie Trice released Second Round's on Me. Eminem produced 8 tracks on the album. He was featured in the song "There They Go". Eminem produced some tracks on the new Trick-Trick album, The Villain. He is also featured in "Who Want It".

With regard to the productions on his own records, Eminem is seen as having an unusual style in that rather than write to beats he typically starts with an idea of how he wants his song to be structured based on the lyrics and then creates music according to that. A notable exception to this was the song "Stan", which came from an idea and scratch track produced by Mark the 45 King. but remarried in January 2006. Their second divorce was finalized in December of the same year, with the couple agreeing to share custody of their daughter, Hailie Jade Mathers (born December 25, 1995). Hailie Mathers has often been referenced or featured on various Eminem songs, such as "Doe Ray Me (Hailie's Revenge)", "'97 Bonnie & Clyde", "Hailie's Song", `Going Through Changes"`, Elevator", "It's OK", "My Dad's Gone Crazy","Mockingbird", "You're Never Over", "When I'm Gone", "Crazy In Love", "Kim", "Like Toy Soldiers", "Cleanin' Out My Closet", and "Beautiful". In early 2010, Eminem responded publicly to tabloid reports of his pending reunion with Kim with a firm denial.

Eminem adopted two other daughters: Alaina "Lainie" Mathers, the child of Kimberley Scott's sister,

On July 7, 2000, Eminem's then-wife, Kimberly Scott attempted suicide by slashing her wrists. Scott sued Eminem for defamation after he depicted her violent death in his song "Kim".

Mathers was arrested on June 3, 2000 during an altercation at a car audio store in Royal Oak, Michigan, with Douglas Dail, where he pulled out an unloaded gun and kept it pointed at the ground. The following day, in Warren, Michigan, he allegedly saw his then wife, Kim, kiss bouncer John Guerrera in the parking lot of the Hot Rock Café, and he assaulted him.

On October 26, 2000, Eminem was to perform at a concert in Toronto's Skydome. However, Ontario Attorney General Jim Flaherty argued that Canada should stop Eminem at the border. "I personally don't want anyone coming to Canada who will come here and advocate violence against women," he said. Eminem's Toronto concert went on as planned that night.

In the summer of 2001, Mathers was sentenced to probation on weapons charges that stemmed from an argument with an employee of Psychopathic Records, giving him a fine around $2,000 as well as several hours of community service.

In 2002, French jazz pianist Jacques Loussier filed a $10 million lawsuit against Eminem and Dr. Dre, claiming the beat for "Kill You" was stolen from his song. Loussier demanded that all sales of the album be halted and any remaining copies destroyed. A trial date was set to begin in June 2004. The case was later settled.

On December 8, 2003, the United States Secret Service admitted it was "looking into" allegations that Eminem had threatened the President of the United States, George W. Bush, after the song "We as Americans", as an unreleased bootleg, circulated with the lyrics "Fuck money, I don't rap for dead presidents. I'd rather see the president dead." The incident was later referenced in the video for his song "Mosh" as one several news clips on a wall, along with other newspaper articles about other unfortunate incidents in Bush's career. The song eventually appeared on the album's bonus disc, where the lyrics were extensively censored.

In 2007, his music publishing company, Eight Mile Style LLC, together with Martin Affiliated LLC, filed suit against Apple, Inc and Aftermath Entertainment claiming Aftermath did not have the appropriate authority to negotiate a deal with Apple for digital downloads of 93 Eminem songs on Apple's iTunes service. The case against Apple was settled shortly after trial began in late September 2009.

Drug issues

Eminem has spoken openly about his addiction to prescription drugs, including Vicodin, Ambien, Valium and Methadone. His group-mate Proof from D12 stated that Mathers "sobered up" in 2002 from drug and alcohol dependence. However, he did turn to zolpidem (Ambien) sleeping pills for relief from sleeping troubles. This caused Mathers to cancel the European leg of the Anger Management Tour in August 2005 and eventually go into rehab for treatment for a "dependency on sleep medication". In a 2009 interview with British talk-show host Jonathan Ross, Mathers admitted that at the height of his addiction, he considered suicide, saying that, "I just wasn't taking care of myself, at times I wanted to just give it up." He also confirmed that he is now sober, commenting that, "[R]ap was my drug ... Then I had to resort to other things to make me feel that. Now rap's getting me high again."

Insane Clown Posse

The feud goes way back to 1997. Eminem was throwing a party to promote his debut EP, The Slim Shady EP, and he gave Violent J a flyer saying 'Appearances from ICP...maybe' Later, Eminem would go on a radio station and said he didn't respond because he thought he was "too big for" ICP. On tracks 11 and 12 on The Marshall Mathers LP Eminem disses ICP on "Marshall Mathers" saying "Plus I was put here to put fear in faggots who spray Faygo Root Beer and call themselves clowns 'cause they look queer. Faggot 2 Dope and Silent Gay clamin' Detriot when ya'll live 20 miles away". On Track 12 titled "Ken Kaniff" ICP are depicted as fellating Ken Kanniff. Ken Kaniff asks them 'What's my name?' and responded with, 'Eminem'. Later Eminem also briefly dissed them on his single Business. ICP talks about the beef being squashed in a interview with MTV saying that Proof squashed the beef in 2005 and had a bowling game. Violent J stated that, "He contacted us and we had a bowling game — it was really cool. We're something different. They could have skipped over us and said forget them, but they included us and said let's squash it."

Everlast/Fred Durst/Limp Bizkit

In the early 2000s, Eminem was notified while on the Anger Management Tour that former House Of Pain member Everlast had mocked him on a song. Everlast claimed that while passing by Mathers in a hotel lobby, Mathers gave him a "weird look." Taking offense to this, Eminem and D12 quickly began work on a retaliatory song, "I Remember." This prompted Everlast to record "Whitey's Revenge." Eminem and D12 then responded with the song "Quitter." It was reported that long-time friends of Eminem, Limp Bizkit, were meant to be featured on the song, but Fred Durst canceled at the last moment. The record continued its release without featuring Limp Bizkit, causing the Everlast-Mathers dispute to continue. In a TRL interview, Limp Bizkit member, DJ Lethal, made a statement that if Mathers and Everlast were to fight in real life, Everlast would win. This angered Eminem to the point of rage, and an insulting track aimed at both Everlast and Limp Bizkit (namely Durst and Lethal) appeared on D12's mainstream debut, Devil's Night, as the track "Girls." Recently, things seem to have settled, and Eminem has no longer been heard insulting Everlast or Limp Bizkit. It is currently unknown if the dispute is resolved.

Canibus

The beef between Canibus and Eminem started when Canibus and Wyclef Jean confronted Eminem and asked him if he ghost-wrote the track "The Ripper Strikes Back" by LL Cool J. Eminem denied that he wrote the track. After he was confronted, he said Canibus was "rude" to him. Eminem decided to take more shots at Canibus on his album The Eminem Show (2002) on tracks such as "Say What You Say", "When The Music Stops" and "Square Dance".

Ja Rule

The beef started after 50 Cent signed to Shady Records and Aftermath. Ja Rule stated that he had a problem with Eminem and Dr. Dre of signing someone he had beef with. On November 19, Ja Rule and Irv Gotti were special guests on Star and Bucwild's morning show on Hot 97 NYC. Irv Gotti had some 'legal documents' stating the order of protection 50 'has on him'. Ja Rule threatened, that if 50 Cent released any diss track, he would take action towards both of them.

Busta Rhymes decided to join the beef when he was featured on the track "Hail Mary 2003", with Eminem and 50 Cent.

The beef intensfided when Ja Rule released a diss called "Loose Change" in which he took shots at 50 Cent and as well Eminem calling him "Feminem" and Dr. Dre as "bisexual" and claimed that Suge Knight knew of Dre "bringing transvestites home". This greatly angered Eminem who felt his album deserved more. In 2003, Benzino, a rapper who had secretly co-owned The Source for some time, released a diss single titled "Pull Your Skirt Up" against Eminem. The track attacked Eminem's "street cred" (although Eminem has never claimed to be "... reppin' the streets," a line Benzino includes in the song) and accused him of being a tool of the music industry. In the same year, The Source attempted to tarnish Eminem's image by digging up an old tape from his time as a young rapper in Detroit where he insulted black women and used the word "nigger.". She says that they hung out but nothing sexual or intimate occurred. Eminem has referenced her on many songs that include "Superman", "Jimmy Crack Corn", "Bagpipes From Baghdad", and "The Warning". While "Superman" was released in 2003, Carey released a song entitled "Clown" on her Charmbracelet album, released around the same time, which makes similar references in line with her 2009 hit "Obsessed".

Eminem's "Bagpipes From Baghdad" from his album Relapse may be his most well known reference to Carey due to the controversy it caused. The song disparages Carey and husband Nick Cannon's relationship. Cannon responded to Eminem by saying his career is based on "racist bigotry", and that he would get revenge on Eminem, joking that he may return to rapping. Eminem later stated that the couple misinterpreted the track and it was wishing the two the best.

In 2009, Carey released "Obsessed" in which she sings about an obsessed man who claims to be having a relationship with her. Cannon claimed that the song was not an insult directed at Eminem. However, Eminem responded in late July 2009 by releasing a track titled "The Warning". It contained samples of voice mail recordings which Eminem claimed were left by Mariah Carey when the two were together. Eminem also hinted that he had other evidence of their relationship in his possession. A little over a year later in September 2010 Nick Cannon responded with the song "I'm a Slick Rick" which in Slick Rick's flow he takes shots at Eminem.

Discography

;Solo

Infinite (1996)

The Slim Shady LP (1999)

The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)

The Eminem Show (2002)

Encore (2004)

Relapse (2009)

Recovery (2010)

;With D12

Devil's Night (2001)

D12 World (2004)

Number-one singles

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Eminem has thirteen Grammy Awards. He has been praised for having "verbal energy", high quality of lyricism and has been ranked number nine on MTV's list of The Greatest MCs of All Time. In 2003 he was listed as number thirteen on MTV's 22 Greatest Voices in Music and number 82 on Rolling Stones "The Immortals". In 2008, the readers of Vibe Magazine voted him "The Best Rapper Alive". He was also named "Best Rapper Ever" in a poll conducted by music fans on the Vibe website.

Ironically, "The Real Slim Shady", one of the songs from his second Grammy-winning album, The Marshall Mathers LP, slammed the Grammy Awards in its second verse, and stated the opinion that negative feelings about his material would keep him from ever winning one.

Business ventures

Shady Records

Shade 45 Sirius

Shady Ltd. Clothing

Shady Games

Eight Mile Style LLC

See also

Artists with the most number-one European singles

List of artists who reached number one in the United States

List of best-selling music artists

List of best-selling music artists in the United States

List of best-selling singles worldwide

References

Literature

External links

Official website

Official Youtube

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Category:1972 births Category:Living people Category:1990s rappers Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:Actors from Michigan Category:Actors from Missouri Category:Aftermath Entertainment artists Category:American film actors Category:American hip hop record producers Category:American male singers Category:American musicians of English descent Category:American musicians of German descent Category:American musicians of Scottish descent Category:American people of Swiss descent Category:Best Song Academy Award winning songwriters Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hip hop singers Category:Horrorcore artists Category:People from St. Joseph, Missouri Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers Category:Rappers from Detroit, Michigan Category:Rappers from Missouri Category:Shady Records artists Category:World Music Awards winners Category:Pseudonyms