Name	Eminem
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Marshall Bruce Mathers III
Alias	Slim Shady
Birth date	October 17, 1972
Birth place	Saint Joseph, Missouri, U.S.
Origin	Warren, Michigan, U.S.
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, record producer, actor, songwriter
Years active	1992–present
Label	Interscope, Aftermath, Shady, Web
Associated acts	D12, Bad Meets Evil, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Obie Trice, Royce da 5'9"
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Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, 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. As well as being a member of D12, Eminem is also one half of the hip-hop duo Bad Meets Evil (the other member being Royce da 5'9").

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. With Recovery Eminem achieved the record for most successive US No.1 albums by a solo artist.

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, 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. 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 further 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 and Bad Meets Evil reunion

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 No.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.

In 2010, Eminem started collaborating with Royce Da 5'9" on their first EP as Bad Meets Evil. The duo was formed in 1999 and has reunited. The EP, entitled , has been confirmed to be slated for release on June 14, 2011. Eminem was featured on 'Writer's Block' with Royce Da 5'9", which was officially released on April 8, 2011. On May 3, 2011, they released 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.

Eminem has also climbed to the top of the Facebook charts by being the most followed person with more than 40 million "likes", outscoring Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Michael Jackson.

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". D12 released a mixtape in 2011 titled Return of the Dozen Volume 2 only featuring Eminem on one song, "Fame" unlike the groups previous mixtape Return of the Dozen where Eminem is not on any tracks.

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 and directed by Antoine Fuqua. 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 songs by Mathers including "'97 Bonnie & Clyde", "Hailie's Song", "My Dad's Gone Crazy", "Mockingbird", "When I'm Gone" and "Beautiful".

In early 2010, Mathers responded publicly to tabloid reports of his pending reunion with Kim with a firm denial.

Mathers 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, it's never been said but I set precedents." 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 July of 2006, a man claimed that he was physically assaulted by Mathers at the Cheetah strip club on 8 Mile Road in Detroit. The man claimed that he and a friend entered the restroom where Mathers was using the urinal. The man's friend attempted to talk to Mathers, when Mathers' bodyguard instructed the man to refrain from talking to him. The man spoke in defense of his friend and said that Mathers was "a star" and that there was "nothing wrong" with talking to him. After finishing urinating, the man claimed Mathers punched him in the face several times and fled the scene with his entourage. The man said that he had witnessed a member of the entourage waving a gun from the interior of a car after the group had fled. No charges were filed against Mathers.

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."

Feuds

Throughout his career, Eminem created a large number of rivals in the music industry, including Ja Rule, Benzino, Everlast, Insane Clown Posse, Canibus and others.

Insane Clown Posse

The feud began in 1997, when Eminem was throwing a party to promote his debut EP, The Slim Shady EP. He gave Violent J a flyer which stated "Appearances from ICP... maybe". The diss track paints Eminem as a homosexual. Later, Eminem went on a radio station and said that he didn't respond because he thought he was "too big for" them.

Eminem did continue to insult Insane Clown Posse on various tracks from his album The Marshall Mathers LP (2000), including the songs "Marshall Mathers" and "Ken Kaniff". On "Marshall Mathers", Eminem rapped: "Plus I was put here to put fear in faggots who spray Faygo Root Beer and call themselves "Clowns" cause they look queer Faggot2Dope and Silent Gay/claiming Detroit, when y'all live twenty miles away (fuckin punks)". Eminem also mentioned that he did not need his fellow band members of D12 to defend him from "females when they try to scratch me with...nails." In the song, Eminem attacked the ICP members' street credibility and accused them of being homosexuals.

On the skit "Ken Kaniff", the duo are depicted as graphically fellating Ken Kanniff, a fictional gay character created by Eminem. The gay character instructs the duo to "say my name", to which one member responds, "Eminem", angering Ken Kaniff. The skit closes with Ken Kaniff refusing to allow them to further perform oral sex on him and Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope angry at the loss.

In 2002, Eminem also briefly dissed them on his single "Business" from his album The Eminem Show.

Insane Clown Posse talked about the feud being squashed in an interview with MTV, saying that Proof squashed the conflict 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/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 animus 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

Eminem's conflict with Ja Rule 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 conflict 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 his two producers.

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

The feud intensified 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". despite the fact that the album received overwhelmingly positive reviews. The low rating 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" which insulted 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.". The song, called "Foolish Pride" was recorded in the late 1980s when Eminem had been "dumped" by his then-African-American girlfriend. It was banned on the BET channel, after complaints from Benzino and others (but was later reinstated, as critics of the ban argued that Nelly's "Tip Drill" video could be seen). Both were only seen on . However MTV did not drop it, and the video became one of the most requested on the channel.

A week after the release of "Just Lose It", Jackson called into the radio show of Steve Harvey to report his displeasure with the video.

"I am very angry at Eminem's depiction of me in his video," Jackson said in the interview. "I feel that it is outrageous and disrespectful. It is one thing to spoof, but it is another to be demeaning and insensitive."

The singer continued: "I've admired Eminem as an artist, and was shocked by this. The video was inappropriate and disrespectful to me, my children, my family and the community at large."

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", 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 in 2002, 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

Infinite (1996)

The Slim Shady LP (1999)

The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)

The Eminem Show (2002)

Encore (2004)

Relapse (2009)

Recovery (2010)

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 channel

YouTube Vevo channel

}} Category:1972 births 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:Living people Category:People from St. Joseph, Missouri Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers Category:Pseudonymous rappers Category:Rappers from Detroit, Michigan Category:Rappers from Missouri Category:Shady Records artists Category:World Music Awards winners