Eminem

Eminem
Background information
Birth name	Marshall Bruce Mathers III
Also known as	Slim Shady, Marshall, Slim, Em and Shady
Born	17 1972
Origin	Detroit, Michigan, USA
Genre(s)	Hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper, producer, actor
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Years active	1995 – present
Label(s)	Shady/Aftermath/Interscope
Associated acts	Dr. Dre Bobby Creekwater 50 Cent Obie Trice Cashis D12 Akon
Website	Eminem.com MySpace Eminem

Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17 1972), better known by his stage name Slim Shady or Eminem, is an Academy Award-winning and Grammy-winning American rapper, record producer and occasional actor.

He was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri and was raised in Warren, Michigan and relocated to Detroit, Michigan around the East 7 Mile Rd. & Schoenherr intersection, the same neighborhood where he met his best friend Proof. He got his big break when his rapping ability was discovered by pioneer rapper and producer Dr. Dre. He signed him to his Aftermath Entertainment label, becoming a crossover sensation with his debut single "My Name is".

Eminem has been described as 'the Bix Beiderbecke of rap'.[2] He is noted for his ability to change his vocal pace and style multiple times within one song without losing the beat. Eminem has also been considered one of the best lyricists in hip-hop, rhyming with multi-syllables and using a complex rhyme scheme. Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney has praised Mathers for his "verbal energy" and for arousing popular interest in poetry and lyrics.. Mathers is also infamous for the controversy surrounding many of his lyrics. With the enormous success of his highly acclaimed album The Marshall Mathers LP and its subsequent nomination for four Grammy awards including Album of the Year, critics such as GLAAD denounced his lyrics as homophobic and misogynist, while others protested that it promoted violence.

Mathers has stated that he is taking a break from solo work, but continues to produce and collaborate with fellow Aftermath artists, as well as rappers under his Shady Records label. Elton John has praised Eminem on many occasions claiming he is amongst legendary music stars such as Mick Jagger and Jimi Hendrix.[3]

In 2003 Eminem was named the second most powerful celebrity on the planet. On December 5, 2006, Shady Records released Eminem Presents The Re-Up, an album compiled in mix-tape format that features the Shady Records artist. He remains highly popular and is the best selling music artist of the decade.

Biography

Early life

By most accounts, the Mathers family was poor. They moved constantly, during which Marshall and his mother often lived in public housing, mobile homes, and under the care of relatives. From time to time they also lived in their car, and in fact this is where Eminem's younger brother, Nathan Samra-Mathers, was born. During this time, Debbie Mathers was taking the prescription medications Vicodin and Valium; Marshall Mathers later claimed in numerous interviews and songs that his mother was abusing the drugs, to which she retaliated with a lawsuit pressing defamation charges (see below). In the song "Cleaning Out My Closet" (The Eminem LP, 2001), Mathers also accuses his mother of having a variety of Munchausen Syndrome, Munchausen's By Proxy, "my whole life i was made to believe I was sick when I wasn't." This was not the first time someone had suggested she had the disorder; a social worker had made similar comments in 1996. Marshall's uncle Ronald "Ronnie" Polkingharn, who was born three months before him on July 27, 1972, introduced Mathers to hip-hop and the two were best friends. On December 14, 1991, 19-year-old Polkingharn committed suicide; "I read about your uncle Ronnie too, I'm sorry, I once.." - Stan. This event, Mathers has said, was devastating to him and to his entire extended family. Ronnie Nelson's older brother Steven suffered a stroke as a result of the stress. Mathers was so distraught he abandoned his musical career for a year. References to Ronnie's death appear in several songs, including "Stan," "Cleaning Out My Closet," "Mockingbird," "How Come," (by D12) and "My Dad's Gone Crazy." Mathers has a tattoo on his upper left arm that says "Ronnie R.I.P."

Before dropping out of Lincoln High School in Warren at the age of 17 after failing ninth grade three times, Mathers made a number of significant acquaintances at the school, including Evan Perks, a three-time chess champion who was shot in a drive by, the rapper Proof, who was to become one of his closest friends, and future wife Kimberly Ann "Kim" Scott, with whom he soon developed a long-term relationship. When she became pregnant, Mathers started working on getting a record deal to support his new family; he discusses this in "Never 2 Far" (Infinite, 1996), saying "I got a baby on the way, I don't even got a car ... I still stay with my moms ... We gotta make some hit records or something [because] I'm tired of being broke." When the Infinite album failed to generate the revenue and acclaim he had hoped for, she ended their relationship, preventing him from seeing his newborn child, a daughter named Hailie Jade Scott (born December 25, 1995); distraught, he attempted suicide with an overdose of Tylenol. After the attempt failed, he resumed his efforts to succeed in the music industry and reconcile with Kim. [4] He ultimately succeeded in doing both, marrying her on June 14, 1999, in Saint Joseph, Missouri. Mathers would go on to mention his daughter extensively in some of his songs, including "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" (The Slim Shady LP, 1999), which takes the form of a one-sided dialogue with Hailie, as well as "Hailie's Song" (The Eminem LP, 2001), and "Mockingbird" (‘‘Encore’’, 2004), all of which are proclamations of his love and dedication to her. In addition, he samples her voice in the track "My Dad's Gone Crazy" (The Eminem LP, 2001).

Early career

The cover of Eminem's second album The Slim Shady EP

Interested in rap from a young age, Eminem began performing as early as 13, later gaining some popularity with the group Soul Intent in 1995 and released a two track album under the same name (Soul Intent). In 1996, he released an independent underground album named Infinite. The album received no airplay and a mixed critical response, with people claiming Eminem's rapping style sounded too similar to Nas and AZ. It was after this that drugs, drama and negativity spread in his life. Mathers followed Infinite with The Slim Shady EP demo, which saw his lyrics take a decidedly darker turn, in songs like "No One's Iller" and "Murder Murder", the latter in which he talks about having to commit crimes to feed his daughter. He became famous in the hip-hop underground because of his distinctive, cartoon-ish style and the fact that he was white in a predominantly black genre. Fellow rapper Snoop Dogg refers to him as rap's "great white American hope" in the song "Bitch Please II" on Eminem's Marshall Mathers LP.

Eminem had done a notable amount of work with fellow Detroit MC Royce da 5'9" early in his career. They referred to themselves as Bad Meets Evil, with Eminem playing the evil and Royce playing the bad in the song of the same name on The Slim Shady LP. Royce da 5'9" and Eminem were considered to be two of the best underground MC's in Detroit and were both respected for their battling skills. The Jay-Z song "Renagade" uses Eminem's verses from a song originally done with Royce called "Renegade". The song's first verse ends with the words, "Royce, he's the king of Detroit..." which was replaced with Eminem making beat box noises sounding like "He's Jigga Jigga Jigga" (nickname for Jay-Z) for Jay-Z's "Renagade" (note that the two songs are spelled slightly differently). Eminem makes a reference to Jay-Z using his verses in a song when he claims "Go bring Jay-Z, tell him I'm a ghost-write for him on Dre's next cd " from "Stir Crazy" that he recorded with The Madd Rapper.

While the two were great friends and had mutual respect for one another both personally and musically, they eventually had a falling out. Royce later had an altercation with D12 and made numerous songs defaming and disrespecting the group; however, very few lines were aimed at Eminem himself, none of which were direct attacks.

It is said that rap artist and producer Dr. Dre found Mathers' demo on Interscope Records president Jimmy Iovine's garage floor. While this did not directly lead to a recording contract, Dr. Dre agreed to sign Mathers when he won second place versus Otherwize, (some sources say it was, in fact, MC Juice who defeated him, but this was at Scribble Jam) at the 1997 Rap Olympics freestyle battle. Other sources state that an executive at the offices of Interscope handed the demo to Iovine who passed it to Dr. Dre, which resulted in a contract. Although, it is more likely Dr. Dre was listening to the radio when Eminem was doing a freestyle, and proceeded to contact Mathers as Dr. Dre stated himself on Born to Be (a show that appears on Much Music.)

Success

Album cover for The Slim Shady LP

At Aftermath/Interscope, Mathers released The Slim Shady LP, which went on to be one of the most popular albums of 1999, going triple platinum by the end of the year. It moved nearly 1.5 million units in its opening week. With the album's popularity came controversy surrounding many of the album's lyrics. In "'97 Bonnie and Clyde", he describes a trip with his infant daughter, disposing of the body of his wife. Another song, "Guilty Conscience," ends with him encouraging a man to murder his wife and her lover. "Guilty Conscience" also marked the beginning of the powerful friendship and musical bond that Dr. Dre and Eminem would share. The two label-mates would later collaborate on a line of hit songs, including "Forgot About Dre" and "What's The Difference" from Dr. Dre's highly acclaimed album 2001.

Album cover of The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)

The Marshall Mathers LP was released in May 2000, quickly selling two million copies. It was the fastest selling rap album of all time. The first single released from the album, the hit: The Real Slim Shady, was a huge hit, thanks in part to the catchy rhythm and chorus line, "Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?" (adapted from the catch phrase of the TV quiz show To Tell the Truth). It also created some buzz by insulting celebrities and making dubious claims about them; he implies, among other things, that Christina Aguilera performed oral sex on Fred Durst (of Limp Bizkit) and Carson Daly (of MTV's Total Request Live). "The Real Slim Shady" is widely considered to be Eminem's "signature" and best commercial single. 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, and dismisses the alleged controversial link between music such as that of Marilyn Manson and shootings such as Columbine High School as absurd, instead blaming the parents. In the third single, "Stan" (which samples Dido's "Thank you"), Eminem attempts to deal with his new-found fame, taking on the perspective of a deranged fan who kills himself and his pregnant girlfriend, mirroring "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" on The Slim Shady LP. To this date, "The Marshall Mathers LP" is widely considered to be Eminem's greatest achievement, and a hip-hop classic.

Album cover for The Eminem LP

Mathers' third major album, The Eminem LP, was released in 2001 and proved to be another smash hit for the rapper shooting to number one on the charts and selling well over 1 million copies in its first week of release. It featured the single "Without Me," an apparent sequel to "The Real Slim Shady", in which he makes derogatory comments about boy bands, Limp Bizkit, Moby, and Lynne Cheney, among others. The album reflected on the impact of his rise to fame, his relationship with his wife and daughter, and his status in the hip-hop community. He also addresses the charges he faced over assaulting a bouncer he saw kissing his wife in 2000. While there is clear anger present on several tracks, this album was considerably less inflammatory than the previous, and as such did not face any protests of misogyny and homophobia that had plagued The Marshall Mathers LP.

2004 saw the release of Mathers' fourth major album, Encore. The album was another chart-topper for the rapper, driven by the formulaic single "Just Lose It", notable for its lampooning of Michael Jackson. Despite the comedic theme of the lead single, Encore also had its fair share of serious subject matter, including the poignant anti-war track "Mosh". By the end of 2005 Mathers was back with a double disc album entitled "The Funeral".

Drug use

Album cover for Encore

Mathers was no stranger to drugs and alcohol, as suggested by a large number of his songs, including the acclaimed "Drug Ballad", "These drugs" (with D12) and "Under the Influence." The song "I'm Shady" (The Slim Shady LP, 1999) includes the explanatory line "well, I do take pills (ecstasy or prescription drugs), don't do speed / don't do crack, don't do coke / I do smoke weed / don't do smack / I do do 'shrooms, do drink beer / I just wanna make a few things clear." Other tracks, such as "Just Don't Give a Fuck," do suggest cocaine use, although he has faced legal trouble involving drugs. However, with the sentence of two years of probation taking effect in 2001, during which he was subject to mandatory regular drug testing, his recreational drug use was put to an end. This fact is supported with references to his drug use in his music, which all but disappeared after 2001, and comments by band-mate Proof, who states that Mathers "sobered up". However, with rising pressures and workload in his professional career, he found it difficult to get the rest he wanted, and turned to Zolpidem sleeping pills for relief. His use of the drug eventually became so severe, that in August 2005, he canceled the European leg of his ongoing tour, and checked into a drug rehabilitation clinic for treatment.

Remarriage and second divorce

Mathers remarried Kim on January 14, 2006 in Michigan. Guests at the wedding included the other members of D12, as well as the members of G-Unit. Kim's mother attended the wedding, while Mathers' mother did not. However, less than 11 weeks after remarrying Kim, filed for divorce at the Macomb County clerk's office., citing "a breakdown in the marriage relationship" (which, in Michigan, is the only reason one can give for cause of divorce). On April 5, 2006, the news was leaked to the Detroit Free Press and MTV's Total Request Live. In addition, Mathers was romantically linked with "The best selling female artist of the 1990's" Mariah Carey. She denies they ever offically dated. Mathers states that they dated for 6 or 7 months and "she was too diva, I am a normal person."

Recent events

Album cover for The Funeral

.

In 2005, some industry insiders speculated that Mathers 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 was released on December 6, 2005 under Aftermath Entertainment.

In July 2005, the Detroit Free Press broke news of a potential final bow for Mathers 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. The Free Press, Mathers' hometown paper, wrote that the aptly titled Encore album would now stand as his final solo album.

Mathers announced via MTV News that he does not plan on retiring soon, though he is planning on taking a break to produce music. He is still uncertain whether another album will be released, but his career has not come to a full stop. He is continuing to work out of the spotlight, including producing the Redman album Red Gone Wild.

At "Anger Management" in Madison Square Garden and Atlanta's HiFi Buys Amphitheater, he openly announced that he is not retiring and indicates this is all just gossip by saying the moon exploding is a more credible rumor. However, many still speculate that he will be retiring and the announcement at Madison Square Garden was only a ploy to distract the fans.

Album cover of Eminem Presents The Re-Up (2006)

On December 6, 2005, the day of The Funeral's release, Mathers denied that he was retiring on Detroit-based WKQI's "Mojo in the Mornin'" 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 'The Funeral,' because this could be the final thing. We don't know."

Eminem has had some activity since the release of The Funeral. Eminem also rapped a verse in a live performance of Busta Rhymes' "Touch It" remix at the 2006 BET Music Awards on June 27, 2006.

On August 15, 2006, Obie Trice released Second Round's on Me. Eminem produced 8 tracks on the album. He was also featured in the song "There They Go".

Eminem is featured in a new Akon single "Smack That" which appeared on Akon's album Konvicted. He also appears in the video with a green polo. According to Akon, Eminem has canceled his retirement plans and is making a new album. He said, "Eminem told me he was getting bored with everything, which is why he took a break. But he's back working on an album and I've got some records ready for him to use on it. We've talked about doing something together for so long, but our schedules made it impossible. It was our chemistry that got him out of retirement." On the 19th November Smack That topped the Official UK Singles Chart and claimed Eminem his 7th UK Number One Single. In December 2006, it was nominated for "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration" at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards.

Producer Swizz Beatz has also said in an interview that he has sent some new tracks to Eminem.

On December 5, 2006, Eminem released an album compilation entitled Eminem Presents The Re-Up which features artists from the Shady Records roster. The first single released was "You Don't Know" which features 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and new artist Cashis.

Controversies

Alleged homophobia

Eminem with Elton John at the Grammys

With the enormous popularity of The Marshall Mathers LP, the controversy surrounding him grew even larger, especially when it was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Though Mathers had always claimed that his lyrics were not meant to be taken seriously, and that he had nothing against homosexuals or women, the gay rights group GLAAD organized a boycott of the Grammys. Mathers responded to this by rapping "Stan" on-stage with openly gay singer Elton John, ending the performance by hugging John. This gesture failed to appease many of his critics. He said he did not know Elton John was gay, but he told Kurt Loder after the awards show that he respected him: "Of course I'd heard of Elton John," Eminem said, "but I didn't know he was gay. I didn't know anything about his personal life. I didn't really care, but being that he was gay and he had my back, I think it made a statement in itself saying that he understood where I was coming from."

Racist tapes

In the midst of the Benzino-Eminem beef, Benzino found two tapes of a young Eminem rapping what could have been believed to be racist. Among the two songs, Eminem said, "I don't like that nigger shit" and also that "black girls only want your money." As soon as the songs became public, Eminem immediately released an apology for the controversial songs. Eminem would again apologize for the lyrics in the song "Yellow Brick Road" off his album Encore. Eminem tried to explain how the songs came to being made in that the first song was him trying to sound "whack." The second he said he did after a bad breakup with a girlfriend who was black.

"But I've heard people say they've heard a tape, and it ain't that bad, but it was I singled out a whole race, and for that I apologise, I was wrong, 'cause no matter what colour a girl is she still a ho.."

Immediately after the release of Eminem's first apology, Def Jam CEO Russell Simmons came out in accepting Eminem's apology and since then, with the exception of Benzino, other rappers have mostly forgotten or simply dropped the issue.

Violence towards women

The two 'eye-opening' songs most often cited as examples in The Marshall Mathers LP of Mathers' supposed misogyny were "Kill You" and "Kim." Critics claimed the former portrayed extremely violent abuse against women in general and contained a line about him raping his own mother. The latter is not so much a song as it is a reenactment of a fictional fight between him and his wife, although his shouted, hoarse lines do rhyme. Despite his conflicting expressions of love and hate throughout the track, he ends up slitting Kim's throat at the end, accompanied by cries of "Bleed, bitch, bleed!" Several people objected to the graphic description of domestic violence. On the clean version of the CD, the track was removed and replaced with a song almost entirely devoid of profanity called "The Kids."

Criticism of other artists

Eminem's provocative style has resulted in a number of high-profile feuds erupting between the rapper and some of his music industry peers. He has at one time or another had disputes with artists including Ja Rule, former Source magazine co-owner Raymond "Benzino" Scott, Everlast, Royce Da 5'9", Canibus, Insane Clown Posse, Vanilla Ice, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Will Smith, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Fred Durst, DJ Lethal, Jermaine Dupri, Moby, Nelly, Limp Bizkit, Esham, Cage and Christina Aguilera, as well as actors Christopher Reeve & Richard Gere.

Criticism of George W. Bush

File:Eminem mosh.PNG

Eminem votes in the video Mosh.

On December 8, 2003, the United States Secret Service admitted it was "looking into" allegations that Mathers had threatened the President of the United States after the unreleased song "We As Americans" leaked onto the Web. 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 said precedents...". The song was being recorded to possibly be on Encore, but wound up on a bonus CD accompanying the album instead. The second use of the word "dead" was backmasked in that version. The skit was also used in Immortal Technique's song "Bin Laden", stated near the end. Immortal Technique also verbally attacks the president on the song.

On October 26, 2004, a week before the U.S. presidential election, 2004, Eminem released the video for his song titled "Mosh" on the internet. For such a mainstream song (the video was even on TRL), it features a surprisingly very strong anti-Bush message, with lyrics such as "Fuck Bush!" and "this weapon of mass destruction that we call our president!" Eminem obviously knew his song would stir up a lot of controversy, especially since it was released right before the Election, because one of the last lines was even "If I get sniped tonight, you know why, 'cause I told you to fight!" The video features Mathers gathering up an army of people 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 won the election, the video's ending was changed to Eminem and the protesters invading while Bush was giving a speech.

Michael Jackson

File:Emijackson.jpg

Eminem parodies Michael Jackson in Just Lose it

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" also refer to Jackson's legal troubles, however he does state in his song "...and thats not a stab at Michael/Thats 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." In the video, Eminem also parodied Pee Wee Herman, MC Hammer, and a Blonde-Ambition-touring Madonna.

Black Entertainment Television was the first channel to stop airing the video. MTV, however, announced it would continue airing the video, and "Just Lose It" became the #1 requested video on Total Request Live for the week ending October 22. 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 Mathers.

Others dismissed "Just Lose It" as a tame "Weird Al" Yankovic-style knockoff. Regarding Jackson's protest, 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".

Other works and ventures

Eminem as an actor

Eminem in the 8 Mile poster

Mathers made his 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; it was not performed at the ceremony, reportedly because ABC wanted him to perform an edited version.

Mathers has also done some voice acting, both on Crank Yankers and a web cartoon called The Slim Shady Show, which has since been pulled off-line and is instead sold on DVD.

Eminem starred in the film Have Gun - Will Travel in which he played a bounty hunter called Paladin. He was also involved in the soundtrack and scoring.

Shady Records

Dr. Dre's leading protégé, Mathers succeeded in multi-platinum record sales. He was granted his own record label, a sub-label of Aftermath Entertainment. He and his manager Paul Rosenberg created Shady Records in late 2000. Mathers and Dr. Dre had signed 50 Cent on a joint venture between Aftermath & Shady Records. His own Detroit collective D12 and rapper Obie Trice were signed to the Shady Records label. In 2003, Mathers and Dr. Dre signed on Atlanta rapper Stat Quo to the Shady/Aftermath roster. DJ Green Lantern, the former deejay for Mathers, was signed to Shady Records until a dispute with 50 Cent forced him to depart from the label; he is no longer associated with Mathers. The Alchemist is now officially Mathers' tour deejay. In 2005, Mathers officially signed another Atlanta rapper known as Bobby Creekwater to his label along with west coast rapper Ca$his.

In the Anger Management Tour of 2003 The Alchemist hurt his wrist, preventing him from being the tour's DJ. Clinton Sparks filled in for him, and his name is mentioned on the album numerous times.

Eminem as a producer

Mathers is also active as a producer of rap records. Besides being the executive producer of D12's two albums, Devil's Night and Devil's Night 2, he has also 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, Mathers has produced and appeared on several songs by other famous rappers, such as Jadakiss' "Welcome To D-Block", Jay-Z's "Renagade" and "Moment of Clarity" Lloyd Banks' "Warrior Part 2", "On Fire", 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 LP was produced by Mathers himself, with co-production from longtime collaborator Jeff Bass. He also split the production with Dr. Dre on Encore. In 2004, Mathers was the Executive Producer of Tupac Shakur's posthumous album Loyal to the Game with Tupac Shakur's mother Afeni Shakur. He also produced the UK #1 single "Ghetto Gospel" which featured Elton John. On certain tracks on the album, Tupac Shakur's voice was slowed down and digitally altered to match the beat and make him say things like "2005" and "G-Unit," angering many fans. Eminem has named Tupac Shakur as his favorite rapper. Also, on the Nas album God's Son, Mathers produces a song called "The Cross".

Main Article: List of songs Produced by Eminem

Eminem in D12

Eminem with D12

In 2001, Mathers brought his rap group, D12, to the popular music scene. In 2001, D12 released their hit debut album Devil's Night.

The first single released off of the album was "Purple Pills" (radio named "Purple Hills"), an ode to recreational drug use (although this was preceded in the UK by a song called "Shit on You", which was included on the special edition version of the album). The version of the song released on the radio and music television was heavily rewritten to remove many of the song's obscene lyrics, and renamed "Purple Hills." While the first single was a massive hit, the album's second single, "Fight Music", was not as successful, in part due to its timing in relation to the 9/11 attacks.

After their debut, D12 took a three-year break from the studio, later regrouping to release their sophomore album, Devil's Night 2, in 2004, which featured the popular hit single release "My Band." The other members of D12 have also appeared as guests on all of Mathers' albums since The Marshall Mathers LP.

Discography

Main article: Eminem discography

Videography

• Da Hip Hop Witch (1999)
• Up n' Smoke Tour (2000)
• E (2001)
• The Slim Shady Show (2002)
• All Access Europe (2002)
• The Anger Management Tour (2005)

Filmography

• Da Hip Hop Witch (2000) (Cameo-Performance)
• The Wash (2001) (Chris)
• 8 Mile (2002) (Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith)

Video Games

• 50 Cent: Bulletproof
• Def Jam: Icon

Trivia

• The name "Eminem" comes from Marshall Mathers' initials, M & M.
• Eminem is 5'9".
• Every Eminem Record that has been released on Single has reached the UK Singles Chart Top 10, totalling 17 straight top 10 singles in a row.
• Eminem is a friend of fellow Detroit rap/rock star Kid Rock, and guested on Rock's Devil Without a Cause on the track "Fuck Off". Rock has made appearances scratching on some of Eminem's tracks, but is only credited on "Just Don't Give a Fuck" from The Slim Shady LP.
• Many Detroit residents we're confused about why the name of the 2002 movie 8 Mile had the title, since the only time when Eminem lived in Detroit was for five years and around the 7 Mile & Schoenherr intersection area where he also met his bestfriend Proof. He states this in a few songs and freestyles about the "7 Mile Car Wash".
• Eminem parodied shock rocker Marilyn Manson in the video for "My Name Is," but the artists have met since and are on good terms. On some versions of The Marshall Mathers LP, there is a picture of the two artists together. Eminem referenced Manson as being unfairly blamed for the Columbine High School massacre in "The Way I Am," a song which Manson remixed and recorded a version of the chorus for. Manson also appeared in the music video for the song, with the word "WAR" scrawled in red across his chest. They have also performed the song together in concert.
• The second "E" in his stage name has been reversed on his records since his second album The Marshall Mathers LP. The backwards “E” has become a logo for him, appearing prominently in his videos and stage set.
• Comic book writer Mark Millar and artist JG Jones based the physical appearance of The Killer in Millar's graphic novel Wanted on Eminem, and at one time wanted Eminem to play the character in a big-budget action film.
• His song "Stan" off of The Marshall Mathers LP was named as the third greatest hip-hop song of all time in a list compiled by Q Magazine, and came in 10th in a similar survey conducted by Top40-Charts.com.
• Several songs were released in response to "Stan." Enemy rapper Canibus released the track "U Didn't Care," rapping as the Stan character and implying that Eminem doesn't care about his fans. The Pet Shop Boys released "The Night I Fell in Love," in which a male fan goes backstage at an Eminem concert and has a one-night stand with him. Christian rapper KJ-52 released "Dear Slim" and "Dear Slim pt. 2," open letters to Eminem in a similar style to "Stan."
• Tori Amos covered "'97 Bonnie and Clyde" on her 2001 album, Strange Little Girls.
• When Dr. Dre first heard his tape, he thought Eminem was black.
• His video for "My Name Is" was the first rap video ever to reach the number one position on MTV's popular television countdown TRL.
• Several of his songs have been parodied. The most famous incident was "Weird Al" Yankovic's parody of "Lose Yourself," entitled "Couch Potato" and featuring new lyrics about television programming. He has also been parodied twice by the Christian parody band ApologetiX, with "Lose Yourself" ("Look Yourself") and "The Real Slim Shady" ("The Real Sin Savior"). Also, Insane Clown Posse changed some of the lyrics to "My Name Is" and renamed it "Slim Anus".
• Eminem is left-handed. This can be seen in a scene in 8 Mile where he is sitting on a bus with a pencil in his left hand, as well as in several of the promotional posters for the film, which depict him writing lyrics with his left hand. However, in the booklet for The Marshall Mathers LP, there is a picture of him writing on a pad of paper with his right hand.
• His real hair color is in fact a dark brown, he bleaches his hair with peroxide (as stated in "White America"); he did not bleach his hair in 8 Mile, and so his natural hair color can be seen in the movie.
• Eminem made a guest appearance in 50 Cent's video game "50 Cent: Bulletproof" as a corrupt cop.
• In March 2003, Spin Magazine named him The Most Important Artist Making Music Right Now.
• Eminem's rap group D12, short for "Dirty Dozen," currently has only five members. Many people were often confused by the number. It is "12" because each of the six members of the group had two pseudonyms or "personas"- Eminem/Slim Shady, Kon Artis/Mr. Porter, Swift/Swifty McVay, Kuniva/Rondell Beene, Bizzare/Peter S. Bizzare, and finally Proof/Derty Harry.
• Some of Eminem's freestyle lyrics in 8 Mile are ones he found in his old house from when he was in his teens; he altered them before the movie. A lot of those lyrics got turned down by director Curtis Hanson, however. Former Juice Crew member Craig G wrote the lyrics for Eminem's on-screen competition.
• Eminem was number 6 on VH1's 50 greatest hip hop artists of all time.
• Eminem has been awarded nine Grammy awards. He also received nominations for Album of the Year for both The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem LP.
• The Marshall Mathers LP was the first rap album to be nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards and "Lose Yourself" was the first rap song to be nominated for Song of the Year.
• Eminem won a Best Song Oscar for his song "Lose Yourself" from the movie 8 Mile. It was the first rap song ever to do so. Just 3 years later, another rap song, "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" earned Three 6 Mafia an Academy Award leading many to speculate that Eminem opened the doors for rap to be accepted as important form of music in movies.
• In November 2002, Eminem simultaneously had the #1 album (8 Mile Soundtrack), movie (8 Mile), and song ("Lose Yourself") in the U.S., becoming one of the only entertainers ever to do so.
• Eminem listed his favorite rappers as Redman, Jay-Z, 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G., André 3000 from OutKast, Jadakiss, Kurupt, and Nas in the song "'Till I Collapse" from his 2002 release, The Eminem LP.
• In acceptance of his Grammy for Best Rap Album (for The Eminem LP) in 2003, he credited his rap influences, saying, "I made me a little list of MCs that I wanted to name off that inspired me to, to bring me where I am today - cause honestly, I wouldn't be here without them. So the list goes like this, and it's not in this order, but the list is this: Run-DMC, the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Kool G. Rap, Masta Ace, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Dr. Dre, all of N.W.A., KRS-One, Treach from Naughty by Nature, Nas, 2Pac, Biggie, Jay-Z. Thank you, 'cause I learned from all of you. Thank you."
• Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg (who is featured prominently in several skits on Eminem's solo releases), was once a rapper himself, known as "Paul Bunyan".
• Marshall and his wife first met at one of his friends' houses, when Eminem was fifteen and Kim was thirteen. She came over while he was lip synching to LL Cool J songs and jumping on the furniture.
• He is a fan of the TV show "Crank Yankers"; puppets from the show were included in the video for "Ass Like That". He was also "puppet-ized" and featured in several episodes. One of the puppets, Special Ed, host "Eminem's Special Hits".
• He made a reference to South Park in the song "Marshall Mathers" by referring to himself as a "twenty-six-year-old skinny Cartman!" a character who he also did an impression of in the song "The Kids."
• In the popular anime One Piece, one of the villains, Eneru, has a design loosely based off of Eminem as the author, Eiichiro Oda, is a huge fan of Eminem.
• On the freestyle competition within the special features of the 8 Mile DVD, many of Eminem's lyrics are similar to rhymes he spitted at the Rap Olympics

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

• 2003 - Best song, for "Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile

Golden Globe Nomination

• 2003 - Best Original Song in a Motion Picture for "Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile

Grammy Awards

• 2000 - Best rap solo performance for "My Name Is" from The Slim Shady LP
• 2000 - Best rap album for The Slim Shady LP
• 2001 - Best rap solo performance for "The Real Slim Shady" from The Marshall Mathers LP
• 2001 - Best rap performance by a duo or group (with Dr. Dre) for "Forgot About Dre" from Dr Dre 2001
• 2001 - Best rap album for The Marshall Mathers LP
• 2003 - Best short form music video, for "Without Me" from The Eminem LP (directed by Joseph Kahn)
• 2003 - Best rap album for The Eminem LP
• 2004 - Best male rap solo performance for "Lose Yourself" from the 8 Mile O.S.T.
• 2004 - Best rap song for "Lose Yourself" from the 8 Mile O.S.T.

Grammy Awards (Nominations)

• 2006 - Best rap song for "Mockingbird" from Encore
• 2006 - Best rap performance by a duo or group for "Encore/Curtains Down" (featuring Dr. Dre & 50 Cent) from Encore
• 2006 - Best rap album for Encore
• 2007 - Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Smack That" (Akon featuring Eminem) from Konvicted

MTV Movie Awards

• 2002 - Best male performance, for 8 Mile
• 2002 - Best breakthrough male performance, for 8 Mile

MTV Video Music Awards

• 1999 - Best new artist for "My Name Is" from The Slim Shady LP
• 2000 - Best video for "The Real Slim Shady" from The Marshall Mathers LP
• 2000 - Best male video for "The Real Slim Shady" from The Marshall Mathers LP
• 2000 - Best rap video (with Dr. Dre) for "Forgot About Dre" from Dr Dre 2001
• 2002 - Best video for "Without Me", from The Eminem LP
• 2002 - Best male video, for "Without Me", from The Eminem LP
• 2002 - Best rap video for "Without Me", from The Eminem LP
• 2002 - Best direction, for "Without Me", from The Eminem LP
• 2003 - Best video from a film, for "Lose Yourself" from the 8 Mile O.S.T.

MTV Europe Music Awards

• 1999 - Best hip-hop act
• 2000 - Best hip-hop act
• 2000 - Best album, for The Marshall Mathers LP
• 2001 - Best hip-hop act
• 2002 - Best male act
• 2002 - Best hip-hop act
• 2002 - Best album, for The Eminem LP
• 2003 - Best hip-hop act

American Music Awards

• 2003 - Favorite pop/rock male artist
• 2003 - Favorite pop/rock album, for The Eminem LP
• 2003 - Favorite hip-hop/R&B male artist
• 2003 - Favorite hip-hop/R&B album, for The Eminem LP
• 2005 - Favorite hip-hop/R&B male artist
• 2006 - Favorite hip-hop/R&B male artist

See also

• Aftermath Entertainment
• Shady Records
• Dr. Dre
• D12
• Obie Trice
• 50 Cent
• Stat Quo
• 8 Mile

External links

• Eminem at the Internet Movie Database
• Official Eminem website (requires Macromedia Flash)
• Official Aftermath Records website
• Eminem in WikiMusicGuide
• Official Shady Records website
• Official Myspace Page(requires Macromedia Flash)

Resources

• EMINEM AND ICP. HOW HIS CAREER STARTED FOR REAL
• TRshady.com - Eminem fansite
• d12world.com - D12 Fan Site
• AllAboutEminem.com - Eminem fansite
• Eminem at MusicBrainz
• Networth source
• 8 Mile Movie Production Notes
• DaShadyBoard.com - The Biggest Shady Community Online
• Eminem Lyrics

News

• Shady/Aftermath News

Eminem
Discography
Infinite | The Slim Shady EP | The Slim Shady LP | The Marshall Mathers LP | The Eminem LP | Straight from the Lab EP | Encore | The Funeral | Eminem Presents: The Re-Up
Singles
"My Name Is" | "Guilty Conscience" | "The Real Slim Shady" | "The Way I Am" | "Stan" | "Without Me" | "Cleanin' Out My Closet" | "Lose Yourself" | "Sing for the Moment"| "Superman" | "Business" | "Just Lose It" | "Encore" | "Like Toy Soldiers" | "Mockingbird" | "Ass Like That" | "When I'm Gone" | "Shake That" | "You Don't Know"
Other songs and collaborations
"Forgot About Dre" | "Just Don't Give a Fuck" | "Dead Wrong" | "My Fault" | "Role Model" | "Mosh" | "Smack That"