Background

Eminem was born as Marshall Bruce Mathers III on October 17, 1972, in St. Joseph, Missouri, the United States. He never knew his father, Marshall Mathers Jr., who abandoned the family when Eminem was still an infant and rebuffed all of his son's many attempts to contact him during his childhood. As a result, Eminem was raised by his mother, Deborah Mathers. She never managed to hold down a job for more than several months at a time, so they moved frequently between Missouri and Detroit, Michigan, spending large chunks of time in public housing projects. "I would change schools two, three times a year," Eminem later recalled. "That was probably the roughest part about it all."

Education

Eminem attended Lincoln High School in Warren, Michigan, where he failed the ninth grade three times and eventually dropped out at the age of 17. Despite being a poor student, Eminem always had a deep affinity for language, devouring comic books and even studying the dictionary. "I found that no matter how bad I was at school, like, and no matter how low my grades might have been at sometimes, I always was good at English... I just felt like I wanna be able to have all of these words at my disposal, in my vocabulary at all times whenever I need to pull 'em out. You know, somewhere, they'll be stored, like, locked away."

Career

Marshall began rapping at the early age of 4. Rhyming words together, battling schoolmates in the lunchroom brought joy to what was otherwise a painful existence. At the age of 14, he began to get very serious about his rapping but it wasn't until he was 17 that he actually made a name for himself, becoming M&M, which he would later respell as "Eminem." Being rejected by most fellow rappers because of his race, Marshall grew an anger that flows through his music to this day. After failing the 9th grade for three times in a row, he quit school but has remarked that he does not consider himself stupid and does not advise that people should follow his example. He says that it just wasn't for him. Forcing himself on radio shows, freestyle battles, Marshall threw himself headfirst into the rap game, where he was swallowed up most of the time. His very first album was titled "Infinite" and, while the album sold less than a thousand copies, it was the gearing up stages for the rapper who became a millionaire.

A year later, however, Eminem released "The Slim Shady EP," which was discovered by Dr. Dre, the legendary rapper and former producer of Eminem's favorite rap group N.W.A. After Eminem traveled to Los Angeles and became runner-up in the 1997 Rap Olympics MC Battle, Dre listened to the rapper's cassette in the basement of executive Jimmy Iovine's home. Dre was so impressed that he signed Eminem to his Interscope Records label. In 1999, after two years of working with Dre, Eminem released "The Slim Shady LP." The heavily hyped record became an instant success and went on to sell over three million copies. Eminem's first single, "My Name Is," mixed childish humor and energy with rampant profanity and flashes of violence - a potent and fascinating combination that felt different from anything else in rap. Marshall and Kim Mathers married later that same year.

Eminem released his second studio album, "The Marshall Mathers LP," in May 2000. The album showed off Eminem's poetic talents as well as his emotional and artistic range. His songs vary from manically funny ("The Real Slim Shady") to heartbreakingly poignant ("Stan") to explosively violent ("Kim") to disarmingly self-critical ("The Way I Am"). The Marshall Mathers LP sold over 19 million copies worldwide, won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, received a nomination for Album of the Year and is widely considered among the greatest rap albums of all time.

Nevertheless, "The Marshall Mathers LP" also came under a firestorm of criticism for its excessive profanity, the glorification of drugs and violence and its apparent homophobia and misogyny. While Eminem attempted to mitigate such criticism by maintaining that his raps simply use the rough language he has been surrounded by since childhood, and later by performing a duet with Elton John at the Grammy Awards to demonstrate his openness to the gay community, Eminem nevertheless remains widely reviled in some quarters for his offensive lyrical content.

In 2001, Eminem reconnected with several of his friends from the Detroit underground rap scene to form the group D12, recording an album called Devil's Night featuring the popular single "Purple Pills." A year later, Eminem released a new solo album, The Eminem Show, another popular and critically acclaimed album highlighted by the tracks "Without Me," "Cleaning Out my Closet" and "Sing for the Moment." His next album, 2004's Encore, was less successful than his previous efforts, but still featured popular songs such as "Like Toy Soldiers" and "Mockingbird."

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

By early 2008, Eminem had managed to kick his addictions to drugs and alcohol and returned to recording music. He released his first album of new music in five years, Relapse, in 2009, featuring the singles "Crack a Bottle" and "Beautiful." In 2010, Eminem released another album, Recovery, a highly autobiographical attempt to come to terms with his struggles with addiction and experience with rehabilitation. His most acclaimed album in years, Recovery struck a somewhat gentler and more inspirational tone than his previous music. Eminem said, "I don't want to go overboard with it but I do feel like that if I can help people that have been through a similar situation, then, you know, why not?" The revealing album won Eminem a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.

Eminem is doubtlessly one of the most acclaimed rappers in the genre's brief history. As much as any other individual artist, he is responsible for rap's transformation into a mainstream music genre over the past decade. And after 10 years and seven albums, the rapper who shocked, appalled and fascinated the music world with the unbridled rage of his youthful music is reinventing himself as a mature artist.

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

Eminem released his eighth album, "MMLP2," on November 5, 2013. The announcement for the future Grammy-winning album, formally titled "The Marshall Mathers LP 2," was made during the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. On the awards show, Eminem leaked a snippet of the first single from his album, entitled "Berzerk." He went to reach the top of charts with "The Monster," a track that also featured Rihanna and earned a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

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

Eminem was supposed to star in a 2015 drama boxing movie, Southpaw. But due to focusing on his music, he dropped the role and produced music for the motion picture instead. Jake Gyllenhall later replaced Eminem and joined by Rachel McAdams, 50 Cent, Forest Whitaker, and Oona Laurence.

For the music, Eminem dropped Phenomenal & Kings Never Die featuring Gwen Stefani.

Eminem appeared as a guest in 2016's Skylar Grey song," Kill for You." It's a ballad Bonnie-and-Clyde-alike story about lovers who are toxically in love with each other to the point where they'd murder someone for them.

In 2017 he released his long-awaited ninth album, "Revival." Even though it features A-list pop stars like Ed Sheeran, Beyonce, and Alicia Keys, the album didn't live much to the expectation.

Eminem received mixed reviews for "Revival" (2017), and "Kamikaze" (2018) was described by many critics as somewhat curmudgeonly in tone. Such criticism had little impact on sales, however, and in 2020 "Music to Be Murdered By" became his 10th consecutive album to debut at the top of the Billboard 200 chart.

Achievements

• 

  Eminem is well-known for his Guinness World Records for "Rap God" (most words in a hit single) and "The Marshall Mathers LP" (fastest-selling male artist).
  
  Eminem's third major release The Eminem Show sold 316,000 copies in its first week in the United Kingdom. It marked his second UK number one album, a feat that no other rap artist has ever achieved.
  
  Eminem was the biggest selling album act in the United States in the first 10 years of the century with sales of 32,300,000 copies.
  
  Eminem’s second major solo album The Marshall Mathers LP sold a record 1,760,000 copies in its first week in the United States back in 2000, making him the fastest-selling rapper to this day.
  
  Eminem became the first musical act to debut at number one on the United States Billboard 200 albums chart with nine successive solo releases that includes: "Kamikaze" (2018), "Revival" (2017), "The Marshall Mathers LP 2" (2013), "Recovery" (2010), "Relapse" (2009), "Curtain Call: The Hits" (2005), "Encore" (2004), "The Eminem Show"(2002) and "The Marshall Mathers LP" (2000). They had all bowed at number one.
  
  In a study that looked at 93 top artists over 25 genres of music, it was discovered that Eminem had the widest vocabulary, coming in at 8,818 unique words (versus Jay-Z with 6,899 and Bob Dylan with 4,883).
  
  Eminem won 9 Grammys. The first two Grammys he won was for Best Rap Album, which was "Slim Shady LP" and Best Rap Solo Performance of "My Name Is." In 2000, he won three Grammys for Best Rap Album for "The Marshall Mathers LP," Best rap Performance for his song "Forget About Dre," and Best Solo Performance for "The Real Slim Shady." In 2002, he won two Grammys for Best Short Form Music Video for his song "Without Me" and Best Rap Album for "The Eminem Show." And in 2003, he won two more Grammys for Best Male Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Song for "Lose Yourself."
  
  After 10 studio albums, 220 million records sold worldwide and 15 Grammy Awards, Eminem has become the bestselling hip hop artist of all time.
  
  With more than 87 million likes on his Facebook, Eminem is the most popular male artist on social media, followed by Justin Bieber (77 million), Michael Jackson (72 million) and Bob Marley (71 million).
  
  Eminem became the first artist to have 10 consecutive No.1 albums with the release of his "Music to Be Murdered By" (2020).

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Way I Am

    (Chart topping-and headline-making-rap artist Eminem share...)

    2008
  • Angry Blonde

    (Today's hottest rapper' the enigmatic Eminem' delivers a ...)

    2000

• movie

  • 8 Mile

    (Grammy Award-winning phenomenon Eminem makes his feature ...)

    2002

• music

  • Infinite 1996
  • The Slim Shady LP 1999
  • The Marshall Mathers LP 2000
  • The Eminem Show 2002
  • Encore 2004
  • Relapse: Refill 2009
  • Recovery 2010
  • The Marshall Mathers LP2 2013
  • Revival 2017
  • Kamikaze 2018
  • Music To Be Murdered By 2020

Religion

In 2009, Eminem said about his religious views: "I definitely pray a lot more than I used to. I don't feel like I'm crazy wacky religious. But I do believe in God, and I do pray."

Politics

Eminem cemented his place in the liberal corner by attacking George W. Bush in a music video and saying he had a "plan to ambush this Bush administration." Furthermore, Eminem has come out officially as an Obama supporter during the 2008 elections. He backed Obama in 2012, saying, "Obama is great. I voted for Obama. He's giving people hope... He's got a great head on his shoulders." Obama returned the favor in 2014 when he reportedly played "Lose Yourself" to psyche himself up for a Democratic National Convention speech.

Unimpressed with either candidate in the 2016 election, however, Eminem initially went after both; referencing Hillary Clinton's email controversy, he used a 2015 radio appearance to rap, "I promise to wipe my server clean if you face subpoenas."

By 2016, however, and in the white-hot heat of the election campaign, Eminem and politics once again made for a heady mix, and this time his sights were set firmly on Donald Trump. Shortly before the third presidential debate, Eminem released the freestyle track "Campaign Speech."

With his entire a cappella rap aimed at Donald Trump, Eminem addressed racism, the President's views on guns, and hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico. Calling the administration a "kamikaze that will probably cause a nuclear holocaust," he also risked losing sections of his fanbase as he boldly sent out a message to Trump supporters.

Views

Eminem is not popular with the politically correct. His song lyrics, which include references to killing women and gay people, have earned him widespread condemnation - like the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, who called him a homophobic misogynist.

However, Eminem has tried to shake this reputation by singing songs on stage with Elton John and supporting gay marriage, saying: "I think if two people love each other, then what the hell? I think that everyone should have the chance to be equally miserable if they want. It’s the new tolerant me! My overall look on things is a lot more mature than it used to be."

Quotations: "Why is it so hard for people to believe that white people are poor?! I wouldn't say I lived in a ghetto, I'd say I lived in the 'hood. The same friends I had back then are the same people on tour with me now."

"Don't do drugs, don't have unprotected sex, don't be violent. Leave that to me."

"Sometimes I'm real cool, but sometimes I could be a real asshole. I think everyone is like that."

"All my life I've been dealing with my race because of where I grew up [Detroit] and being in the rap game. I'm at a boiling point...Anybody who pulls the race card is getting it right back in their face."

"I try not to look at it that way. Being white. I don't wake up every day and look in the mirror, 'Oh. I'm white'."

"Anybody with a sense of humor is going to put on my album and laugh from beginning to end."

"I think my first album opened a lot of doors for me to push the freedom of speech to the limit."

Personality

Eminem says that his different names represent different personas. "Slim Shady" is the name for his temper, "Eminem" is just the rapper, and "Marshall Mathers" is who he is at the end of the day. According to Eminem himself, the rapper thought he’d name his alter-ego Slim Shady apparently while he was in the toilet.

Eminem was bullied as a kid because he was small and was often mistaken as retarded. He would hum melodies to himself not knowing it was loud enough to be heard by everybody. (He still does today. He also said that he is always writing and that he can't stop writing because ideas keep flowin' in).

He was inspired to start rapping after he heard The Beastie Boys for the first time. Eminem used to spend hours at night studying the dictionary so that he could expand his vocabulary for his rhymes. When Eminem wrote verses, he wanted most of the words to rhyme so he wrote long words or phrases on paper and, underneath, worked on rhymes for each syllable. While the words often made little sense, it was this exercise that helped him practice sounds and rhymes.

Eminem fell unconscious and was rushed to the hospital after consuming a quantity of methadone that was the equivalent of four bags of heroin. Doctors told him he was "about two hours from dying." When Eminem wanted to get clean, he called Elton John who helped him for over 18 months to kick his addiction to Vicodin, Ambien, and other prescription drugs. Eminem bought Elton John 2 diamond cock rings for his civil partnership.

During the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, Sacha Baron Cohen descended onto the audience in an angel costume and landed, buttocks-first, on Eminem's head. Eminem stormed out of the ceremony, seemingly furious. He said that, after he left, he went back to his hotel room and "laughed uncontrollably for about three hours."

Before Marshall heard rap, he wanted to be a comic book artist. The only book he has read in full is LL Cool J's "I Make My Own Rules." Eminem is also a gadget freak.

Dr. Dre, Eminem’s mentor and famed producer, is considered a workaholic. However, even Dre was of the opinion that Eminem was one of the most diligent and intelligent rappers who would not let go of a track until and unless it was perfect the way he wanted it to be.

Physical Characteristics: Eminem's relatives used to call him 'Mickey' when he was a baby because he had big ears.

He wears glasses because he's near-sighted and also he is left-handed. Eminem's height is 5 ft 8 in or 173 cm. His eyes are blue. Marshall Mathers was notable for having platinum blond-dyed hair and a clean-shaven face. Eminem changed his appearance on noticeably brown whiskers on his face and what appears to be dark brown hair.

Eminem had previously gained weight up to 200 pounds and he had to fight with it in order to regain his lean body. Eminem wears size 10½ shoes and XXL size clothing.

Quotes from others about the person

• "You know how a person is made for something? Eminem is made for hip-hop. The best rapper is a white man." - Curtis Jackson
  
  "That's something - you laugh about Eminem... It's funny, man, because I didn't like him when he first came out, ya know. It seemed like a big joke. But I think the guy's for real, and I like his lyrics!" - Alan Vega
  
  "I'm good at what I do, but I wouldn't be so bold and arrogant as to say something disrespectful about, say, Eminem. He's talented and he's good at what he does." - LL Cool J
  
  "I think that Eminem is very talented and remarkably bright, and I actually do like a lot of his music." - Moby
  
  "After reading Eminem's autobiography, which I did because I'm so interested in him as an artist, I respect him a lot. Even though he seems angry and mad, he's had to fight so many demons in his life." - Taryn Manning
  
  "Air Jordan. Tiger Woods. You know how a person is made for something? Eminem is made for hip-hop. The best rapper is a white man." - 50 Cent
  
  "I think that’s one of the most exciting things hip hop can look forward to. He (Eminem) contributes so much lyrically and musically, he’s amazing." - Nas
  
  "I think he’s one of the greatest lyricists around. I think the guy’s a freaking lyrical genius!" - Queen Latifah
  
  "I think he’s [Eminem] a very intelligent rapper. I couldn’t imagine being that successful. I mean, he’s a guy who loves rap and wanted to be successful his whole career. Then he finally gets it."- Jay-Z
  
  "What is the big deal about Eminem? Since when is offensive language a reason for being unpopular? I like the fact that Eminem is brash and angry and politically incorrect. At least he has an opinion. He’s stirring things up. He’s provoking a discussion. He’s making people’s blood boil. He’s reflecting on what’s going on in society right now. That is what art is supposed to do." - Madonna
  
  "Eminem's music is really hardcore, but it's intelligent hardcore stuff. It's funny, it's clever, it's poetry and it's musically interesting. Rock'n'roll has always been about pushing the buttons. I've met him and I can say absolutely that he is not homophobic." - Elton John
  
  "For me, Eminem is a true poet of our times. He entertains people like no one else can with the raps and the storylines he has. Also, and this is always ignored, there are a lot of morals in his music. If you don't listen to every word he says, then you make him seem like a bad guy, but I don't think he is, I like him." - Craig David

Interests

• Writing, Rapping, Music, Watching movies

• Politicians

  Barack Obama

• Writers

  Comic books

• Sport & Clubs

  Basketball, football, Detroit Pistons, Pitssburgh Steelers

• Music & Bands

  Elvis Presley, Dr. Dre, N.W.A., The Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, Redman, Tupac, Jadakiss, Nas

Connections

Eminem and Kimberly were teenage sweethearts and after having Hailie in 1995, Mathers became Eminem's wife in 1999. They later divorced in 2001, which prompted an ugly custody battle and revelations about the split in Eminem's music. Despite Eminem proclaiming he would "rather have a baby through [his] penis than get married again", he wound up tying the knot again with Kim in 2006. According to Rolling Stone, the couple divorced again less than "three months after [they] remarried."

He has three daughters: Hailie Jade Scott Mathers, Whitney Mathers, and Alaina Mathers. Hailie's half-sisters are called Whitney Scott Mathers and Alaina Marie Mathers, who are both her half-sisters via her mother Kimberly Anne Scott. According to Metro, Eminem has formally adopted both Whitney, who is Kim's daughter from a previous relationship, and Alaina, who is Kim's late sister's daughter.

Father:

Marshall Bruce Mathers II

Marshall started dating Debbie when she was 15. He left when Eminem was 18 months old. Eminem blames his mother for separating him from his father, though it is unknown whether Eminem has ever tried to contact Bruce of his own accord.

Mother:

Deborah Mathers-Briggs

Deborah had to work some low paid jobs just to earn enough money to support Eminem and herself. They often moved back and forth from Kansas City to Detroit, most of the time living in very poor conditions. At that time, she even did some illegal things such as false accusations towards organizations and people just to get money from them. Eminem once said that his mother never worked and that they were living on money given by social organizations.

ex-wife:

Kimberley Anne Scott

The couple got married twice and divorced twice. After their first divorce in 2001, the couple got back together in 2006. Even though Eminem stated in 2002, after his first divorce, |I would rather have a baby through my penis than get married again."

However, that marriage also turned out to be a bad decision. In the same year of marriage, the couple parted ways and got divorced in late 2006.

Daughter:

Hailie Jade Scott Mathers

Hailie is the rapper's only biological daughter. Hailie's mother Kimberly Anne Scott has also featured prominently in Eminem's music, though the pair has divorced twice.

grandmother:

Betty Kresin

Betty Kresin is Eminem's grandmother from the maternal side.

step-daughter:

Alaina Mathers

Alaina Mathers is Eminem's adopted daughter and the biological daughter of his wife's twin sister. Eminem has custody of his niece and is raising her as Hailie's sister.

step-daughter:

Whitney Mathers

Whitney is the biological daughter of Eminem's ex-wife, Kimberly, from her relationship with another man. She was later adopted by the famous rap artist.

Half-brother:

Nathan Kane Mathers

Nathan Kane Mathers is Eminem's brother. He wants to follow in his footsteps and become a professional rapper. He leaked the Straight From the Lab disc for attention in 2003, causing tracks on Encore to be replaced.

Friend:

Dr. Dre

Dr. Dre is a living legend in the rap world and is credited for discovering Eminem. He created the platform from which Eminem has grown and eventually his career exploded to international fame. Eminem has an incredible amount of respect and gratitude for Dr. Dre and the two have been inseparable from the beginning. There’s no testing this relationship, they definitely have one another’s backs through it all.

Friend:

Rihanna (Robyn Fenty)

Eminem and Rihanna have collaborated on several tracks and these good friends also co-headlined a tour in 2014.

Friend:

Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj and Eminem have a strange little relationship, to say the least. It seems they had the basics of friendship in place before she started egging people on using social media, calling Eminem her “husband.” Fans flocked to social media outlets asking her if she and Eminem were actually dating, and she confirmed the rumors. There’s been a lot of back and forth on whether or not this was true, with both Eminem and Minaj confirming and later denying the same story.

Friend:

Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg and Eminem run in the same circle of friends thanks to Dr. Dre. They both rap on the 2001 track "Forgot About Dre."

Friend:

Curtis Jackson

Eminem and 50 Cent have been referred to as kindred spirits with a long-lasting and very close bond. 50 Cent owes a lot of his success from the "Get Rich Or Die Tryin" era to Eminem, and they've both collaborated on music a number of times over the years. Hot New Hip Hop reports on their brotherhood by stating that "the pair have remained closer than most rappers; in fact, a few artists seem to boast such a genuine and long-lasting friendship."

Friend:

Elton John

Eminem and Elton John are an unlikely pairing, considering some of the lyrics that Eminem spits out, but these two actually have a really solid friendship. While much of the world assumed Eminem’s lyrics to be homophobic, Elton's take on it was entirely different. Refinery29 reports that Elton believes Eminem is "just writing about the way things are. Not how he thinks." The two joined forces for a duet of "Stan" at the 2001 Grammys and have remained close.

Friend:

Alecia Moore

Billboard reports that Eminem gave Pink his autograph at the 2001 MTV Music Video Awards, and that launched her crush on him to full-blown infatuation. In a hilariously honest interview, she told Billboard that night of binge wine-drinking led her to write a song and love note to Eminem, and the liquid courage helped her send it to him. That’s all it took for him to agree to record a track with the legendary rapper, and their friendship flourished from that point on.

Friend:

Jonah Hill

Jonah Hill must have been very impressed to hear that one of the most iconic rappers of all-time was a huge fan of one of his movies. IMDb reports that Eminem and Jonah Hill were chatting it up at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, and when asked what the discussion was about, Hill revealed that Superbad was one of Eminem's favorite movies. The two have kept their conversations flowing since then.

Friend:

Lil Wayne (Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.)

Lil Wayne and Eminem are from two very different generations of music, but both top the charts and have actually competed for the top spot numerous times. They seem to have a friendly rivalry going, and in spite of the fact that the hip hop game is a very competitive one, they get along famously and have great respect for one another’s music, art, and friendship.

Friend:

Jay-Z (Shawn Carter)

Eminem and Jay-Z have repeatedly gone head-to-head for the top spot on the Billboard charts, but that hasn’t seemed to get in the way of their friendship. In an interview with MTV, Eminem revealed his great respect for Jay-Z, stating that he is inspired by him in many ways. The two have collaborated in the studio, and have shared many stages together, aside from hanging out socially behind the scenes as well.

References

• Eminem: Rebirth
  2018
• Eminem: Official site
• Eminem on Twitter
• Eminem on Facebook
• Eminem on Instagram
• Whatever You Say I am by Anthony Bozza
  2003
• 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America
  2005
• Eminem and Rap, Poetry, Race: Essays
  2014