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File:Marshall Mathers.JPG
Eminem

Eminem (born, Marshall Bruce Mathers III on October 17, 1972 in Saint Joseph, Missouri, USA), is one of today's most controversial and popular rappers. He currently lives in Clinton Charter Township, Michigan in the outskirts of Detroit.

Brought to fame by rapper and producer Dr. Dre, Eminem is perhaps best known for being one of the most successful rappers in the industry. He is noted for his ability to change his own verbal pace ("flow") and style multiple times within one song without losing the beat. He is also infamous for the controversy surrounding many of his lyrics. Critics have accused him of being homophobic, misogynistic and excessively violent, though his actions (such as support for the Humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and Boys and Girls Club, and performing with artist Elton John) may suggest otherwise. In the song "Mosh", Eminem speaks out against the Iraq conflict, violence and President of the United States George W. Bush. Eminem also speaks out against violence amongst rappers with his remake of Toy Soldiers, and he supports the Leary Fire Fighters Foundation. Although Eminem does not consider himself a militant or political artist he did have his own Hip Hop Political Convention in response to the national political conventions held in 2004. Eminem's protégé, 50 Cent, reached superstardom in 2003.

Early life and career

Mathers was born in St. Joseph, MO (near Kansas City), a single child to a father who left his mom and him, and spent most of his childhood moving back and forth between Kansas City and Detroit where he became friends with Runyan Avenue Soldiers.

Interested in rap from a young age, Mathers began performing as early as thirteen, later gaining some popularity with a group, Soul Intent. His wife Kim gave birth to his daughter, Hailie Jade, on 25 December, 1995. In 1996, he released his first independent album, named Infinite (of which he sold about 500 copies out of the back of his car), following it up with The Slim Shady EP (produced by the Bass Brothers) in 1997. He became famous in the hip-hop underground because of his distinctive, cartoonish style and the fact that he is white (a rarity in all rap, especially mainstream gangsta rap). Some people called him rap's "great white hope". With his storytelling way of expressing rap, he became known in the underground as "The White Shadow". Marital problems, however, almost derailed his career, when, after arguing with his wife, he attempted to kill himself by overdosing with pills. The suicide attempt failed, but encouraged him to rededicate himself to "The Slim Shady EP" demo.

It is said that rap artist and producer Dr. Dre found Eminem's demo on the garage floor of Jimmy Iovine, the Interscope label chief. Though this did not directly lead to a recording contract, Dr. Dre agreed to sign him when Eminem won second place vs. Otherwize at the 1997 Rap Olympics MC battle. Other sources state that an executive at the offices of Interscope handed the demo to Iovine who passed it to Dre, which resulted in a contract.

Entering the mainstream

Once he joined Interscope, Eminem released The Slim Shady LP, which went on to be one of the most popular records of 1999, going triple platinum by the end of the year. With the album's enormous popularity came controversy surrounding many of the album's lyrics. In "97 Bonnie and Clyde", Eminem describes a trip with his infant daughter, disposing of the body of his wife. Another song, "Guilty Conscience" ends with Eminem and Dr. Dre encouraging a man to murder his wife and her lover.

File:MarshallMathersLP.jpg
Album cover of The Marshall Mathers LP

The Marshall Mathers LP was released in May 2000, quickly selling 2 million copies. The first single released from the album, The Real Slim Shady, was a smash -- thanks in part to the catchy rhythm and chorus line, "Won't the real Slim Shady please stand up, please stand up, please stand up?" (adapted from the catch phrase of the TV quiz show To Tell the Truth). It also created some buzz by trash-talking celebrities and spilling dubious gossip about them. In the song, Eminem claims, among other things, that Christina Aguilera gave "head" (oral sex) to Fred Durst (of Limp Bizkit) and Carson Daly (of MTV's Total Request Live). In his second single, "The Way I Am", he attempts to downplay the alleged controversial link between music such as that of Marilyn Manson and shootings such as at Columbine High School. In the third single, "Stan" (which samples Dido's "Thank You"), Eminem attempts to deal with his new-found fame, telling the story of a fan so obsessed with Eminem that the fan winds up killing himself and his pregnant girlfriend, mirroring one of the songs on The Slim Shady LP.

Themes and Topics

A large part of Eminem's popularity is his separation from the over-abundance of "pop-rap", in which rhymes rarely stray from bragging about money and jewelry "bling", fast cars "whips" with massive rims "22's", huge parties and constant casual sex. Instead, Eminem's songs typically explore deeper anger, thoughts, questions, and statements about his life and how he is treated. Common topics are...

  • His mother and childhood
  • Being white in a black business
  • His ex-wife Kim or disgust with groupies/dating
  • Raising his daughter and niece
  • America and the government
  • Poking fun at celebrities and Pop America

Controversy

With the enormous popularity of Eminem's second album, the controversy surrounding Eminem grew even larger, especially when The Marshall Mathers LP was nominated for a Grammy 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 against Eminem. Mathers responded to this by singing "Stan" on-stage with bisexual singer Elton John, ending the performance by hugging John to show that he didn't have anything against homosexuals. Though it shocked a lot of people, this gesture failed to appease all of his critics.

Since Eminem's rapid ascent to fame, tell-all biographies of varying quality have been published, including Shady Bizzness by his former bodyguard Byron Williams. Eminem himself has written a book called Angry Blonde, released in 2000, where he reveals the emotions and intent behind the lyrics in the Marshall Mathers LP, and describes his passion and approach to rapping.

As one of six members of the rap group D12, Eminem appeared on the album Devil's Night, released in 2001. The album was certified multi-platinum. The album contained the single Purple Pills, renamed Purple Hills for radio play. Another song, Blow My Buzz, was on the soundtrack for the film The Wash (2001), in which Eminem had a cameo.

File:Eminemshow.jpg
Album cover of The Eminem Show (2002).

Eminem's third major album, The Eminem Show was released in summer 2002. It featured the single "Without Me", an apparent sequel to "The Real Slim Shady" in which he makes derogatory comments about boy bands, *NSYNC's Chris Kirkpatrick, Limp Bizkit, Moby, and Lynne Cheney, among others.

On November 19, 2003 new controversy surrounded Eminem when a cassette tape was played during a press conference held by The Source magazine. The cassette featured Mathers performing a freestyle rap in which he made disparaging remarks about black women, calling them "dumb chicks" in comparison to white women and claimed they are only after money. Other racial slurs and remarks were on the tape, including the use of the word "nigger". Mathers claimed he made the recording after breaking up with his black girlfriend in 1988, however The Source claimed the tapes were recorded in 1994, and old friends of Eminem's claimed he never had a black girlfriend. The ordeal would later end up with Eminem filing a lawsuit against The Source for alleged copyright infringement. Benzino is currently feuding with Eminem (see Benzino and The Source on the on-going feud with Eminem).

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" (since included on Encore) leaked onto the Internet. 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.

Then, in 2004, Eminem made the video My Band with D12. The controversial song was the band's sarcastic response to the media's frequent portrayal of D-12 as Eminem's band, giving little or no credit to its other members. The video contained various parodies, including that of the Janet Jackson 'incident', and of 50 Cent's "In Da Club" video.

On October 12, 2004, a week after the release of Just Lose It, Eminem's first video and 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 accusations, his rhinoplasty, and an incident in which Jackson's hair caught on fire while he was filming a Pepsi commercial in 1984. The lyrics to Just Lose It also refer to Jackson's troubles. In the video, Eminem also parodied Pee Wee Herman, MC Hammer, and a Blonde-Ambition-touring Madonna. Harvey himself declared, "Eminem has lost his ghetto pass. We want the pass back." [1]

File:Eminem - Encore.jpg
Album cover of Encore (2004).

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 number-one requested video on Total Request Live for the week ending October 22. The Source magazine, through its CEO Raymond "Benzino" Scott, wanted not only the video pulled, but the song off the album, and a public apology to Jackson from Eminem [2].

Others dismissed Just Lose It as a tame "Weird Al" Yankovic-style knockoff [3]. Regarding Jackson's protest, Yankovic, who parodied the Eminem song Lose Yourself on a track entitled Couch Potato on his 2003 album Poodle Hat, himself 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".

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. The song features 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 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. On October 31, Eminem performed the song on Saturday Night Live, but some thought that he appeared to be lip-synching it only a week after Ashlee Simpson was caught lip-synching her performance on the program. None of the publicity helped the album however, which saw its sales stall at 4.7 million copies. Good for other artists, but off dramatically from his past two hits.

In summer 2005, Mathers embarked on his first U.S. concert run in three years, the Anger Management 3 Tour, featuring Lil' Jon, 50 Cent and G-Unit, D-12, 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". [4].

At the same time as he was entering rehab, his aunt and uncle, Jack and Betty Schmitt, sued Mathers, charging that he had reneged on a promise to build a $350,000 house for them and supply them with money for the house's upkeep. The couple claimed that Mathers had kept the house in his name, and then issued them eviction orders.

Other works and ventures

File:8mile.jpg
Promotional poster for 8 Mile.

Eminem made his Hollywood acting debut with the semi-autobiographical 8 Mile, released in November 2002. He recorded several new songs for the soundtrack, including "Lose Yourself," which won Eminem an Academy Award for Best Song; it was not performed at the ceremony, reportedly because ABC wanted him to perform an edited version. He has also lent his voice to the Crank Yankers show and a web cartoon called "The Slim Shady Show", which has since been pulled offline and is instead sold on DVD.

Eminem has also been linked to "Songs of Hope" by U2 and supported the Boys and Girls Club of America and the Leary Fire Fighters Foundation with various proceeds donated to these causes. In 2004, he held a political convention of his own in New York City, in response to the National Republican Convention. In the song Mosh, Eminem expresses his support for American troops, but speaks against the Iraq war and the Bush administration. Eminem was also made an honorary priest by the Raelians Religious Movement, a cult whose beliefs are centered around aliens. In addition, he has raised AIDS and other STD awareness in a number of songs describing infected people having promiscuous sex with numerous partners.

Shady Records

Dr. Dre's leading protégé succeeded in multi-platinum record sales. Eminem was granted his own record label. He and his manager Paul Rosenberg created Shady Records in 2000. Eminem had signed his best-selling artist, 50 Cent, to the roster. His own Detroit collective D12 and rapper Obie Trice were also signed to the label. In 2003, Eminem and Dr. Dre signed on Atlanta rapper Stat Quo to the roster. DJ Green Lantern, the former deejay for Eminem, was signed to Shady Records until a dispute with 50 Cent forced him to depart from the label, and he is no longer associated with Eminem. The Alchemist is now officially Eminem's tour deejay. In 2005, Eminem officially signed another Atlanta rapper known as Bobby Creekwater to his label.

Eminem signed a deal with Sirius satellite radio to program a rap-oriented station called Shade 45, which debuted on October 28, 2004. He also owns a clothing line called "Shady Ltd."

Eminem as a producer

Eminem is also active as a producer of rap records. Besides being the executive producer of D12's two albums, Devil's Night and D12 World, he has also produced numerous tracks on Obie Trice's Cheers as well as 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' and The Massacre. Furthermore, his own records increasingly contain tracks produced by himself. He recently produced some tracks on 2Pac's fifth posthumous album, Loyal To The Game, with 2Pac's mother, Afeni Shakur.

Retiring Slim Shady

In 2005, some industry insiders are speculating that Eminem is considering concluding his rapping career after five years and numerous multi-platinum albums. Speculation began in early 2005 about a double disc album to be released late that year, titled The Funeral. The rapper himself has not confirmed any of these rumors, which speculate that the album would revisit the various personas Eminem has portrayed while laying each to rest.

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. The Free Press, Eminem's hometown paper, wrote that the aptly titled Encore album would now stand as his final solo album.

Deep within Eminem's inner circle there is talk that the rapper is planning on retiring after he concludes his Anger Management Tour in Detroit. The reason for his retirement is to focus on acting, spending time with his daughter and niece, and more on his increasing popularity in production. Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenburg as well as their representatives will not comment on the situation. This may not mean his retirement from rapping completely, as he may well still contribute to many of his Shady Record artists projects as well as Dr. Dre's possible Detox album.

Eminem recently 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.

However, as he entered rehab in 2005 for dependency on sleep medication, many are speculating that he will use this event to lay down his mic.

At "Anger Management" in Madison Square Garden and Atlanta's HiFi Buys Amphitheater he openly announced that he is not retiring and indicates this all just gossip by saying the moon is going to crash into the Earth as 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.

Music videos

  • Dr. Dre 2001 (with Dr Dre):
    • Forgot About Dre
  • Devil's Night (with D12):
    • Shit On You
    • Purple Hills (or Purple Pills, the album version)
    • Fight Music
  • D12 World (with D12):
    • My Band
    • 40 Oz.
    • How Come
    • Git Up
    • U R The One

Solo discography

Albums and EPs

Hit singles

From The Slim Shady LP:

From The Marshall Mathers LP:

From The Eminem Show:

From 8 Mile Soundtrack:

  • 2002 "Lose Yourself" #1 (12 weeks) US; #1 UK - Silver certification

From The Eminem Show:

From Encore:

Guest appearances

From Dr. Dre 2001 (by Dr. Dre):

  • 2000 "Forgot about Dre" (Dr. Dre featuring Eminem) #25 US; #7 UK

Non-album single:

From Black trash autobiography (by Sticky Fingaz):

  • 2001 "What if I was White" (Sticky Fingaz featuring Eminem)

From Rock City 2.0 (by Royce Da 5'9"):

  • 2002 "Rock City" (Royce Da 5'9" featuring Eminem)

From Get Rich or Die Tryin' (by 50 Cent):

From Tupac: Resurrection (OST) (by 2Pac):

  • 2004 "One Day at a Time" (2Pac with Eminem featuring Tha Outlawz) #80 US

From The Documentary (by The Game):

  • 2005 "We Ain't" (The Game featuring Eminem)

Also:

  • 2005 "Welcome to Detroit City" (Trick Trick featuring Eminem)

He also had a few major hit singles and albums as part of D12.

Movies

8 Mile

Children

Hailie Jade Scott is the daughter of Eminem and his ex-wife Kimberly Ann Scott. She was born on December 25, 1995. The songs "Mockingbird" on Eminem's album Encore and "Hailie's Song" on The Eminem Show are dedicated to her. Hailie joins her father in the hook for "My Dad's Gone Crazy." She also features prominently in a number of his other songs, most notably in "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" on The Slim Shady LP, which is a fictional account of Eminem dumping the dead body of his wife into a lake, accompanied by Hailie.

Alaina Mathers is Eminem's adopted daughter. She is eleven years old. The daughter of his ex-wife Kim's twin sister, Eminem has custody of his niece and is raising her as Hailie's sister (in reality they are cousins). She is also referenced in the song "Mockingbird" on Encore, as "Lainie".

Nathan Mathers is Eminem's little brother. Eminem is the legal guardian of Nathan.

Trivia

  • The second E in his stage name is always shown 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.
  • He has been recognized as a huge influence on the music industry, and two songs have been written about him by Christian rapper KJ-52, fittingly titled "Dear Slim" and "Dear Slim Pt. 2". He is also one of the few artists who have been parodied twice by "That Christian Parody Band," ApologetiX, who parodied "Lose Yourself" ("Look Yourself") and "The Real Slim Shady" ("The Real Sin Savior").
  • 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.
  • Eminem's rap group "D12" which arguably means "Detroit 12" or "The Dirty Dozen" has only 6 members. Many people are often confused by the number. It is "12" because each of the 6 members of the group has two rap names or "personas." (For example, "Eminem" and "Slim Shady").
  • When Dr. Dre first heard a recording of Eminem rapping, he thought that Eminem was black.
  • Eminem has been awarded a grand total of 9 Grammy awards.
  • Eminem was number 6 on VH1's 50 greatest hip hop artists of all time.
  • Eminem wears glasses. This can be seen in some of his interviews, as well as on the music video for "Mockingbird".
  • Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg (who is featured prominently in several skits on Eminem's solo releases), was once a rapper known as "Paul Bunyan".
  • Eminem's height: 5'8" (1.73 m)
  • Eminem's birthdate is said to be October 27, 1972.
  • Eminem seems to be a fan of Crank Yankers; they were included in his video "Ass Like That". He has lent his voice to the show numerous times, and had one of the puppets, Special ED, host "Eminem's Special Hits".

See also

Official:

Resources:

Critical analysis:

Other:

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