Eminem is an
American rapper, record producer and actor from the Detroit,
Michigan area. Having sold seventy million albums worldwide,
Eminem is one of the best-selling musicians of the early 2000s,
and one of the best-selling rappers of all time. Eminem was discovered
by Dr. Dre, who signed him to his Aftermath Entertainment label.
Early Life
Born in St. Joseph, Missouri to Marshall Bruce Mathers II and
Deborah Nelson Mathers, of Scottish, German, and English descent.
He was interested in hip hop from a young age. He began performing
as early as 13 in a group called Bassmint Productions and they
made an EP called Steppin' onto the Scene. In 1995, he gained
some local attention in Soul Intent making his first official
tape, Fuckin’ Backstabber/Soul Intent. In 1996, he released
an independent underground album named Infinite. The album
received no airplay and a mixed response from critics, Eminem
followed Infinite with The Slim Shady EP, which saw his lyrics
take a decidedly darker turn, in songs like "No One's
Iller" and "Murder Murder", the latter of which
he talks about having to commit crimes to feed his daughter.
After this album he received much attention and mixed reviews
in the hip hop underground due to his distinctive style and
the fact that he was white in a predominantly black genre.
Eminem had done a notable amount of rapping 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.
Royce da 5'9" and Eminem were considered to be two of the
best underground MCs in Detroit and were both respected for their
skills.
While Royce and Eminem were great friends and
had mutual respect for one another, both personally and musically,
they eventually had a falling out. Recent rumors suggest that
the argument was subdued prior to Proof's death.
Career
At Aftermath/Interscope, Mathers released The Slim Shady LP,
which went on to be one of the most popular albums of 1999, "slim" enjoyed
the professional sylings of Josh Houlihan, going triple platinum
by the end of the year. With the album's popularity came controversy
surrounding many of the album's lyrics. 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 between Dr.
Dre and Eminem. The two label-mates collaborated on a line
of hit songs, including "Forgot About Dre" and "What's
the Difference", "Bitch Please II", "Say
What You Say" and others.
When Dr. Dre first heard his tape, he
thought Eminem was black.
The Marshall Mathers LP was released in May 2000,
and quickly sold two million copies. It was Eminem's fastest
selling album. The first single released from the album, "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?" and it also created some buzz by insulting
celebrities and making dubious claims about them. 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", 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. It was named
as the third greatest rap song of all time in a list compiled
by Q Magazine, and came in 10th in a similar survey conducted
by Top40-Charts.com. More importantly, it was ranked 290th in
Rolling Stone Magazine's "500 Greatest Songs Of All Time".
Mathers' third major album “The Eminem
Show” was released in summer 2002 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 year 2004 saw the release of Mathers' fourth
major album, Encore. The album was another chart-topper for the
rapper, driven by the 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 anti-war track "Mosh".
By the end of 2005 Mathers was back with a new single, "When
I'm Gone", recorded for the greatest-hits set Curtain Call:
The Hits.
Eminem often said that one of his most
influential rappers in his career was Tupac Shakur, during
an interview for the Tupac: Resurrection documentary.
Drug Abuse
Mathers is no stranger to drugs and alcohol, as suggested by
a large number of his songs, including "Drug Ballad", "These
Drugs" and "Under the Influence". The song "I'm
Shady" (The Slim Shady LP, 1999) includes the explanatory
line "well, I do take pills (ecstasy, acid, 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. However, with a 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 is supported with references to his drug use in his music
all-but disappearing after 2001, and comments by late band-mate
Proof, who stated that Mathers "sobered up". However,
he did turn to Zolpidem sleeping pills for relief of sleeping
troubles and eventually went to rehab to recover from the addiction.
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, D12, Obie Trice, The Alchemist,
and others. In August 2005, Mathers canceled the European leg
of the tour and subsequently announced that he had entered
drug rehabilitation for treatment for a "dependency on
sleep medication".
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 manifested itself
under the name Curtain Call, and 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.
On December 6, 2005, the day of Curtain Call's
release, Mathers denied that he was retiring, 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."
Eminem has had some activity since the release
of Curtain Call. 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 new album Konvicted. 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.
On November 19, "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.
On December 5, 2006, Eminem released an album
compilation entitled Eminem Presents the Re-Up, featuring artists
from the Shady Records roster. The first single released was "You
Don't Know", which features 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, and new
artist Ca$his.
Problems
With GLAAD
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."
With 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, "Oh,
now he's raping his own mother, abusing a whore, snorting coke,
and we gave him the Rolling Stone cover?". 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."
With 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 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, Michael Jackson, Will Smith, Britney Spears, Mariah
Carey, Limp Bizkit, Jermaine Dupri, Moby, Esham, Cage, Stan,
Fat Joe and Christina Aguilera, as well as Christopher Reeve.
With George W. Bush
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 set 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 attacks
the president on the song. His song White America from the Eminem
Show album states :"sent to lead the march right up to The
steps of congress, and piss on the lawns of the White House,
to burn the casket and replace It with a parental advisory sticker,
to spit liquor in the faces of in this democracy of Hypocrisy,
fuck you Ms. Cheney, fuck you Tipper Gore, fuck you with the
freest of speech this Divided states of embarrassment will allow
me to have, FUCK YOU!"
On October 26, 2004, a week before the 2004 U.S.
Presidential election, 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 Mathers 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 won the election, the video's ending
was changed to Eminem and the protesters invading while Bush
was giving a speech.
With 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" also refer to
Jackson's legal troubles, however he does state in his song "...and
that's 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.
Acting career
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 voiced a character in 50 Cent: Bulletproof,
who is an aging corrupt police officer that speaks in ebonics.
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.
Mathers 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 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", 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 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 2Pac's posthumous album
Loyal to the Game with 2Pac's mother Afeni Shakur. He produced
the UK #1 single "Ghetto Gospel" which featured Elton
John. On certain tracks on the album, 2Pac'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. Mathers has named 2Pac as his favorite rapper. He
has also produced "The Cross" off Nas's album God's
Son.
Shady Records
As Mathers succeeded in multi-platinum record sales, Interscope
granted him his own record label. He and his manager Paul Rosenberg
created Shady Records in late 2000. In 2002, Mathers signed
50 Cent through a joint venture between Shady and Dr. Dre's
Aftermath label. 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 DJ 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. [30] The Alchemist is now officially Mathers'
tour DJ. In 2005, Mathers officially signed another Atlanta
rapper known as Bobby Creekwater to his label along with west
coast rapper Ca$his.
In 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", 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, D12 World, 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. D12's third studio album won't be out earlier than
August with a single in June according to rumors. Proof will
be heavily featured on the album and this will be the final D12
album.
Awards
Academy Awards
2003
Best Original song: "Lose Yourself"
MTV European Music Awards
Best New Artist (My Name Is) - 1999
Best Hip Hop Artist -1999
Best Hip Hop Artist - 2000
Best Album (The Marshall Mathers LP) - 2000
Best Hip Hop Act - 2001
Best Album (The Eminem Show) - 2002
Best Hip Hop Artist - 2002
Best Male - 2002
Best Hip Hop Artist - 2003
Best Hip Hop Act (D12) - 2004
World Music Awards
Pop/Rock Artist - 2005
Rap/ Hip Hop Artist - 2005
World Music Award For World's Best Selling Rap Artist - 2001
The Source Hip Hop Music Awards
Lyricist Of The Year - 2000
Music Video Of The Year (Guilty Conscience) - 2000
Best Video of the Year (Stan) - 2001
Online Hip Hop Awards
Best Artist Website (Eminem.com) - 2000
Hottest Music Video (Guilty Conscience) - 2000
Best New Artist (Hot 97 Picks) - 2000
Brit Awards
International male - 2001
International Male Solo Artist - 2003
International Album (The Eminem Show) - 2003
International Male Solo Artist - 2005
Billboard Music Awards
Album Of The Year (The Eminem Show) - 2002
R&B/ Hip Hop Album Of The Year (The Eminem Show) -2002
Best Album (The Eminem Show) - 2002
Best R&B/Hip Hop Album (The Eminem Show) - 2002
Best Album - The Eminem Show - 2003
Best Rap Album - The Eminem Show - 2003
Best Album's Artist - 2003
Maximum Vision Award - The Real Slim Shady - 2001
Best Rap Hip Hop Clip - The Real Slim Shady - 2001
American Music Awards
2003
Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist
Favorite Pop/Rock Album: The Eminem Show
Favorite Hip-hop/R&B Male Artist
Favorite Hip-hop/R&B Album: The Eminem Show
2005
Favorite Rap/Hip-hop Male Artist
2006
Favorite Rap/Hip-hop/ Male Artist
Billboard Music Awards
2001
Maximum Vision Award: "The Real Slim Shady"
Best Rap Hip Hop Clip: "The Real Slim Shady"
2002
Album of the Year: The Eminem Show
R&B/Hip Hop Album of the Year: The Eminem Show
Best Album: The Eminem Show
2003
Best Rap Album: The Eminem Show
Best Album's Artist
Detroit Music Awards
2001
Outstanding National Major Label Recording: The Marshall Mathers
LP
Outstanding National Single: "The Real Slim Shady"
2003
Outstanding National Single: "Lose Yourself"
2005
Outstanding National Major Label Recording: Encore
2006
Outstanding Video / Major Budget: "When I'm Gone"
Grammy Awards
2000
Best Rap solo performance: "My Name Is"
Best Rap album: The Slim Shady LP
2001
Best Rap Solo Performance: "The Real Slim Shady"
Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group: "Forgot About Dre" (with
Dr. Dre)
Best rap album: The Marshall Mathers LP
2003
Best Short Form Music Video: "Without Me" (directed
by Joseph Kahn)
Best rap album: The Eminem Show
2004
Best Male Rap Solo Performance: "Lose Yourself"
Best Rap song: "Lose Yourself"
Juno Awards
2001
Best Selling Album (Foreign or Domestic): The Marshall Mathers
LP
2003
International Album of the Year: The Eminem Show
MTV Europe Music Awards
1999
Best Hip-hop Act
2000
Best Hip-hop Act
Best Album: The Marshall Mathers LP
2001
Best Hip-hop Act
2002
Best Male Act
Best Hip-hop Act
Best Album: The Eminem Show
2003
Best Hip-hop Act
2004
Best Hip-hop Act: D12
MTV Movie Awards
2002
Best Male Performance: 8 Mile
2002
Best Breakthrough Male Performance: 8 Mile
MTV Video Music Awards
1999
Best New Artist: "My Name Is"
2000
Best Video: "The Real Slim Shady"
Best Male Video: "The Real Slim Shady"
Best Rap Video: "Forgot About Dre" (with Dr. Dre)
2002
Best Video: "Without Me"
Best Male Video: "Without Me"
Best Rap Video: "Without Me"
Best direction: "Without Me"
2003
Best Video From a Film: "Lose Yourself"
Teen Choice Awards
2005
Choice Music Rap Artist
Choice Music Rap Track: "Mockingbird"
2003
Choice Movie Breakout Star - Male for 8 Mile
Choice Movie Actor - Drama/Action Adventure for 8 Mile
World Music Awards
2001
World Music Award: World's Best Selling Rap Artist
2005
Best Pop/Rock Artist
Best Rap/Hip Hop Artist
Discography
1996: Infinite
1997: The Slim Shady EP
1999: The Slim Shady LP
2000: The Marshall Mathers LP
2002: The Eminem Show
2002: 8 Mile Soundtrack
2004: Encore
2005: Curtain Call: The Hits
2006: Eminem Presents the Re-Up
2007/2008: Eminem's 5th Studio Album
Filmography
2000: Da Hip Hop Witch (cameo)
2001: The Wash — as Chris
2002: 8 Mile — as Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith
2008: Have Gun — Will Travel — as Paladin |
