Introduction

Marshall Bruce Mathers III, popularly known as Eminem, is an American rapper and songwriter. He is considered as one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all times and is often informally referred to as the God of Rap. In 2008, Vibe Magazine named him the Best Rapper Alive. In 2009, Billboard Magazine named him the artist of the decade. Rolling Stone has called him the King of Hip-Hop. On the list of 100 great artists of all time, Eminem ranks 82nd, according to Rolling Stone Magazine. Eminem has sold around 45,160,000 albums and 31 million digital singles to become one of the best selling artists in the world. Eminem is known for his emotionally violent lyrics especially those written under his alter ego name “Slim Shady”. His music is a reflection of his troubled childhood and controversial personal life.

EARLY LIFE / PERSONAL LIFE

Eminem was born to 21-year-old Marshall Bruce Mathers and 17-year-old Deborah R. "Debbie" Nelson. As the romance wore off, Bruce left Debbie to never return. Debbie fended for herself and her son by shuttling between family members until Eminem was 11. As a child, Eminem was a loner and often bullied. His letters to his estranged father were never answered. Eminem spent much of his childhood in poverty with a mother who was termed ‘paranoid’ by a social worker. He was often beaten up in the African-American neighborhood he grew up in. Around the same time, the suicide of his favorite uncle Ronald "Ronnie" Polkinghorn affected him terribly. He flunked his ninth grade thrice, after which he was kicked out of school. The events of his formative years affected Eminem in a way that could only find expression through his rapping. His pent up anger is let loose in his violent lyrics.

In 1995, Eminem had his first child, a daughter named Hailie Jade Scott with Kim Ann Scott. It was his daughter’s birth that inspired him to release his first independent rap album, ‘Infinite’. The album displayed the rapper’s flair of storytelling though his lyrical intonations.

Eminem’s personal life has often been the subject of his music. He married his childhood sweetheart, Kimberly Anne "Kim" Scott, only to divorce, re-marry and divorce her again. The couple met each other in high school, when Eminem was 15 and she was 13. Kimberly ran away from home with her twin sister, Dawn to stay with Eminem and Debbie. They had their first child, Hailie on December 25, 1995. They married after her birth and then separated in 2001. But the couple got back together in 2006, and then again separated in April 2006. Eminem and Kim have mutual custody of their daughter.

In 1999, Eminem was sued by his mother, Debbie for US $10 million due to the controversial lyrics of The Slim Shady LP. The singer’s mother was unhappy with the lewd lyrics that were loosely based around her character. He was also arrested because of bashing his wife’s lover, John Guerrera. This act was also displayed in a skit called ‘The Kiss’ in his fourth album, The Eminem Show. His song ‘Kim’ was an attempted insult on the singer’s estranged wife who was devastated and slit her wrists. She then sued him for his unforgivable behavior. His continuous bad behavior always landed him in lawsuits and trials.

His hit single, ‘Kill You’ was claimed to be copied from Jacques Loussier’s instrumental score, ‘Pulsion’. On March 31, 2002, the French jazz pianist sued him for an amount of $10 million for copying the beat. His constant drug and alcohol abuse has always landed him in trouble. The death of his best friend ‘Proof’ in a nightclub altercation changed Eminem. He began working hard on the production of 8 Mile, a tribute to his friendship with ‘Proof’. This made him so unwell that he was under medication. Soon, Eminem started relying on drugs heavily to feel normal as a result of which he couldn’t sleep for more than two hours at night and he started putting on weight and grew to 230 pounds. In December 2007, Eminem took a heavy dose of Methadone and collapsed due to the continuous intake of the deadly drug. He was found struggling for life in the bathroom and was rushed to the hospital

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

The rapper released his debut album, Infinite in 1996, however, the low-budget album did not do well. It was only after a year that his album The Slim Shady EP kick-started his musical career. The album was discovered by the legendary rapper, Dr. Dre, who had listened to Eminem’s cassette after he was judged a runner up in the 1997 Rap Olympics MC Battle. Dr. Dre’s discovery of the album made Eminem a super star overnight.

His solo release, ‘My Name Is’ has a mix of childishness and violence. His next album, The Marshall Mathers LP exhibits Eminem’s poetic talent and emotional range. His album had songs like ‘The Real Slim Shady’, ‘Stan, Kim’, ‘The Way I Am’ that are an expression of his emotional turbulence.

In spite of being criticized for its drug, violence and blasphemy, the album sold 19 million copies and won the Grammy award for the Best Rap Album. To cover up for these charges, he performed a duet with Elton John at the Grammy awards. In 2001, he formed a group called group D12 that featured the hit single ‘Purple Pills’. This was followed by another solo album The Eminem Show, with tracks like ‘Without Me’, ‘Cleaning Out my Closet’ and ‘Sing for the Moment’. In 2009, he released his albums Crack a Bottle and Beautiful, and later in 2010, he came out with Recovery, depicting his struggles with addiction and rehabilitation. He partnered with Rihanna to come up with the album The Monster that reached the top of the charts.