Eminem, also known as Slim Shady or by his real name Marshall Mathers, is one of the most prolific rappers of his generation. He knows and has made sure through his career that the whole world knows. He has a unique rap style and life story that makes his music compelling and ensures he continues to thrive in a game that doesn’t offer much success for white/male rappers.
Though a new generation of rappers have taken over and rap styles are evolving, Eminem’s music will forever remain iconic, and while people continue to nod to his song’s beats and marvel at his phenomenal wordplay, we can also share some details about the man who rose from nothing to become one of the most recognizable rap stars in the world.
Eminem Biography
Marshall Bruce Mathers III, the man who would grow up and take the stage name – Eminem, was born on October 17, 1972 to Deborah Rae Nelson and Marshall Bruce Mathers Junior. Especially after his parents separated, he had a difficult childhood and started to move a lot with his mother. Spending his youth in the black neighborhood of Detroit, he was very often bullied by other kids both at school and on the block. Things weren’t stable at home either, where Eminem frequently got into arguments with his mother.
A young Eminem had been interested in storytelling, but had tried to channel that gift through comic book writing before discovering hip-hop. At the age of 17, Eminem dropped out of school after struggling for three years in the ninth grade because he was still pregnant and getting bad grades. He began working various odd jobs to help pay bills around the house, and took advantage of his mother’s absence from the home to turn on the stereo and write down songs.
He had started rapping when he was 14 with a friend from high school named Mike Ruby. While Mike performed under the stage name “Manix”, Eminem settled on “M&M”, a name that would later evolve into “Eminem”. He and another friend, who went by the name Proof, snuck into a neighboring school to have freestyle rap fights in the dining room. They would then hold open mic competitions on Saturdays at the hip hop store on West 7 Mile. The hip-hop joint on West 7 Mile was seen as the linchpin of Detroit’s rap scene, and Eminem slowly developed an underground appreciation for his music in a scene largely made up of black rappers.
With his ever-growing reputation in rapping groups, he began to grow closer to Eminem, eventually forming The Dirty Dozen, aka D12, along with Proof and four other rappers. The group released their first album in 2001, which they called Devil’s Night. Eminem was then signed to FBT Productions where he recorded and released his debut album entitled Infinite. The album, released in 1996, was a commercial failure, and that failure, with the feedback it received, made Eminem write angrier and moodier tracks – a style he would soon become known for. Meanwhile, he worked as a minimum wage worker washing and cooking at a family restaurant.In 1997 he released the Slim Shady EP and then signed to Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment. It was then that he reached mainstream popularity, and with The Slim Shady LP , released in 1999, earned him his first Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. The Marshall Mathers LP released in 2000 and The Eminem Show both released in 2002 enjoyed worldwide success, winning Grammys for Best Rap Album. With those wins, Eminem became the first artist to win Best Rap Album Grammy for three consecutive LPs. His 2004 album Encorewas also incredibly successful, and after touring in 2005, Eminem took a break, returning with Relapse in 2009 and in 2010 ‘s Recovery . The two albums again won Grammy Awards and Recovery became the world’s best-selling album of 2010. Eminem’s next album was 2013 ‘s The Marshall Mathers LP 2 , which won two Grammy Awards before the rapper went on an extended hiatus in 2017 with his ninth studio album, Revival , in 2017. His tenth studio album, Kamikaze was released in 2018.
Eminem has debuted nine of his albums, consistently numbering at number one on the Billboard 200. He is the only artist to do so, and Rolling Stone ranked him the 83rd greatest artist of all time on their number 100 list. Rolling Stone also dubbed him the “King of Hip Hop”. Eminem has also received an Academy Award for Best Original Song for Lose Yourself, which he worked on while starring in the film 8 Miles . He has also made cameo appearances in a few other films like the 2009 Funny People .
His capital
Eminem’s current net worth is $190million. Given the success he’s had in his rap career, that’s not surprising. In addition to the success of his solo albums and few appearances in films, Eminem also started a label called Shady Records, which has signed top-notch rappers like 50 Cents. The best-selling artist of the 2000s in the US worked really hard to achieve his success and he certainly deserves all the wealth he has now.
wife and daughters
The woman Eminem married twice – Kimberly Anne “Kim” Scott actually moved in with him and his mother when he was much younger. She and her twin sister Dawn ran away from home and made their way to the Mathers. Eminem and Kim began dating shortly thereafter, and by December 1995, they had a daughter named Hailie. They married in 1999 and divorced in 2001. They remarried in January 2006, but in early April he filed for divorce again and both agreed to shared custody of Hailie.
Eminem also has custody of Kim’s twin daughter named Alaina as well as another daughter from Kim’s other relationship named Whitney. Eminem also has custody of his younger half-brother, Nathan.
Is he gay?
Eminem is not gay. In fact, some of his lyrics have caused some controversy where it has been assumed that he is homophobic. The rapper denies this, claiming that he only uses words that are considered homophobic because they were used growing up, as words that were simply slurs and not listed as homosexual. He has also spoken out in favor of same-sex marriage, stating that people who love each other should all be together.
