Early career
Eminem was born in St. Joseph, Missouri to Marshall Bruce Mathers II and Deborah Nelson Mathers, of Scottish, German and English descent.[4] He was raised in Detroit and was interested in hip hop from a young age. He began performing as early as 13, later gaining some local attention with the group Soul Intent in 1995, making his first official tape, Fuckin' Backstabber. In 1996, he released an independent underground album named Infinite. The album received no airplay and a mixed response from critics, with people claiming Eminem's rapping style sounded too similar to Nas and AZ. 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 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.
Success
At Aftermath/Interscope, Mathers released The Slim Shady LP, which went on to be one of the most popular albums of 1999, going triple platinum by the end of the year. With the album's popularity came controversy surrounding many of the album's lyrics. In "'97 Bonnie and Clyde", he describes a trip with his infant daughter, disposing of the body of his wife. 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 and musical bond that Dr. Dre and Eminem would share. The two label-mates would later collaborate on a line of hit songs, including "Forgot About Dre" and "What's the Difference" from Dr. Dre's album 2001, Bitch Please II from the Marshall Mathers LP, Say What U Say From The Eminem Show and Encore/Curtains Down from Encore. Surprisingly, when Dr. Dre first heard his tape, he thought Eminem was black.[5]
The Marshall Mathers LP was released in May 2000. Breaking the sophomore curse, it quickly sold two million copies. It was Eminem's fastest selling album to date.[6] 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?" (adapted from the catch phrase of the TV quiz show To Tell the Truth). It also created some buzz by insulting celebrities and making dubious claims about them; he implies, among other things, that Christina Aguilera performed oral sex on Fred Durst (of Limp Bizkit) and Carson Daly (of MTV's Total Request Live). 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. Eminem had parodied shock rocker Marilyn Manson in the video "My Name Is", the artists are now on good terms. They have performed a remix of the song "The Way I Am" together in concert.[7]In the third single, "Stan" (which samples Dido's "Thank You"), 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,[8] and came in 10th in a similar survey conducted by Top40-Charts.com.[9] More importantly, it was ranked 290th in Rolling Stone Magazine's "500 Greatest Songs Of All Time".[10]
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 album reflected on the impact of his rise to fame, his relationship with his wife and daughter, and his status in the hip-hop community. He also addresses the charges he faced over assaulting a bouncer he saw kissing his wife in 2000. While there is clear anger present on several tracks, this album was considerably less inflammatory than the previous, and as such did not face any protests of misogyny and homophobia that had plagued The Marshall Mathers LP.
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.[11]
Drug use
Mathers is no stranger to drugs and alcohol, as suggested by a large number of his songs, including "Drug Ballad", "These Drugs" (with D12) 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".[12] 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".[13]
Remarriage and second divorce
Mathers remarried Kim Mathers on January 14, 2006 in Michigan. His best man was longtime friend and D12 member Proof, while Kim's maid of honor was their daughter Hailie Mathers. They walked down the aisle to Mathers' song "Mockingbird". Guests at the wedding included the other members of D12, as well as the members of G-Unit. Kim's mother attended the wedding, while Mathers' mother did not. However, less than 11 weeks after remarrying, the couple filed for divorce at the Macomb County office,[14] citing "a breakdown in the marriage relationship" (which, in Michigan, is the only reason one can give for cause of divorce). On April 5, 2006, the news was leaked to the Detroit Free Press and MTV's Total Request Live. In addition, Mathers was romantically linked with Mariah Carey.[15] She denies they ever officially dated. Mathers states that they dated for 6 or 7 months and "she was too diva". Eminem's 8 Mile co-star Brittany Murphy stated that they had a brief relationship while working together but he has never commented on this.[15]
Recent events
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. [16] 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.[17]
Mathers announced via MTV News that he does not plan on retiring soon, though he is planning on taking a break to produce music. [18] He is still uncertain whether another album will be released, but his career has not come to a full stop. He is continuing to work out of the spotlight, including producing the Redman album Red Gone Wild.
At "Anger Management" in Madison Square Garden and Atlanta's HiFi Buys Amphitheater, he openly announced that he is not retiring and indicates this is all just gossip by saying the moon exploding is 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.
Adding to the already feverish rumors from fans, Mathers released a track on Curtain Call entitled "When I'm Gone". The lyrics feature the topic of Slim Shady's destructive power over Marshall Mathers' life, and talks of laying his alter ego to rest, one line featuring the lyrics "I turn around, find a gun on the ground, cock it/ Put it to my brain, scream 'Die Shady!' and pop it. *gun fires*"
On December 6, 2005, the day of Curtain Call's release, Mathers denied that he was retiring on Detroit-based WKQI's "Mojo in the Mornin'" radio show, 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."[19]
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. He also appears in the video with a new tattoo and a green polo. 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 and I've got some records ready for him to use on it. We've talked about doing something together for so long, but our schedules made it impossible. It was our chemistry that got him out of retirement".[20] 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.
Producer Swizz Beatz has also said in an interview that he has sent some new tracks to Eminem. [21]
Eminem was set to appear on Tech N9ne's 2006 album Everready: The Religion on track entitled "My World" along with Tech and Brotha Lynch Hung, but it has been said that the passing of Proof prevented Eminem from contributing his verse.
On December 5, 2006, Eminem released an album compilation entitled The Re-Up which features 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. Eminem has plans to release his fifth solo Aftermath album around November 2007.
Mathers has stated that he is taking a break from solo work, but continues to produce and collaborate with fellow Aftermath artists, as well as rappers under his Shady Records label.
Kon Artis of D12, talking about the new album of the group in an interview, said that Eminem's new album, that is still untitled, will be released on November 2007.
Elton John has praised Eminem on many occasions claiming he is amongst legendary music stars such as Mick Jagger and Jimi Hendrix. Eminem is also known to be featuring on a future album release by Elton who has decided to bring his music to hip hop beats.[22]
Controversies
Alleged homophobia
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."[23]
Tue May 08, 2007 12:30 am
hehe, no need for it ho jus ask me n i could tell ya nythin :p 