Eminem

Marshall Bruce Mathers III, known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. Known for his rap flow and conscious rap incorporating social and political commentary, he is credited with popularizing hip-hop in Middle America and increasing the acceptance of white rappers. Becoming a symbol of popular angst in lower-income America, Eminem has established himself as the best-selling rapper and one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales exceeding 220 million records.

Born on October 17, 1972, in St. Joseph, Missouri, Eminem was the only child of Deborah "Debbie" Nelson and Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr. His father abandoned the family when Eminem was a year and a half old, leaving his mother to raise him in poverty. They moved frequently between Missouri and Michigan before settling in Detroit when he was 12. As a youth, Eminem suffered severe injuries from a school bully, faced unstable home conditions, and dropped out of Lincoln High School at age 17 after spending three years in ninth grade due to truancy and poor grades.

Eminem began rapping at age 14 under the name "M&M", later evolving into "Eminem", participating in freestyle battles and open mic contests in Detroit. After early involvement with groups such as New Jacks, Soul Intent, D12, and Outsidaz, he released his debut album Infinite in 1996. Following its commercial failure, he introduced the alter ego Slim Shady on the Slim Shady EP in 1997. This release caught the attention of record producer Dr. Dre, leading to Eminem signing with Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope in 1998.

Eminem achieved mainstream success with The Slim Shady LP in 1999. His following releases, The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) and The Eminem Show (2002), each sold over one million copies in their first week, with the latter becoming the best-selling album worldwide in 2002. In 2002, he starred in the drama film 8 Mile, and his song "Lose Yourself" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, making him the first hip-hop act to receive the award. In late 1999, he co-founded the record label Shady Records with his manager Paul Rosenberg.

After releasing Encore in 2004, Eminem took a hiatus due in part to struggles with prescription drug addiction. He returned with Relapse (2009) and Recovery (2010), the latter of which became the best-selling album globally in 2010. His subsequent albums—including The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013), Revival (2017), Kamikaze (2018), Music to Be Murdered By (2020), and The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) (2024)—all debuted atop the US Billboard 200 chart.

Eminem's accomplishments include 15 Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, 17 Billboard Music Awards, 15 MTV Video Music Awards, 11 Billboard 200 number-one albums, and seven RIAA diamond certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility and was named Artist of the 2000s by Billboard. His other projects include the Sirius XM channel Shade 45 and the restaurant Mom's Spaghetti.