Marshall Mathers III was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, but moved to Detroit with his mother to live with other family members due to finical issues. He had a rough childhood. He grew up without his father, was one of only three white households on his block, and he was often bullied. He also didn't have a strong relationship with his mother. She was a drug addicted!!!!!!! He originally wanted to write comic books when he was younger until he heard his first Hip-Hop album, it was "Reckless" by Ice-T. At 14 he would rap with his friend Mike, they called themselves "M&M", which later evolved into his own stage name "Eminem."
Eminem would sneak into his the neighboring high school during lunch to freestyle with his bestfriend Deshaun Holton, also known as "Proof". On Saturdays they would go to the underground rap battles and compete with other Detroit rappers. He was a favorite to the predominantly black crowds. His reputation grew and caught the eye of FBT Productions, where he would release his first album "Infinite."
Infinite sales did very poorly. It sold only about 1,000 copies. Without a job he was out of money and got evicted from his home and had to move back in at his mom's house with his girlfriend and new born daughter Haillie. He was very angry and this caused the creation of his alter ego Slim Shady. He spent the last of his money to go to Los Angeles to participate in the 1997 Rap Olympics. He placed 2nd and caught the attention of Interscope Records. CEO of Interscope Records, Jimmy Lovine, played Eminem's album "Infinite" to major Hip-Hop producer Dr. Dre. He wanted to meet Eminem immediately. Together, they worked on Eminem's next album "The Slim Shady LP."
Eminem would sneak into his the neighboring high school during lunch to freestyle with his bestfriend Deshaun Holton, also known as "Proof". On Saturdays they would go to the underground rap battles and compete with other Detroit rappers. He was a favorite to the predominantly black crowds. His reputation grew and caught the eye of FBT Productions, where he would release his first album "Infinite."
Infinite sales did very poorly. It sold only about 1,000 copies. Without a job he was out of money and got evicted from his home and had to move back in at his mom's house with his girlfriend and new born daughter Haillie. He was very angry and this caused the creation of his alter ego Slim Shady. He spent the last of his money to go to Los Angeles to participate in the 1997 Rap Olympics. He placed 2nd and caught the attention of Interscope Records. CEO of Interscope Records, Jimmy Lovine, played Eminem's album "Infinite" to major Hip-Hop producer Dr. Dre. He wanted to meet Eminem immediately. Together, they worked on Eminem's next album "The Slim Shady LP."
The Slim Shady LP was relaeased in 1999. It went on to become one of the biggest and controversial albums of all time. It got attention and publicity for its controversy. It sold 283,000 in its opening week. It went on to become 4x platinum and is ranked 275th on the Rolling Stones Top 500 albums of all time.
.The Marshall Mathers LP was released the next year. It was even more controversial and dark than his first album. It went on to sell 1,760,000 copies in the first week, breaking all kinds of records. Went on to go 11x platinum and is often voted as one of the top albums of all time. He recorded the album in only 2 months, including 20 hour recording sessions.
The Eminem Show was his fourth studio album. It was the best selling album of 2002 and was number one in 19 countries. It has sold over 30,000,000 copies world wide and has gotten the Diamond certification. Critics say the album sees a more "mature" Eminem compared to previous albums. Eminem said he treated the production of the album like a rock record, he wanted a 70's rock vibe while still having elements of Hip-Hop.
Encore was released on November 12th, 2004, exactly 8 years after the release of "Infinite." It sold 710,000 copies in just three days, but critics and fans admitted they were displeased with the subpar lyrics. It was easy to tell he was bored with Hip-Hop and lost his passion.