One of the best-selling artists in the United States, Eminem first made himself known in the late 90’s with his LP, The Slim Shady in 1999. Like many rappers, he first got into hip hop during high school. As he made himself known in the local circuit, his reputation grew- by the time he was in his early twenties, he had signed with FBT Productions. Though he soon released his debut album Infinite, it wasn’t until his second effort that he garnered widespread attention.
Born on October 17, 1972 in St. Joseph, Missouri, Eminem (Real Name: Marshall Bruce Mathers III) is the son of Marshall Bruce Mathers, Jr. and Deborah Rae Nelson. Raised primarily by his mother and his parents separated soon after his birth, he spent much of his youth in the primarily black neighbourhood of Detroit. At the age of fourteen, he started to rap with a close friend named Mike Ruby in high school; the two eventually adopted the names M&M and Manix, the former of which later evolved into his current stage name. Together, the teens often participated in local open mic events.
As his presence grew, Eminem was invited to perform with a few rap groups including Soul Intent- from there, he formed his own crew called The Dirty Dozen. From there, he eventually released his debut solo album, Infinite in 2006. Unfortunately, it ended up being a commercial failure with only a thousand sales.
How Eminem Became Famous
Then in 1999, the rapper hit it big with his second album, The Slim Shady LP. A major breakthrough, it was made available on February 23, 1999 via Interscope Records. His major label debut, the project quickly gained the attention of contemporary music critics who praised Eminem for his unique lyrical style. Produced by Mark & Jeff Bass, Mel-Man, Dr. Dre, and Eminem himself, the album contained twenty tracks including My Name Is, which later reached number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 as a single.
Met with critical acclaim, The Slim Shady LP went on to sell over 283,000 copies by the end of the first week, having entered the Billboard Top 200 at number two; eventually, the album also topped the R&B/Hip Hop Albums in the United States. Responsible propelling him into high-profile celebrity status, the project was later awarded a Grammy for Best Rap Album at the 42th annual award ceremony. As of 2017, the album has gone platinum four times in the US and has sold over 16 million copies worldwide.
Eminem’s Later Music Albums
Following the success of The Slim Shady LP, Eminem’s popularity peaked even further with the release of his third full length project, The Marshall Mathers LP. Produced almost entirely by Eminem and Dr. Dre along with Bass Brothers, The 45 King, and Mel-Man, it became the fastest-selling album by a solo artist in the history of the US with over 1.78 million sales in the first week. Recorded over a period of two months, the album came with a 19-song track list that included the titles, Marshall Mathers, Remember Me?, The Real Slim Shady, Who Knew, and Criminal.
A chart topper in over a dozen different countries including the United States, it eventually earned him his second Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 2001, among two nominations. To date, over 27 million copies have been sold across the globe with 11.3 million of that being in the US.
Two years later, he dropped his fourth album, The Eminem Show on May 26, 2002. Number one on the Billboard Top 200, it eventually topped the record charts in 19 countries including the UK, Canada, Australia, and Ireland. His second diamond certified album, it gave rise to five hit singles- Business, Sing for the Moment, Superman, Without Me, and Cleanin’ Out My Closet. Praised for being “bolder and more consistent than its predecessors”, the album eventually earned a spot on Rolling Stone’s list of “500 Greatest Albums of all Time”. In total, 27 million copies have been sold as of 2017.
Riding his momentum, Eminem later released his next album, Encore on November 12, 2004. Though not as successful as his earlier efforts per se, it still managed to sell more than 1.5 million copies within the first two weeks in the US. Within a month’s time, the album had earned itself 4x platinum status in the United States with over 5 million sales.
Since then, the artist has come out with three additional albums- Relapse, Recovery, and The Marshall Mathers LP 2, all of which have gone on to receive multi-platinum status in the US.
Though he hasn’t released any new albums since 2010, he has been coming out with new singles- so far this year, he dropped three titles: Harder (with KSHMR featuring Talay Riley), Boom (Feat. Sevenn), and On My Way (Feat. Bright Sparks).
Eminem’s Love Life
In the past, the rapper was married to Kimberly Anne Scott- his high school sweetheart. After a few years of being together, their daughter Hailie was born in 1995. From there, they were married for two years from 1999 to 2001 before separating.
Though they eventually remarried in early 2006, they later divorced again a few months later with joint custody of theire daughter.
As far as we know, Eminem is currently single as of 2017.
Eminem’s Snapchat Name – Eminem
Fans will be happy to know that the rapper is on Snapchat! To add him to your friend’s list, click here.
Eminem’s Other Social Media Accounts
Eminem’s Facebook Account
Want to follow Eminem on Facebook? You can do so by liking his official page at @eminem- he already has over 90 million fans on the site!
Eminem’s Twitter Account
Looking for an easy way to keep up with the star? Why not follow him on Twitter? You can find him on the site at @Eminem.
Eminem’s Instagram Account
Who wouldn’t want to follow Eminem on Instagram? You can find him on the photo sharing app at @eminem.
Eminem’s Youtube Account
Feel like listening to some of his songs? You can stream many of his music videos on his official Youtube channel at @EminemVEVO. You can tell just how popular he is by the fact that he has over 9.1 billion lifetime views!
