Eminem Life

Eminem Life

Although he's only been in the public eye since 1999, Marshall Mathers (aka
Eminem) has crammed at least a decade's worth of career highs and lows into
those few short, high-profile years. The Detroit-based Dr. Dre protégé has
invoked the wrath of women and homosexuals with his offensive lyrics; become
enemies with Moby, Everlast, Fred Durst, and Christina Aguilera; provided
tabloids with plenty of gossip fodder regarding his personal life...and in the
process become just about the biggest rock star on the planet. This is because
Eminem isn't just about controversy and shock value: This often misunderstood
major talent has actually given white rappers genuine credibility in this
post-Vanilla Ice age with his string of dynamic hits (both solo and with his
side group, D12), his plethora of Grammy nominations, his critically acclaimed
film 8 Mile, and his three multiplatinum studio albums, which--once one gets
past the hype and hullabaloo that surround them--are some of the most creative,
original, and exciting releases of the rap genre (or any musical genre) in the
past decade.



Mathers was born into a poor, working-class family on
October 17, 1972 in St. Joseph, Missouri, though he spent much of his youth in
Detroit, the city he would eventually put on the rap map. Originally taking on
the stage name M&M (later changed to its current spelling), at age 14 he
became a battle rapper, competing against other Detroit MCs in local clubs.
After a short stint with a rap act called New Jacks, in 1995 he made his
recording debut with a group called Soul Intent, which introduced him to a
rapper named Proof, who appeared on that single's B-side. Eminem and Proof soon
started a new group called D12 with four other MCs (Bizarre, Kon Artis, Swift,
and Kuniva), while Eminem simultaneously launched his solo career with two
independent releases, 1996's Infinite and 1997's The Slim Shady EP, which
featured his trademark dark, disturbing, angry lyrics. Eminem drew from his
troubled personal life when penning such bleak words: He had just had a daughter
with his on/off girlfriend, Kim, with whom he had a very tumultuous
relationship; he was estranged from his mother, with whom he also frequently
butted heads; he was abusing alcohol and drugs with alarming frequency; and he
had attempted suicide on at least one occasion. Though these harrowing
experiences provided inspiration for some brilliant if nasty and offensive
lyrics, Mathers was at such a low point in his life that it seemed there was
nowhere to go but up.

Enter Interscope Records honcho Jimmy Iovine,
who--impressed by Eminem's fresh and bold style--approached the struggling
rapper after seeing him take second place in the freestyle category at 1997's
Rap Olympics. Iovine later played Eminem's demo tape for super-producer and
former Death Row Records chief/NWA member Dr. Dre, who immediately liked what he
heard, contacted Eminem, and started a fruitful creative partnership with Eminem
that exists to this day. (Legend has it that the two recorded Eminem's first big
hit single, "My Name Is," within an hour after first meeting each other.)
Interscope quickly signed Mathers, and Dre produced his major-label debut album,
The Slim Shady LP, which was released in February 1999 to both massive acclaim
and derision, eventually going triple-platinum.



Eminem's follow-up,
2000's Marshall Mathers LP, was an even bigger phenomenon, selling almost 2
million copies in its first week of release alone, thus becoming the
fastest-selling hip-hop album of all time. However, the album stirred up even
more of an uproar than its predecessor, making Mathers the target of much public
hatred. Among other conflicts and controversies, the album created a feud with
pop princess Christina Aguilera (the single "The Real Slim Shady" alleged that
she had performed oral sex on both Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst and MTV's Carson
Daly); led his mother to file a defamation lawsuit against him (a judge later
dismissed the case); and generated accusations of homophobia and sexism mostly
centering around the songs "Kill You" and "Kim" (the latter a rant about the
mother of his child, whom he had recently married but would soon divorce, and
later reconcile with yet again). But Eminem thrived on the controversy, becoming
an even bigger superstar and racking up a surprising number of Grammy
nominations in 2001, much to the chagrin of his many outspoken detractors. And
he kept people guessing about how much of the Slim Shady "character" was really
the real deal, when he performed a duet version of his single "Stan" with the
openly gay Elton John at the Grammys ceremony, even warmly hugging Elton
onstage. Mathers won three Grammys that night--Best Rap Solo Performance (for
"The Real Slim Shady"), Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group (for his work on
the Dr. Dre duet "Forgot About Dre"), and Best Rap Album (for The Marshall
Mathers LP)--adding to the two statuettes he'd won the previous year for "My
Name Is" (Best Rap Solo Performance) and The Slim Shady LP (Best Rap Album).


There seemed no stopping Eminem--not even convictions on weapons and
assault charges (stemming from separate incidents involving his estranged wife
with another man and rival Detroit rap act Insane Clown Posse). Eminem was
sentenced to community service and kept on recording, releasing Devil's Night
with old group D12 in 2001 and then The Eminem Show, one of the most critically
heralded albums of 2002 and his most personal work yet. He also revealed more of
his real-life persona in 8 Mile, a Rocky-style feelgood flick lensed by L.A.
Confidential/Wonder Boys director Curtis Hanson that presented a sort of
cleaned-up version of Eminem's rags-to-riches life story. Eminem put on such an
impressive performance in the film that there was actually speculation that he
would receive a Best Actor nomination at the Oscars in 2003.

While
Eminem may have seemed like a novelty act at first--with his shocking,
four-letter lyrics, cartoonish bad-boy image, and, of course, pale skin color (a
real anomaly in hip-hop)--he has since established himself as one of the most
important artists of his time and a true force to be reckoned with, continuing
to cross both color boundaries and genre boundaries with his edgy, rock-tinged
raps. With his turbulent personal life, powder-keg temper, and tendency to
tangle with the law, it is still uncertain how long his career will last before
he burns out, but it's already obvious that his music had made history and will
long outlast any controversy that dogs him.