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Eminem
Eminem (born Marshall Bruce Mathers III on October 17, 1972 in Saint Joseph, Missouri, USA), a Grammy Award and Oscar-winning musician, is one of today's most controversial and popular rappers. He currently lives in Michigan in the outskirts of Detroit.Brought to fame by rapper producer Dr. Dre, Eminem is known by many as one of the most skillful, successful, and controversial rappers in the industry. He is noted for his ability to change his own verbal pace ("flow") and style multiple times within one song without losing the beat. Eminem is also praised for his skill in assonance and alliteration. He is also infamous for the controversy surrounding many of his lyrics. With the enormous success of his sophomore album ''The Marshall Mathers LP'' following its release in May 2000, and its subsequent nomination for four Grammy awards including Album of the Year, critics such as GLAAD denounced his lyrics as homophobic, while others complained that it was also extremely misogynistic and violent. However, he has received a great deal of praise within the hip-hop community for his lyrical ability. While generally avoiding overtly political tones previously, in late 2004 before the presidential election, Eminem released the song "Mosh," which harshly criticizes President George W. Bush. ''Encore'', Mathers' fourth album, was released later that year, but was considered by many critics to be a disappointment in comparison to his previous three albums. Although Eminem does not consider himself a militant or political artist, he did have his own Hip Hop Political Convention as a parody of the national political conventions held in 2004. Lately he released his new album Curtain Call: The Hits which covers all of his older songs. He is curently working with Jeremy Gieni, a.k.a. Sureal, on his debut album ''Off The Mic.''

Early life and career


Mathers was born in St. Joseph, MO (near Kansas City), a single child to a father who left the family, and spent most of his childhood moving back and forth between Kansas City and suburban Detroit where he became friends with Runyan Avenue Soldiers.Interested in rap from a young age, Mathers began performing as early as thirteen, later gaining some popularity with a group, Soul Intent. His wife Kim gave birth to his daughter, Hailie Jade, on 25 December, 1995. In 1996, he released his first independent album, named ''Infinite'' (of which he sold about 500 copies out of the back of his car), following it up with ''The Slim Shady EP'' (produced by the Bass Brothers) in 1997. He became famous in the hip-hop underground because of his distinctive, cartoonish style and the fact that he is white (a rarity in all rap, especially mainstream gangsta rap). Some people called him rap's "great white hope". With his storytelling way of expressing rap, he became known in the underground as "The White Shadow". Marital problems, however, almost derailed his career, when, after arguing with his wife, he attempted to kill himself by overdosing with pills. The suicide attempt failed, but encouraged him to rededicate himself to "The Slim Shady EP" demo.It is said that rap artist and producer Dr. Dre found Eminem's demo on the garage floor of Jimmy Iovine, the Interscope label chief. Though this did not directly lead to a recording contract, Dr. Dre agreed to sign him when Eminem won second place vs. Otherwize at the 1997 Rap Olympics MC battle. Other sources state that an executive at the offices of Interscope handed the demo to Iovine who passed it to Dre, which resulted in a contract.

Entering the Mainstream

Once he joined Interscope, Eminem released ''The Slim Shady LP'', which went on to be one of the most popular records of 1999, going triple platinum by the end of the year. With the album's enormous popularity came controversy surrounding many of the album's lyrics. In "97 Bonnie and Clyde", Eminem describes a trip with his infant daughter, disposing of the body of his wife. Another song, "Guilty Conscience" ends with Eminem and Dr. Dre encouraging a man to murder his wife and her lover. Album cover of ''The Marshall Mathers LP''''The Marshall Mathers LP'' was released in May 2000, quickly selling 2 million copies. The first single released from the album, ''The Real Slim Shady'', was a smash thanks in part to the catchy rhythm and chorus line, "Won't the real Slim Shady please stand up, please stand up, please stand up?" (adapted from the catch phrase of the TV quiz show ''To Tell the Truth''). It also created some buzz by trash-talking celebrities and spilling dubious gossip about them. In the song, Eminem claims, among other things, that Christina Aguilera gave "head" (oral sex) to Fred Durst (of Limp Bizkit) and Carson Daly (of MTV's Total Request Live). In his second single, "The Way I Am", he attempts to downplay the alleged controversial link between music such as that of Marilyn Manson and shootings such as at Columbine High School. In the third single, "Stan" (which samples Dido's "Thank You"), Eminem attempts to deal with his new-found fame, telling the story of a fan so obsessed with Eminem that the fan winds up killing himself and his pregnant girlfriend, mirroring one of the songs on ''The Slim Shady LP''.

Themes and Topics

A large part of Eminem's popularity is his separation from the over-abundance of "pop-rap", in which rhymes rarely stray from bragging about money and jewelry ("bling"), fast cars ("whips") with massive rims ("24's"), huge parties, and constant casual sex. Instead, Eminem's songs typically explore deeper anger, thoughts, questions, and statements about his life and how he is treated. Common topics are:

  • Drugs, insanity and all sorts of self-abuse (mostly in his early ''Slim Shady''-era album and freestyles)

  • His mother and childhood

  • Being white in a black business/culture

  • His ex-wife Kim Mathers

  • Disgust with groupies/dating

  • Raising his daughter and niece

  • America and the government

  • Poking fun at celebrities and American pop culture

    Controversy



With the enormous popularity of Eminem's second album, the controversy surrounding Eminem grew even larger, especially when ''The Marshall Mathers LP'' 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 singing "Stan" on-stage with openly gay singer Elton John, ending the performance by hugging John to show that he didn't have anything against homosexuals. Though it shocked a lot of people, this gesture failed to appease many of his critics.The two songs most often cited as examples in ''The Marshall Mathers LP'' of Eminem's misogyny were "Kill You" and "Kim." Critics claimed the former portrayed extremely violent abuse against women in general and contained a line about Eminem raping his own mother. The latter is not so much a song as it is a reenactment of a fictional fight between Eminem and his wife, although he does rhyme his shouted, hoarse lines. Despite his conflicting expressions of love and hate throughout the track, Eminem ends up slitting Kim's throat at the end (accompanied by cries of "''Bleed, bitch, bleed!''"); several people objected to the disturbingly detailed description of spousal abuse. On the clean version of the CD, the track was removed and replaced with a song almost entirely devoid of profanity called "The Kids." Since Eminem's rapid ascent to fame, tell-all biographies of varying quality have been published, including ''Shady Bizzness'' by his former bodyguard Byron Williams. Eminem himself has written a book called ''Angry Blonde'', released in 2000, where he reveals the emotions and intent behind the lyrics in the ''Marshall Mathers LP'', and describes his passion for and approach to rapping.As one of six members of the rap group D12, Eminem appeared on the album ''Devil's Night'', released in 2001. The album was certified multi-platinum. The album contained the single "Purple Pills", renamed "Purple ''H''ills" for radio play. Another song, "Blow My Buzz", was on the soundtrack for the film ''The Wash'' (2001), in which Eminem had a cameo appearance. Album cover of ''The Eminem Show'' (2002).]]Eminem's third major album, ''The Eminem Show'' was released in summer 2002. It featured the single "Without Me," an apparent sequel to "The Real Slim Shady," in which he makes derogatory comments about boy bands, *NSYNC's Chris Kirkpatrick, Limp Bizkit, Moby, and Lynne Cheney, among others. The album reflected on the impact of his rise to fame, his relationship with his ex-wife Kim and his daughter Hailie, 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''. On November 19, 2003, new controversy surrounded Eminem when a cassette tape was played during a press conference held by ''The Source'' magazine. The cassette featured Mathers performing a freestyle rap in which he made disparaging remarks about black women, calling them "dumb chicks" in comparison to white women and claimed they are only after money. Other racial slurs and remarks were on the tape, including the use of the word "nigger". Mathers claimed he made the recording after breaking up with his black girlfriend in 1988; however ''The Source'' claimed the tapes were recorded in 1994, and old friends of Eminem's claimed he never had a black girlfriend. Eminem later filed a lawsuit against ''The Source'' for alleged copyright infringement.On December 8, 2003, the United States Secret Service admitted it was "looking into" allegations that Mathers had threatened the President of the United States after the unreleased song "We as Americans" leaked onto the Internet. The lyrics in question: "Fuck money/ I don't rap for dead presidents/ I'd rather see the president dead/ It's never been said, but I set precedents". The song was being recorded to possibly be on "Encore," but wound up on a bonus CD accompanying his new album. The word "dead" was edited out of that version. Then, in 2004, Eminem made the music video "My Band" with D12. The song was the band's sarcastic response to the media's frequent portrayal of D12 as Eminem's band, giving little or no credit to its other members. The video contained various parodies, including that of the Janet Jackson "incident", and of 50 Cent's "In Da Club" video.On October 12, 2004, a week after the release of "Just Lose It", Eminem's first video and single off ''Encore'', Michael Jackson called into the Los Angeles-based Steve Harvey radio show to report his displeasure with the video, which parodies Jackson's child-molestation accusations, Jackson's plastic surgeries, and an incident in which Jackson's hair caught on fire while he was filming a Pepsi commercial in 1984. The lyrics to "Just Lose It" also refer to Jackson's troubles. In the video, Eminem also parodied Pee Wee Herman, MC Hammer, and a Blonde-Ambition-touring Madonna. Harvey himself declared, "Eminem has lost his ghetto pass. We want the pass back." http://www.allhiphop.com/hiphopnews/?ID=3606Encore'' (2004).]]Black Entertainment Television was the first channel to stop airing the video. MTV, however, announced it would continue airing the video, and "Just Lose It" became the #1 requested video on ''Total Request Live'' for the week ending October 22. ''The Source'' magazine, through its CEO Raymond "Benzino" Scott, wanted not only the video pulled, but the song off the album, and a public apology to Jackson from Eminem http://www.sohh.com/thewire/read.php?contentID=6321. Others dismissed "Just Lose It" as a tame "Weird Al" Yankovic-style knockoff http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,15126,00.html. Regarding Jackson's protest, Yankovic, who parodied the Eminem song "Lose Yourself" on a track titled "Couch Potato" on his 2003 album ''Poodle Hat'', himself told the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', "Last year, Eminem forced me to halt production on the video for my "Lose Yourself" parody because he somehow thought that it would be harmful to his image or career. So the irony of this situation with Michael is not lost on me".On October 26, 2004, a week before the U.S. presidential election, 2004, Eminem released the video for his song titled "Mosh" on the Internet. The song features a very strong anti-Bush message, with lyrics such as "fuck Bush" and "this weapon of mass destruction that we call our president". The video features Eminem gathering up an army of people presented as victims of the Bush administration and leading them to the White House. However, once the army breaks in, it is revealed that they are there to simply register to vote, and the video ends with the words "VOTE Tuesday November 2" on the screen. After Bush won the election, the video's ending was changed to Eminem and the protesters invading while Bush was giving a speech. On October 31, Eminem performed the song on ''Saturday Night Live'', but some thought that he appeared to be lip-syncing the chorus, only a week after Ashlee Simpson was caught lip-syncing her performance on the program. His management claimed he was merely rapping over a backing track so as not to lose the beat. None of the publicity helped the album however, which saw its sales stall at 4.7 million copies, a number dramatically lower than his past two albums.In summer 2005, Mathers embarked on his first US concert run in three years, the Anger Management 3 Tour, featuring Lil' Jon, 50 Cent and G-Unit, D-12, Obie Trice, The Alchemist, and others. In August 2005, Eminem canceled the European leg of the tour and subsequently announced that he had entered drug rehabilitation for treatment for a "dependency on sleep medication". http://news.yahoo.com/s/eo/20050819/en_music_eo/17184.At the same time as he was entering rehab, his aunt and uncle, Jack and Betty Schmitt, sued Mathers, charging that he had reneged on a promise to build a $350,000 house for them and supply them with money for the house's upkeep. The couple claimed that Mathers had kept the house in his name, and then issued them eviction orders.

On November 8, 2005, it was revealed that Eminem was asked to perform at Live 8 but didn't respond to calls from Live 8 organizers Sir Bob Geldof and Bono.Eminem has made many enemies in the music industry, including Ja Rule, Benzino, Everlast, the Insane Clown Posse, Canibus, and others.

Other works and ventures

Promotional poster for ''8 Mile''.]]Eminem made his Hollywood acting debut with the semi-autobiographical ''8 Mile'', released in November 2002. He recorded several new songs for the soundtrack, including "Lose Yourself," which won Eminem an Academy Award for Best Song; it was not performed at the ceremony, reportedly because ABC wanted him to perform an edited version. Eminem has done some voice acting, both on ''Crank Yankers'' and a web cartoon called ''"The Slim Shady Show"'', which has since been pulled offline and is instead sold on DVD.Eminem has also been linked to "Songs of Hope" by U2 and supported the Boys and Girls Club of America and the Leary Fire Fighters Foundation with various proceeds donated to these causes. In 2004, he held a political convention of his own in New York City, in response to the National Republican Convention. In the song "Mosh", Eminem expresses his support for American troops, but speaks against the Iraq war and the Bush administration. The Raelians Religious Movement, a religious group whose beliefs are centered around communication with extraterrestrial life tried to appoint Eminem as an honorary priest . In addition, he has raised AIDS and other STD awareness in a number of songs describing infected people having promiscuous sex with numerous partners.

Aftermath Entertainment

The reigning label of Hip Hop was started in 1996 by legendary Hip Hop artist Dr. Dre. Signing Eminem to his label was the beginning of a powerful friendship and respect that Dre shared with Snoop Dogg when co-founding Death Row Records. Although Eminem owns Shady Records, he himself is strictly an Aftermath solo artist. Along with Dr. Dre & Eminem, Aftermath consists of such artists as Busta Rhymes, Eve, Stat Quo, The Game, Bishop Lamont and 50 Cent.

Shady Records

Dr. Dre's leading protAcgAc succeeded in multi-platinum record sales. Eminem was granted his own record label. He and his manager Paul Rosenberg created Shady Records in late 2000. Eminem and Dr. Dre had signed 50 Cent on a joint venture between Aftermath & Shady Records. His own Detroit collective D12 and rapper Obie Trice were signed to the Shady Records label. In 2003, Eminem and Dr. Dre signed on Atlanta rapper Stat Quo to the roster. DJ Green Lantern, the former deejay for Eminem, was signed to Shady Records until a dispute with 50 Cent forced him to depart from the label, and he is no longer associated with Eminem. The Alchemist is now officially Eminem's tour deejay. In 2005, Eminem officially signed another Atlanta rapper known as Bobby Creekwater to his label. There are also plans to sign a rapper by the name of Fizzy B to Shady Records.Eminem signed a deal with Sirius satellite radio to program a rap-oriented station called Shade 45, which debuted on October 28, 2004. He also owns a clothing line called "Shady Ltd."

Eminem as a producer

Eminem is also active as a producer of rap records. Besides being the executive producer of D12's two albums, ''Devil's Night'' and ''D12 World'', he has also produced numerous tracks on Obie Trice's ''Cheers'' as well as 50 Cent's ''Get Rich or Die Tryin''' and ''The Massacre''. Furthermore, his own records increasingly contain tracks produced by himself. He also produced several tracks on 2Pac's posthumous album, ''Loyal to the Game'', with 2Pac's mother, Afeni Shakur. On certain tracks, 2Pac's voice was slowed down or sped up, and digitally altered to say things like "2005" and "G-Unit," angering devoted 2Pac fans.

Retiring Slim Shady

In 2005, some industry insiders speculated that Eminem is considering concluding his rapping career after five years and numerous 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''. The album manifested itself under the name ''Curtain Call,'' and was released on December 6, 2005. In July 2005, the Detroit Free Press broke news of a potential final bow for Eminem 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, Eminem's hometown paper, wrote that the aptly titled '' Encore'' album would now stand as his final solo album. http://www.freep.com/entertainment/music/encore15e_20050715.htmDeep within Eminem's inner circle there is talk that the rapper is planning on retiring after he concludes his ''Anger Management Tour'' in Detroit. The reason for his retirement is to focus on acting, spending time with his daughter and niece, and more on his increasing popularity in production. Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenburg as well as their representatives will not comment on the situation. This may not mean his retirement from rapping completely, as he may well still contribute to many of his Shady Records & Aftermath artists projects as well as Dr. Dre's planned '' Detox'' album.Eminem recently announced via MTV News that he does not plan on retiring soon, though he is planning on taking a break to produce music. He is still uncertain whether another album will be released, but his career has not come to a full stop. However, as he entered rehab in 2005 for dependency on sleep medication, many are speculating that he will use this event to lay down his microphone. The star is continuing to work out of the spotlight, including producing the Redman album ''Red Gone Wild''. One track to be released on that album which has a gained attention is "I C Dead People", which will feature raps from three deceased artists: Big Pun, Big L and the Notorious B.I.G.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 is going to crash into the Earth as 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 rumours from fans, Eminem released a track to be 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 Slim Shady to rest, one line featuring the lyrics "Find a gun on the ground/cock it, put it to my brain/scream 'Die Shady!' and pop it." Whether or not this is an unsubtle hint at retirement is currently up for speculation. The lyrics also show feelings of guilt, Eminem feeling he should've spent more time with his daughter Hailie; "'Daddy, where's Mommy? I can't find Mommy, where is she?' 'I don't know, go play, Hailie, baby, your daddy's busy.'"On December 6, 2005, the day of ''Curtain Call'''s release, Eminem told Detroit radio station WKQI-FM's "Mojo in the Morning" show that he and Kim had reconciled and were probably going to remarry. He denied that he was retiring, 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." http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/arts/AP-People-Eminem.html

Eminem in D12


In 2001, Eminem brought the rap group he was a member of, D12, to the popular music scene. In 2001, D12 released their hit debut album titled ''Devil's Night''. The first single released off of the album was "Purple Pills," an ode to recreational drug use. The version of the song released on the radio and music television was heavily rewritten to remove much of the song's offensive nature, and retitled "Purple Hills." While the first single was a massive hit, the album's second single, "Fight Music," was not as successful. Some have attributed this to the emotional change caused in American society due to the September 11, 2001 attacks. After their debut, D12 took 3 years in hiatus from the studio, later regrouping to releasing their sophomore album, ''D12 World'', in 2004, which featured the popular hit single release "My Band." The other members of D12 have also appeared as guests on all of Eminem's albums since ''The Marshall Mathers LP''. D12's third album is tentatively scheduled for a 2006 release.

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