Eminem Artist Biography

Eminem was born with the name Marshall Bruce Mathers III on 17th October, 1972 in Kansas City, Missouri. He and his mother moved from Kansas City to Detroit in 1980. They often moved from trailer park to trailer park, never staying in any one place for more than a few months at a time. To help support his mother, Marshall worked as a short-order cook at a Michigan family restaurant called Gilbert's Lodge.

In 1997 Eminem entered the Rap Olympics in Los Angeles, and came second. His first album, released in the autumn of 1996, was called Infinite. It sold poorly. Success came 3 years later and in 1999 The Slim Shady album was released. This has now sold more than four million albums. In the September of this year, Eminem's mother sued him for slander and emotional distress to the tune of $10 million. She eventually received about $1,600 after legal fees.

The next album success came in the form of the Marshall Mathers album, released in May 2000, this was the fastest-selling rap album of all time, selling more than eight million albums It was the first rap album to be nominated for a Grammy for Best Album of the Year, though it did not win that award. Months later Eminem pistol-whipped a man he caught kissing his wife. He pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon and received two years' probation. He also settled a civil suit with the man for $100,000. In August of the same year, he filed for divorce. Kim Mathers counter-filed a week later. Both sides withdrew divorce papers in December 2000. She refiled for divorce in March 2001. Divorce final October 10, 2001. They share custody of Hailie, and he agreed to pay $1,000 a week in child support.

Also that year, at the 2000 Grammy Awards, Eminem stifled criticism that some of his lyrics were anti-gay by performing onstage with Elton John.
Eminem's forth album, The Eminem Show was released in 2002 and has sold more than eight million albums. 8 Mile, Eminem's semi autobiographical film debut, opened 8th November 2002, and earned more than $51 million that weekend.

Eminem's new album Encore attracted massive attention before its release for a number of reasons. In the two months leading up to Encore's release, Eminem was rarely out of the news. Controversy over two videos was followed by numerous announcements surrounding efforts to protect the album from piracy, before leaked tracks appearing on the internet prompted the shift forward of its release.
First there was the controversial video for the album's lead single Just Lose It, which ridiculed Michael Jackson - showing him in bed with young boys, his nose falling off and his hair catching fire. The rap star followed this with a video for Mosh - which was not part of any single release - attacking George W Bush in the run-up to the US presidential election.

There has been speculation that Encore is to be eminem's last album, hinted at in the title.
Eminem has, for a long time, insisted he would like to move behind the scenes in the music world and focus on producing, concerned about the effect of his success on his daughter.

More recently Eminem has denied Elvis his fourth number one of the year, after his song, Like Toy Soldiers, stormed to the top of the singles charts Like Toy Soldiers, from Eminem's Encore album, is sampled from Martika's 1980s hit Toy Soldiers. It takes a swipe at hip-hop feuds and follows the success of Just Lose It.

Latest Single:
Mockingbird

Latest Album:
Encore

This album features artists such as 50 Cent, D12 and Dr Dre and has received mixed reviews with the general consensus being- could do, have done better. There has been speculation that Encore is to be Eminem's last album, hinted at in the title.