pop music. The unprecedented success of his four multi-platinum albums The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show, and Encore literally rocked the rap world, making him one of the biggest music success stories of the post Y2K era. But Eminem is more than the latest rap artist to blow up. He spent several years paying his dues, and his controversial lyrics, which cover topics such as poverty and single parenthood, reflect a rough upbringing.

Mathers was born into a poor, working-class family on October 17, 1972 in St. Joseph, Missouri. Eminem described his childhood to Rap Pages in 1999 as, “The real, stereotypical, trailer park, white trash.” He and his mother moved frequently during his childhood until finally settling down on the east side of Detroit when Marshall was 12. At age 14, Mathers became a battler rapper, competing against other Detroit MCs in local clubs using the stage name M&M (later changed to its current spelling). But his penchant for skipping school led him to fail the ninth grade. Mathers held down several odd jobs, while continuing to work on his craft

Mathers rapped in several groups such as Basement Productions, the New Jacks, and Sole Intent before forming the group known as D12 with friend and fellow rapper from Sole Intent, Proof. Eminem simultaneously launched his solo career with two independent releases, 1995'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. 

Mathers received his big break into the industry when a copy of The Slim Shady EP made its way into the hands of Dr. Dre, the legendary creator of The Chronic and N.W.A., and current president of Aftermath Entertainment. Dr. Dre quickly signed Eminem to his label, and the two began preparing The Slim Shady EP for a full-fledged release, adding songs like “My Name Is …” and “Guilty Conscience.” Early in 1999, Eminem made the world take notice with his charismatic video for "My Name Is …" parodying everyone from Marilyn Manson to the President of the United States. Shortly afterward, The Slim Shady LP debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Album Chart and eventually went 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 all the controversy only served to fuel Eminem’s rise to the top. He won Grammies for best Rap Album of the year from 1999 through 2003 for his first three releases Slim Shady LP (1999 & 2000), Marshal Mathers LP (2001), and The Eminem Show (2002 & 2003).  Also, both The Eminem Show and Encore (Mathers’ fourth album produced by Aftermath/Interscope Entertainment) achieved platinum status shortly after their releases in 2003 and 2004 respectively.  In addition to his rap accomplishments, Mathers starred in the critically acclaimed film 8 Mile that portrayed a cleaned-up version of Eminem’s rags-to-riches life story.  Many critics were mentioning the possibility of a Best Actor nomination for his performance. 

Eminem’s many accomplishments have solidified his position as one of the most important artists of his time.  Continually crossing the boundaries of race and genre, his edgy, four-letter lyrics about the hardships of his upbringing and current personal situations have rung true for youth of this nation and catapulted his popularity to that of Biggie Smalls / 2Pac in the early nineties.

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