Eminem Contemporary Muscian

Eminem

Also known as: Marshall Mathers, III

Birth: October 17, 1974 in Kansas City, Missouri, United States

Nationality: American

Occupation: rap musician, Music producer

Source: Contemporary Musicians, Volume 53. Thomson Gale, 2005.

TABLE OF CONTENTSAwards

Biographical Essay

Career

Further Readings

Personal Information

Source Citation

Works

BIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY Although his message has not been popular with parents

of teenagers across America, that has not stopped Eminem from earning sweeping

popularity and building upon it. Though his lyrics can be gritty, racy,

and loaded with violent overtones, fans of all races have responded to

his anger, his expert rhymes, and his unusually personal brand of hip-hop

music. Eminem's career grew more rapidly than he could have predicted,

and his rise to fame has been marked by a severe level of controversy.

Eminem has depicted his own life experiences in his music. In a July 1999

article for the Washington Post, Alona Wartofsky summarized his appeal

when she commented that "a large part of Eminem's meteoric rise can be

explained by the appeal of being profoundly expletived up. Both Eminem

and his alter ego, Slim Shady, represent the perennial loser, the class

clown who's going nowhere fast. The guy who gets beat up in the bathroom,

keeps flunking the same grade and can't even keep a $5.50-an-hour job.

...It's not just his white skin and bleached blond hair that set him apart

from the hip-hop pack. Unlike most rappers, he's harshly self-deprecating."

White kids who were listening to rap before he came on the scene began

to listen even harder when Eminem appeared.

Marshall Mathers III was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 17,

1974, and spent his early childhood between there and Detroit. He was raised

by Debbie Mathers-Briggs, a single mother. Mathers never knew his father,

although his mother contended that the two of them were married at the

time of Mathers's birth. Aggravated by having to move and by difficulties

making friends, Mathers retreated into television and comic books. He attended

Lincoln Junior High School and Osborn High School, where he started listening

to LL Cool J and 2 Live Crew. He made friends, and went up against other

rappers in contests, quickly gaining a reputation for his skill at rhyming.

Mathers failed the ninth grade and eventually dropped out of school before

getting a diploma. While working odd jobs, Mathers also worked on the art

of rapping. He told Rap Pages in 1999, "I tried to go back to school five

years ago, but I couldn't do it. I just wanted to rap and be a star."

Rose Through Underground Ranks

Working with different groups that included Basement Productions, the New

Jacks, and Sole Intent, Mathers finally went solo in 1997. The album, Infinite,

was released through FBT Productions, a local Detroit company. The local

hip-hop community did not take to him, but he ignored the criticism and

tirelessly promoted himself through radio stations and freestyle competitions

across the country. He was finally honored with a mention in the Source'

s key column, "Unsigned Hype," and by the end of the year he had won the

1997 Wake Up Show Freestyle Performer of the Year award from Los Angeles

disc jockeys Sway and Tech. Mathers also took second place in Rap Sheet

magazine's "Rap Olympics," an annual freestyle competition.

His Slim Shady LP in early 1998 not only made him an underground star,

it also got the attention of the famed Dr. Dre, the president of Aftermath

Entertainment. Dr. Dre signed Mathers to his label, and within an hour

after their meeting, the two were reportedly working on Eminem's "My Name

Is" single. When Slim Shady finally came out, it debuted as number three

on the Billboard album chart. Eminem also appeared on underground MC Shabam

Sahdeeq's "Five Star Generals" single, Kid Rock's Devil Without a Cause,

and on other rap releases. His songs depicted rape, violence, and drug

use, and they horrified some people. Some of his lyrics were directed at

his own mother, and at the mother of his three-year-old daughter. The song

"97 Bonnie and Clyde" has Mathers fantasizing about killing the mother

of his child.

Slim Shady Caused an