Eminem

EMINEM

   Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group, D12, to mainstream recognition. As well as being a member of the Detroit rap group D12, Eminem is also one half of the Detroit hip hop duo Bad Meets Evil, with Royce da 5'9". Eminem is one of the best-selling artists in the world and is the best selling artist of the 2000s.He has been listed and ranked as one of the greatest artists of all time by many magazines including the Rolling Stone magazine which has ranked him 82nd on its list of The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.The same magazine has declared him The King of Hip Hop.Including his work with D12 and Bad Meets Evil, Eminem has achieved ten number one albums on the Billboard 200. He has also sold more than 42 million track downloads and 41 million albums in the United States alone, and 86 million albums worldwide to date.

   Eminem quickly gained popularity in 1999 with his major-label debut album, The Slim Shady LP. That first album, The Marshall Mathers LP and his third major album, The Eminem Show, all won Grammy Awards, making Eminem the first artist to win Best Rap Album for three consecutive LPs. The Marshall Mathers LP is also considered one of Eminem's best and most successful albums. Eminem then went on hiatus after touring in 2005. He released his first album since 2004's Encore, titled Relapse, on May 15, 2009. In 2010, Eminem released his seventh studio album Recovery, which was an international success. Recovery was also named the best selling album worldwide of 2010 joining The Eminem Show, which was the best seller of 2002. Eminem won Grammy Awards for both Relapse and Recovery, giving him a total of 13 Grammys in his career. Eminem has named Masta Ace, Big Daddy Kane, Newcleus, the Beastie Boys, Dr. Dre, Tupac Shakur, AZ, Nas, and Ice-T amongst others as his influences.

   Eminem has opened other ventures since the beginning of his success. He founded his own record label, Shady Records with his manager Paul Rosenberg. He also has his own radio channel, Shade 45. Eminem began an acting career in 2002, when he starred in the hip hop drama film 8 Mile in which he won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, becoming the first rap artist ever to win the award.He is also set to star in the 2013 films Shady Talez and Have Gun, Will Travel. He has also made cameo appearances in The Wash (2001), Funny People (2009) and television series Entourage.

INFINITE

(1996)

   Infinite is the debut studio album by Eminem, released November 12, 1996, on Web Entertainment. The album was recorded and produced from late 1995 to mid 1996, with help from The Bass Brothers and fellow D12 members Mr. Porter, Proof and Eye-Kyu, along with fellow rapper Three.

   The album received mixed critical reviews and was met with derision from within the local hip-hop community, earning Eminem unfavorable accusations of copying other rappers' styles, particularly Nas and AZ. Eminem recalls: "Obviously, I was young and influenced by other artists, and I got a lot of feedback saying that I sounded like Nas and AZ. Infinite was me trying to figure out how I wanted my rap style to be, how I wanted to sound on the mic and present myself. It was a growing stage. I felt like Infinite was like a demo that just got pressed up".

While it contains some swearing, Infinite is relatively inoffensive compared to the subsequent albums that would make Eminem famous.

   In 2003, this album was rereleased, although it seemed legitimate it was most likely pirated, containing many clicks, pops, and other defects in the sound quality. The "European Re-Issue" contains bonus tracks regarded as freestyles and unreleased tracks. No names for these tracks are given on the case.

   In 2009, Thisis50.com, re-released it for a free download on their website to build anticipation for his highly anticipated album Relapse.

THE SLIM SHADY LP

(1999)

   The Slim Shady LP is the second studio album by American rapper Eminem, released on February 23, 1999. It is his major-label debut, and was released under Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and Web Records.

   The album was met with critical, and commercial success. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart behind TLC's FanMail with 283,000 copies sold in its opening week.The album went on to be certified quadruple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. To date, it has sold over five million units in the United States, and over nine million units worldwide. "Just Don't Give a Fuck" was the first, and only underground single from the album. The first official single was "My Name Is". The album won the Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album. It also won Outstanding National Album at the 2000 Detroit Music Awards.

   In 2003, the album was ranked number 273 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, the highest ranking of Eminem's albums on the list.

THE MARSHALL MATHERS LP

(2000)

The Marshall Mathers LP is the third studio album by American rapper Eminem. Released May 23, 2000, the album sold more than 1.76 million copies in its first week just in the US.In 2001, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and was nominated for Album of the Year. The album was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America in the United States with shipments over 10 million.As of 2005 the album had sold over 19 million units worldwide.

The Marshall Mathers LP has been ranked as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all-time by such magazines as Rolling Stone, Time, and XXL.Rolling Stone placed the album at number 7 on its list of the best albums of the 2000s.The album was ranked number 302 by Rolling Stone on their list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.In 2010, Rhapsody named it the #1 record on the "The 10 Best Albums by White Rappers" list.

THE EMINEM SHOW

(2002)

   The Eminem Show is the fourth studio album by the American rapper Eminem, released in 2002. It was the best-selling album of 2002 in the United States, with sales of 7.6 million copies.At the Grammy Awards of 2003 it was nominated for Album of the Year and became Eminem's third LP in four years to win the award for Best Rap Album. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling approximately 284,000 units in its first week, which due to a premature release by retailers and street-date violations, counted only a day and a half of sales.The album sold 1,322,000 copies the following week, where it registered a full week of sales.The album topped the Billboard 200 for five consecutive weeks.The album also spent five consecutive weeks at the top of the UK Albums Chart.It has gone on to sell over ten million copies.

   On March 7, 2011, the album was certified ten-times-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, making it Eminem's first album to receive a Diamond certification in the United States. In 2003, the album was ranked #317 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and was later ranked at #84 on the same magazine's best albums of the 2000s decade. The album received critical praise by most music critics and is often debated as Eminem's most personal and best work. Eminem himself acknowledged during an interview with MTV that was recorded on May 25, 2002, that he felt that The Eminem Show was his "best record so far".The Eminem Show was Eminem's first album to be mainly self-produced.

ENCORE

(2004)

   Encore is the fifth studio album by American rapper Eminem. Its release was set for November 16, 2004, but was moved up to November 12 (coincidentally, exactly eight years to the day his debut album, Infinite, was released) after the album was leaked to the Internet. Encore sold 710,000 copies in its first three days.Encore sold 1,582,000 copies in its first two weeks of release in the United States in November 2004, and was certified quadruple-platinum there in mid-December.As of June 25, 2010, it had sold 5.2 million copies in the US.Nine months after its release, worldwide sales of the album stood at 11 million copies.

   Critical reception was generally positive. However, most critics and fans alike did note the subpar quality of the lyrics, which were more simplistic when compared to previous albums. The album was nominated for three Grammys at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards including for Best Rap Album but lost to Kanye West's Late Registration. The album made digital history in becoming the first album to sell 10,000 digital copies in one week.

RELAPSE

(2009)

   Relapse is the sixth studio album by an American rapper Eminem, released on May 15, 2009 by Interscope Records. It was his first album of original material since Encore (2004), following a five-year hiatus from recording due to his writer's block and an addiction to sleeping pills. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2007 to 2009 at several recording studios, and Dr. Dre, Mark Batson, and Eminem handled production. Conceptually, Relapse concerns the ending of his drug rehabilitation, rapping after a fictional relapse, and the return of his Slim Shady alter-ego.

   One of the most anticipated album releases of 2009, Relapse debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 608,000 copies in its first week. It produced three singles that attained chart success and has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album received generally mixed reviews from most music critics, who were mostly divided in their responses towards Eminem's lyrics. It earned him two Grammy Awards and has sold 2.2 million copies in the United States and 4.5 million copies worldwide.

RECOVERY

(2010)

   Recovery is the seventh studio album by American rapper Eminem, released on June 18, 2010, by Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. Production for the album took place during 2009 to 2010 at several recording studios and was handled by various record producers, including Alex da Kid, Just Blaze, Boi-1da, Jim Jonsin, DJ Khalil, Mr. Porter and Dr. Dre. Originally recorded as a sequel to Eminem's previous album Relapse (2009), Recovery features more introspective and emotional content than its predecessor.

   The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 741,000 copies in its first week in the United States. It also charted at number one in several other countries, and produced three singles that achieved chart success, including the Billboard hit "No Love" and international hits "Not Afraid" and "Love the Way You Lie". Despite some criticism regarding its consistency, Recovery received positive reviews from most music critics, who complimented Eminem's rapping and performance on the album, and earned him a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. It is the best-selling album of 2010 and has sold 5.7 million copies worldwide.

And now let us listen with awe to some of Eminem's rapping: