Marshall Bruce Mathers III was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, the son of Deborah Mathers-Briggs and Marshall Bruce Mathers, Jr. Shortly after his birth, his father walked out, leaving his son. Until he was twelve, Marshall Mathers and his mother often moved between St. Joseph and Warren, Michigan, a Detroit suburb. As a teenager, Mathers became interested in hip hop, performing amateur raps at age Read more...

According to Billboard Magazine, at this point of his life Eminem had "realized his musical ambitions were the only way to escape his unhappy life". After being signed to Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records in 1998, Eminem released in 1999 his first major studio album, The Slim Shady LP, heavily based on the production by Dr. Dre. The album was, according to the same Billboard article, "brutal" Read more...

The Marshall Mathers LP was released in May 2000. It went on to sell 1.76 million copies in its first week, breaking the records set by Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle as the fastest-selling hip hop album and Britney Spears' …Baby One More Time as the fastest-selling solo album in the United States. The first single released from the album, "The Real Slim Shady", was a success and created some buzz Read more...