Car rides with my family growing up were filled with Eminem blaring in the background. My brother once remarked, “Mom, it’s amazing that Eminem has a career when he has a stuttering issue.” My mom told my dad that if he wanted to play Eminem that he had to play the clean version, so there was plenty of skipping over bad words which my brother mistook for a speech impediment. As I got older, I discovered the unclean versions, and the amazing truth about Eminem as an artist.
Eminem’s real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III. he was born in the 1970’s into an impoverished and abusive lifestyle which became the foundation of his rap career. He began rapping when he was 14 and even dropped out of school to pursue his career. His career took off when he caught the eye of Dr. Dre at a rap battle. This history is shown in his movie, “8 Mile.”
At the beginning of his career, Eminem created a alter-ego called, “Slim Shady” which he used to voice the dark-side of Eminem. With the help of Dr. Dre he was able to produce his album, The Slim Shady LP and that’s when his fame started rising. People recognize him by any of his three names which is a feat in itself. His lyrics being very controversial and open caused many issues throughout his career, but he still maintained his fame. All the time, I hear people say, “Yeah, but its Eminem. He can say what he wants.” It has become part of his charm and earned the reluctant respect of many.
In multiple of his songs, he collaborated with other artists and incorporated songs they had already produced enhancing the original song as well as his own. In his song, “Stan” he worked with Dido and used her track, “Thank You” as the chorus. He does the same for his song, “Sing for the Moment,” when he incorporated the 70’s rock band Aerosmith’s song, “Dream On” into his song, “Sing for the Moment” into the chorus.
To this day, Eminem is still producing music and taking over the Top 100 with his music. He has become of the greatest artists in history not only through his musical talent, but his lyrical content.