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Eminem: Rap's Best-Selling Artist and Lyrical Technician

Marshall Bruce Mathers III, born October 17, 1972, and known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He became popular in 1999 with The Slim Shady LP and went on to become the best-selling rapper and one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 220 million records.

Detroit Beginnings and the Slim Shady Breakthrough

Eminem's career began with the release of his debut album Infinite in 1996, followed by the Slim Shady EP in 1997. He signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, which led to his mainstream breakthrough with The Slim Shady LP in 1999, which won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. The album introduced his alter ego Slim Shady — and a style built on complex rhyme schemes, rapid delivery, and dark humour.

The Marshall Mathers LP and Three in a Row

His next work, The Marshall Mathers LP (2000), became the fastest-selling solo album in US history and brought him worldwide fame. It also helped publicise his record label, Shady Records, and his group D12. The Marshall Mathers LP and his fourth album, The Eminem Show (2002), also won Grammy Awards — making him the first artist to win the Best Rap Album award three times in a row.

8 Mile and the Oscar

In 2002, he starred in the drama film 8 Mile, playing a dramatised version of himself. "Lose Yourself," a song from the film's soundtrack, topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for 12 weeks — the most for a solo rap song — and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, making him the first hip-hop act ever to win the award.

Comeback and Later Career

Following Encore in 2004, Eminem took a hiatus in 2005 and faced a period of prescription drug addiction. He returned in 2009 with Relapse and followed with Recovery in 2010, the best-selling album worldwide of that year. Each of his subsequent releases — The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013), Revival (2017), Kamikaze (2018), Music to Be Murdered By (2020), and The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) (2024) — has debuted atop the US Billboard 200.

Legacy

He has 11 number-one albums on the Billboard 200 and five number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. His accolades include 15 Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, in his first year of eligibility. Billboard named him the Artist of the 2000s — and his pen remains one of the sharpest in rap history.

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