Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972),[1] better known by his stage name Eminem, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Eminem quickly gained popularity in 1999 with his major-label debut album, The Slim Shady LP, which won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. The following album, The Marshall Mathers LP, became the fastest-selling solo album in United States history.[2] It brought Eminem increased popularity, including his own record label, Shady Records, and brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition.
In 2005, Eminem was ranked 79th on the VH1 100 Greatest Artists of All-Time.[12] He was also ranked 82nd on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[13] He was also named the Best Rapper Alive by Vibe magazine in 2008.[14] Including his work with D12, Eminem has achieved nine No. 1 albums on the Billboard Top 200, 7 solo (6 studio albums, 1 compilation) and 2 with D12.[15] Eminem has had 13 number one singles worldwide. In December 2009, Eminem was named the Artist of the Decade by Billboard magazine.[16] His albums The Eminem Show, The Marshall Mathers LP, and Encore (in order) ranked as the 3rd,[17] 7th,[17] and 40th[18] best-selling albums of the 2000–2009 decade by Billboard magazine. Also according to Billboard, Eminem has two of his albums among the top five highest selling albums of the 2000s.
Early life
Eminem was born Marshall Bruce Mathers III on October 17, 1972 in Saint Joseph, Missouri, as the only child of Deborah R. Nelson Mathers-Briggs and Marshall Bruce Mathers, Jr.[24] He is of Scottish,[25] English, German, Swiss, Polish, and possibly Luxembourgian ancestry.[26] His father abandoned the family when he was 18 months old, and he was raised solely by his mother in poverty. By the age of 12, Mathers and his mother had moved between various cities and towns in Missouri (including Saint Joseph, Savannah, and Kansas City)[27] before they settled in Warren, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.
