Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972 in St. Joseph, MO), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time and is credited with popularizing hip hop in Middle America and contributing to the acceptance of white rappers in a predominantly Black genre. His work in the late 1990s and early 2000s was often controversial due to its transgressive content, but he has also been noted for representing the angst of lower-income Americans through lyrics that include political criticism, social commentary, and technical skill in rap delivery.
After releasing his debut album "Infinite" (1996) and the extended play "Slim Shady EP" (1997), Eminem signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and achieved mainstream success in 1999 with "The Slim Shady LP". His following albums, "The Marshall Mathers LP" (2000) and "The Eminem Show" (2002), were major commercial successes, with each selling over one million copies in their first week in the United States. "The Eminem Show" was the best-selling album worldwide in 2002. After "Encore" (2004), he took a hiatus partly due to prescription drug addiction. He returned with "Relapse" (2009) and "Recovery" (2010), the latter being the best-selling album worldwide in 2010. His subsequent studio albums—"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)—all debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart.
In 2002, he starred in the drama film "8 Mile", earning critical acclaim for his portrayal of a fictionalized version of himself.
