For my research paper, I chose to write about Marshall Mathers. I chose to write about him because he is the best young rapper, and I like how he doesnt care what happens, he just goes with it. He isnt a very good role model, but he is funny, and couldnt care less what anybody says about him. He had a rough childhood that reflects to now, and makes great records and songs that describe his life and what has happened during it. Marshall Bruce Mathers III was born on October 17, 1974 in Kansas City, Missouri.
He created his own nickname, Eminem, which is pronounced M&M, from his initials, M.M. Marshall had a harsh and cruel childhood, where he constantly moved between Kansas City and Metro Detroit. When he was a child, he lived with his mother. His mothers name is Debbie Mathers-Briggs. Eminem has never even seen a picture of his father in his life. Eminem and his mother continued moving and never stayed in one place longer than six months. His mother worked very hard and many jobs to provide for herself and Marshall. When Eminem was in school, he used to get beat up every day. There wasnt one day when he didnt get beat up by the same group of kids, just for being himself.
One day those kids almost killed him, and Eminem went into a coma. The day after he got out of the hospital, they moved again. Eminem continued to move back and forth from his mothers to his grandmothers, until the age of 11, when he and his mother settled in Detroit for good. Marshall first started to get into rap when he was 14. Some of his musical influences growing up were the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, and Run DMC. As Eminem persued his rapping career, he would often hustle radio stations into playing his self-made tapes, to get some publicity over the radio waves.
Marshall felt that his rapping career was starting to take off. He was getting some big calls to rap in major places and he thought everyone has started to love him. Soon, he found the love of his life, Kim. They had a baby girl together, named Hailie Jade, on December 25, 1995. Eminem decided to release his first full-length album in 1996 called Infinite. It was somewhat of an experimental thing, but the record did not sell any copies. Eminem was forced to pull all of the CDs off the shelves and he lost a lot of money by doing this.
Because of the major set back, Kim took Hailie and left Eminem because he did not have any money to buy and provide for them. Eminem was frustrated, but the disappointment drove him to try harder to succeed and fulfill his dreams and hopes of becoming a rapper. Shortly after, Eminems biggest role model and friend, Ronny, killed himself. This put Marshall in a very bad position, and he didnt feel like ever moving again. Eminem overcame the obstacles, and in 1998, he came out with the underground hit, The Slim Shady EP. Also, in 1998, he took second place in the Rap Olympics.
While Eminem was performing on a live radio station in California, rapping legend Dr. Dre heard and discovered Slim Shady, and quickly signed him to Dres Aftermath/Interscope record label. On February 23, 1999, Eminem released his huge album, The Slim Shady LP. After a few weeks, the album quickly went to number two on the Billboard charts. With this release, Eminem became a huge success and has sold almost 3 million copies so far. It spent 38 weeks on the Billboard charts. Once Eminem got going again, and was successful, Kim came running back with Hailie in her arms.
She just wants his money and fame, and if I were he, she would be sitting on the doorstep, and not getting inside! However, he was stupid, and they got married. Eminem is now known as a great rapper, and is known everywhere. His latest album, The Marshall Mathers LP, came out May 23, 2000, and it is a great CD and much better than any of his others. Most great rappers are black, and everyone hassles and talks about him being white. He says that he doesnt care what anyone thinks, and that no one can deny talent, that he has talent, and talent is what they want.
In all of Eminems songs, he swears a lot, and makes fun of many people. His songs are very funny, and the videos are even better, but he is not a good role model because of what he says and does. However, I like him because he does not care what anyone thinks or says, and that he says what he feels, when he wants to say it. Right now, his mother Debbie is suing him, for 10 million dollars, for calling her a “bad pill popping absent mother. ” The case is still pending and no outcome has been reached yet.
The lyrics I included are from My Name Is, from his huge album The Slim Shady LP. I chose this song because it was his biggest hit yet, and got him very respected as a rapper. The song tells about how he feels towards certain things. The meaning of the song is also, to make it be known that he is Slim Shady. The chorus of My name is . Slim Shady, is repeated several times to get the message through that he is Slim Shady, and that he is here to stay. It was a big breakthrough for him, and now everybody knows that he is Slim Shady.