Eminem - Early life and beginnings

1972–95: Early life and beginnings

Eminem was born as Marshall Bruce Mathers III on October 17, 1972, in St. Joseph, Missouri, the only child of Marshall Bruce Mathers, Jr. (born c. 1951) and Deborah R. "Debbie" Nelson (born 1955). Eminem is of English, German, Scottish, and Swiss descent. Debbie was 14 when she first met Bruce and nearly died during Eminem's 73-hour birth. His parents were in a band called Daddy Warbucks, playing Ramada Inns along the Dakota-Montana border before their relationship went sour. Bruce abandoned the family shortly thereafter, moving to California. From later relationships, Bruce has two other children, Michael and Sarah (born c. 1982),while Debbie has a son Nathan Kane "Nate" Samara (known as Nate Kane) (born February 3, 1986). During childhood, Eminem and his mother shuttled between Missouri and Michigan, rarely staying in one house for more than a year or two and mostly living with family members. In Missouri, they lived in various cities and towns, including Saint Joseph, Savannah, and Kansas City, before finally settling in Warren, Michigan when Eminem was eleven. As a teen, Eminem wrote letters to his father Bruce. According to Eminem's mother, all of these came back "return to sender." Friends and family contend Eminem was a happy child but also "a bit of a loner" who often was bullied; one such persecutor, De'Angelo Bailey, beat Eminem so significantly that he suffered a severe head injury. In response, Debbie Nelson filed a lawsuit against the school in 1982, but the case was dismissed the following year.

Eminem spent much of his formative years living in a largely black lower-middle-class Detroit neighborhood. Debbie and her son were one of three white households on their block, and Eminem was confronted and beaten up by African-Americans on several occasions. As a child, Eminem developed an interest in storytelling and aspired to become a comic book artist before discovering hip hop. Eminem heard his first rap song, "Reckless" featuring Ice-T, at age nine on the Breakin' soundtrack, which he received as a gift from Debbie's half-brother Ronald "Ronnie" Polkinghorn. Ronnie committed suicide ten years later; the loss affected Eminem so greatly that he stopped speaking for days and was absent at the funeral. His home life was seldom stable, and Eminem frequently fought with his mother, who was once described by a social worker as having a "very suspicious, almost paranoid personality." Debbie bristled at any suggestion that she was less than an ideal mother when her son became famous, contending that she sheltered Eminem and was responsible for his success. In 1987, Debbie allowed runaway Kim Scott to stay at their home; several years later, Eminem and Scott would begin an on-and-off relationship. After spending three years in ninth grade due to truancy and poor grades, he dropped out of Lincoln High School at age 17. Although he was highly interested in English, he was never into literature (preferring to read comic books instead) and disliked math and social studies. He worked several jobs to help his mother with bills, later maintaining that he would often be kicked out regardless. When she would leave to play bingo, Eminem would blast the stereo and write lyrics.

At the age of 14, he began rapping with high-school friend Mike Ruby, the two adopting the names "Manix" and "M&M," which soon morphed into Eminem. Eminem grew ready to test his skills by sneaking into neighboring Osborn High School with friend and fellow rapper Proof for lunchroom freestyle battles. On Saturdays, the two friends attended open-mic contests at the Hip-Hop Shop, located on West 7 Mile. The spot was considered the "ground zero" for the Detroit rap scene. While struggling to succeed in a predominantly black industry, he gained the approval of underground hip hop audiences. To put together verses, Eminem wanted the most words to rhyme, and would write long words or phrases out on paper and, underneath, proceed to rhyme each syllable. Even though it would often make little sense, the drill helped him practice. Based on his growing profile and reputation, he was recruited to join several rap groups. The first of these was the New Jacks, and after they disbanded, he joined Soul Intent, who released a single in 1995. This single also featured Proof, and the two rappers broke off on their own to form D12, a six-member crew that functioned more as a Wu-Tang-styled collective than a regularly performing group. Eminem had his first run-in with the law at age 20, when he was arrested for involvement with a drive-by shooting with a paintball.