Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP 2

2012–present: The Marshall Mathers LP 2

On May 24, 2012, Eminem announced he was working on his next studio album., set to be released in 2013. Even without a title or release date, the album was included in multiple "Most Anticipated Albums of 2013" lists; including MTV, Complex Magazine where it was listed in sixth position; and XXL Magazine, where it was listed in fifth.

On June 30, 2012, Eminem talked about the album with DJ Whoo Kid, on his own radio station, Shade 45. He stated that the material is taking shape, and that Dr. Dre will be involved in some way. On August 30, 2012, Slaughterhouse member Royce da 5'9" gave his thoughts on the album, stating "I'm not so sure how the world is going to respond from some of the things that I've heard from him." Close friend and fellow rapper 50 Cent is also confirmed to feature on the album. Eminem also was featured on Pink's album The Truth About Love on the track "Here Comes The Weekend".

Eminem - Recovery and Bad Meets Evil reunion

2010–11: Recovery and Bad Meets Evil reunion

On April 14, 2010, Eminem tweeted, "There is no Relapse 2", to his followers. This caused people to believe that he was not releasing an album at all, but it simply meant that the album title would be changed to Recovery. He confirmed this by tweeting, "RECOVERY", with a link to his website. Eminem said, "I had originally planned for Relapse 2 to come out last year. But as I kept recording and working with new producers, the idea of a sequel to Relapse started to make less and less sense to me, and I wanted to make a completely new album. The music on Recovery came out very different from Relapse, and I think it deserves its own title." His seventh studio album, Recovery, was released on June 18. In the US, Recovery sold 741,000 in its first week to land atop the Billboard 200. It became Eminem's sixth consecutive number-one album in the US and achieved international commercial success, charting at number one in several other countries. It stayed at number-one on the US Billboard 200 chart for five consecutive weeks and a total of seven weeks. Recovery was reported by Billboard to be the best-selling album of 2010, making Eminem the first artist in Nielsen SoundScan history to have two year-end best-selling albums. Recovery is the best-selling digital album in history. The first single, "Not Afraid", was released on April 29, and debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The music video was released on June 4. "Not Afraid" was followed by a second single, "Love the Way You Lie", which debuted at number 2 and then rose to the top. "Love the Way You Lie" was the best-selling single of 2010 in the United Kingdom, even though it did not reach number 1 there; this is the first time this has happened in the UK since 1969. Despite some criticism toward its consistency, Recovery received positive reviews from most music critics. As of November 21, 2010, the album had sold three million copies in the US. Recovery was also named the best-selling album worldwide of 2010, joining The Eminem Show, which was the best-seller of 2002, giving him two worldwide year-end number one albums.

Eminem - Relapse and Refill

2008–09: Relapse and Refill

Eminem made an appearance on his Sirius channel Shade 45 in September 2008, during which he said, "Right now I'm kinda just concentrating on my own stuff, for right now and just banging out tracks and producing a lot of stuff. You know, the more I keep producing the better it seems like I get 'cause I just start knowing stuff." It was around this time that Interscope finally confirmed the existence of a new Eminem album, with Spring 2009 later being stated as the period in which the album is due. In December 2008, he gave more details on the album, which he recently reported was being titled Relapse. He said, "Me and Dre are back in the lab like the old days, man. Dre will end up producing the majority of the tracks on 'Relapse'. We are up to our old mischievous ways ... let's just leave it at that."

Eminem - Encore and musical hiatus

2003–07: Encore and musical hiatus

On December 8, 2003, the United States Secret Service admitted that it was "looking into" allegations that Eminem had threatened the President of the United States. The lyrics that had led to this were "Fuck money / I don't rap for dead presidents / I'd rather see the president dead / It's never been said, but I set precedents". These lyrics come from the track "We As Americans", which was later released on a bonus CD accompanying deluxe editions of Eminem's fourth major album, Encore.

Encore was released in 2004. The album was another chart-topper. Its sales were driven partly by its first single, "Just Lose It", which features attacks on Michael Jackson. On October 12, 2004, a week after the release of "Just Lose It", Michael Jackson called into the Los Angeles-based Steve Harvey radio show to report his displeasure with the video, which parodies Jackson's child molestation trial, plastic surgery, and an incident in which Jackson's hair caught on fire while filming a Pepsi commercial in 1984. The lyrics to "Just Lose It" refer to Jackson's legal troubles, although Eminem does state in his song "that's not a stab at Michael / That's just a metaphor / I'm just psycho". Many of Jackson's supporters and friends spoke out about the video, including Stevie Wonder, who called the video "kicking a man while he's down" and "bullshit", and Steve Harvey, who declared, "Eminem has lost his ghetto pass. We want the pass back." In the video, Eminem parodied Pee-wee Herman, MC Hammer, and "Blond Ambition"-era Madonna. Regarding Jackson's protest, "Weird Al" Yankovic, who parodied the Eminem song "Lose Yourself" on a track titled "Couch Potato" on his 2003 album Poodle Hat, told the Chicago Sun-Times, "Last year, Eminem forced me to halt production on the video for my 'Lose Yourself' parody because he somehow thought that it would be harmful to his image or career. So the irony of this situation with Michael is not lost on me." Black Entertainment Television was the first channel to stop airing the video. MTV, however, announced that it would continue airing the video. The Source, through its CEO Raymond "Benzino" Scott, wanted not only for the video to be pulled, but for the song to be removed from the album and for Eminem to publicly apologize to Jackson. In 2007 Jackson and Sony bought Famous Music LLC from Viacom. This deal gave him the rights to songs by Eminem, Shakira, and Beck, among others.

Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show

2000–02: The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show

The Marshall Mathers LP was released in May 2000. It went on to sell 1.76 million copies in its first week, breaking the records set by Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle as the fastest-selling hip hop album and by Britney Spears' ...Baby One More Time as the fastest-selling solo album in United States history. The first single released from the album, "The Real Slim Shady", was a success and created some controversy by insulting celebrities and making dubious claims about them; he states, among other things, that Christina Aguilera performed oral sex on Fred Durst and Carson Daly. In his second single, "The Way I Am", he reveals to his fans the pressures from his record company to top "My Name Is" and sell more records. Although Eminem had parodied shock rocker Marilyn Manson in the music video for "My Name Is", the artists are reportedly on good terms; Manson is name-dropped in "The Way I Am" and also appeared in its music video, as well as performing a remix of the song with Eminem in concert. In the third single, "Stan" (which samples Dido's "Thank You"), Eminem attempts to deal with his new-found fame, taking on the persona of a deranged fan who kills himself and his pregnant girlfriend, mirroring "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" on The Slim Shady LP. In the music video of "Stan", Eminem was shown writing with his left hand, ending the fan debate over his dominant hand. Q magazine named "Stan" the third-greatest rap song of all time, and the song came tenth in a similar survey conducted by Top40-Charts.com. The song has since become highly acclaimed and was ranked 290th in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list. In July 2000, Eminem became the first white person to be featured on the cover of The Source magazine. The Marshall Mathers LP has been certified 10× Platinum by the RIAA.

Eminem - Early career, Infinite, and The Slim Shady LP

1996–99: Early career, Infinite, and The Slim Shady LP

Eminem was soon signed to FBT Productions, run by brothers Jeff and Mark Bass, and recorded his debut album, Infinite, under their independent label Web Entertainment.Subjects covered in Infinite included his struggles with raising his newborn daughter Hailie Jade Scott Mathers while on limited funds. During this period, Eminem's rhyme style was primarily inspired by rappers Nas and AZ and his work lacked the comedically violent slant he would later gain fame for. Infinite was largely ignored by Detroit disc jockeys, and the feedback Eminem received—"Why don't you go into rock and roll?"—led him to craft angrier, more moody tracks.

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

Marshall Bruce Mathers III

Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), better known by his stage name Eminem and by his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter, and actor. In addition to his solo career, Eminem is a member of his group D12, as well as one half of the hip hop duo Bad Meets Evil, alongside Royce da 5'9". Eminem is one of the world's best-selling music artists and is the best-selling artist of the 2000s. He has been listed and ranked as one of the greatest artists of all time by many magazines, including Rolling Stone magazine which ranked him 82nd on its list of The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. The same magazine declared him The King of Hip Hop. Including his work with D12 and Bad Meets Evil, Eminem has achieved ten number-one albums on the Billboard 200. His worldwide albums sales stand at more than 115 million, singles 120 million, and the estimated sale of over 220 million records worldwide. In the United States, he has sold 49.1 million albums and 42 million tracks.