He was born Marshall Bruce Mathers III. He is best known to the public by his stage name, Eminem. In many of his songs and videos, he plays the role of Slim Shady. The combination has been powerful and successful. The mix of Marshall Mathers the man, Eminem the rapper, and Slim Shady the evil alter ego, has captivated and intrigued audiences worldwide. Eminem is one of the world’s most popular rap artists. Between 1999 and 2006, he sold more than 73,000,000 albums worldwide. He is one of the top-selling rappers of all time, second only to the late Tupac Shakur. (Interestingly, Eminem produced Tupac’s album Loyal to the Game. It is the eighth album of remixes and previously unreleased material to be released since Tupac’s murder in 1996.)

Although he is an artist who does not stick to the tried-and-true methods but rather strikes out on his own into wildly original territory, Eminem has been able to achieve both popular acclaim and critical success. His broad appeal is undeniable, and his popularity with his fans is matched only by the praise he has received from critics and fellow musicians. Eminem has won nine Grammy Awards, which are considered the music industry’s highest honor, and nine MTV Video Awards. He has even won an Academy Award.

Eminem’s importance as a hip-hop artist cannot be overstated. To many critics, he is as important to rap music as Elvis Presley was to rock and roll.

Elvis Presley burst into America’s consciousness in 1956 with his first big hit, “Heartbreak Hotel.” In it he combined several different kinds of traditional American music. He combined rhythm and blues (R&B) music, which was traditionally enjoyed by blacks, with country and western music, which was traditionally listened to by whites. What emerged from the mix was rock and roll. This new music appealed to both fans of R&B and fans of country. By blending different types of music, Elvis helped break down music’s cultural boundaries.

The two musicians also share a similar background: Elvis grew up poor, listening to rhythm and blues music. Eminem grew up poor, listening to rap or hip-hop, known at the time as music for black urban youth. Like Elvis, he creates music that respects musical traditions, and brings different audiences together through music. Also like Elvis, Eminem has been accused of “using” or exploiting black music to get rich. As Eminem jokingly raps in “Without Me” from the CD The Eminem Show, “Though I’m not the first king of controversy/I am the worst thing since Elvis Presley, to do Black Music so selfishly/and use it to get myself wealthy.”

Eminem has created hip-hop that transcends, or goes beyond, the lines that divide black and white music. Fans of hip-hop admire him for his strong lyrical talents. He is praised for his ability to change his flow and style within a song without losing a beat. His rhyme sense, use of language, and humor all make him preeminent among today’s hip-hop artists. A track by Eminem stands out. He sounds like nobody else.

It is more than his rap style that sets him apart from other rappers. His choice of subject matter helps to distinguish him. Before Eminem came on the scene, gangsta rap was the dominant style of rap. When it first emerged in the early 1980s, gangsta rap covered topics like alienation, drugs, and being poor. Rappers spoke to their audience about the struggle against police and other authority figures. After the violent deaths of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G., however, the music changed. Suddenly, the violence in gangsta rap lyrics felt a little too “real.” In addition, as the rappers became successful, they moved away from the lifestyle that generated their lyrics in the first place. Gangsta rap moved from songs about life on the streets to music about life at the top. Songs about “bling,” women, and the power of money to buy anything ruled the charts. The music moved from documenting the struggles of the poor to celebrating the joys of being rich. Lyrics glorified a life of conspicuous consumption, a life of wearing clothes by Prada and guzzling Kristal champagne.

Eminem’s music and life reject the glorification of money and its rewards. Writing largely about his own experiences, Eminem is able to discuss topics that many people can relate to. He writes about drug abuse. He writes about his mother and his troubled childhood. He writes about his ongoing relationship with his ex-wife Kim Mathers. He writes about growing up poor in Detroit. He writes about being white and living in a black neighborhood. He writes about his love for his daughter, Hailie.

Writing about these things brings rap back to its roots. Eminem raps realistically and honestly about his own life. By doing so, he is respected within the black community like no other white rapper before him. Whereas Vanilla Ice, a successful white rapper from the 1980s who tried to change the face of hip-hop, only pretended to be an authentic street-smart rapper, Eminem is a rapper, from the bottom of his soul. As Missy Elliot said in Eminem Talking, “I love him ‘cos he’s white and he knows he’s white. He’s just him and whatever he raps about is what he’s going through. I ain’t mad at that.” Eminem’s authenticity transcends skin color, but his being white allows him to appeal to a large white audience as well. It’s this ability to bring together black and white fans that has made him so hugely successful. For his audience, he goes beyond the labels of “black” or “white.” He’s simply Eminem.

By writing about his own life and feelings, Eminem is able to make his fans think about their own lives. For example, by expressing his anger and feelings about his mother and his childhood, he allows his listeners to consider their own childhoods. Using his music to release his inner demons, he allows his listeners to release theirs.

Eminem’s music is not without controversy. His detractors accuse him of being misogynistic (disliking women). He has been accused of being homophobic (disliking gay people). Many people feel that, because his lyrics show disdain for women and gays, he is encouraging his fans to feel the same hatred toward these groups.

Eminem claims that his lyrics are not always meant to be taken seriously. He says that his character Slim Shady (as first unveiled in the song “My Name Is . . .”) is just that, a character. Slim Shady, Eminem says, does not necessarily represent what Eminem truly feels. However, many of his fans take everything he says literally; they do not understand when he is being serious and when he is joking.

What some of his younger fans may not understand is that Eminem uses the character of Slim Shady to address taboos—the thoughts that people may have, but are ashamed to admit. Although they are not “politically correct,” he feels that it’s important to joke about these feelings, to bring them out into the open. By doing that, people will realize how ridiculous they can be.

As Eminem has said, according to Eminem Talking, “Slim Shady is just the evil thoughts that come into my head. Things I shouldn’t be thinking about. Not to be gimmicky, but people should be able to determine when I’m serious and when I’m [joking] around. That’s why a lot of my songs are funny. I got a warped sense of humor, I guess.”

Many of his critics have accused him of having angermanagement issues. Many of his lyrics express an impulsive anger that he felt while writing the song, but that he no longer has. In songs like “’97 Bonnie and Clyde” and “Kim,” he expresses violent thoughts and fantasies about his ex-wife, Kim. Did he literally want to murder his wife as he does in the song? Probably not. By writing down and rapping about his feelings, he is able to release them. As a performer, he shares his feelings with the world.

Where did Eminem’s anger come from? How did his upbringing make him the hip-hop artist that he has become? These are complicated questions. Marshall Mathers became the performer Eminem. Eminem uses the character Slim Shady to express the anger, humor, and rage that Marshall Mathers feels about the world.

How did Marshall Mathers become Eminem and Slim Shady? Who is the real Marshall Mathers?