Eminem

Early life

Marshall Bruce Mathers III was born on October 17, 1972, in St. Joseph, Missouri, the only child of Deborah "Debbie" Nelson and Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr. His mother nearly died during her 73-hour labor with him. Eminem's parents were in a band called Daddy Warbucks, playing in Ramada Inns along the Dakotas–Montana border before they separated. His father abandoned his family when Eminem was a year and a half old, and his mother raised him herself in poverty. He wrote letters to his father, but Nelson said that they all came back marked "return to sender".

1988–1997: Early career, Infinite and family struggles

In 1988, he went by the stage name MC Double M and formed his first group, New Jacks, and made demo tape recordings with DJ Butter Fingers. In 1989, they joined Bassmint Productions who later changed their name to Soul Intent in 1992 with rapper Proof and other Detroit artists. They released a two-track single on cassette in 1995 featuring Proof. Eminem also made his first music video appearance in 1992 in a song titled, "Do-Da-Dippity", by Champtown. Later in 1996, Eminem and Proof teamed up with four other rappers to form The Dirty Dozen (D12), who released The Underground E.P. in 1997 and their first album Devil's Night in 2001. He was also affiliated with Newark's rap collective Outsidaz, collaborating with them on different projects.

Influences, style and rapping technique

Eminem has cited several MCs as influencing his rapping style, including Kool G Rap, Masta Ace, Big Daddy Kane, Tupac, Newcleus, Ice-T, Mantronix, Melle Mel (on "The Message"), LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Run-D.M.C., Rakim, and Boogie Down Productions. At the 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Eminem named more than 100 artists from hip-hop's golden age—from rap's early days through to the mid-1990s—who contributed, in ways big and small, to the artist he would become.

Legacy

Having greatly popularized hip-hop with Middle American audiences, Eminem is widely credited for the acceptance of white rappers in popular music. His often anger-fueled music channels the widespread angst of the American underclass.

The Real Slim Shady

"The Real Slim Shady" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his third studio album The Marshall Mathers LP (2000). It was released as the lead single a month before the album's release.

Production

"The Real Slim Shady" was not originally intended to be part of The Marshall Mathers LP. Jimmy Iovine of Interscope Records wanted Eminem to create a song to introduce the album, similar to how "My Name Is" was the first single on The Slim Shady LP. Eminem, Dr. Dre, Tommy Coster, and Mike Elizondo wrote "The Real Slim Shady" only hours before the final copy of the album was due. The first single was intended to be "Who Knew".

Critical reception

PopMatters described the song as "slamming their 'enemies' with comic book intensity", while also noting its ironic themes surrounding the number of near-identical "wannabes" due to Eminem's overall appearance, citing his "signature style" which bore "bleached blond hair, pale skin, [and] humongous T-shirt". AllMusic highlighted the single.

Music video

Philip G. Atwell and Dr. Dre directed the music video, filmed from April 7 to 10, 2000. Eminem's friends and former group-mates from D12, including rappers Denaun Porter, Proof, Swifty McVay, Bizarre, Kuniva, and Limp Bizkit vocalist Fred Durst, are featured in the video along with him.

Cleanin' Out My Closet

"Cleanin' Out My Closet" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his album The Eminem Show (2002). It was the second single released off the album following "Without Me" on July 29, 2002.

Unlike the preceding single which was as his humorous Slim Shady persona, "Cleanin' Out My Closet" is an autobiographical song inspired by the events of Eminem's childhood and relationships. It depicts Eminem venting his anger towards his mother, Debbie Mathers, for the way she raised him.

Background

"Cleanin' Out My Closet" was the second song Eminem wrote for the album. The instrumental for "Cleanin' Out My Closet" was created by Eminem during the making of D12's debut studio album, Devil's Night. According to group member Kuniva, Bizarre was on the song first, but was talking "crazy" on the record and was encouraged to tone it down. Despite receiving the approval of Dr. Dre, Bizarre decided to pass on the record, and Eminem picked it up from there: "The whole group was like 'Yo, you can't say this shit. It's too much.' So, he got a call from Dr. Dre. And Dre was like 'Say that shit, man. You gotta say it.' [...] He ultimately gave into the group and was like 'You know what? Fuck it, man.'"

Composition

"Cleanin' Out My Closet" is a hardcore hip-hop and rap rock song written and produced by Eminem and Jeff Bass, the latter of whom provided the guitars, bass, and keyboards. The song's drum programming was handled by DJ Head. At the beginning of the song, after the music begins to play, Eminem asks "Where's my snare? I have no snare in my headphones." Eminem explained that this actually happened; the recording engineer had muted the snare drums in his headphones during the recording of the song. During the editing process, Eminem chose to leave it in.

Critical reception

AllMusic highlighted this song. David Browne was lukewarm: "The unhealed scars of his childhood are pored over in Cleanin' Out My Closet: In the chorus, he apologizes for making his mama cry, but in the verses, he lashes out at her (you selfish bitch) and vows to be a better dad than his own absentee father (I wonder if he even kissed me goodbye). The song is both fragile and furious, and the syncopated music-box arrangement matches it in tension." J-23 was positive: "Cleanin' Out My Closet" features the album's most personal rhymes as he lets us know just how he feels about his parents. His third verse, dealing with his mother, is truly something to behold." NME also praised the single: "Cleanin' Out My Closet", a stunning outpouring of...

Cover versions

In October 2012, New York City hip-hop artist Angel Haze released a reworked version of "Cleanin' Out My Closet" using their own lyrics, in which they graphically recount their experience with child sexual abuse.

Till I Collapse

"'Till I Collapse" is a song by the American rapper Eminem featuring Nate Dogg. It was originally released as a part of Eminem's fourth studio album The Eminem Show (2002).

Without having been released as a single, the song charted numerous times worldwide and has become one of Eminem's most popular songs.

Background

Although it has never been released as a single, it has charted on a few occasions when other Eminem albums have been released. In 2012, it was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling 2,000,000 copies in the United States. This was followed by quintuple-platinum in 2018 and octuple-platinum in 2022.

Reception and legacy

In a retrospective review, David Drake of Complex highlighted "'Till I Collapse" as demonstrating Eminem's musical evolution on The Eminem Show, noting how the "increasingly dramatic production choices" on songs like "'Till I Collapse" show him "abandoning some of the more irreverent cartoonishness in favor of capital-I Importance". Drake commended "Nate Dogg’s urgent hook and some of the most elaborate-yet-purposeful rapping of Eminem’s career" as saving "what should have been a leaden monster, as the bass-heavy funk of the Bass Brothers and Dr. Dre was dropping away in favor of arena-ready epics".

In popular culture

When Eminem's single "Shake That" (also featuring Nate Dogg) was released in 2006, several Eminem songs re-charted that same week, including "'Till I Collapse". It charted in the UK at number 192 on April 15, 2006.