Artist Profile: Eminem

Today's Artist profile is one of my favorite hip-hop artists out there today, Eminem. Born Marshall Mathers and raised in Detroit, Michigan Em was discovered by hip-hop mogul Dr. Dre, who immediately signed him to Aftermath Records upon first hearing his demo tape. Em released his debut album The Slim Shady LP in 1999, producing such hits as "My Name Is", "Guilty Conscience" (f/Dr. Dre) and "Role Model". Em didn't waste any time working on his second album, released a year later and titled The Marshall Mathers LP. The album went on to become his breakthrough effort and his most successful album. The album sold 1.7 million copies in its first week, the highest first week total of any male artist in history and a record that still stands to this day. Some classic Em tracks are found on this album, including "The Real Slim Shady", "The Way I Am", "Stan" (f/Dido), "I'm Back" and "Bitch Please II" (f/Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, and Nate Dogg) The album has sold over 10 million copies to date and is considered one of the landmark hip-hop albums in music history.

Em released his next effort The Eminem Show in 2002 and went on to become another commercial success, selling over 1.3 million copies in its first week and has sold 10 million copies to date. The album has a much more playful, reflective tone than his last album, and has such memorable tracks such as "Without Me", "Cleaning Out My Closet", "Superman", and "Sing For The Moment". Around this time, Em made a foray into movies, starring in the critically acclaimed film 8 Mile, which Em was able to make the song "Lose Yourself" for the film's soundtrack. The song was a massive success, spending a total of 12 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and earning Em a Academy Award for Best Original Song for the film. His next effort Encore followed in 2004, and had tracks like "Just Lose It", "Mosh", and the album's title track which also features Dr. Dre and 50 Cent. This album was not as successful as Em's prior releases, as his shtick of aiming at celebrities and other figures was starting to get old, but it sold close to 4 million copies anyway.

Em disappeared from the scene for a few years, and returned in 2009 with his long awaited studio effort Relapse. The album had memorable tracks including "Crack A Bottle" and "We Made You", but the album maintained the same lyrical jabs at celebrities as the previous effort did, providing much critical derision among critics and fans alike. Em released his latest effort Recovery just last year, producing such monster tracks like "Not Afraid", "Love The Way You Lie (f/Rihanna), and "No Love" (f/Lil' Wayne). The album was his most critically well received album in years and proved that he's well past the Slim Shady moniker that was part of his first few albums and has grown into a more confident, well rounded MC. When I first heard him, I was immediately impressed with his lyrical abilities and how he was able to weave intricate storylines within his tracks that were autobiographical in nature and made his music that much more real and authentic. I never really understood what all the controversy was about regarding Eminem with his lyrics considered to be by many as violent and homophobic, drawing protest from many domestic violence and gay rights groups. Em's lyrics were basically portraying a story and didn't necessarily represent his views on violence and homosexuality. Em still continues to amaze me everyday with his incredible lyrical abilities and real authenticity that is noticeably absent in hip-hop today.