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Eminem

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Eminem is the stage name of Marshall Mathers, born in 1972 in St. Joseph, Missouri. He moved around a lot as a child, until he ended up in Detroit with his mother, in a working-class neighbourhood with mainly Black residents. There he learned to rap in freestyle battles and at open mics, such as at the Hip-Hop Shop on West 7 Mile Road. His first album, Infinite (1996), flopped. A year later he came second at the Rap Olympics in Los Angeles. His Slim Shady EP reached Jimmy Iovine of Interscope, who played the tape to Dr. Dre. He wanted to sign him immediately, even though the people around him considered a white rapper a risk.

Music and breakthrough

With Dr. Dre as producer, Eminem broke through with The Slim Shady LP (1999). The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) sold 1.76 million copies in its first week in the United States, and The Eminem Show (2002) became the best-selling album in the world of that year. His lyrics were coarse and violent and caused a great deal of controversy, but also produced narrative songs such as Stan. In 2002 he played a version of himself in the film 8 Mile. The song Lose Yourself spent twelve weeks at number 1 in America and became the first hip hop song to win an Oscar.

Influence

Eminem raps fast and often rhymes on several syllables at once, a technique he practised as a teenager by pulling words apart on paper. With estimated sales of more than 220 million records he is the best-selling rapper ever. He brought hip hop to an audience of white young people in the American middle class and showed that a white rapper could be taken seriously in a Black musical culture. In 2022 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with Dr. Dre as presenter.

Listening

Listening tip. In Lose Yourself, listen to the structure: the song begins with spoken words over a few quiet chords, after which beat and guitar come in. In the verses, notice how the rhymes fall on two or three syllables at once.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

See also

Categories: Artists