Eminem

Marshall Bruce Mathers III, known by his stage name, Eminem, is a rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Credited with popularizing hip hop in Middle America, he is considered one of the greatest rappers of all time.

Eminem's global success and acclaimed works are widely regarded as having broken racial barriers for the acceptance of white rappers in popular music. While much of his transgressive work during the early 2000s made him hugely controversial, he came to be a representation of the popular angst of the American underclass. He has been influential for many artists of various genres. After his debut album Infinite (1996) and the extended play Slim Shady EP (1997), Eminem signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and subsequently achieved mainstream popularity in 1999 with The Slim Shady LP. His next two releases, The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) and The Eminem Show (2002), were worldwide successes and were both nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. After the release of his next album, Encore (2004), Eminem went on hiatus in 2005, due in part to a prescription drug addiction.

He returned to the music industry four years later with the release of Relapse (2009), and Recovery was released the following year. Recovery was the bestselling album worldwide of 2010, making it Eminem's second album, after The Eminem Show in 2002, to be the bestselling album of the year worldwide. In the following years, he released the US #1 albums The Marshall Mathers LP 2, Revival, Kamikaze, and Music to Be Murdered By.

Eminem made his debut in the film industry with the musical drama film 8 Mile (2002), playing a fictionalized version of himself, and his track "Lose Yourself" from its soundtrack won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, making him the first hip hop artist ever to win the award.

He has also developed other ventures, including Shady Records, a joint venture with manager Paul Rosenberg, which helped launch the careers of artists such as 50 Cent, Yelawolf, and Obie Trice, among others. He has also established his own channel, Shade 45, on Sirius XM Radio. In addition to his solo career, Eminem was a member of the hip hop group D12. He is also known for collaborations with fellow Detroit-based rapper Royce Da 5'9"; the two are collectively known as Bad Meets Evil.

Eminem is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with estimated worldwide sales of more than 220 million records. He was the bestselling music artist in the United States of the 2000s and the bestselling male music artist in the United States of the 2010s, third overall. Billboard named him the "Artist of the Decade (2000–2009)." The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show, "Lose Yourself," "Love the Way You Lie," and "Not Afraid" have all been certified Diamond or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Rolling Stone has included him in its lists of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. He has won numerous awards, including 15 Grammy Awards. He has had ten #1 albums on the Billboard 200 -- which all consecutively debuted at #1 on the chart, making him the only artist to achieve this -- and five #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100.